Anyone have trouble with these strips that go along the console of the car. I got my car in February and the drivers side one looks like crap already. I have three scratches on the one side...2 from fastening the seatbelt (hittiing strip by accident) then another one from who knows what then a small dent from when i dropped my keys on it. Anyone know if acura would replace the strip or how much it would cost? It amazes me how generations go on the material used to make cars gets cheaper......... :rocketwho

 

It is not titanium, it is soft aluminum, and it is a common problem. It doesn't take much to make a dent. I haven't heard anything about an improved version from Acura, but maybe if everyone complains loudly enough they will do something about it.

The best way to find out if you can get a free replacement is to check with your service manager.

The list prices are $86.30 for the left side and $85.58 for the right side.

 

That extra 72 cents for the driver's side is a ripoff!

 

Instead of wasting Acura's time and money, how about just being careful???? It is aluminum, it will dent, an yes, other companies use painted plastic...which is woefully CHEAPO. Just take care of your car, and suck it up when you damage it. Hey, your windshield is glass, it will break if you hit it with a hammer, should Acura replace that too?

 

I scratched mine with the seatbelt the first week I had the car. The plastic on the "B" pillar is also scratched to hell from pulling the seatbelt out from between the seat and the pillar.

 

I gotta agree with Rick on this one. If your car gets hail damaged you might wanna see if they would pay for that too.

 

I haven't scratched or dented mine yet, but from the sounds of things, Acura could have used aluminum that was a little thicker and therefore more dent resistant.

I guess it might be possible to coat the backside of a replacement piece with something like epoxy to make it stonger. But I don't know what the back looks like - it might interfere with the tight fit of the trim.

 

Audi's is no thicker, and they are lauded as the best in the industry

 

Why not coat the surface of the aluminum panel instead? That way it could have a transparent surface yet be much more tough to the touch.

 

It's not like it is Paper Mache, come on guy, just be a little careful!

 

Lol, I definitely have to agree. People need to stop being sooo damn careless. Are you that damn excited to drive your car that you jab anywhere trying to buckle the damn seat belt. This is just crazy

 

I want to agree with you, except that I know Acura can and has made material that is resistent to this problem. My '01 CL had plood in the same areas that we have the aluminum. And yes, I was sometimes a little careless, as was the front-seat passenger sometimes (who doesn't always know better). So over the three years I had the CL that area of plood got whacked probably 300 times with the seat belt buckle.

Not a single scratch. Not a mark. That plood took the abuse like a champ.

So my feeling is that Acura should not have put something as easily damaged as aluminum in that area of the car. And yes, they should have known better. They're a big company and 99.99% of their employees drive cars, so this is not some out-of-the-blue problem.

I like the aluminum, but it shouldn't be down by the seat belt. Even the most fastidious, anal person is going to whack it sooner or later.

 

Uh, they used aluminum because it is the real thing instead of plastic painted to look like aluminum. Many cars are criticized by the press for using fake materials, so i see the use of real aluminum as a good thing...it all boils down care and personal responsibility.

 

Uh, when you start a post with "uh" you really sound condescending.

If you read my post carefully, you'll see I wasn't suggesting they use painted plastic in that area, but rather plood or some other, more durable material. You disagree, fine. But IMO you're being unrealistic if you think that for most people it's just a matter of "care and personal responsibility." Buckling up should be a routine activity; most of us don't want to have to remind ourselves every time, "Watch out for that aluminum!" Not to mention having to police a front-seat passenger every time.

You're entitled to disagree, but, uh, I think most of us feel it was unwise of Acura to put such easily damaged material next to the seatbelt.

 

Completely agree. Also, the same aluminum is on the door panels, which I dented slightly by letting the buckle hit it when I released the seat belt strap.
There shouldn't be anything this soft (except for the leather seats) in a car.
Comparing this to hail damage or windshield glass breakage is completely out of line, since they are outside of the car and subject to forces over which you have no control (unless you leave it in the garage all the time). I can accept something that dents if hit with unusual force, but something like this that dents from everyday usage is unacceptable.

