This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Because of the reflective material used in the construction of the dash lower dash components on the far left and far right side of the dash, there is a blind spot created by sun glare into the left and right mirrors from the refection off the lower left and right dashboard. The reflection and glare is so strong, it completely eliminates an image in the mirror, when the sun is behind you, low in the sky. If you are changing lanes and depending on the mirror without looking back, you can't see any object that might be in the mirror. It's a dangerous situation.
The lower part of the dashboard, at mid level on the left and right sides next to the vent openings, is finished with a reflective material that causes severe side mirror glare when driving with sunlight coming from the rear. The glare is so bad, that it creates a blind spot in the side view mirror. When this happens, the glare almost completely covers the entire surface of the mirror, making it impossible to see whatever might be in the next lane or behind. In an emergency situation, if you come across something in the road and must change lanes, if you look into the mirror, you can't see what is in the lane next to you because of the glare. This could lead to an accident, particularly if there is not enough time to turn and look.
About 2 weeks after I purchased my brand new Acura TL, I noticed that my driver side window rattles loudly when I shut the door, especially when my window is rolled down part way. Each day the rattle gets worse and now the window rattles when I drive on bumpy roads. I called the dealership and made an appointment to have my driver side window fixed. The rattling noise is so loud that I am concerned that the window will break and will cause bodily harm. The service advisor insisted that there wasn't a problem and refused to take any sort of action. He refused to schedule an appointment for me because he said there's nothing he could do about it, and reassured me that this is just the way the car is designed. After arguing back and forth, they finally agreed to inspect my car. The service advisor inspected my vehicle window and inspected another vehicle (same make and model) to see the difference. He adamantly denied that there was a difference in the vehicles. I inspected it and noticed that my vehicle is making a considerably noisier rattle. There was clearly a difference. The service advisor then grabbed another gentleman that works directly for the Acura corporation as their zone manager. He inspected both vehicles and of course he lied and conspired with the service advisor to tell me that there's nothing wrong with my window. Both gentlemen even questioned my concern for a rattling window. I explained that this could cause bodily injury if the window breaks or if I were to get into an automobile accident and the window is not supported properly. It was apparent both of them did not want to fix my vehicle. I am uncertain of the reasoning behind their motive, possibly they did not want incur financial loss, since my vehicle is under warranty and any cost associated to the repair would come from either the Acura corporation or the dealership. Acura has refused to acknowledge problem with window. Acura is trying to cover-up this problem.
This problem has not created an accident, but it has the potential to cause accidents. The gunmetal trim inserted into the left and right lower sides of the dash create a blinding glare in the rear view mirrors on sunny days. The glare is so bad, it covers nearly all of the surface of the left hand mirror, so when changing lanes from right to left, the driver will miss seeing a car in the left lane because of the glare. It is even more pronounced for a car that may be in the blind spot. Same is true, but not as bad, as the right lane. I had to cover up the trim by covering it with a black cloth taped to the gunmetal trim.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Portland, OR, USA