Just an FYI to this very valuable forum. I finally read this thread and see that some are thinking that there is no great urgency here.

In August I bought my 05 RL from Carmax. Test drive was long and there were absolutely no issues.

As I parked in my driveway (10 mile drive) smoke was coming out from the hood. PS hose was leaking onto the engine.

Acura replaced under factory warranty pre-recall.

My car had 34K miles on delivery day.

Just so you know as I do not want it to happen to you!

Dave

 

yeah, it's visible. Check your fenders by being nearly level to it, it's probably the easiest way to spot any damage.

 

Mine is going in on Wednesday. I'm also going to have them look at the door handles. My passenger side would fail to work for a day or two after it got real wet. With all the rain/dampneess in SE Michigan lately I've now discovered that BOTH sides are acting up.

I actually now have to use the remote to lock the doors. ugh!



How spoiled we get.

So I'm going to have them look at that as well.

I mentioned to the SM about the reported problems with damaged fenders, and he stated that to his knowledge, they replace the hose from the front and underneath.

Nonetheless, I'm going to make sure I point out to him the condition of the fenders when I drop it off, and I'll make sure I check them when I pick it up.

 

Got the call just now. Our car is finally ready to be picked up. The recall took an extra day due to issues pulling the rack. But the service manager stated that everything went smoothly.

What didnt go so smoothly was my wiper assembly. The connecting piece that ties the motor to the arms had cracked and they could not source another part quick enough to make it past the weekend.

Going to pick up my car after work tonight and will double and triple check the fenders.

 

Checked the fender and no bumps or bulges, but I did notice that a few of the plastic screws inside the bay were missing.

My wife is sooo happy that she has her RL back. The few days she had with the TSX made her appreciate the RL's amenities more.

 

VERY visible.

 

We both have Verizon phones (VX8300) and they both work great with the system. Had no trouble pairing them, and they have never given us any problems.

 

I am going to make an appointment to get it done around the 15th or so. I am going to take pictures of my fenders at the dealership before I turn my car over to them and have a service tech sign to say that the photos were taken when I say they were and that there is no damage to the fenders pre-repair (just to cover my butt).

 

Got mine done today, didn't check the fenders but will tomorrow am. any particular location or is it that obvious.

 

Re: the questions on whether the fender damage is visible...I think it's shades of grey, not black and white.

In my case the damage is like a little ripple that is visible if you catch the light reflection just so - as sleepinxlionhart has said, the most visible angle is if you bend or squat down in front of the car and look at the fenders from an angle almost parallel to the bodywork. If you do this, you can see it every time, so yes, it is visible. But if you just happen to glance at the car, you don't see a thing. It also does not show up in any photographs (i.e. the reflected ripple is very difficult to catch in a photograph).

From some of the other posts (e.g. vodoc) I gather that the damage was much more obvious and plainly evident.

I think the bottom line is to look at your fenders from every which angle before you take it in - if you don't see any damage, it isn't there. Do the same thing when you pick up the car.

 

If it's just paint damage, some polish and elbow grease will take it off. I hope it's not dented.

 

Took mine in this morning. I will pay very close attention to the "fenders" when I pick it up tomorrow. Are the "blemishes" that are being observed from the tech leaning on/over the fenders??

 

Thanks to everyone for the heads up about possible fender damage during the repair. I made my appointment today for Monday morning. The service writer said they can do it while I wait--1.5 hours tops. Right. Well, I will figure at least 3 hours so I will have plenty of time to gather what info I can about the new products. I am having second thoughts now about pre-ordering an '09 RL. The new TL might be too good to pass up. I probably need to spend some time on the TL forum to see what's what.

 

Has it been established for sure the new TL will have SH-AWD, or is it going to be another front-wheel-drive rehash? I haven't kept up lately.

As fpr the fender damage, I can't imagine what is causing this. There must be some piece of equipment (a fluid pump, maybe), or some procedure requiring the fender area to be used as a pry point. Either way, it's inexcusable to damage customers' cars doing this.

