so i waited 8 years to get the aspec kit and now when i finally do get it, i have it creating issues for me. the sides went fine and the rear went fine (harder than i thought but not bad), but 5 days after install, the left side of my bumper has unclipped and pushed out. and the worst part, the flat part that faces up below the trunk has now cracked and the paint is splitting.

it almost seems as if the lip puts extra stress on the bumper and between driving and the heat it has now created a headache. i fixed the clips popping out by filling the gap with silicone sealant and taping it flush overnight but the paint cracking sucks. i touched it up with paint to hide it a little better

anyone have this issue before and found a way to prevent it from getting worse? i still need to buy a front lip and was going to go with the base and modify it to fit...but with the rear already giving me issues and breaking, i'm heavily considering just doing the "plug and play" type s lip

bumper/paint cracking (feels like a bump where it split)

 

Not normal. That looks like the bumper was not put back on properly or more specifically out of order. This happens a lot in the front with all the plastics underneath. I can't exactly remember the install for the rear but I know it was pretty straight forward.

You didn't have to tug or pull to get the bumper back on, right?

Edit: Not sure if you're a type-s or not, I don't think so, but if not I see those lights and I see the wear on the inner rear bumper fender. So I assume you've had the bumper off for that before? Make sure to keep a nice gap on the lights. In that I assume you did NOT put the metal pieces back underneath the lights?

 

i installed step by step per the instructions other than cutting out the exhaust ports (not needed for the type s to type s kit). i didn't pull or tug on the bumper at all, i followed the directions on how to put it back on.

i've never had the rear bumper off before and this is a type s car with a type s bumper and type s lip. what metal pieces are you talking about?


i posted this on the uasquad facebook page and there were 4-5 other people that have the same issue but without the cracking. they said it all occurred when they took off the bumper for the first time and put it back on.

 

There is a metal clip that goes under the tail lights that when people swap they usually do not reinstall. That way the bumper doesn't have to be removed when swapping tail lights. Although the clips really aren't needed they do provide some support/anchor point for the bumper right under the lights. Since you are in fact a type-s you didn't touch the tails. So forget I mentioned it.

It looks like the bumper is being pressed against the rear bumper beam (the structural piece that has foam on it) inside the bumper. Almost like someone sat on it...

 

User error whilst putting the bumper back on... either that, or someone hit you while you were parked.

 

fuck man sorry to see that happen, I know how much you care about your car, Id be pissed

 

Looks like someone hit you. Sorry to see this. I still haven't started installing my kit yet.

 

Oh shit, sorry to see that happen man.

I agree with others, I think your car may have been hit...

 

Wouldn't there be other evidence if so? Also isn't the rear bumper screwed in near the wheel well? How is that coming apart there? Or am I thinking the front bumper?

 

it's actually the opposite. if i push down where the crack was as if someone was sitting on it, the bumper on the left side sits more flush. the area with the crack is raised like a mountain so i'm thinking something is too tight with the lip. i went through and loosened all the screws and pulled down on the bumper and then tightened it up to make it more flush.

there are 4 screws that screw the bumper into the wheel well but it's not coming out there. it's actually very solid there and may be too tight. it's just this clipped portion that is coming out. all other screwed down areas are fine as expected. that's why i went through and tried to loosen them all up.

if you look at my last picture you can see the left side is tightened down nice with those wheel well screws. but then it pops up. those are just held in by clips




the day it popped out i was at the zoo all day but checked my front/rear dash cams and there were about 25 videos (motion and impact sensor) but none of them showed anyone hitting me, or at least it wasn't captured.

i really think it's just the bumper and lip too tight. hopefully by loosening some stuff up it won't have the residual stress in there to make


the worst part is that i held off so long getting the kit, and it looks great now...but i don't know if it's worth this mess. so far today the bumper has stayed clipped in with the silicone sealant.

i take EXTREMELY good care of my car, and have for 8 years, so i was really sad yesterday about it. i told my wife it was fine but she knew i was lying. hopefully it doesn't get worse...

 

Sorry to hear bro, I installed my ASPEC kit almost a year ago and didn't have any fitment issues once installed. Possible bumper alignment issue?

 

I've installed like 6 of these rear lips and have never had an issue like that before. I don't think you could put a bumper back on and have it create cracks in the paint and stuff by itself. It just doesnt make sense to me or maybe im not understanding


TBH though, it really just looks like a terrible coincidence and bad luck, I think someone bumped into the back of your car.

 

Hmm. Well that sucks man. I'm out of ideas.

