After two summers with the RDX in the super heat and sun, and getting frustrated with the vehicle never feeling cold due to a lot of reasons: Underpowered AC system, front windshield angle heats the drive and passenger seat and occupants and dash + steering wheel get blazing hot (which heats up the vents), I decide to get the front windshield tinted before a 1,100 mile road-trip in the summer heat.

What a night and day difference. Now I have to turn up the temp a few degrees, as it feels noticeably colder. The dash and steering wheel no longer scorching hot and bonus in reduced glare. Made this road trip a super pleasure - even heading west with the sun in the front windshield all day. After a day in the sun to cure (there is a light haze and small bubbles till the heat in the sun clears them up) it’s optically very clear, can’t even tell it’s on the windshield.

I went with LLUMAR Air 80 (ceramic tint) which is 80% transparent (almost clear), however rejects a lot of heat and has a TSER value of 40-45% and eliminated UV rays. I do have the side windows tinted with ceramic @35%, as being able to see at night and in the rain is important.

 

Update. Drive 550 yesterday - outside temps were 92-97 with bright sun. Typically I would have the ac on 65 degrees and it would be warm inside the vehicle - especially driving into the sun. Previously the top of the dash and steering wheel would be blazing hot and so were the front seats.

Now, after the windshield tint installed - I have the AC set on 69-70, very cool in the cabin, air coming out of the vent is ice old and dash + top of steering wheel is not hot. To me this drastically changed driving in the summer heat. Just changed the air cabin filter too - which I do once a year - $12 on amazon and take 2 minutes (double door in the glove box - so easy my lab could do it).

Another perk - just passed 19k miles, engine is broken in and got 27.7 mpg while averaging 72mph for 570 miles, 94 degrees out and ac on. Tires at 38psi and regular gas. Vast improvement from doing the same trip last year and getting 24.7 mpg. Plus - I just change the Engine air filter too - $20 - a few "push-pins" and remove 4 screws/bolts for the air-cleaner box and thats it".

 

I love mine, have 55% ceramic tint on mine and every piece of glass in the vehicle short of driver/passenger glass and those have 20% to match the color and darkness of the back windows. AC doesn't seem like it has to work hard at all to keep the vehicle cool.

 

Has anyone tried adding tint to the pano roof? Don't know if the pano cover is enough to keep the cabin temps down in the middle of summer.

 

With a light quality ceramic film (LLumar or Xpel), sure that would help a lot too. As the sunroof is factory tinted, but rejects minimal heat and the shade on the pano roofs are thin. The shade helps - but the glass is no where as good as a Tesla roof which rejects a ton of radiant heat and UV rays. Some shops won't tint sunroofs, as tint (any - including ceramic) increases the temp of the glass (reflects the rays out) and could crack it.

My experience us you get the biggest bang for your money and comfort, tint all the windows with ceramic (including the rear factory glass + windshield) - as that will make a huge difference in cabin temps. The windshield tint reduces the dash heat drastically - which keeps the vent cool and AC air coming out of the super cold. Then just keep the pano roof sunshade closed (really wish there was a option on the Aspec to omit it - never use it).

 

Are there any potential issues with tinting the windshield and the front facing cameras in the windshield?

 

Ceramic tint is amazing! Highly recommend

 

No, the area where the cameras are does not get tinted. There is a large section of black dots around the camera system and the tint is normally brought to its border or slightly over and stopped.

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

Thanks...I made note of what you did. We had tinted a Mazda we bought our daughter when she turned 16 (that had lousy air) but don't recall it making much of a difference. Maybe the 'ceramic' makes the difference, and I doubt we got that back in the day. We just bought a new car and will look into this. In Vegas, every little bit helps.

 

The ceramic tints are next level, much much superior to the tint of old.

 

Generally, about how much would a llumar air 80 front windshield 'tint' run?

 

Depends on the shop, get some phone quotes. Got mine done in Florida while on a trip at Arts Window Tinting in Melbourne - $125.00 (got a few quotes for $150-$180 - only wanted Llumar Air 80 and got a great referral on their quality installs) no muss, fuse or Tesla surcharge 😝 (the latter is a real thing - most places want double a standard vehicle to tint the windows). Depending on your state, other places will allow you to tint it darker (50% would be my max for the windshield - but I didn’t want it to impede night driving at all or risk the change of getting a ticket).

Full ceramic makes a world of difference in heat reduction. This tint rejects 45% of the radiant heat coming through the front windshield, but looks virtually clear. The bonus is the reduced bright glare on a sunny day. They did an amazing job, can’t even see one bubble or blemish. Optically amazing tint from LLumar, assume Xpel is similar.

For me, I wish I would have done it when I got the vehicle and the windows tinted 2 years ago. It’s a game changer in the summer in the south.

 

Thanks. I found the closest Llumar shop online which is not too far. At that price range I’ll definitely get my windshield done. We just bought a new car so the rest of the tint is dealer installed, whatever they used. If ceramic is that good maybe I’ll talk my wife into getting her car done as the tint is quite old, although hopefully we’ll have her car replaced by year end also. I would like to get the new card giant sunroof done as well, although reading posts here sounds like that may not be as advisable.