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My guess is that the ripples are caused by the tech leaning over the fendor. Given how soft metals are today, a belt buckle or snap, or even a button on the pants could cause the slight dents. The paint isn't damaged since they probably use a fender cover, but the pressure of the belt buckle will cause slight dents.

I had a similar issue when they replaced the transmission on my '01 Tl when they were recalled. Paintless Dent Removal fixes it, but I'd rather it not get to that point.

I mentioned it today again when I dropped the car off. The SM told me he would highlight it with the tech.

 

Not sure it came officially from Honda, but it seems like a near certainty. Can't quote the source but I read it on several reliable eMag sites. The TL will be SHAWD standard and the TSX will have the same 2.4 fwd config with an optional TSX-S using the RDX engine and SHAWD. Makes sense. I'm sure it's what will be happening

 

No scratches or dents on my car after the service @ Montgomeryville Acura dealer.

 

This is exactly right. The problem is made worse because the RL has relatively thin gage aluminum fenders that are less "springy" than other parts of the body that are made out of steel.

AT YOUR OWN RISK you can try simply pressing hard with your fingers on the front fenders and likely you will leave a small ripple.

Frankly I see this as a "design defect" because the RL does have a wide and flat fender portion that is particularly susceptible to this. I'll bet that as time goes on and the population of 2gen RLs age, most if not all will pick up these small ripples.

 

Well good news and so-so news. The so-so news is that they said they couldn't recreate the malfunctioning door handles. They washed the car and even sprayed the door handles directly, and they still worked.

Quite honestly, not a big deal since when they did stop working, they usually came back after a day or so of being wet. The SM said. "at least you have documented history so that if it happens again, especially out of warranty, you'll be covered".

They even called Acura's Techline. They said that the passenger door handle, which was replaced already once, is the updated part, so they're kinda at a loss. They offered to replace the driver side if I wanted, but I told them I'd wait.

I'm not worried since I have a 100k mile warranty. They're working now, so I can wait until they completely crap out.

Good news is that the hose is replaced and no ripples!.

 

Well i got it down to 26 minutes. Dont ask the dealer if you can wait for it, theyre gonna tell you no unless they dont care about their technicians. Where i work, we already agreed no waits, only loaner cars.. I cover both fenders with NSX fender covers, they are thicker than just the normal ones. = no scratches.

 

It took about 2 weeks for my recall to show up as "Fixed" on AcuraLink, but it finally did. I'm all set!

 

I got a strange call from the dealer the other day. They asked me if I drove my car to Florida and had the recall done after I had it done here in MA. Apparently a dealer in FL reported doing the recall on my car 2 days after I had it done here. It's either a VIN mix-up on the Florida dealer's part or someone down there has some explaining to do.

 

Sounds like a vin mixup to me dwboston. I'd call Acura Client Svcs and get it figured out.

 

The local dealer took care of it. Acura initially refused them payment on the recall because of the confusion. It's all set now.

 

Can I get this done in Montreal with a US RL? It's still legally registered in NC. I've just moved here and haven't been to a dealer yet to ask. I've also got a burned out dash light that I need to get replaced under warranty.

 

I had the recall repair done today. So far, I haven't noticed a dent on my car.

I also had the driver's side door handle replaced because of erratic function. We'll see how long it lasts given other reports here, LOL.

Last, I had the rear driver's side window motor looked at because it wasn't working. It turns out that rebooting the car did the trick and it works fine now. They apparently hook up a computer to the car and literally reboot it, instead of disconnecting the battery, which I was told would cause other unpredictable problems if not reconnected properly. Neato on the reboot!

Just to show you another example of good dealer service....it snowed several inches today in the area. When my car was brought to me this evening, there was not a single bit of snow on it--they'd kept it inside for me. I'm not sure it was their standard service, or if there was just room, but it gave me warm fuzzies about the dealership.