 

yea i'm so depressed about it. the LAST thing i thought about installing the kit was that this would happen with it. i really think someone hit me but i don't have any idea how to find out how. there's minor scratches on the left of the crack but i would expect more if someone hit me.

it was seriously fine for 4 days and then on the 5th day i was shocked

so now i'm leaning towards the front type s kit instead of the base because with this bad luck i don't want another eff-ed up install.
i appreciate you talking it through with me man. i'm completely confused by it as well

 

updated pics after my "fixes"

applied silicone sealant to the clips and pushed in the bumper, then taped it over night. now it sits somewhat flush and seems to be holding:





touched up the cracking paint with touch up paint:



these are the only "scratch" marks on that side. if someone hit me i thought there would be more noticeable scratches? i don't know if these were there before or not



soo to the next matter...should i go type s front aspec lip or base front aspec lip?

type s: plug and play ("easy" install), but shows more of the wdp mismatch

base: harder install since i need to put extra tape and really jam the lip on (worried about another bumper issue). benefit is that it flows better with the rest of the kit and won't stick out as much with the mismatch

 

it could have been a shopping cart or something other than a car, sometimes shopping carts have rubber on the corners so it wouldnt leave a deep scratch but could have left damage regardless?

 

Fixes don't look bad....but unless it's perfect I wouldn't be happy. Especially if you're one who cares so much about your car. It should fit nice and flush as is with no need for more adhesives/etc. So I'd find the source of the problem...

I would have the rear bumper repainted to fix the cracks and this should fix the WDP mismatch, right?

And I would go with the type-s front lip. I know how clean the base is on a type-s but I mean come on...you have a type-s...rock it man. Don't be shy.

I wouldn't let this install affect your decision on the front lip though. Something is wrong here, that doesn't mean something will be wrong with the front lip.

 

yea but would need a decent amount of force to crap the bumper paint like that. maybe some super human strength mom haha. one of my coworkers thinks it was a shopping cart too

thanks man and i think you make valid points, i've actually been leaning towards the type s front the last week so i may just go that route. there shouldn't really be any problems too

regarding the repaint i was trying to keep this as cheap as possible because technically we are saving for a house and this was done under the radar if you know what i mean haha i got this at employee pricing even though i'm not an employee and any more expensive and i probably wouldn't have pulled the trigger.

i am very detail oriented but in the last year or so i've overlooked some other imperfections and have come to the conclusion that this is an old car and there will be nicks and chips and other stuff going on. i've focused a lot on maintenance the last year

thanks to everyone for the feedback, always good to hear different ideas on what happened/fixes

 

No problem. And not like the bumper won't still be there in a year. Repaint it when you can.

It would bug me though, knowing something can't be right, so I'd at least figure out why it's not mounting flush/clean.

 

yea i'll probably get back at it in a few months or so right now just trying to knock out the rest of the lip and see what happens. if it pops out again i'll for sure get in there and see what's going on, that would drive me crazy haha

 

Looks like somethig hit it, if it was raining when it happened the scratches wouldn't be as noticeable. I had a person hit the back of my car when it was raining and there were minimal scratches but it cracked the paint similar to yours. The part where the bumper clips on can be replaced. One guy I know had the bumper sticking out like yours and he got the new part and it was no longer a problem.

 

I beleive its part 26 or 28, you might want to check with your local dealer though

 

Thanks man! it wasn't raining the day of but it's raining now when i took pictures.

i know which part you're talking about, i replaced that when i put a new bumper on my wife's honda civic and all those clips broke off during that install since it was so old. i'll leave it as is for now but will definitely change it if the bumper pops out again.

 

boo sucks to see I agree with the others regarding coincidences though. well if you ever feel like selling the lip, I know a guy with a WDP that may want it


I say just fix it and be happy with it Your car really is a beaut but sometimes, CA drivers sucks

 

I've been rear ended before, barely any scratches but bumper popped out like yours. Bumper paints often have additives for flexibility since the plastic is always flexing so the paint needs to flex with it otherwise cracks everywhere. Someone with a similarly soft front/rear plastic bumper could have hit you and left little to no scratches but the force popped yours out.

 

haha i know you're always around the corner! gonna keep it because i put a bunch of holes in my bumper installing it haha. i barely notice the issue now and i'm sure in a month i won't even see it. i just HATE when people do stuff like that and run without taking responsibility, some people just need to man up

i gotta get that front lip on now!

yea the more i look at it the more it HAS to be someone hitting me. there's way too much force to make it crack like that.

 

damn this is so surprising to see. My rear aspec lip has never given me problems, and definitely no signs of cracking. I have however seen signs of the front aspec lip causing the front bumper to tear at the headlight bracket area.

 

Do you have any threads or pics you've seen of this? I'm about to put on the base front lip and this makes me a little worried since its goig to be such a tight fit