Donte99TL

Mods, please make this a sticky for everyone to see.

Ok, here is what the tint shop guy said, if you roll down your window all the way you will see an inner and outer wiper for the window. It’s this thin inner wiper that is made out of hard plastic that is scratching the window tint. If any type of dirt gets stuck in that area it will scratch the window tint. I took a pic for you guys. Tell the tint shop they need to add felt to this hard plastic inner wiper. Here is the part and phone number for where your tint shop can get the felt for the inner wiper. He also said this is happening to a lot of other high-end vehicles like Mercedes, BMW and lexus. It’s just not an Acura thing.

CR Laurence catalog Part #C5901 1"by 90' moleskin channel liner with adhesive. About $17 per roll (800)-421-6144

Donte99TL

I am getting my windows tinted tomorrow and I will take more pics for you guys to see. Price for my tint job is going to be $265.

hickdoc

Thanks, Donte. I think Acura may already know about this if it is happening on upscale models by other mfg.s If not they should by now from 04TL experience and hopefully can fix the problem for future TL's. One of those minor inconveniences of buying the first year new model I guess.

supergreen

thanks for the info!!!!
i just got my windows tinted on friday (and thank god i haven't rolled the windows down yet.)
when i called my tint guy he thanked me for letting him know about the issue. apparently he too has been installing the moleskin liner on higher end cars for about 6 yrs now and didn't realize acura was moving to this style of window insulation.

need4spd

Thanks! Already sent it to my dealer!

waymay1305

Please clarify? How does tint that is applied to the inner side of the window get scratched by a part that's installed on the outer side of the window?

My mistake, I see the error of my ways. i now realize that I'm not looking a wiper.

neuronbob

Thank you. Windows to be tinted with all due speed.

Donte99TL

Well, I just got my windows tinted. Got the felt put in. Can’t roll down my windows for 48 hours but when I can I will take pics of the felt liner. I hope everyone else is doing ok with his or her tint.

aero2424

Is the felt something that Acura will put in, or something extra we pay for when we get the car tinted?

Donte99TL

It's something the tint shop or whoever is installing your tint needs to put in. When they did my car they had to remove the whole door panel. You do pay extra because of the labor involved. The felt itself is pretty cheap.

NOX 3.2

Got the scratches yesterday on my driver side window...

I will buy the felt strip, and try to get the window -repaired.

thanks for the info.

rets

Thanks Donte99TL. Also, if anyone in NYC area has done this work, please kindly suggest any shops it's done the good job for you. I never have tinted vehicles before, so got to ask. Thanks.

supergreen

for those of you in the orange county, ca area...
i had my windows tinted by jeff at "a terrific tint" in mission viejo.
they did a great job and installed the moleskin liner to prevent scratching.
www.aterrifictint.com
he installs the liner on almost every benz that rolls through because apparently the scratched tint has been an issue on those cars for years.

NOX 3.2

Weird:
I looked inside the windows and the rubber strips (inner wipers)and I noticed there is felt in the outside strip but not on the inside one!
(rub your finger along the rubber pieces and you will feel it)

maybe they installed them on the wrong side of the glass.
(the outside of the glass doesn't have tinted film, so there is nothing to scratch)

I cleaned all windows and rubber pieces and vacummed them with a Kirby machine to avoid further scratches until the felt strips arrive...

acuratl04

Do you have to remove whole door panel to install the mole skin felt? Basically what i'm trying to say is there an easier way? Is the door panel hard to remove? My tint guy said that i would have to install the felt myself cause he doesn't do that kind of installation. Is there anybody in Northern Jersey that had there done and have no problems and where did you get it done.

supergreen

my guy had the liner installed before i got back from eating lunch.. less than an hour (installed the tint about a week earlier.) which leads me to believe you don't have to completely remove the door panel. of course, i didn't see it happen so i couldn't tell you for sure.

Quiet man

How much extra are people getting charged for the felt installation.

supergreen

it was around 100 bucks (installed) in addition to the cost of the tint.

Formula 350

Got my car yesterday and lo and behold, they tinted it without me asking. So, I did not think about this thread until I drove away. I have looked at my windows and can not tell if they replaced the window plastic with felt. It does appear that there is some felt string next to the windows, but do not know what original looked like and can not tell with picture above.

Can someone post a picture with the replaced things???

Thanks...

decky243

Does anyone have an answer to this felt installation? Do the door panels have to be completely removed, or is there an easier way to do this? Has anyone had this done WITHOUT totally removing the door panels? I am contemplating having my windows tinted soon. Thanks.

Donte99TL

Formula 350 I will take a pic for so you can see what it looks like. But if you roll down your window you can definitely see the felt. I can even see it with the window up.

decky243 I asked my tint guy about this and said that they would need to remove the door panel if you wanted the felt installed correctly.

decky243

Thanks for the info. It just seems like a pain in the ass. I changed my HID's to 6000k and that was a HUGE pain in the ass. The tires and fender liners must be removed just to replace the headlight bulbs! What was Acura thinking?

chillywilly112

hey supergreen, how much was the total at that place

rets

Cannot imagine how hard it is to replace HID... May I know what's 6000k HID? Why? Change color?

Thanks in advance.

decky243

6000K bulbs just give the lights a purple/blue look. It's just personal preference. I like them much better than the stock ones. I just used my leftover pair from my previous car

supergreen

300 bucks

chillywilly112

thanks supergreen, i have an appointment for tomrorow....so the tint job is still good?? do u have a picture of your car? also what grade of tint did u get? did u pay tax?

supergreen

no tax on tint... for some reason.
yah, still looks great.
i did dark on the rear (one below limo) and medium on the sides.

rets

I asked my dealer for the tint. They have 35% tints without any additional felt installation, $310. Many of 04TLs from their shop have no problem so far, and they believe the good installation could get rid of the damage to the tints.

I should ask them to have gravel near window and roll it down...

What do you think? Thanks.

Formula 350

They said not to roll it down for about 3 to 5 days. So, have not even rolled my windows down on my new car!!

MrAcuraTypeS

Anyone in the Orlando, FL area that has had someone install the fix with the window tint?

jphill0

Anybody recommend a tint shop in the Jax, FL area? Also, is there a particular brand people are using more these days...I remember last time I tinted windows 3M was the way to go...I've heard that tint installs where they remove the door panels are better anyway b/c the lower end of the tint doesn't get pulled up over time. It would seem to me that a good installer wouldn't have to charge much more for the felt installed if he already has the panels off.

acuratl04

Does that mole skin come in black color to match the door trim. I have only ever seen mole skin in tan color???

mitchdeerfield

Remove the sticky on this discussion please.

acuraddict

Yes, it does come in black.

RichRich

What percent Tint is on your TL? Looking to tint my windows but don't know which to use...32% or 22%.

Donte99TL

My moleskin is black. As far as what % tint mine goes, I will have to look at the paper work because I don't remember. I do remember him saying medium tint. Whatever % that is.

RichRich

I heard that cars are coming out with self cleaning rubber against the inside of windows. This is a problem that is scratching tint. Are these installed on '04 TL's?

Donte99TL

I don't think our cars have this.

dtchung

Man, this tinting is becoming real pain. I wonder if my tint dealer knows about this. I thought all cars came with inner wiper. Is this a new thing, or has it always been around on high end cars?

Did Legends have this feature? I had '93 Legend coupe before my TL and I never had scratch issue on my windows...

I'm almost regretting getting my windows tinted.

Thanks for all your info, though.