Hi all, is this level of front panel separation normal?

 

Gap in front headlight?

 

No, not at all. I do not have this on my RDX. It seems as if it is coming loose or you have hit something causing it to seperate.

 

the front plastic bumper is held in with screws and clips. it is very common to see that separation from an impact. an impact will tear the plastic mounting points, making it impossible to line back up...because the plastic hole has been torn or wallered out.

but since we cant see the mounting points to check if it's been torn, maybe..maybe it can be saved. the front bumper needs to come off to inspect mounting points. then if nothing is torn, placed back on the car, hopefully adjusting it correctly.

 

Thanks I haven't hit anything so seems like a form/fit issue. I'll take it to the dealer to check out.

 

I was just going to make similar post. I have the same issue the front bumper seem to be loose and can see gap. I have not hit anything and I've had this gap for awhile but it seems more noticeable now. I will post pictures tomorrow during day light.

 

if it's getting worse, the plastic mounting holes might have ripped. causing the clip/screw to move, which will shift the bumper.

or the bumper isnt fully seated on the headlight mounting point

 

I marked where the headlight mounting point is. in the original photo, you can see it not inserted correctly.

if indeed no impacts happened, then it was installed wrong from the factory.

 

Yeah i have this on my car. I will have to contact dealer and see if they can remove and reinstall the bumper. I can even see from the top view that its not flushed to the fender. One end if pushed out and other end is flushed to fender.

 

I got the same gap on front bumper. Will keep an eye out if the gap get bigger and call the dealer. This is a form & fit issue from the factory. I had these issues with the doors panel alignment and trim panel issue at delivery which the dealer fixed. The fit was still not perfect. It seems quality control is poor on the new RDX. My Accord has better build quality.

 

I have the same gap on the same side, driver side, I think it’s a fit and finish issue or some sagging problem, maybe the screws arnt right enough

 

Yep, mine is on the driver side bumper as well. Passenger side is flushed as it should be.

 

drivers side headlight mount.
the bumper isnt inserted into the mount correctly. it just slips into a crevice

 

Hi all, went to the dealer today. We looked at new RDXs on the lot and all of them had this level of separation more or less. Maybe something to monitor over time. Btw, my old accord doesn't have this issue either lol

 

RDX and maybe all new Acura cars do not have very precise panel gaps throughout the car. If I look closely on my car, I have different width in gaps for rear tail gate. Its just sloppy precision if you ask me. Its pretty common.

 

Yeph! Mine has it too. I stopped looking closely.
It is not terrible, but no where close to perfect or consistent.

 

There are many spots I can see where alignment and gap is off around the car.

I let it slide because its minuscule and not atrocious like Tesla

 

I have a similar gap on my brand new RDX ... and my 2018 Accord has a gap in the same spot.

Honda hasn't exactly been on top of their quality control lately.

 

My 1/20 build doesn't have this larger gap.

Your comment about seeing more like this reminds me of my off center steering wheel issue. I test drove two different cars before buying and both had the same off-center steering wheel. For me to go 2/2 likely meant there were a bunch that had this problem around the time I was buying. Maybe Acura has these limited run assembly problems and leaves them for the dealer to catch?

 

You need to stop looking closely, the precision is not very high. If it looks good from distance, stop examining it with a microscope.
if you want some high precision, maybe need 80k Mercedes , unfortunately many cars dont have precise panel alignment.

 

My door panel gap consistency is good, if not perfect. But I think there's something odd about what the OP has going on.

Doors have variances in their several mounting points. Even the striker and latch can impact alignment. But the molded pieces should join together consistently -- if all is as it should be. This looks like a molding/assembly issue.

 

I agree, mine doesn't look like that, in fact as you said, all my panel gaps are consistent. I am very surprised that the OP didn't get satisfaction from the Acura service dept. They should either see a different dealer, or contact Acura directly. With that said, I don't dwell on them. I do wash the car weekly, so I see all the gaps, and nothing sticks out. (Pun intended) There have been posters here that have panel or door alignment issues that have been resolved to their satisfaction.

 

I just did a wash and sealant on my car so I got very intimate with the panels and gaps. My '20 A-Spec looks nothing like the gaps that OP has presented. The panel gaps are minimal and you certainly can't see the slots like you can in the pics. The car has a little over 10k miles. Are you sure you didn't bump into anything? This is also why I park far away in parking lots and avoid street parking. People are inconsiderate. They'll use your bumper to park and it'll cause things like this without you knowing until you inspect it more closely later on.

 

I don't know why I assumed an impact had been ruled out. This definitely could be impact damage.

Was the bumper panel inspected closely for scuffing that might indicate a low speed tap? It wouldn't take much.

BTW, I'm old enough to remember when cars had actual bumpers. I think that term has long been antiquated when talking about most cars. Even the bumpers on many non-commercial trucks are often crumpled as a result of any bumping. We should just call them what they really are: the deductible.

 

But Teslas are assembled by robots. Robots don't make mistakes, people make mistakes. So sayeth Elan.

 

Hi I went to a different dealership today. Nope I have not hit anything nor has anything hit me. The service specialist told me the same thing as the other one did... this is a characteristic of the car. Here are some pics I took of brand new RDXs.

 

 

It varies per car and it looks less worse on darker colored cars in the pictures but not in person. I didn't see this issue on the MDX however.

 

not a characteristic of the car...bumper isnt inserted correctly into headlight housing..
wish someone was brave enough to fix this per my suggestion of completely removing bumper and reinstalling it..

I can take a pic of my 2006 TL with the same separation, however, I'm the one that didnt insert it correctly, or must have bumped into something.

 

you can see the clips....which is the same thing on the RDX.
I'm just too lazy to fix it, as it doesnt bother me.

 

I'm in no way surprised by this response from the service reps. But I disagree. If my car looked like the pic below prior to sale, I wouldn't take delivery until it was corrected.

Instead of documenting the cars that look like this, I would collect images of those that look properly aligned and use that as a target when talking to the service people. Being a "characteristic" doesn't make it normal.

 

People that take new car delivery rarely take time to examine such details. Nobody expects it.
and they are partially right, the panel alignment is inconsistent on half of the RDX. Its a sloppy manufacturing process that is considered “normal”.

 

I'll offer mine for this purpose:

 

Yours looks pretty good! I live in the southwest where it's 100+ degrees so I wonder if that has something to do with it given we are talking about plastic material. Anyways on my next oil change I'll be asking them to look into this further.

 

And here is a shot from my 2019 Advance. (Other side looks the same): EDIT I also live in the SW (AZ) and it has been over 100 here almost forever, with no letup in sight! Heat should not be an issue. I am certain that yours can be adjusted.

 

I get it that yours look good, but there are many, I dont know, 30-40% that have noticeable variances.
My rear tailgate has a slightly wider gap on one side,
so I went to dealer lot looking at new RDXs, from 10 cars I looked at had the same kind of thing going. Its pretty sloppy.

 

I meant half of cars had it

 

I see this as something other than just the normal variances seen on door panels -- even with other RDXs. Many of the pics here look like like the panel is not installed properly. We can see clips that are not engaged. Sloppy for sure, but likely easily corrected if the dealer service people can be bothered to do their job.

 

Agreed. I just picked up my 2019 from the dealer after having the “no horn” TSB done, which involves removing the front bumper. One side wasn’t aligned properly when I picked it up, so I pointed it out. They had it fixed in 5 minutes: the clip at the top next to the headlight housing was not engaged properly, which threw off the side alignment.

 

It's been over 100 where I live recently and I just noticed a gap on mine. I suspect the heat causes it to warp and/or expand.