2004TL_believer

Just picked up my new TL and want to keep the dings off in parking lots. Anyone have the side moldings installed? Don't want to mess with the clean sharp lines of the car.

-=¤willhaven¤=-

i like they way they look myself. and its much cheaper to replace a dinged molding than get a dent in the door fixed

moregrip

get'em, I'm buying mine tomorrow, I didn't get a ding, but there was some paint scrapedge after parking outside while shopping. In some ways thay add to the styling, check out the brochure.

moreace

only the cool members with class and style

Ron A

I got them, and also I am getting the door edge guard moldings. I believe in protecting my car as much as possible, and besides that I like the way they look.

rets

You need some time to get used to it, then you'll like it.

digital_b

yep dont listen to the goofs who think paying for dent removal is better than preventing them. how stupid is that?

moregrip

RonA, fyi, the parts guy told me that if you have the side body molding you can't get door edge gaurds, won't fit right.

marquis

Got mine too....Personally, I like the look they give the car, but that's a personal thing. You'll get as many opposite opinions on the look, and even the effectiveness of them. To each his own, I guess.

Ron A

Good catch. You are right. But my dealer is helping me out, as a good will gesture. I told them I really wanted the door edge moldings so they said if I would buy them, they would remove the front door BSM and put a new set on and also install the door moldings for me. Only cost to me is the door moldings, which is a good deal.

boltjames

The side moldings are hideous. Don't do it. The only reason you don't want a 'ding' is because it's visible and hurts the exterior appearance of the car in the eyes of others, correct? So two choices:

1. Fix the one or two dings that you're likely to get in the next 162 weeks as they happen, and have a gorgeous car for 160 weeks (no dings) and a semi-unattractive car for 2 weeks (waiting for a ding removal appointment).

2. Put the Ugly Puffy Bumps From Hell on the sides of your car and have a laughable joke for 162 straight weeks.

Bottom line: The UPBFH's wreck the look of the car. Can't have a bold and stylistic squared indent running the entire length of the car and then offset it with a rounded and puffy bubble below. Any freshman in design school can tell you that.

sfintel

My car is living proof that your parts guys is wrong. Also, if you go to the 'build and price' section of Acura's web site and look up door edge guards, you will see: "For maximum protection, Door Edge Trim can be used with Body Side Molding, if installed at the same time"

cM3go

i park far, I don't want anyone coming near my car

ajeetm

So how exactly does one remove the BSM if they do so desire?

Nandito28

I personally think the body moldings mess with the lines of the car....in a way it makes it look "crowded" .....To many lines.

flvol77

wow you brought this post back from the dead.

I don't think you can.

I hate the look, sorry but I think it looks bad.

Nandito28

Damn, I didnt know it was this old. I think if you remove them you'll have exposed holes.

Ron A

No holes and easily removed. Just slide something smooth like a thin piece of plastic under either end, or you can just lift it up, and if you pull carefully and don't bend it too much, you can re-use it if you want to by getting some new double sided sticky tape.

If you are really worried about it, you can heat them a little with a hair dryer, but it isn't really necessary.

I watched them remove mine so they could put them back on after they put the door edge guard moldings on (dealer paid because they put it on wrong) and I have the old ones which, as I said, are in good enough condition to use again if something happens to the ones on the car.

Gdog

Got body side moldings and door edge guards. My door edge guards are the same material as the clearshield (3M protection film). On WDP, you have to look really close to see the door edge guards. It's a matter of personal preference. Obviously, I like them.

flvol77

anyone know where to buy door edge guards online?

Ron A

Either here or here

acurasofla

Bought mine on eBay at a great price from an Acura dealer. Easy to install but you have to take care with alignment. Fortunately, the templates provided make it come together and they look great!

jwclements1

I like them on mine. I didn't notice they were not standard until it was brought up here, I don't think they stick out

flvol77

Thanx...I lost the site...I can't buy anything from delray, they pissed me off when I went to buy my car, but thanx for the other site.

A_UFO

For me the problem is that even with the protective side moldings, you are still likely get your door ding or scraped from the other vehicles due to the shape of their outer edge of their doors may completely miss the side molding. Therefore, I decided to pass on the side moldings to avoid the moldings pealing over-time.

dsc888

I got them and they are definitely worth it. I got my first door incident just a few ago. A 1 inch strip of red paint was left on my side moulding. My door was saved! It took almost 1 and a half year before it was put to use. All I have to do now is to clay off the red paint when the weather gets warmer.

dsc888

HEK

Side moldings are like steel toe shoes, most likekly something will fall on your feet and hit you just above the steel toe and will hurt like hell ( trust me I have to use these). Most dings happen right above or below these moldings as I have noticved on all the cars that had it, so I'd say park far away from those ppl who drive crappy cars and those that are so fat tha have to open the door far enough to get their fat a..s out of the car ....grrr

gurneyeagle

Great point HEK. Whether the BSM's distract from the lines of the car or not is a personal matter of taste.

