unclefroggy

I'm planning on buying a TLS in the fall, but all these problems with the paint has me a bit worried.

I'm wondering if these are random problems or if there are any commonalities among them. For example, are only (or mostly) black cars having the problem? Is it related to manufacture date? Are there other similarities?

Would those of you who are suffering through this hassle please reply with these (or any other) specifics that might identify the problem as a general defect or as a limited one.

Thanx in advance.

tgif

Hmm. no problem on my paint. Mine is NBP, so if there is a problem, I'll know it right away.

typeSmaximum

Hey tgif, how do you like your i30T compared to the TL? I just switched from the Infiniti to the type S because of several small problems most i30 drivers never have, and the price is about to slump when the I35 is out for one year, then its a whole new car already. Thinking about the G35 (skyline) in about a year though or wait for the coupe and keep the TL as well.

TL4Mo

Since I AM having issues with the paint (not as severe as others), here is my info.

2002 Type S, NBP
Build Date: April 2001

I seriously don't think this is a widespread problem, but feel it may be a "bad batch"

The car is oh soooo fun to drive and I love it alot, it's just paint battle scars are very disheartening. I figure in a year, this car will look 5 yrs old by the paint!

tgif

typeSmaximum-Many people on the board ask the same question. I get the TL-S first then the I30t. The TL-S is the best value. Everything is included, the only option is the nav.

Buying experience-Acura only discounted the TL-S $500 from MSRP. I got it in March. The sales didn't give me any pressure. Only problem is, back in March, not much dealers had the Type S in stock. When I bought mine, it is either silver or black.
Infiniti discounted the car quiet a lot, I bought it $600 below invoice and the dealer throw in the wood kit for free. The sales process is smooth and no pressure.

Driving experience-Acura's engine is very responsive. 260hp's engine is really awesome. Infiniti's engine had been rated the top 10 in its class. The I30t is more like a crusier to me. The TL-S is a fun car to drive.

Service experience-TL-S already been into the shop couple times. The window recall. The exhaust pipe need to be leveled. The passenger's seat rail is broken. I30t had been flawless. The only problem is need to dealer to install a fuel line protector on the I30t and it is a pain. But the dealer do it eventually.

From my personal experience, someone might ask me am I regret on getting the TL-S. Not a bit. It is a frist year production car. And the car is fine now. It is a pleasure to drive. I had the TL-S since March. It had 5500 miles. The I30t I got in in May and it is only 2700 miles.

I once was going to think of getting the I35. But since the I35's engine is also new, it might suffers some problems. Maybe I'll trade it in 2003? And the I30's price right now is too good to pass by.

unclefroggy

From the very limited responses I've gotten to this thread, the paint peeling problem must be very uncommon. I find this surprising given the other posts saying that paint/body shops see this all the time. Perhaps all the ppl with the problem were at the dealer yesterday.

Mr Hyde

That thread about peeling paint was the first of its kind on this board. As far as the paint being soft please read my response in that thread.

I have hadno probs with my car. Vin in the 1800's first TL-S sold by my dealer back in March.

corster

I have a brand new 2003 Acura TL (black). I have owned it for 2 months and the paint is peeling off the hood. Acura insists that "Acura does NOT have a problem with peeling paint". I am so sick of this, and very disappointed so far with Acura's response. They keep insisting that it is from Bird poop, or an "egg" or maybe even "tree sap". They really are pushing it. I have that car hand washed every week. It is obviously a problem with the paint and everyone that I have talked to (even the Federal TRade Commission), agrees. (except, that is of course Acura)

Smelly

I don't know if it's the same thing or not, but the paint on the door frames (the metal frame surrounding the windows) is bubbling up. It reminds me of a bad tint job where you start seeing air bubbles under the tint, and it is very noticable. Since my warranty is over (56k miles), all I can do is wait for the paint to just start peeling off.

Anybody have any suggestions on what I can do? Besides peeling the paint off and getting it repainted.

Tom Blasing

I'm having a bit of a different paint problem. I bought and installed the factory nose mask. I've taken it off installed it probably about six or seven times since I bought the car new two months ago. There are four tabs that insert under the headlights but on top of the bumper. These tabs have caused pealing of the paint in four different places down to the bumper material. I touched it up with factory touch-up paint and although it looks better it still looks like plastic flashing that hasn't been trimmed from a Monogram scale model.

The first problem, when it arrived, was that the coverings over the top front fender corners just would NOT fit between the headlight housing and the fender. This was due to the black weatherstripping between the two surfaces. I was able to peel out and trim back the stripping a couple or inches. After that it went on fine till I found the obvious peeling paint today.

I've had nothing but problems with this thing and with hopfully be the recipient of some honor from the sponsers or this BB by taking it back.

We'll see.

yield2s

THATS NOT BLACK PAINT AROUND YOUR WINDOWS ITS LATEX TAPE. TAKE IT TO THE DEALER AND TELL THEM ITS BEEN LIKE THAT FOR AT LEAST 10K MILES AND THEY WILL SURELY COVER AT LEAST SOME OF THE COSTS.