WEll, just got off the phone with my dealer, I have an 05 WDP and the bumpers are a yellow tint. When I went back in to get some problems fixed, such as a piece of dirt under the clear on the front bumper, they said they would have to repaint that anyways. And then they said that they cant do the rear cause its normal. WEll I told them they can have the car back and I was serious, and or get me a different color of my liking. They talked with new car sales and they are paying to get the rear painted to match. So my front is being covered under warranty, and the rear is getting painted from the new car sales department.

Rick

 

I hear ya Elmer....but I also have a 1999 Lexus GS400 that is White Diamond Pearl colored and it has the same problem. Also talking about a different $ class car when you talk about Lexus....unless you are talking IS model....and trust me....many many people not happy with the IS series cars Lexus put out...resulting in low sales.

 

How long will they have your car? Let us know how it turns out. I am about to go through the same thing with my dealer. I read that sometimes repainting makes it worse. I guess it depends on who does the painting.

 

I went to the dealer today and had a meeting with the DM. He said this is normal for the white TL but at good will, he will pay to have my bumbers painted by the body shop of my liking. I am not sure what to do? SHOULD I RE-PAINT?

 

I just back from the dealer and he told me the same thing. He would do a good will repaint, but only one time. He said I can do it any time while the car is under warrenty. I only have 3 months and 3,500 miles on my WDP so I have some time before I have to decide.

Has anybody had any success with repaint?? Did it come out better or worse??


I saw an MDX and another WDP TL on the lot with the same problem. The Gray TLs on the lot had the same color matching problems. He said mine is actually not too bad, he's seen worse.

 

We had to get the front and rear bumpers of our '04 WDP TL repainted as the paint started bubbling and peeling not too long after we purchased it.

When they repainted the bumper colors now match the rest of the car. We were lucky they did a great job!

This, of course, was covered under warranty as we only owned the car like 6 months before it started peeling.

 

is it only the WDP having this mismatch problem? what about the nighthawk black pearl paint? not like you could really tell.. does all the pearl paint have this problem?

 

one more question.. what is the difference between the pearl paints and metalic paints?

 

Under some light conditions, my bumpers might look different, but who gives a crap, they are plastic and often look different, and over time, they will always
change from the difference of plastic/metal, plastic flexes, expands
at different rates than metal, etc.

Its not something I notice or worry about.

Before long, you likely get dings and scratches, people back into your bumper,
etc, why worry, its just a stinkin car.
If washed and waxed, it will look better than 99% of( the dirty) cars on the road...

Brett

 

Yes....a close match is better than a "yellow tint white"........I took advantage of the offer and I am satisfied.

 

...and all is the same. Too bad.

 

The Flex Agent causes the discoloration in the bumpers to allow for movement. This Flex Agent will always cause a slightly different tint in the lighter paint colors. There is no other way around it. Trying to re-paint the bumper would only look worse.

 

I got my rear bumper on my WDP repainted for free...I was very happy with the results

 

show some pictures.

well, my friend bought a white EL and her bumpers were really off compare to the body.

I am getting a new TL soon and hopefully it's not as bad as hers......

 

What???? Where? How?

 

That's why you do research before you buy a car....

 

Not sure if people are still checking out this thread, but here's my story. The only reason I'm reading this thread is because I'm a "victim" of this mismatching bumper issue on the white TL. In fact, I literally just got back from getting my car back from the dealership's paint and body shop.

I noticed this flaw immediately, at the dealership when I was buying my car, but thought I was "seeing things." Turns out, even after a highly meticulous detailing or two later, the issue was still there. I took it back in to my dealer (Los Gatos Acura, for those who are wondering -- that's in the San Jose, Bay Area, California area) to show them the problem. I took it directly to the saleslady who sold me the car. I figured she'd be on my side if anybody would. On my particular car, the bumpers -- especially the front -- were an obvious darker color than the rest of the body. Fortunately, we had the "perfect" lighting to see the mismatch: from what I've noticed, it's easier to see the mismatch when it's slightly overcast outside because you can see definition better. That is to say, when it's super-sunny outside, the car's paint gets kind of washed out and all the white looks the same because of the insane reflection. The darker outside lighting makes it easier to see the difference, at least in my case.

Anyway, I took my car in Monday (a few days ago), they gave me a loaner TSX (which by the way isn't even in the same ballpark as a TL...that was reassuring to me because I contemplated buying a TSX; glad I didn't!), and I got my car back today. Four days without my baby. This week was tough.

"The end result?" you ask. Well, the paint looks better now, but I would say that it still isn't perfect. It is better or even considerably better than it was before and I'm glad I got it done. I'm also quite glad that it was covered under warranty. To put in perspective how bad my car's paint was, I probably wouldn't have paid to have it re-painted. It was livable, but I didn't buy a ~$35,000 car to have "livable" paint on it. Know what I mean? I'm sure you do. Now, instead of the bumpers being darker than the rest of the body, they are lighter. I'll tell you this, though: it has more of a natural feel to it than it did before. In my opinion, white paint should never be dark in any way.

So all in all, I'm now satisfied. I am a little confused as to why this is happening, from a technical standpoint. I heard a couple excuses from the body shop manager and the guys working for him. One guy told me that since the paint was "three-stage," it was harder to match. Another one I heard is that "the bumpers are painted in a different facility." The one about the flex agent was also cited. Yet another is the classic -- and probably most logical -- that the paint adheres to the bumpers different because it is different material from that of the rest of the body. The general consensus is "that's just how it is." Not exactly the answer I'd expect, but I guess there are some things better left unknown. I guess it's better than being lied to.

 

The issue with this color is that it is a Tri-Coat. This means that there is a base white color sprayed first, then a translucent white pearl, and lastly the clear. If there is a noticeable difference from the car to the bumper then it probably has to do with the tricky nature of Tri-Coats. In any case, there should NOT be a difference and if there is then the dealership or car company should cover it. Now thats not to say that they won't try to squirm their way out of it but I bet if you push enough they will give in. Remember, their in business to make money and most people won't push past the first excuse that they give. But they can't make money if they're losing customers over a $5K paint job on a $20K+ car.

-Mike

 

Good point....dealerships.... generally.....make it a lengthy process to discourage customers from pursuing it further ( my )