I purchased my car brand new 3 months ago, and got my first spoiler installed shortly after. Within a few days one corner started peeling up and it bugged me so now after its been over 2 months I decided to finally get it fixed.

Went yesterday to pick it up. Immiediatly noticed spoiler #2 was WAY OFF CENTER. Like not even close! (See photos). Not only that, THEY SCRATCHED MY TRUK! (see photos). There are a few hairline scratches tracing the spoiler that clearly happened during install. I said no way and didnt even get inside the car I immiediatly handed back the keys and hopped back in my loaner and they said they would replace it with a new spoiler and fix the scratches. This was yesterday

Today I went to pick up the car with spoiler #3. Ok, looks to be centered. But oh wait the scratches are still there. And I just pulled in the garage at home 20 min later and looked with a flashlight since its night time and sure enough there is a noticeable gap between the spoiler and the trunk. You can see in the attached photo the adhesive is not even touching the trunk its just on the spoiler. I immediately called back the tech and said when I come back for the scratches I will be needing ANOTHER spoiler. Spoiler #2 was on my car less than 24 hours and spoiler #3 will be just a few days.

Oh i cant wait to see what spoiler #4 looks like when I get that done. Grrr. Oh and yesterday I asked the dealership for some sort of compensation and the GM said he would give me my first oil change free. Problem is I am only at 50% oil after 3 months and the dealership is going out of business on December 31st and I wont need an oil change by then. Seriously! I will be asking for something else tomorrow maybe cargo hooks or something small so they can throw me a bone.

Just wanted to share this, we all know there has been tons of problems with spoilers but CHECK BEFORE LEAVING THE DEALERSHIP!




Photo 1 (spoiler #2) of Left side of trunk. See the clear gap between the spoiler and the side of the trunk. There is a solid 1/4 inch gap along the whole side



Photo 2 (spoiler #2) of Right side of trunk. See there is NO gap between the spoiler and the side? How did this even past inspection in the first place



Photo 3. (spoiler #3) The current spoiler which was put on TODAY but the adhesive is just sitting there touching the trunk but clearly not even touching the spoiler



Photo 4: Shows the scratches. Here is just 1 or 2 but there are multiple like these on the top of the trunk that run along the spoiler

 

Can someone with a spoiler tell me if my 2nd to last photo of my current spoiler is normal that gap? i dont remember that on my original spoiler.

 

Went to my dealer for an oil change, and they had a TLX in the showroom with a spoiler attached. Butt ugly installation; it was lifted on one side so high that I could insert my pinky inbetween it and the trunk lid (but the other side was fully flush!)
I can't imagine that this wouldn't get worse over time, as this car hasn't even been on the road yet!

 

That is plain embarrassing to have that on the showroom floor

That was the problem with my first spoiler, the corner starting lifting up.

 

That is just unacceptable - can't believe it is on showroom floor.

 

Whatever you do, DO NOT GET THEM TO FIX THE SCRATCHES!
they will likely have inexperienced detailers cause holograms and MORE scratches embedded into the trunk.

have some one that knows what they are doing to get them out. those scratches are easily polished out with a machine and polish.

 

You dont think letting them buff it out next week will be good? I plan to show the general manager my new failing spoiler and get my 4th one done while they fix the scratches. I do not know too much about detailing or how to get them out any better.

 

no. dont do it.
it will be even worse.

buffers are hard to use. an unskilled person will FUCK your shit up!!!!!!!!!!!!

the detailing industry has moved to Dual Action Orbitals. NOT BUFFFERS!
these are easier to use and wont destroy paint.


I use a DA orbital and can get minor imperfections, like the scratches on your trunk, out.

 

Lol... DAs are for amateur detailers.

 

no shit taco bella. thus why you cant screw up the paint.

if an unskilled person uses a buffer on his paint, it will cause holograms and even more scratches.


please leave your useless comments to yourself.

 

Unskilled people don't use buffers, dummy. Rule number one of detailing.

No one just picks up a buffer and goes to town, unless they're on your level.

 

Orly?

 

thats what the dealership does
they take the lowest paid employee and tell them to go to town.


if the person behind the machine DOESNT know what he's doing, it'll fuck up the car. I said this more than three times.



Do I really have to say, if the person KNOWS what he's doing, or a skillful worker, the car will be fine?

 

Dude, nowhere did OP say they are using a buffer vs DA. Those "scratches" look like scuffs in the clear coat. A 1.5 second pass across it will fix the problem. You'd have to be the simplest form of human to fuck that up, even with a buffer. They likely wouldn't even do the whole trunk lid, just that one spot.