 

Im scheduled for the recall work Monday at 9 at Spitzer Acura in SW PA. The dealer is about an hour away, so they are going to give me a loaner (typically an RDX, which will be good given the wintery weather). On the phone, the service manager said that he needed the car all day to allow for "cool down" of the engine before working on the hose, which seems to jive with what Acuratech reported...

I think I will mention the fender issue.

We'll see how it goes!

 

That's interesting as mine showed up just a few hours after the actual fix!

 

Sounds like it depends on the dealer to enter the info...I can see a pile of papers on the desk of some poor clerk...

 

Same here. Mine already shows as "fixed" and it was done two days ago.

 

I had my recall done yesterday. No dents or dimples on the fender. I didn't check the vin for a stamp, nor did I look under the hood yet but I did smell a little bit of a burnt smell which means they probably performed the recall indeed.

They gave me a Chevy Impala as a loaner. I was a little disappointed because I scheduled the work a week in advance and told them I needed a loaner. The Impala wasn't too bad though. Nice ride and powerful, but very uncomfortable and cheap looking inside.

They also did the brake TSB, even though my VIN is out of the range of affected vehicles. Fortunately for me, my brakes started squeaking frequently just before bringing it in and they squeaked for the tech on his test drive. Incidentally, after he replaced the front brakes, he noticed that the rear brakes were squeaking too so he replaced the rear as well. They didn't replace the rotors, they simply resurfaced them.

They also replaced my wiper arm. I noticed that the arm sits higher than the original one and I'll need to find the threads on here where others had the same issue.

Both of these TSB's were performed with no questions asked. They just did it. I bought the car there so maybe that helped but overall, I was very happy with the way I was treated (other than the Impala thing).

The dealership is Acura of Turnersville in Southern New Jersey.

 

My recall was done this week. No dents or dimples. Job was done at Crown Acura Greensboro.

 

My recall was just done at Curry Acura in Scarsdale, NY. No scratches or dents and I got an 08 TL loaner. Fantastic car, but I missed the RL.

By the way I have just under 6k miles, who recommends the extended warranty?

 

We had ours done. Two microscopic dents on the tops of the fenders. Wondering if I should point it out or just keep hush-hush...

 

Tell em

 

Had my recall done 2 days ago, and all is well. No problems. Loaner was a TL Type S .. sure had lots of power...didn't care for the red dash lighting.

 

TLs are going to be recalled for the same problem. It's expected to be official in May. If you've got a TL in addition to an RL, here's a head's up.

http://nhthqnwws112.odi.nhtsa.dot.go...8V091-2748.pdf

 

I had my recall and an A6 service done on Saturday. I pointed out to the tech that Acurazine has been reporting some instances of little dings in the bumper after the recall was completed. He said yeah I know about that. "I use extra padding becuase you have to reach from the front in an awkward position, but no worry." He also told me that the recall hose is identical except for a shield that is wrapped around the hose. They even thought of wrapping the shielding material around the existing hose, but of course didn't.

Anyway no problems with recall work. 7500 miles between service and oil level did not go down. Really love this car.

 

I purchased my 07 RL in October. I received the recall letter from Acura in January. I took it in and it was a piece of cake. Although while there I got a hankering for a few accessories. Best regards. Doug Hess, Springfield, Pa.

 

Well I finally took mine in. I originally got the letter right after my last service and decided to wait as it did not seem like an urgent problem.

It seemingly went without a hitch. I also had and oil change and tire rotaion. They wanted to charge me over $220 for the cabin and engine filter replacement, but I bought them online for $40 and replaced them by myself - in 5 minutes thanks to a post on this board. It does take some effort to access the engine filter doesn't it?

On Friday, a week after the serivice, my power steering pump starts making interesting high pitched sounds. I take a look at the resevoir (which is not in the easiest place!) and it is nearly empty! Fortunately the local NAPA store carries Acura/Honda power steering fluid as you are not supposed to put just any fluid in this car. I didn't realize this until I looked at a bottle of regular fluid and saw the waring on the back.

So it's back to the dealer tomorrow to see if I have a leak, although there are no spots on my garage floor. I'm kinda wishing I hadn't bothered with the recall.