Renegade

I'm trying to get my wife's car (100k) miles feeling like new again, looking for some thoughts/answers on the following.

1. Told that the rear shocks/struts are leaking. Can anyone recommend rear shocks as good as OEM but cheaper? Also, besides the rear shocks themselves, any other parts I need to buy as well? Labor estimate for an independent shop?

2. Acceleration between around 40 to 60mph I can feel the car lightly to moderate shuttering. If I take my foot off the pedal during the acceleration it stops. No gear/shifting issues. Reviewing the forums it appears people have changed out their front CV joints to resolve the issue. Can someone point me to the proper parts for the replacement? Labor estimate for an independent shop?

3. Leather on the side of the front driver seat is rippling and getting worse. I swear the leather they use in this car has awful durability. Do I need to spend a ton of money buying a new car seat or is there a better way? I do not want to buy an aftermarket seat cover.

AlanW

#1. OEM equivalent rear shocks would be KYB Excel-G GR-2. Probably cheapest at Rock Auto for around $55.00 each. There are no other bushings or anything else needed for rear shock replacement, but you probably should replace the rear sway bar end links & bushings while you are at it. Get Moog brand from Rock Auto, around $20 each for the end links and about $10-$15 for the 2 bushings.
These are quick & easy replacements for DIY. A good shop should be able to replace all in an hour or so.

#2. There are complete axle assemblies with inner & outer CV joints available at parts stores. Some from Rock Auto for around $50 each. Apparently there can be problems with some aftermarket brands, but I have not needed to replace mine, so I'm not up on it. Maybe someone else will chime in. This is also not that hard or time consuming job-another hour or so job.

#3. This is gong to be expensive, and No, you don't buy a whole new seat unless you own a bank. You just need the seat cover replaced. OEM leather seat bottom cover is over $500 last time I checked. There are probably aftermarket leather covers available, I'm not up on that either. Or you can go to an upholstery shop, but not sure if that will be less $ than an Acura OEM cover.

87gatech

I just purchased a 2008 RDX and both front leather seats (the bottoms) have tears. The person I bought the car from had the drivers side back recovered and the top of the storage compartment between the seats. It was done by a local upholstery shop and it looks very good. They used a synthetic material (cheaper than leather) rather than leather. I took the car to the same shop and they quoted $250 per seat to fix the bottoms with synthetic material. I'll eventually have them fixed but the shop has a 4 week backlog of work.

I would post pictures but I don't have the necessary 5 post (I just joined the forum).

Denvermgb

2. I would have the tires balanced. Sometimes that helps the shaking or shuddering you describe. Good luck and ket us know.

Denvermgb

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