Anyone having issues with carbon fiber exterior oem

[Justpassedu]

I called my local Acura dealer in Valley stream NY regarding the issue , spoke to the manager directly who gave me a issue over the phone. Now I contacted Acura client relations and have them meeting me at that dealership to look at it next week. This should definitely be under warranty. Mine started having the issue at only 300 miles .

Coming back to this post I met a rep from Acura client relations at the dealer , he agreed to new parts , I told him it will most likely happen again as Acura does not use a clear coat . He let me take my car to there body shop where they sanded them down and added two coats of clear coat to the damaged parts . It looks much better , not perfect but way better . On a side note though this process left me with a my small scratch on my shift knob and steering wheel protector I had on from someone’s ring possibly , some white over spray on the rear bumper and black aero parts that I got off with alcohol myself and a small chunk out of one my tires . Nothing major but just proves my point of not liking to have my car at the dealer or body shop . I’m not even going to complain as I don’t want it in there hands again .

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[bdisco]

https://www.integraforums.com/forum/attachments/bii19600-03-pdf.223725/

^ the instructions don’t mention having to clear coat trim pieces prior to installation.

 

[Justpassedu]

https://www.integraforums.com/forum/attachments/bii19600-03-pdf.223725/

^ the instructions don’t mention having to clear coat trim pieces prior to installation.

Ofcourse they don’t but if you want them to last this should be done . I believe Acura uses a cheap gel coat from what I have heard .

 

[bdisco]

Update: Friday September 6th. Having not heard back from the dealer I stopped in unannounced when I was at the UPS store next door. The service representative said to bring the car around and take a seat in the lounge. The rep came out and asked me if I used an automated car wash. I said occasionally I will use a touchless car wash. He said they will perform a “one time only good will replacement “ of the defective trim parts, but from now on ”hand wash only”. I asked where it states hand wash only in the owners’ manual?

https://www.integraforums.com/forum/downloads/2023-integra-owners-manual.pdf#page659

So Acura sells expensive carbon fiber trim pieces with inadequate coating that can’t stand up to auto car washes?

 

[Afgintegra23]

That's crazy. Glad you got them to fix it. Mine is getting worst. I'm planning on getting a quote from a body shop to clear coat the spoiler and the mirror caps and see if it's worth it.

 

[edido]

That's crazy. Glad you got them to fix it. Mine is getting worst. I'm planning on getting a quote from a body shop to clear coat the spoiler and the mirror caps and see if it's worth it.

It might be better to PPF? It’s a small area and should not be very expensive.

 

[Afgintegra23]

But do you think the ppf would make the spot that lost the clear coat look like the rest?

 

[edido]

I don’t think so. It makes more sense to re-coat it and restore the gloss first. Then PPF.

 

[bdisco]

My email to Acura Client Relations:
I have an issue with the Acura Carbon fiber trim pieces. The clear coat is pealing. My dealer offered to replace the defective parts as a “one time only goodwill gesture”. The service representative asked if a used a car wash. Occasionally I will use a touchless (no brushes) auto car wash. The rep said from now on hand wash only. The carbon fiber trim pieces are not inexpensive and should be able to stand up to the occasional automatic car wash. It does not state “hand wash only” on Acura’s dreamshop in the description of the carbon fiber accessories. I believe Acura should stand by their accessories and fix these defective parts. I look forward to your response.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

My email to Acura Client Relations:
I have an issue with the Acura Carbon fiber trim pieces. The clear coat is pealing. My dealer offered to replace the defective parts as a “one time only goodwill gesture”. The service representative asked if a used a car wash. Occasionally I will use a touchless (no brushes) auto car wash. The rep said from now on hand wash only. The carbon fiber trim pieces are not inexpensive and should be able to stand up to the occasional automatic car wash. It does not state “hand wash only” on Acura’s dreamshop in the description of the carbon fiber accessories. I believe Acura should stand by their accessories and fix these defective parts. I look forward to your response.

I wish you the best, but it honestly seems like acura doesn't care about these issues.

Having done some carbon work previously.... These are supposed to be prepreg parts, but they should still get a coating of urethane or poly after cure. The bigger issue is the carbon parts are coming with defects from the factory in the resin which indicates poor dry carbon quality. Dry carbon is essentially a sticky sheet because it has partially cured epoxy infused into the carbon fabric. The epoxy cure I'm seeing on my parts indicates it bubbled during cure, which means it either got too hot, not hot enough, or the resin didn't have a properly distributed catalyst. Sucks, but that's carbon for you. It's a very sensitive material, but thankfully it's really cheap to produce overall. Clear coat should help, and you can even do that yourself. Just wet sand with 600grit and spray with a can of water based poly.

 

[bdisco]

I implore my other forum members to contact Acura and file a complaint about the carbon fiber trim pieces. We should not be required to clear coat prior to installation unless stated so on the sales page description. Nor should we have to hand wash only. I live in New England it gets cold here in the winter. If enough people complain Acura will make the manufacturer make necessary improvements to prevent this from reoccurring in the future. “The squeaky wheels get the grease.”

https://crmshonda.my.salesforce-sites.com/service/acuraw2c

1-800-382-2238

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