 

Honestly that depends entirely on where you live. Ball park for a windshield I'd imagine is anywhere from $150-$350 but again entirely depends on your location and who does it (tint shop/independent person).

 

I've read things about tinting the sunroof leading to it shattering on other forums but I am not entirely sure the accuracy of that.

 

Depends on how big the glass is and what tint you put on it. Tint reflects the IR heat out of the vehicle - but also increases the temp of the glass. My tinter said thats it's perfectly fine to tint the Acura's dual window pano roof. Probably would go 35% high end ceramic (with a high TSER value) that would reduce the cabin heat (as the thin sunshade does very little). Darker tint doesn't necessarily cut more heat - more light, but virtually minimal increases in IR heat.

LLumar IRX and Xpel Prime XR Plus are the best ceramic tints out there. If you live in super sunny and 100+ summer temps - its worth a little more for the best heat rejection. Otherwise, LLumar CTX and Xpel XR Black are great ceramic options too.

Personally I Never use the pano roof - wish it was an option to delete it - rather have performance brakes and adjustable suspension - especially on the Aspec.

 

Just curious why you chose 80 over 50? As you said, the 80 has little to no tint, I did not think the 50 was really all that much as and am strongly considering that for my windshield.

 

We've never had a car that we've added tint to but thanks to your posts here my wife and I have decided to go ahead and have this done. We're most interested in the UV blocking and the heat rejection will be an added bonus.

We will be having the windshield and front doors done first and then maybe the sunroof later. I have 2 quotes for the LLumair, one was $750. and the other was $500. The quote for Xpel was $650.

 

1) 50% is much darker - doesn’t really matter in bright sunlight, but drive at night down a dark street, highway or in the rain…it’s hard to see out of less than 70% (xpel has 70% and Llumar has 80% for windshield tint. Look at the specs, TSER and IR heat rejection between 70/80% windshield tint and 50% ceramic are not that far apart).
1a) As one gets older, night vision declines.
1b) Don’t confuse “tint color” with “tint effectiveness and heat reduction + UV blocking) when deciding on windshield tint. There is a little color to the tint, just not as noticeable as 35% or 50%. Plus, the factory windshield already has a tint to it.
2) Heat rejected from 50% is not much more than 80% ceramic tint,
2a) All other windows are tinted with ceramic and dark already.
3) Wearing sunglasses in 50% windshield tint makes it too dark for me.
4) Road tripping through multi different states - all with different tint laws - didn’t want to risk getting pulled over and a ticket.
5) Most states it’s illegal to tint the front windshield below the AS-1 line. So virtually clear windshield tint is a safe option.

My goal was to reduce the massive heat coming through the windshield without having any affect driving - especially at night. That was achieved by doing the windshield in addition to all other windows. The reduction in heat on the dash and front seats makes the AC work much better as I noted,

50% would be fine for most, just not me. Hope that answers your question.

 

That helps a lot. I could only see '50' in the display they had set up, which ran from 80...to 5 (?) It didn't look all that dark, but maybe at night it would be. I suffer from your '1A' point. I'll go with 80. Thank you.

 

I didn't get any window tints on my RDX like i did on my previous cars. I will consider doing it if I buy my lease out or start a lease on a new one. In the mean time I have found that it does seem to help if you position the driver (and passenger side) vents all the way in the up position and facing each other, it seems to distribute cooler air better.

 

I too suffer from inferior night vision, thus 70-80% (xpel or Llumar Air) and you’ll be happy.

Looking at the tint on the board at a tint shop in brigh light, is not similar to being on your vehicle with all windows tinted and the roof shade closed. That makes a big difference.

I have the drivers and passenger doors at 30%, and rear windows at 50% (over the factory tint - which is more color than UV and heat rejection). So it aids in privacy, and also super heat rejection and no harmful UV rays. I went with Llumar CTX on the sides and back, if I was to do it again - probaly go IRX. As the Texas summer heat is brutal and all the states I just drove through too.

 

I no longer worry about vent positioning much after getting the front windshield tinted with ceramic. You can actually touch the top of the dash and your steering wheel on a 100+ degree sunny days without burning your hand. The AC comes out of the dash vents much cooler now, as noted I use to drive on 65 temp, now between 68-70. it took me 26 months to do it, as I never had the windshield tinted on any other vehicle I owned (all the sides and back windows, just never the windshield) - my test was a 600 mile drive through the south in sunny mid 90 temps and was so surprise with the comfort it added.

Changing the air cabin filter yearly helps too. That’s a 5 minute item and Amazon sells replacements for $10-$12.

 

Thanks...we're in! We decided to go for 50 mostly because I am a migraine sufferer and light is a trigger----50 was a nice reduction in windshield glare. With that said, this is day one, we did two cars (one of which had a couple tiny imperfections in the glass which the tint highlights), and will see how it goes. As I see it, the only real risk is night-time driving so if that presents as a problem, we'll just have it removed and go from there. But thank you again....I had no knowledge of ceramic and hopefully that will be a great solution against the heat, which seems on a relentless tear over the past couple weeks.

