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The after market prices for genuine Acura MDX accessories seem to be out of wack. My dealer (in CA) is publishing parts prices (uninstalled) that are 30-50% higher than prices (including S&H) posted in this forum. Although my dealer will guarantee the parts and installation as part of the general warranty of the vehicle, I doubt it worth the markup. However, the hassle of installing it yourself must be factored in here.
Others have already shared their experiences with installing the running boards in another thread so named. So my question to any of you do-it-your-self types is how difficult is it to install items like tailgate deflectors and mud guards? Does anyone have direct experience here? TIA |
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Don't know about the tailgate deflectors, but the rear mud guards are easy to install. I'm not very handy, but was able to install the rear mud guards in less than half an hour. All you need to be able to do is screw in three screws (two of which are already in the wheel well and one screw requires a new hole that you need to make). The trick is to have a stub screw driver -- didn't have one and didn't want to take off the wheel, so I had to improvise with a phillips drill bit and wrench. I also purchased a cargo net, cargo cover, cargo tray and wheel locks from A&H. I would definitely suggest getting these types of accessories from A&H or Hondaacuraworld.
Good luck. |
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Go ahead and buy the part and do it yourself. It is very easy to install the following items:
1) Rear mudguard (30 minutes);
2) Roof rack (2.5 hours + 1 hour to go out and buy a hack saw);
3) Side steps (3 hours). I take it easy and I am basically lazy to raise the vehicle;
4) Rear view deflector (1 hour): If you open up the rear door, look on the top, you will see two protruding metal marker (about 1/4" in diameter). These are the spots that you should drill. Tim (HAW) always ship the merchadise with detail instruction. Follow the instruction and you will not make a mistake.
I did managed to install all of the above in a reasonable amount of time. I did it because I found that dealer tries to charge a lot of money for these options. It turns out that It easy relatively easy to do these things.
My skill level: I am not a mechanics. I am not a handyman either. The only thing that I know how to do in the car are: Changing oil, change spark plug (I can not do it on more difficult car).
I am planing to install the following items next week:
1) Moonroof visor;
By the way, buy the parts from Hondacuraworld. They are at least 10% cheaper than AH. I strongly recomend Tim. I place the order in the morning, and I get the tracking number three hours later (I already order three times from them). The parts always come with detailed instruction.
By the way, If you read this post, many thanks for such a great service Tim.
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What part are we supposed to saw when we install the roof rack by ourselves? I'm thinking to install it on my basic MDX by myself and pretty much concerned about it.
Thanks |
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Oh! Sorry if I sound an alarm. The hacksaw is used to cut the rubber strip on the roof into three sections. It is very easy to remove this rubber molding. The instruction that comes with the kit is very clear and easy to follow. The following is a brief description of the procedure:
1) Remove the rubber molding on the top using a flat head screw drive with a piece of cloth to cover the head of the screw so that it will scratch the pain.
2) Cut the molding into three pieces. The instruction tells you to cut into three precise pieces with exact length. This is not really needed. There are a lot of tolerance. You can be off by a few millimeter and you will still be OK. By the way, the dimension given in the instruction is in metric.
3) Reinstall these three pieces on the roof.
4) Install the roof rack on the exposed screws in the roof.
5) Use torx driver to tighten the screw. Do not over tighten it.
The most difficult part of the task is step 5. This is due to the fact that screw is not exactly aligned in the middle of the screw hole in the rack. If you encounter this situation, try to remove the rack first, and then tighten the screw on the nut. Use a plier to move the screw out a bit. I hope that this will help. If you live in the North bay area of CA, I may be able to give you a hand. Good luck. |
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Sorry about the spelling (like I said before, I am basically lazy). Actually I try to do a spell check, and I accidentally hit the submit key.
1) This should read as "....not scratch the paint.."
Also there are some more spelling mistakes in the following paragraphs as well. Again, I apologize. |
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