gtinmia

I finally started organizing my pictures from my camera and remembered I wanted to post my experience of installation of OEM accessories for my '14 Advance MDX. The following is what I added to my MDX after purchase listed in order of difficulty.

1. Weathertech front and Rear protection
2. Trunk Folding Tray
3. Mud Guards
4. Rear Bumper Protector
5. Advance Running Boards
6. Front and Rear Sport Trim
7. LED Fog Lights

I followed all the instructions here: https://estore.honda.com/acura/acces...&modelName=MDX

1. The weathertechs are much better than the OEM all weather matts. See my thread here for pictures: https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-mdx-...w-pics-929046/
2. The OEM ones are good. I haven't had any issues with them in 7 months.
3. The mud guards are very small and in my opinion don't seem to offer much protection.
4. The rear bumper protector is solid. I did not drill holes in the bumper; rather I used 3M tape all around it and secured it to the bumper. It is very strong in place and I doubt it's coming off.
5. The advance running boards were fairly straight forward to install. The hardest part was cutting the plastic inserts off from under the car. Use a serrated knife to cut the two sides and then just push in and out and it will pop off.
6. The rear trim was easy to install as I just went under the car and did it. There is not much difference in the rear trim and the OEM one except for the color difference and a slight piece protruding out. Not worth $230 in my opinion. Also if you want to install the hitch, you cannot use the rear sport trim unless you cut it. The front trim, there is no way to do the job unless the bumper is taken off. I installed the fog lights at the same time I did the front trim. The front trim involves a lot of drilling. I attached a picture of the drill bits.
7. The fog lights were the most difficult as I had to take off the bumper as well as replace the OEM light switch ( It makes absolutely no sense that the installed light switch did not have the fog light module installed at the factory). Remember to tape the bumper before you take it off so it does not scratch.

If anyone has any questions about any of the more difficult installations, let me know. Overall I probably saved over $1500 by doing it myself and buying it from online OEM sources such as curry Acura's ebay store, amazon, and oemacuraparts.com

gtinmia

More pictures.

gtinmia

More Pics

jchoi5

Very cool pics! Looks exactly like my MDX except I have sports running steps. Can you post a link to where you got your weather tech all season mats?

gtinmia

Thanks. This seller usually has them for sale. I got them in original product box sealed and save about $30 for front and rear ones. thejeepguyz on eBay Make an offer and negotiate.

E92Vancouver

Did the rear bumper protector go on perfectly centered all the way around? My car came with this and it is not perfectly centered. I am trying to figure out if there are manufacturing imperfections in the bumper or protector (i.e, not 100% symmetrical) or if the mechanic was a jack ass.

I am talking about the gap at each end of the bumper protector from the back of the tailgate.

jchoi5

Thanks so much for this info. I saw that other thread and I think it really looks great. I love how they stay so clean too, seems like dirt particles slide right off.

My OEM MDX A/S mats always seems to keep dirt no matter how hard I try to keep it clean.

gtinmia

As pictured, it does not go all the way to each end of the bumper and also there is a 1/2 inch gap between where the tailgate closes and where the bumper protector ends. Ideally it's to protect whenever you take luggage out of the rear so it only covers the area between the tailgate. I do wish there was less of a 1/2 gap at the top though.

Does that answer your question?

gtinmia

I agree. The OEM ones seems to show the dirt more as well as just shoe scuff marks whereas the weathertech ones have a nice gloss and doesn't look dull. I'm very happy with them. Now I just need to get rid of the OEM ones.

E92Vancouver

On my MDX the protector is 1/2 inch from the tailgate on one side and 3/4s of an inch on the other side (exaggerated).

Is your protector the same distance from the tailgate on the left and right side?

gtinmia

Yes it is equidistant on both sides. I placed it there to mark some guidelines with tape before I stuck it on with the 3M. If it's off from the dealer, then the installer may have not done it properly. 1/4" is not that big of a deal, but if it bothers you, bring it up with the dealer. Also if it's off by that much then the overlap on the back of the bumper will be off too so there would be a space.

E92Vancouver

Thanks, I brought it up with the dealer. They offered to redo it. I said no, because I did not want the paint to possibly pull. Also, pulling up the protector would weaken the adhesion, prompting it to release and become unglued at a later date.

Instead, the dealer gave me some cash back and a discount on other items I purchased.

Krisbo26

Please help - I am dying to see the pics that you posted on the sport running boards but can't see them - do you know why?

gtinmia

Here is his link with his pics. https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-mdx-...guards-929493/

Very nice ride jchoi5 !