 

Good choice, 50% is still not dark. Should be fine for night time driving, You should definitely see and feel a big difference in cabin temps and comfort now. I sure do and will be on all my next vehicles.

 

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How do you like the windshield tint? Help in glaze and heat reduction? Notice your main photo if of a Genesis SUV (GV70?). How does that compare to the RDX?

 

What is the stock light transmission percentage on the factory privacy glass?

I had 20% all around on my last car, but the RDX looks closer to 35% to me and I want it to match.

 

Believe the rest windows of the RDX is closer to 20% (rear door, quarter windows and tailgate), definitely not 35%, as I have LLumar Ceramic CTX 30% on the driver and passenger doors - lighter than the rear. Depending on what state you live in. - 20% on the front doors may not be legal. Ask your local tint shop.

Plus - with my windshield tinted now - the front windows look a little darker due to the reduction in light coming through the windshield.

 

The 20% I've got on the front two windows matches the rear windows well.

 

So far I love it the 50 tint...one of those things I wish I had done years ago, and for sure will always do from now on. It is very noticeable in heat reduction, and I really appreciate the lack of sun shining straight through that windshield. The only thing I have not done yet is drive at night to see how that work out in the dark. Partly because it it gets dark so late for the time being, and partly because as a privilege of age, by 9PM I am in bed! Soon enough that will change and I will get to check it out. We gave our '19 RDX to our daughter a few weeks ago because the '08 528 we previously gave her was getting too expensive to repair (typical BMW) She is 8+ months pregnant with first baby and I wanted to make sure she had something reliable to drive in. That was the other car we got the 50 tint on the windshield. The RDX only had 20K miles after 5 years, so with proper maintenance it should have a long life in front of it. Our original intent to replace the RDX was the '23 GLC, but MB is having more than their fair share of problems with this all new SUV, and they are on the wrong end of a tow truck too often. I'm sure they will eventually get it figured out. We bought the GV70 and so far (yes, only 4 weeks) it has been great. It's quiet, the 4 cyl seems plenty powerful, and has enough technology and features that I'm sure it will take me another 5 years to figure it all out. We have one car left to replace by year end, an '03 fully loaded V6 Accord in literally like-new condition (80K miles). That replacement has a good chance of being the GLC, but we'll see. I talk myself in and out of EV's about every other day. But until the infrastructure to charge them improves a lot, I doubt that will happen. But anyway, thanks to you for the original post. Acurazine has been such a great source of information, help, advice and so on over the years. It's too bad more people are not aware of these 'blogs'.

 

We had the windshield and front doors done with the Air 80 tint last week. This is the first thing we've done to the car that I can honestly say was worth the cost. It's been in the mid to high 90's here and while we haven't changed the 68° setting, we can run the fan at a lower and quieter speed. I also noticed that the ventilated seat fans stayed on 1 or 2 bars where they normally would be on 3 on any kind of a warm day. Overall the car just feels much more comfortable.

We're seniors and don't care to drive much at night anymore but I had occasion to get an early start home from San Diego Saturday. It was dark for the first couple of hours and I'm kind of glad we didn't go any darker on the tint. I've always thought that the headlights on the RDX were the best we've had on a car but they seemed very noticeably less bright looking through the tint. Not dangerous by any means but not near as bright as I remember.

 

Still have not driven our '50' at night, but that the RDX has the best headlights we have ever had on a car is not an overstatement.

 

I will be looking forward to hear what your opinion of the 50 is after you've had a chance to drive your car at night. Hopefully it will be fine and a non issue.

 

Awesome! Completely agree it was well worth the costs. Makes driving a lot more comfortable.

 

I purchased a CPO 2022 RDX Aspec SHAWD 2 weeks ago and the first thing I did was have the windshield tinted with Llumar Air 50. In Florida it's not a luxury...lol! The car stays nice and cool during the day and I really don't notice the tint at night.

 

Humm? LLumar Air windshield tint only comes in 80% or 90%. Did you mean LLumar ceramic window tint - IRX or CTX in 50%?

50% is a little darker, similar TSER values and makes a world of difference in the hot, sunny summers. That should reduce a lot of sun glare too. Good to hear you don't notice much of a difference at night - my 80% down a dark road is a little harder to see out of than the clear factory windshield - but not by much.

 

Then yes it probably is ceramic 50. Loving it!

 

Yeah I don't think I'd ever go lower than 80% on the front. What a nightmare that would be on dark country roads.

 

The LLumar 50 we just had put on 2 cars is Nano-something. The installer said it had very good heat rejection—-amongst the best. We have driven after dark now. Seemed fine but time will tell. Both cars have excellent headlights so that’s a great help. If it doesn’t work out we will just have it pulled and get the 80 put on so not sweating that part. We have one more car to buy before year end and planning on 50 there. Remain so thankful for the ‘ceramic’ tip…in Las Vegas heat it is seemingly priceless, and 50 tint during the day has been a helpful tool in fighting headaches. I think we moved to the desert in ‘87 so if ceramic tint was around then…I wish we would have had it then.