Tuetatesu

I did not see a poll and was curious how many people needed to install the mole skin to prevent the window tint from being scratched and how many did not.

Please post...

Tint Brand:

Did it scratch before you got the mole skin or did you just apply the mole skin before you tried it without it?:

Do you have Mole skin installed?:

How long you had the tint:

Thanks all.

rets

My answer is #2 for now... dunno what I'm gonna do next...

rylwlf

Didn't have the mole skin applied, didn't even know it was a problem until I got my tint, was out of town for a week, came back rolled the windows down and bam! scratching all over the driver side window. Not having checked this page first I went to the tint guy who was referred to me by the dealership and asked him, he said it was a door problem, although he had never seen that problem before with the new gen TL's. Will the dealer install the moleskin under warranty?

TLspeed

The tint was on the car when we bought her (July 1). Already showing scratches on 3 out of four windows. Don't know what brand.
She's in the shop right now. Told the dealership about it, showed 'em these 'moleskin' threads. The dealership explained that they "...don't usually resort to 'home-made' fixes. Probably won't do anything until Acura implements a fix..."
Previously tried to explain problem to the tint shop (Alta Mere). They claimed that they've done "...30 or so TLs w/o any reports of problems..."
We'll see. I'll keep going back until Alta Mere figures out that it's costing them film/labor to keep replacing the tint.
I hate it because I'm without the TL. Dealership is letting me use the loaner TSX. Glad we got the TL.

PS - I've already ordered some moleskin from a restoration shop ($1.25/foot). I'll probably install the moleskin myself - if it's as easy a fix as described.

Tuetatesu

Not sure, but I'm going to ask them about it. I had pretty nice tint installed at the dealer and they told me it is covered for any problems for life. I am also wondering if it may be the quality of tint. I know some films can be softer then others and may scratch easier.

I will let you know what I find out.

rets

How ironic!? Many of ppl have received the same answers time by time from any kind of dealers, Acura dealers or tint shops, etc.

Well, my suggestion is please to look for tint shops or dealers containing life time warranty since there isn't any true guaranty out of Acura yet.

Besides talking to ACS, get a word from your tinting source and have a promise they will fix problems if it happens.




Anyone has checked this yet... http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90330

chipplaysdrums

Yep, I just noticed the other day that my driver side window was scratched...damn! I had read some of the threads about the mole skin, but never really thought anything about it..until now. So maybe I should go with the moleskin?

GunnmeTaLCURA04

how bout yes it got scratched, tint shop re did it and i didnt add mole skin.. i dont see that option up there//

Jss1

My tint place did it automatically without me even asking. No scratches at all.

TLspeed

Follow-up:

The dealership just called and told me that the tint shop wants to keep the car so they can install the moleskin.

Looks like I can elect the first option on the poll above!

As an aside rets: I checked out the link above and read about the concerns over SCRATCHING THE WINDOWS. Coincidentally the wife and I were wondering about the same thing. Our son's 1990 Celica's windows are all scratched up - and we're pretty sure it is because of debris that fell into the wipers over the years. Very ugly. I think ACURA will have 'issues' if this particular defect isn't fixed.

I will be calling ACS - to make sure that I'm on the list of complaining customers. Maybe my phone call will be the one that hits the 'complaint threshold'.

rets

TLspeed, thanks for your update with thorough ideas. I really hope the moleskin/felt could help resist those invasion by little granules. I wonder what's gonna happen if the moleskin holds debris. Once it happens, the scratch will be there.

Does moleskin/felt help to clean/wipe-off those grains?

Or the tightness between moleskin/felt and tint/window does help prevent any crumbs sticking between them?

TLspeed

Called ACS - they were courteous, but not helpful. Lodged a complaint over the scratching tint and the mis-matched paint on the bumpers.

The response was interesting. They told me that since the tint was a dealer installed option, it was up to the dealership to resolve the issue. ACS is basically saying that the car is not engineered for window tint. I told them that this was absurd - most cars have tinting. ASC understood - but politely kept thier stance.

When I mentioned the paint - they quickly acknowledged THAT problem. Makes me hopeful that they may agree to fix this for us TL owners that have the light-colored cars.

flnsx

I'm back from my honeymoon and can ship kit's out on Monday.

Dirac

Llumar ATR Stealth 30 all around. No scratches, no moleskin.

Neogeek

I have the Llumar Platinum Pluss 28 in back, 38 in front, no moleskin, and scratches like a mother. I hope my tint shop will replace it for free, eventhough i dont know if their lifetime warenty covers scratches made by the car.

jjsC5

Why would anyone even think that Acura should take responsibility for this problem? They don't build their cars to have the windows tinted.

I was not aware of this issue until four weeks after I bought my car (had the windows tinted through the dealer before I took delivery). The guy they used does all of their cars. If mine scratches, I expect the person who did the tinted to cover it. If he does not, I will strongly suggest to the dealer that they don't use him anymore as I would expect him to learn the ins and outs of each car.

How long is it taking most of you to find scratches? My car is just over five weeks old now.

Rocketsfan

It took me over 4 or 5 months to notice a scratch on mine, and I used to drive with the windows down a lot. Now I don't because I don't want anymore scratches.

I'll be taking my car back to the tinter to see what they do. If they won't fix it for free/add moleskin, I'll take it to someone else.

hokietl

Had the back windows tinted back in March. Unfortunately, without mole skin. So after about month, the vertical streaks can be seen from the car interior. I haven't done anything thing about it yet. The tint has a life time warranty. Hopefully the tint shop will honor it since I'm a repeated customer.

Tuetatesu

Well I said I would let you know what I found out at the dealer...

So far I really enjoy the Klasse Series Drei tint by Huperoptic. The dealer gave me a lifetime guarantee. Even if it scratches by the rubber molding. The dealer said they are working with many tint manufactures in resolving the scratching issue. Sometimes they just replace the molding and it solves the scratching issue. They did not like the mole skin idea as the adhesive would eventually ware and the mole skin would fall off and mess up the window with exposed adhesive and dangeling mole skin, also potentially getting in the track and gumming it up. In addition, it adds more pressure on the window. They rather keep replacing the molding until one stops scratching the tint. I feel lucky that the dealer will keep working with me until I am satisified.

There are no scratches so far with my tint. They say this tint I have is a harder material then most because of the metal in it. Hope it stands up better to these Acrua windows.

Oh and one more thing... for those of you asking about the % of the Drei tint. The dealer informed me that Drei does not come in a % because of it's high protection standards and how it is made. But I can tell you this. Depending on the ouside brightness the tint seems dark or lighter at time and often has a metalic look in some situations. From the inside looking out it always looks the same and it is not dark at all.

Good luck everyone with your tint.