Don't make a mountain out of a mole hill. Not all dealership detailers are equal. You're assuming way too much. I also get the feeling that if OP is such a discerning customer, the dealership will want him gone, rather than coming back and saying "you guys destroyed my paint. Pay for that now too".

Dealerships around here won't even let a guy use a buffer. They only allow them to use DAs. My buddy, back in the day, started bringing his own buffer to work. But he was very skilled and knew what he was doing and the dealership trusted him after he proved his work time and again.

I'm not saying shit doesn't happen, as there are always outliers in every scenario. But again, I think you're making a mountain out of a mole hill.

 

^so essentially, you're saying the same thing i am.

a skilled worker will do it correctly, and an unskilled worker will not.

thank you.

 

Um, no, what I'm saying is don't be a fear monger.

OP will be fine.

 

^did you see the amount of spoilers he went through?

are you reading the same thread I am??

 

they are the ones that fucked his car up in the first place.

 

"oh chit, we scratched his car. oh well, he wont notice"

 

Yes, it was the detailers who installed his spoiler.

Any more dumb arguments, or are you done for today?

 

if the installers scratched the car, its easier for them to get the porters, not detailers, to fix the scratch BEFORE the customer picks up the car.

but no. they let it slide.
speaks volumes for the dealership

 

Ooooor the porters didn't even notice it. OP had to be 6 inches away to take that photo. Porters deal with several dozens of cars a day- you think they're going to look over every square inch?

Also, 99.6% of people wouldn't even notice that scuff and would proceed to driving to the local car wash and using the shitty, dirty bristle brush to wash the car, effectively swirling the shit out of the paint. This is an Acura. A sub 40k car. Not a Ferrari. Keep your expectations real.

 

Wow so many posts today

First of all, cant we all just get along

Next, thanks for all the help! I will be showing the GM and telling him to personally appoint the right employee to fixing the scratches. He first said they will color sand it, im not totally sure what that means but i dont want it, i just want the scratches gone.

This will be my last time at this dealership since they are going out of business anyways...

 

UPDATE

I got an email from the stores GM to bring it tomorrow. He said he wants to make sure its done right so wants to send it to a body shop for install? Is that crazy? I barely feel comfortable letting Acura personal drive my car let alone a 3rd party. Should I tell him NO, and that I want him to personally hand pick the installer at his dealership and look over it in detail when its done??

 

Before you let anyone wet sand the car you need to determine if they're scuffs or scratches. Wetsanding is an extreme step in detailing and I don't see anything that warrants that from the pics.

If the scuffs/scratches are not too deep then a good polish like Megs 205 or Menzerna SF4000/4500 on typical Honda soft paint should take care of the issues. Then apply a good sealant and all will be good.

As far as an Acura tech driving the car to a body shop? I would suggest you bringing the car to the body shop and speaking with them. Just my .02

 

UPDATE AGAIN

So I brought it to Acura and they said they wanted a body shop to do it because they realize they suck at doing it and said they probably wouldnt install the next one right either, go figure

I drove the car myself to the body shop to ask what they would do and they told me to deal with all the holes probably already drilled into my trunk they would want to replace my whole trunk then add the spoiler. Uhhh, no.

So Im just going to leave it as-is, its barely noticable Im just very OCD. The GM at the Acura dealer gave me a free trunk tray and cargo hooks (about $150) so im happy.

 

That's crazy! That dealer needs to stop selling Acura and move to Scion. LOL

I bought and installed myself, no scratches or problems so far (6 months)

 

Spoiler..its official....Acura 101 closed up shop on 11/30. Be seeing you at Acura of TO!

 

Wow that sucks, they told me they wont close till Dec 31st and promised me another cargo hook for free, oh well, I guess Ill pay the $39 bucks or whatever it is to get the 2nd one.

 

I guess the OPs troubles reflect why I have never added a spoiler to any of my cars as a dealer or aftermarket installation.

Even the factory installed spoiler I had on my Maxima gave me trouble over the years by pealing up and discoloring. I have to admit I considered a lip for my TL but am pretty glad now I didn't do it having owned the car for almost 10 years. No paint match issues, additional drips after washing the car, or potential thefts when some lowlife screws up the trunk trying to steal a spoiler.

Spoilers might set a TLXs off from the other TLXs, but don't make the car perform better and sometimes cause more aerodynamic drag.