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Just got my 2009 TL back from the dealer for installing 2 recalls: Air bag and software judder. All went well, except the dealer noted the hydraulic hood struts needed replaced for $164.
Is this repair common?
I had a lot of cars over the last 50 years and never experienced this problem. Have not replaced them yet, but the hood will not say up without additional support.
$164???? WOW, that's nuckin futs! I just replaced mine on the 09 TL for $23, bought on ebay from a seller named sanlongparts. Didn't have the brand name in the ebay description. They sent me a brand called MaxPow. They work very well. I can't believe they charge that much at the dealership. It was one of the most simple things to change. If you can open the hood, I'm pretty sure you will have no problems swapping these. :-)
If you purchase Stabilus brand (same as OEM) from O'Reilly they have a lifetime warranty.
Mine originals failed after 4 years and replaced them with the afore mentioned.
You "can't believe" the dealer would charge that much? LOL. I'm surprised they charge that little!
I was at the dealer this week.
They advertise a cabin filter change for well over $100. Criminal.
The problem is, they have so much overhead, they have to gouge every opportunity they can to keep the place afloat.
Back a few years ago my Integra needed struts for the back hatch. The ones I got from an EBay seller were fine for a very reasonable price.
Should be a ten minute job I'd imagine to replace a hood strut.
This seems to be more than a coincidence. I had the same 2 recalls done on Nov 18th, 2016 at the dealer and picked up the car around 6pm. 20th morning washing the car found out that the hydraulic struts and gone and the hood won't stay up!!. Interesting thing is that literally 10 minutes before handing the car over to the dealer the struts were absolutely fine. I have only 35k on the car and don't think the struts have been used more than a dozen times.
Don't fool around not replacing them. I had the hood struts go out on my CL and when the car was having an oil change the hood fell on a tool that was placed on top of the engine making a dent from the inside out in my hood.
Easy change DIY for sure maybe $50-60 tops depending on what you buy.
Getting mine replaced under warrenty on my 2012, I'm surprised they failed this quick.
Just a little update because I don't want to spread misinformation. The dealer did not cover these and I have the extended PLUS warranty. I looked through my paperwork and sure enough they don't mention them, they tired to charge me $165 plus taxes which would've been almost $200 Canadian funds taxes in. The service guy told me the price is reasonable...yeah okay haha
The Haixun company has a C company rating if it matters to anybody. $25 for some Chinese knockoffs versus $70 for the OEM Stabilus from O'Reilly's. I don't really open my hood that often, so I'm thinking I'm probably better off cheaping out this time.
This seems to be more than a coincidence. I had the same 2 recalls done on Nov 18th, 2016 at the dealer and picked up the car around 6pm. 20th morning washing the car found out that the hydraulic struts and gone and the hood won't stay up!!. Interesting thing is that literally 10 minutes before handing the car over to the dealer the struts were absolutely fine. I have only 35k on the car and don't think the struts have been used more than a dozen times.
I too just yesterday took my 2012 TL (only 17k miles!) in for both of these same recalls and now this morning notice that my hood won't stay open.
Due to the extremely low miles I routinely connect a battery maintainer once a month, so I know this wasn't an issue as recently as the 1st week of November.
What's going on???????
I have not yet contacted the dealer, but will later this morning. The car also has the genuine AccuraCare E/W so if they balk at covering them I'll be screaming.
As follow-up to my earlier post, I heard back from my dealer this evening. They will replace the hood struts under warranty (Customer Goodwill I assume). The original warranty expired 9 mo. ago and they are not included on the list of items covered under the AcuraCare Ext'd warr, but the dealer said not to worry as they'd take care of it.
He also explained that the line tech did not notice the strut problem or report it because they routinely place a clamp on one of the strut rods on every car they service as a hedge against the hood falling on them (obviously they know the factory hood struts are garbage).
Got my Stabilus hood struts installed from Rockauto, took less than 5 minutes to put on. I could hear the last little bit of gas escaping from my old ones as I took them off too. For $40 it's worth it for me to not have to fight with the dealership to get them replaced under some kind of warranty.
Trying to order a set now — are these things specific to left or right side or will they work on both/either sides? (Passenger or driver side, I suppose, to be more specific)
Trying to order a set now — are these things specific to left or right side or will they work on both/either sides? (Passenger or driver side, I suppose, to be more specific)
you can use one for both sides by facing it the opposite direction
I just changed mine out using the Stabilus struts from Rock Auto. Super reasonable price and easy peezy installation. Just find something (I used an old broomstick) to prop up the hood while you're changing them. As someone said, it takes about 5-10 minutes max.
stabilus is oem and you can find it at rockauto.com and amazon
Justin,
Your knowledge continues to add value. $32 inc shipping from Rockauto for a pair of Stabilus for my '11 TL. Good as new in 5 minutes and dealer wanted over $200.
I picked up replacements at Princess Auto (a discount parts/equipment retailer and surplus place here in Canada)...I think they were about $27CDN each. I returned them a couple days later, since I wasn't convinced they were the right fit. My mechanic ended up popping them in for me for the cost of the struts (about $34CDN), no labour (and this was my first visit to that particular mechanic, though the visit was for something else).
The issue, as I see it, is that it's not enough to get the right length; one also has to match the "pressure". Otherwise it either won't hold the hood up, or it might bend the hood when you close it. I didn't want to chance it, and didn't have the specs for the OEM, so the mechanic was the correct route for me.
As to the replacement, the effort involved is on par with replacing the cabin filter; a 10 minute job (that includes washing your hands after).
I just noticed the original hood struts are starting to fail on my 4G TL. Does anyone know if Acura Canada is still offering to replace them under an extended warranty on these?
11-12-2016, 01:10 PM