 

I simply cannot believe the number of people in this thread that are bashing Acura for using more quality materials. No matter what any of you say, Real Aluminum is a superior material to plood. Hands down. Maybe you have to be a bit more careful in the car with finer materials. If you can't handle that, please check out one of these fine automobiles, I'm sure that they will deal with your needs quite nicely:

www.kia.com

 

I think Acura does have some responsibility in not making decorative fixtures so flimsy that they require an abundance of care. Most folks, after the initial honeymoon period with the car wears off, aren't that careful about everything little thing and a good design should take that into account.

 

Talk about careless? While my car was in dealership for A/C repaired, the technician put 2 dents on the passenger side aluminum trim and paint chip the dashboard above the aluminum trim on my TL. Took my car back to dealer, and they agree to replace both of passenger and driver side aluminum trims and the paint chip dashboard.

 

Glad they agreed to replace it. I wouldn't want to have read about you going postal on their ass.

 

UH, yeah I guess asking for a little "care and personal responsibility." is a bit much...you are right.

To AcuraAddict's point, sterling silver is much more delicate than stainless steel, crystal is much more fragile than glass, I suppose in this country of not being able to be careful and take responsibility for you actions, we should all either eat off of Dixie plates and cups or just demand that place settings be replaced by the manufacturer when we break them....really, you guys are too much!!!

 

A hammer is not required to operate the car. The seatbelt is a different story. It's hopefully used by the driver everytime they drive the car. The aluminum is very soft and it does scratch and dent very easily.

It's never a waste of time and money for a company to listen to their customers. It wouldn't hurt them to take a look at how they could make the aluminum trim a little more resistant to scratches and dents.

 

Hopefully a little care will be used by the driver everytime he buckles said belt!

 

how bout the passenger? just like someone else said..sit in car stop everything then say to yourself..ok steady easy now...watch the trim...for some people to take acuras side makes no sense..the point is fine they put that aluminum there looks nice...but wasnt a smart idea putting soemthing so delicate near a very stressed area...there is always activity in that area when u put your seatbelt on...the slightest hit on that and it gets dented or scratched....interior this interior that..thats all i heard about when i picked my TL over G35....interior means nothing if it looks like sh*t after a short time....engineers..better design...testing...everyones in a rush to get the product out...u will always have misshapps and that aluminum looks nice but looks nice when it isnt damaged and scratched..the lucky ones who are so for acura and havent damaged it yet...sticky this and come back to me..either u or the passenger will damage it...u would always complain about your outside paint too but u dont see it..only when u wash your car...but everyday when u come into your car and fasten up there are the scratches and dent...HI ! i say goodmorning to mine everyday..i hope to have a nice family tree when the car goes back in 39 months

 

Yes the money extra for the real aluminum trim resulted in garbage EL42's

 

Unfortunately, not everyone is careful each and every time they buckle up. I passed on two TLs that were on the dealer's lot because of the problem with the aluminum. Those cars each had a whopping 22 miles on them and a few dents and scratches on the aluminum as well.

If I designed the interior of this vehicle I would consider this type of defect a failure on my part. It is the designer's responsibility to anticipate the drivers actions when entering, exiting and driving the vehicle and specify the design and materials accordingly. I would have no choice but to feel personally responsible for such flimsy material being put into the interior of a car I designed. That is a waste of Acura's time and money.

I can certainly be accused of being 'anal' so if you look at the interior of my car you will not see scratches and dents on the aluminum strips. Other drivers will only realize they dent very easily after it happens once or twice.

 

Ooh, more condescending commentary! I love it! Yes let's compare crystal and sterling silver to Dixie plates! That has a lot to do with the aluminum trim in the TL! Personally I prefer Chinette and Big Gulps, especially when I sit my hairy obese ass down in my double-wide trailer to watch reruns of American Idol. I'm such a careless slob, there's no way I can avoid dinging the aluminum trim when I'm so busy lighting my Camel cigarettes! (In my Camel interior, of course, another sign that I'm a tasteless jerk. Why o why didn't I get the rental car quartz so the dings in the aluminum would look NORMAL??)

 

Mmmmm.....Big Gulps. Now you're talkin'.

 

I have a sample of urethane clear film that is used for clear bras. I am thinking of taking a piece of it and applying it on the aluminum trim behind the seat belt buckle latch. That would cushion an errant jab and prevent damage without changing the appearance.