My problem with them is twofold:

1. They are probably too low to provide protection; and

2. They are going to get nicked, chipped, and scratched just like the door, so what have you gained?


It seems the BSM on most new cars is really just another trinket for dealers to charge extra for.

BSM's became popular in the late 60's when GM introduced thin hard vinyl mouldings that were strategically placed and actually added to the lines of the car. They generally ran from the edge of the front fender to the end of the rear fender.

As greenhouses grew larger, the moulding was shifted down on the doors to avoid conflicting with the lines of the car.

Sadly, most people have no respect for other people's property, and just crash their doors into other people's cars. My wife's Odyssey looks like it's been in a war zone on the right side. She parks on the far left end spot in a lot, but the "unwashed" of the world have taken their toll on the right side of the car.

I actually come to work early just to get a "good" spot. I also park way out at the end of mall lots. My '01 CL Type-S had zero dings when I traded it in back in September.

Unfortunately, door dings, like windshield cracks and rock chips are a fact of life. Don't even get me started on the cloud of bugs I have to drive though each Spring on the way to work. Sometimes the front end looks like it is covered with fur!

gurney

jmbnova

My TL came with the BSM for no charge. When I had my first TL I didnt want them and thought they made the car look bad. But when I picked up my second TL it had them and as I looked at it I realized why I changed my mind and think they look good.

The recessed line at the top of the door is set off by the BSMs 'bulge' ina way that makes it artisticaly appealing to the eye.

DISCLAIMER: This is only MY OPINION... I am not trying to tell anyone anything anyway anyhow. Merely writing down my own opinion for others to read.

onehogwild2006

As you can see, it really is a matter of personal preference.....some like BSM, some don't. But the BSM on my TL has taken a pretty good hit that would have dented the door, but I just got a small scratch on the BSM that easily touched up. My previous car, and M3, didn't have BSM and I had it at the Dent Dr. 5 or 6 times to fix door dinks (at a higher cost than BSM by the time I went in so many times). I am damn picky and learned the hard way to live with BSM, even though I like the look better without them (well, until I get a dent.....).

Juronimo

I have them on mine and they ahve already saved my car. Not too long ago, I saw someone slam their car door into mine and it hit the moulding. No scratch or dent was on the car.

henoblah

Anyone have a picture of them installed?

gqchicago

I put on both the BSMs and Door Edge guards on my new '06 TL... wasn't a problem at all. I had the dealer do the BSMs and did the door edge guards myself. Note: the installation instructions fot the door edge guards require a little touch up paint so I had to pick up a bottle of it at the dealer anyhow ($10 when I was there getting my weekly free car wash).


As far as looks/taste, I think it's a matter of preference personally, I really like the way the car looks with them still just as much or more, and I hate getting dings and edge bangs. My wife and I park in our garage really close to each other anyhow, and w/kids, well, the reality is one car door bangs the other and you're dented, so anything that helps prevent it is just too practical for me, and with 2 new white Acura's.... hate it. Even with it someone dinged my TL bumper which was $450 in paint/repairs (first weekend I owned the car)....and we got 2 huge scratches in both right doors on the MDX that was another $400 at the dealer to repair....so I'm all for doing anything that can minimize the body shop visits, it's gonna happen but why not minimize it. Next I want to get the clear bra on, that'd be nice too I think on the TL. For the MDX I looked at a polished chrome rear crash bar that fits into the trailer hitch so someone can't ding you as easily from the rear when parallel parking...

Lear

LOL!! That is a great and totally true analogy about Body Side Molding. All I have to say is it takes away from the lines of the TL. But if you are a safe consumer that cares more about safety and keeping your car dent free in a sensible way then BSM is good for you. If you are consumer that wants a hot car and has enough money to get the dents removed which you probably are if you have the money for a TL. I would get the TL with no BSM and if I noticed dents maybe c onsider the BSM. To each their own!!

Lea

Edit mod: vp911

vp911

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Macruz19

I'm looking into to the BSM. Is it easy to install, w/o drilling??

dsc888

Yep. They are held on with double sided sticky tape. You need to seriously clean the door and finish it off with a nice rubbing alcohol rub down to remove all residue. There is a paper alignment tool that you will tape on your door. No drilling required. But make sure you do it in a warm environment so the tape will adhere.

dsc888

Macruz19

Thanks, a lot. I'll try to get a discount for the part at my dealership

joed40

Have BSM on both my MDX and TL. I put them on my MDX, the only thing that I had to do was to double up on the tape, the molding wouldn't allow the tape to contact the surface of the car. It was easy, and took me 20 minutes. Something to think about if you plan on having a dealership do this. They can probably do it quicker than I, so don't let them charge you for more than 30 minutes, regardless of what their "book" says.

Hawhyen51

Check on this thread for more photos.