Now I've had the car for a little over a yr now, and for about the past month now, everytime I go to my car, I look at my rear bumper and swear its like a different color when I look at it from a distance, but when I get up close, it seems to be fine. Am I going nuts here?

I did a search before posting and didn't see anything.

here' s a pic of the whip:



someone please tell me im going nuts...in the pic, it sticks out like a sore thumb...maybe im just losing my mind....

 

Your rear bumper definitely looks off, sorry. But, at least your front bumper and side skirt looks good. This problem is present in every WDP TL, as well.

 

WTF ...lol....well at least I know im not going crazy then....can this be fixed? Is it as simple as going to the dealership and say "LOOK -- my bumper doesnt match...replace it!" lol

Even Helen Keller could notice this shit

 

another pic ...this is shortly after I first got ...went from the minivan in front of this to a TL :-) ....at least my minivan had the same friken paint color the whole way round...

 

Yep. The bumper is off. Didn't need to see a pic to tell you that. It's a common problem with every color I've seen except NBP.

Good luck taking it to the dealer for a fix. As of now they haven't accepted responsibility for this issue, and they won't normally warranty it.

 

I don't think that paint job is from the factory. It's definitely been repainted before.

 

It's common, mine is different as well, my bumpers are a bit yellower

 

well, this is just a shitty situation....

 

its been 4 years now and my rear bumper still looks like when it came out the factory. to my eye it looked like it was fading but recently i put the a-spec kit on the car and the color could not have matched better unless it came straight out the factory. it looks like yours might have been repainted before.

 

Im the second owner of the car. I wonder if the dealership cant help me out, if there is any way I can find out who (im sure there is) who first owner is and see if he knows anything ....

 

The dealership should be able to tell you if it was repainted or not, those guys that check trade-ins seem to have an eye for that sort of thing.

 

^^ haha -- maybe i will give a call to the dealership today. thankfully, i have worked with the same service advisor for the past yr, so he appears to be pretty honest with me ...we'll see how it goes...

if they dont do anything ...maybe this is reason for a-spec kit, eh? lol

 

Is the original VIN label present on the bumper? When you pop the trunk you will see it attached to the bumper just below the inner portion of the taillight. If the bumper is original then that label will still be there. However, it is possible that it is the cars original bumper but has been repainted. Atleast you will know if the bumper is original or not.

Oh and as far as going to the dealership dont waste your time. They will do absolutely nothing because the cars bumper is a slightly different color. They will gladly do it though for a few hundred dollars or whatever it costs to respray a TL rear bumper :-)

 

It is not uncommon for dealerships to re-paint the bumpers when selling a used car. My front and rear bumpers were repainted and I am sure that was due to the fact the previous owner had the car in the city a lot.

 

JTS,

Do I need to remove the trunk liner to see it?

I called the service advisor and left him a voicemail, and see what happens...

 

P.S. Here is a picture I just snapped showing the location of the VIN label. Every body panel should have one of these UNLESS it has been in a accident or replaced for whatever reason. When I bought my TL-S I made sure every single panel had this label on.
Hope this helps.

 

Thank you -- gonna go check now, will update..

 

Im sure your rear bumper has been repainted, non factory paint thats why it doens't match

 

wow that bad..

 

alright well....no VIN sticker on bumper...that explains that

 

bout $230 for a bumper, and thats not painted ...might as well just get a-spec kit, right? lol

 

you can go to a good body shop and have then repaint the bumper and possibly blend the quarter panels if needed for 150-200. then it will match

 

blah -- this sucks ass monkey -- but at least i know im not going crazy now look at it...but each time i go to my car now, it will bother me even more...

 

Well since you found out the bumper has been replaced might be a good time to check the rest of the cars VIN labels to see if anything else has had work. Since we know the bumper is not original something obviously happaned to the back of that car. Check the VIN label on your trunk lid as well and the rear quarter panels. The trunk lid label (when opened) is on the passenger side it will look just like the other bumper label if its there you cant miss it. As far as the rear quarter panel labels when you open the rear doors look on the door jam (on the body of the car). Each door has its own label as well thats visible on the door jam when you open the door. Let us know what you find.
Let me know if you need to me snap anymore pictures of any label to help you locate it. The front bumper and front fender labels are hidden but I know how to find them.

Also, you dont need to buy a new rear bumper. All you need to do is get it repainted.

James

 

I have an 08 TL-S in silver, and my rear bumper is off color to. It hasn't been repainted, has the VIN sticker on it, and when I bought it the car still had the white plastic wrap on all the panels from the truck transport.

It's a common problem on these cars.

 

Yep. My WDP suffers this same problem, front and rear. The installation of the a-spec kit has helped the appearance quite a bit, but it is still noticable. Since it is a common problem, I'm not going to trip. Now if I can only get used to the slight indentations in the front bumper from the license plate mounting piece that occurred with the previous owner.

 

I def feel better that its common, but it just annoys me each time i walk out to my car now lol

 

Very common problem. Even my AM had color match issues. My whole Aspec kit was off color. I repainted the front and rear and then later realized the sides were off also. Now I have to go back again and repaint the side skirts I have just been putting it off.

 

i know how you feel, i had my front bumper redone after an accident and in the sunlight you can see the color difference and it looks bad because my aspec front lip and hood and fenders match and my bumper is a different silver. If i park my car next to an ASM TL in the daytime it almost matches perfectly. i need to get mine resprayed when i get a chance, i just dont want to have to take the lip off and my type s grills and my accord fogs off either.

 

I want to know if acura has any warranty for the paint issue? I bought my car used from a private party (now my car is still under 3 years old and 30000 miles). If it is cover can i just bring back to any dealer to have them repaint it? or i have to tell the original owner to bring the car back?

 

the only waranty that i know of on paint is if it rusts and i think that is for 5 years. i dont think there is anything about paint fading.

 

FYI, my car was rear-ended, and I had it fixed at an authorized bodyshop. I still have the vin tag on my rear bumper.

 

Well if you have the original VIN label that means they repaired the original bumper.

 

i didn't say it was the same sticker, and there is no way the bumper was repaired.

 

VERY SHITTY! I hate it, i have WDP and i wonder how i missed that when i was buying the car. I look at the 07-08 TSX and the White TSX has no problem with color matching.

 

We were blinded by love.

 

you are very much correct. i was in one of those just give me the damn keys mood ...i did look the car over pretty good, but not good enough obviously.

 

The stickers are pretty easy to mock up or to replace, however there are other safeguards that manufacturers use.

How to tell if a bumper is the factory one:
1. It will have an HONDA logo stamped in black in on the rear of the bumper cover, FACTORY parts can only get this stamp
2. It will have factory CRAYON MARKS; the factory draws a line or puts a dot on factory parts, to see a good example of this, look at the top of the hood-strut bodies
3. The bolts, if the bolts were ever loosened or tightened, they will have little cuts and rough edges on them since non-factory tools grip and cut into the bolt.

 

^ AJ... How the hell do you even know this?

 

must work undercover at a honda/acura factory