You are also less likely to damage the aluminum when the armrest is in the forward position. It slides, you know.

XP

 

You may be the only group to find this interesting. I went to the NASCAR all-star shootout (or whatever they called it) last night. We are tailgating about 2 cars away when I notice two guys looking in the car and talking about it. I walk over to chat and push the button to unlock it. I guess they thought I would be mad at them for getting so close to the car (mine's got 35% tint) so they started to walk away but I asked them if they wanted to see the inside. Turns out that one of the guys works for the company that designed the interior of the TL. He said that the #1 objective of the car was for it to be nicer than the european equivilants (5-series, E-class, Jag E-type). He went into a lot of detail about the 5 layers of insulation under the dash, etc. When asked what they might have done better my #1 comment was the leather. Granted mine's still in good shape through 10K but it's simply not on par with the Benz/BMW's. My #2 issue was the "aluminum strips" and their tendency to dent easily. He said that they only cost them about $3.00 to provide to Acura. Said they spent a lot of time on deciding on them. I told him that they needed to spend a little more time on the quality of them because they ding in a second. I asked him to send me some extra's but he said he couldn't help with that. Maybe getting his ear was enough for him to relay our concerns to mgmt. He doesn't work for Acura but rather a sub-contractor but he said he would relat the concern.

 

I put a piece of clear tape on that part. It works fine.

 

That's an excellent point, XP. Thanks. If you slide the armrest forward before a front seat passenger gets in, they are definitely less likely to whack the aluminum.

 

This really is too funny. Since when did having the expectation that material used to make a car esthetically pleasing would also be material that would stand up to normal wear and tear get classified as being unreasonable. These aluminum accents look great, which is the point of them in the first place, but not so much when they get a dent or two in them, which simply stated defeats the purpose of the accent in the first place!

You see, I have taken the time to be very careful because I was pretty sure when I had to replace one of these when my TL was delivered, and when I saw damage on another TL on the lot, that this could be a problem. I take great care when taking on and off my seat belt (I also do this because the B-pillars are easily scratched by the buckle as well) and for three months have been able to avoid this. What I never expected was the damage that my pager would do by simply sliding off my leg and dropping a whole 4 inches! While stopped at a light, I took out my pager to read a page and then placed my pager on my right leg because the light had turned green. As I turned the corner, it slid of my leg and that was all it took. Now you tell me, rick955i, was this unreasonable behavior on my part? I guess I should know better than to do something as crazy as read a page in my TL.

Bottom line is ACURA missed a very important consideration when designing the interior of this car and it will impact the resale value for each one of us.

 

OMG....are we still b!tching about this? Listen, we have a 2003 745i also, and where the TL has aluminum the 745i has wood, and yes there are dings on the wood. So, do me this, shell out $82,000 for a car and THEN complain about careless people dinging your interior!!!!

 

Hey WTF! My tires are wearing the more I drive the car??!!! This is unacceptable! Hey, I think my brake pads are going down - W-T-F!!! Why are my pads and tires and gas all going down!!

 

I think you have a lemon.

 

Yes, there is a problem with these trim pieces denting easily. It doesn't matter how careful "you" are because eventually a client or somebody will get in the car with a purse and inevitably these pieces will be dented.

I am having my third center console piece in under 10,000 miles. At $125.00+ I am not happy about the situation. My first statement to anyone getting in the car shouldn't have to be "make sure you don't hit the center console!".

Perhaps I am being picky and not waiting until I have a collection of dings but these are highly visable pieces. It isn't a question of materials. Aluminum was the right choice in terms of quality and perception... the execution was poor. It is as simple as that.

Steve

 

As for the BMW wood scrach, Bmw engeneering has went down quite a bit if it scraches that easy, every Lexus I have has never had a single scrach placed in the wood and I am not careful at all, I bet you if I did scratch it my dealer wood replace it for free, but thats Lexus.

 

At least you can take 3M Finesse-it and buff out those scratches since they are coated with polymer.... BTW, should you get minor to medium scratches on the Carbon Fiber of the Acura these could be polished, too. Dents and dings, however, are permenant feature.

Steve

 

One note to you crying babies, if you can’t shit, don't blame on the earth's weak gravity.

 

Wow what an, intelligent, witty, and insightful comment