Found nothing in the manual or anything directly on point. Aftermarket tint installers are stating that factory tint does not provide UV protection but obviously need to take that with a. Grain of salt. Does the 3G RDX factory tint provide UV protection?

 

Yes it does and here is a simple test.

Find somebody with a pair of transition glasses (those glasses that turn dark in the sun). It is the UV that "activates" the darkening.

Take the glasses and put them in a case for at least a half hour to make sure that they are as clear as they get. Put the car in the sun (A/C like you would normally have it) Get in the car and put the glasses next to the window you want to test (but away from direct airflow from the A/C).

Look at them in about 5 minutes. If they are dark, then there is no UV protection. If they are slightly tinted then there is some UV protection. If they stay clear (most will) then you have significant UV protection.

This is a far better test than the fake news ads.

 

We had a similar discussion at Ridgeline Owners Club on this subject a few months ago.

https://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/...tory-tint.html

 

My regular eyeglasses are transition lenses. They darken on a bright cloudy day or even if I stay in the shade where there's no direct source of UV. They also have UV protection, so I'm not sure how that would work. UV coatings are usually on the surface of the lens.

But I'll try your experiment just for the helluvit. And what's the AC have to do with it?

 

Not much - except you don't want to put them into a sweltering car.

You'll get UV even on an overcast day, but you'll note that your lenses don't darken when in your car. The windshield in our cars block the vast majority of UV.

 

Pretty much as you described. I left my transition glasses on the dash while wearing my prescription Sunglasses. They got slightly darker but not much. Then, I put them back on in direct Sunlight and they were completely dark in 1-2 minutes. They don't get as dark as my Sunglasses; they probably only get to about a 50% tint.

So, I learnt something.

 

The side windows probably don't block as much UV so you can try the same test with the side windows - then roll down the windows to see if the lenses darken more.

Tint shops love to say "factory glass offers no protection" but that isn't quite true.

 

There's basically 3 things to look for -- UVA, UVB and Infrared. All glass blocks UVB.

UVA is the one that causes skin cancer. Infrared causes heat. I have not been able to find reliable info on how Acura glass performs. I also asked the question of Acura customer service and they asked me to talk to the dealer and the dealer didn't have any info.

Some of the European manufacturers (e.g. Alfa Romeo and Jaguar) offer the option of an IR windshield.

 

According to research performed by a doctor for the Journal of American Medical Association using a sample of 29 automobiles from 15 manufacturers with model years ranging from 1990 to 2014, all of the side windows blocked between just under half and almost all UV-A rays. Windshields block almost all UV-A rays. All glass blocks almost all UV-B rays. The age, model, make, or price of the vehicle had no direct correlation to the amount of UV-A blockage. For example, a Mercedes E550 blocked less UV (44%) than Toyota Corolla (67%). The Honda and Acura models in the sampling blocked about two-thirds or more UV-A rays.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...rticle/2522190