acuraddict

After five days, my tint has multiple vertical scratches caused by something inside the door. What should I do? Acura needs to address this, and fast. Lots of dealerships are tinting the cars, and this is going to be an ongoing problem.

Any suggestions on how to approach my dealer for support in getting Acura to take responsibility? Even though I did not get the windows tinted by the dealer, the fact is that this would have happened regardless of who did the tinting. I had mine done at a shop that regularly does work for Jaguar, Ford, Saturn and other dealers in their neighborhood, and they've been in business for 14 years. This same shop did both of my other TLs and nothing like this ever happened.

I'm not happy, and I need advice.

Groo21

What brand of tint?

RJC RSX

well you're not going to get it covered under warranty unfortunately (anything from acura i mean)

moreace

At least w/ tint places in MA, most give u a life time guarantee and the shop will take care of problems. Other people have tint and have not been having your trouble.

acuraddict

Sun Control is the brand on the receipt. It says its guaranteed agains cracks and loss of reflection for life, and the tint job has a five year guarantee for bubbles, peeling, etc.

neuronbob

I don't think Acura is going to take any responsibility for making the cars difficult to tint, as they will likely only tell you that the car is not meant to be tinted. In cases where the dealer installed tint, the dealer will take responsibiity, or your tint shop. I keep hearing stories like this about scratches on tint and I've therefore refrained from tinting my car.

vtechbrain

The car does not need it anyway. Tints should just be illegal. My2cts.

Eiffel

I am still debating whether to get tint or not. I do not want it for the privacy aspect, but I do want it for sun shading and of course the cooling effect.

I am willing to wait until summer or until many here post and declar tints to risky.

Mav

I tried to warn you.

ragin

Here's my 2 cents: tint should be standard.

The car may not need it in WI, but you may change your mind if you lived in Florida.

need4spd

Yes I remeber being warned, but it was too late for me, mine were tinted on 10/6

Yes, I do have the scratches, although small and only visable from the inside in bright sun.

FYI - I got my for sun and heat

need4spd

Thanks, waited 7 days before opening. Have been in contact with the dealer, thanks!

HacksawHilliard

Yeah, I was told to wait 24 hours before using the windows. No problems so far.

vtechbrain

I grew up in the caribbean. The sun roof is deeply tinted. The side and rear windows much less so. Tints interfere with driver vision (thats why I'm against them). people gripe that vans and SUVS have tints but the tints are in the non vision windows. The great majority of the solar radiation in your hot vehicle is through the winshield, which you can't tint anyway. A reflective windshield sunblocker will give you the majority if the protection you need when your car is parked.

Z Factor

I wonder why people make such comments, and do not consider other peoples needs. I'm sure if you read that I think chains for snow tires, rear defrosters, heated mirrors, etc. should be illegal, or not built into the cost of cars, you would be :wow: .
I've never driven in snow a day in my life, yet I understand the need for such things.

The fact of the matter is, not everyone lives in WI, and in regions of the country where sun and heat are a big issue, tints are a necessity. They not only help protect the interior from the damaging rays, but help tremendously keeping the temperature down, and reduce glare which can be blinding.

I'm not attacking you, but rather taking the time to post this response in an effort for you to re-consider your opinion.

ncbuckeye

I had this happen on my 03'. they asked if I went to the beach lately and I did. they said you need to take the door apart and clean the dust strip in there. Sand or something gets in there and scratches the tint. It's not the car or the tint it's the elements in the air.

lovemyTL

In dudes defense, they actually do hinder driver view. I'm sorry, but that kinda supercedes damaging the interior. I have 20% tint on my TL, and at night there are times I may have to roll my windows down to see if I'm running the curb or not.

By the way, your defense kinda sucks. Heated mirrors and rear defrosters in no way impair a driver's vision. And chains on snow tires are illegal. They rip up roads and make your taxes go higher. Im not attacking you, but cmon...at leasttt make your argument reasonable if you want him to change his opinion

moreace

His argument was just fine. You are the one he needs to get a clue. He was not comparing vidibility issues, but necessity issues. He did not mean rear defrosters or side defroster hinder vision at all. He was moving towards the fact that they are for use primarily in colder climates. You think somebody in California cares if the car has side mirror defrosters? Then he was nice enough to ackowledge that he knows the entire world does not live in these warm climates and that they are needed for cars that exist where it snows. Seeing as he does not experience winter there is no way he would know snow chains are illegal, probably just saw them in movies. Further he is right in everyway about the tint and i agree 100%. If you have to roll down your window then maybe you should consider glasses or a lighter tint. Legal limit in someplace is 35%, give this is not everywhere, but if you tint at 35% you get all the benefits he mentioned about tint to some degree and can still see fine. I doubt you would have to roll down your window at all at night. A number of my friends have it. Next time why don't you stop and think before saying something stupid about a poster and accusing him of saying something, that if you took the time to read and understand, you would realize he wasn't saying at all. to stay in the spirit of the thread, I'm not attacking you, but c'mon, respect your fellow posters and use your brain a little, that's what it is there for. You're whole post kinda sucks lovemytl. I understand people who take both positions for or against tint, but you have no weight, argument, or common sense on your side. You should know when you are "running the curb" by the way. Preach on Z factor, nice post

bollywood21

After reading about all these tinting problems. I am not going to get it. I would freak out, if i noticed scratches appearing in my windows.
I like how the tint looks on the car, but it is really not needed where I live.

Z factor,
You would melt away like an ice cube if you didn't have tinted windows. The acura dealerships down south should offer that service with warranty.

I wish they offered a dam rear sunshade that would make my wife and my baby happy.

lovemyTL

Honestly, bro...I was just pointing out logical fallicies. The only point I see is glare. I GUESS tint can help that, but everyone experiences glare. Snow is one of the greatest reflectors of sunlight. He also mentioned keeping temperature and damaging sun rays out. Temperature part - only really in a parked car. For the sun rays aspect - maybe.

I see his argument on needing tint. All I was saying is that its probably not strong enough for someone to reconsider. Personally, I tint because I want the privacy as well as the look.

One more thing...trying to park parallel without the use of ur tilting right side mirror (which is pretty much what its like with my tint) is A LOT harder. Especially if you're already used to it. Therefore, I pull the window down so I can USE the mirror.

moreace

I don't use my mirrors at all to park, I just parallel park on feel, but I have driven my cars for years so I pretty much know it. I am actually suprised u read that whole rambling reply. I was just in a bad mood this morning. Usually don;t go off like that.

Z Factor

Wow:wow: ,

I didn't mean to start up any hard feelings :argue: .

My intent was only to give a different perspective to someone who lives in a region of the country where tints are probably not a desirable option. I've since read that he use to live in the islands, and objects to the visibility issue. My only response to that would be that a driver should not tint their windows to the degree that they cannot safely see at night. Some of us can see through limo tint, and others are blind with no tint at all.

As to my using the comparative analogy, I think Moreace gave an accurate retort in my defense (Thanks ) .

The bottom line is that tint has a variety of uses that are helpful, and I only used a few examples. Although I do like the look of tints on certain cars, it is a functional issue with those of us who live in hot and sunny conditions year round.

In addition to tints, I do use a reflective sunshade for the front windshield, and leave the windows slightly cracked to help keep the heat down. I haven't gotten my new 04 tinted yet, but I do not anticipate a problem since my salesman assured me that no "tinting problem" exist with our cars. He even offered to have it tinted for me at the dealership at their cost which is in line with his overall quality customer care and professionalism .

This new feature of being able to roll all the windows down, and opening the moonroof before entering the car is a great feature. It allows those of us who are use to sweating while getting into the car before rolling them down a huge relief.

Bollywood

As you may have read the dealer does offer a tinting service that is backed up by them. Their prices are a little higher, but worth it if you don't already have a reliable person to do it. In my case, I have a person who has tinted all of my vehicles, and he does a great job, and I stay loyal as a result.

Accuraddict

I would second what others have said and try getting the installer to back up his job. Good luck

vtechbrain

I'm not attacking you, but rather taking the time to post this response in an effort for you to re-consider your opinion. [/B][/QUOTE]
I see your point I lived in El paso and I did tint the rear windows to keep my baby cool. My point is that most peolpe get tints for the cool factor, not for the sun problem. Front side windows should not be tinted because they impair vision significantly at night, specially under adverse weather. There is nothing wrong with tinting windows you don't normally look through ie, rear passenger. But since that looks very goofy nobody does it. If the passengers have issues with a hot sun and cannot stomach tinting the back and not the fronts then rollable shades are a good option. On the TL the factory tint should be sufficient for anything except the desert southwest. Just my opinion.

zexi

Perhaps car's that are getting scratched are defective, others are having tint done and are not complaining. I am having Huper Optik 40% done on Sat 11/29.

I will tell you what happens

bralio

Couldn't agree more - I couldn't live without dark windows... I even had 'em up north... why bother getting into a hot car? Also, why bother letting people see ya?

HacksawHilliard

Maybe where you live but in the states that have mountain passes like Colorado and Oregon, there are times where the state ploice won't allow you on the freeway without chains regardless of whether you have snow tires or not (unless you have 4WD).

acuraddict

Well. I didn't mean to start a fight, but there was some great advice on this thread. I'm going back to the tint shop tomorrow, and hoping the guy will either admit that the film is bit on the cheap side, or realize he made a mistake when he told me the tint was dry enough to roll down the windows that same day. In the meantime, I did a stop payment on the check I wrote him just to be sure we work it out. That was an impulsive, emotional move on my part, but I was really pissed off when I saw all those scratches. I did leave him a message telling him not to try cashing the check until we resolved it.

I'm really curious how many people have tint but no scratches, and what brand of tint they have. Maybe I should post another thread with that specific question.

Thanks guys, and keep the advice coming.

BTW: I agree that anything darker than 35% is too risky, and simply a bad idea in terms of maintaining a safer car. If you're getting 20-20% tint becuase you want privacy, either stop picking your nose or smoke that joint before you get in the car.

Eiffel

vtechbrain, does Kansas City quality as the southwest? Cause it sure gets hot here in the summer.

Z Factor

I guess we just fundamentally disagree then because I think you should be able to tint all windows, including the visor are of the front windshield(although the factory tint seems pretty good there on my new TL).

I always get the darkest legal tints my state allows on all windows, including the front passengers & drivers. I have never had a problem seeing at night, but then again I'm in the city, not in rural areas without street lights. I can also see oncoming traffic with their lights on. If my eyesight starts to fade, I'll lighten the shade, but while living in Florida, I will always have window tinting.

PS When I get my windows tinted, I leave them up for a week, and open the door when I need to pay a toll. I've never once had any peeling, scratching, etc.

moreace

If you don't normally look through your rear window then you might want to evalute how you drive.

adam209

"If you don't normally look through your rear window then you might want to evalute how you drive."

he meant the windows on the rear doors, you know??

moreace

ragin

ROFLMAO.

2k4TLkev

i got my windows tinted by the dealer for free havent seen any kind of marks or scratches...and if that does happen its cover under warranty by dealer since they did it so i really dont have to worry...you guys who are lookign to buy the 04 tl..tell them to include tinting in your deal that way wahtever they do to your car is covered under warranty by them...just my 2 cent

I-MOD

Mine has been tinted for over a month now and not one line. I think the dip**** who tinted your cars didn't put the door panel back on right. Just my opinion. It's not an Acura issue.

l8rg8r

Yeah! Come to Texas! It gets damn hot down here!

jdb8805

Obviously not from Texas -- or anywhere else where inside temps of cars can reach 150 degrees when its 110 outside.

Lore

Holy cow! This is an old thread that you just resurrected.

RSA_Secure

Is it true that the tint also produces starry effect in the night when you look thru the rear windshield because of car light from behind? I have been putting off the tinting because of this issue????

Sherlock

RSA: mine does a "little" bit.. more of vertical streaks up and down from where the points of the other cars' headlights are. But it's not bad, and it's more noticeable if you get a tint with high metallic content, that's what refracts/reflects the light around.

And as for the low visibility for tinting side windows ?? I have mine done with 20% tint and 20% mirror (of course ya can't see the mirror on the inside) and I don't have one problem seeing outside. Maybe it's the $250 tint job that is more one way visible than others or what, but many others have said it's easy to see out of my TL.

And for not looking out of the rear passenger windows, eek, those are the people who make lane changes into other cars because they didn't do a thorough check by TURNING OVER YOUR SHOULDER to look, and rely just on mirrors or who/what they thought was around them. I glance from my side mirror, thru my window, thru the rear side window, then out the rear glass when negotiating the roads down here. Then again I took a year of driver's Ed in wisconsin, not a year of John Deere like down here in jaw-jaw.