How To Remove The Acura ILX Grille?

Are you planning to install fog lights on your Acura or perhaps install an aftermarket grille? If so, you'll need to know how to remove the grille. You’ve come to the right place—we have researched this question, and we have the answer for you.

Before you can remove the grille of your Acura, you will first need to remove the front bumper. Then you can simply unscrew the grille from behind the bumper.

However, removing the bumper is not as simple as removing the grille. That’s why we made a comprehensive guide on how to remove the front bumper in the succeeding sections. Read on!

2021 Acura ILX premium sport sedan at a dealership - How To Remove The Acura ILX Grille

An Introduction To Acura

Acura is an automobile company that manufactures luxury and performance SUVs and cars. Honda established Acura in 1986 as a response to the Japanese government’s export restrictions to the USA.

The restrictions made it more profitable for Japanese automakers to export more expensive vehicles like luxury SUVs and performance cars to the US.

The success of the Acura Legend prompted rival automakers Toyota and Nissan to establish their own luxury car divisions—Lexus and Infiniti.

2021 Acura ILX premium sport sedan at a dealership.

How To Remove The Acura ILX Grille

We will start with the instructions to remove the front bumper of the Acura ILX. There is very little difference between the different year models of Acura ILX. You can easily adapt the instructions below to your Acura ILX if the position of the fasteners and the type of bumper are not exactly the same.

Preparing Your Acura ILX

  1. Park your car in an even and well-lit area.
  2. Turn off the engine.
  3. Engage the parking brake.
  4. Place chocks on the front and back of the rear wheels.
  5. Jack up the front wheels at the proper lift points. Consult the owner's manual to find out where the correct jack-up points are on your Acura ILX. Make sure to raise the front wheels high enough for you to work under your car.
  6. Place jack stands under your Acura ILX on the jack-up points. Position the jack stand so that the jack-up point will rest at the center. Place one jack stand for each front wheel.
  7. Release the jack slowly to let your Acura rest on the jack stands.
  8. Shake your Acura to make sure that it is stable on top of the jack stands.
  9. Raise the jack once more up to a height that is barely touching the jack-up points. This will serve as a safety precaution in case one of the jack stands malfunctions.

These jack stands have a capacity of three tons. 

Click here to see this set of jack stands on Amazon. 

Click here to see these rubber wheel chocks on Amazon.

Removing The Fasteners Under The Bumper

Car lifting in a vulcaniser shop

  1. Move under your Acura and locate the two bolts that hold the front bumper in place. There is a cover that is attached to the front bumper that you will need to remove. If your Acura is still warm, be careful not to touch any of the warm parts.
  2. Remove the two bolts and set them aside.
  3. Start to remove the plastic retainer clips. These clips have a central bolt that anchors them in place. Pry the central lock with a flathead screwdriver. Once the central bolt pops up, pull the retainer clips out. Keep doing the same with the rest of the clips that you will find. To verify which clips are keeping the front bumper in place, shake the bumper a little. This will reveal the location of the clips that are still holding the bumper in place.
  4. There is a cover that is connected to the center of the bumper. You will have to disconnect the cover from the body of your Acura and remove it with the front bumper. This cover will be difficult to remove without removing the bumper first. It is easier to remove it with the bumper.

The kit includes 240 pieces of clips and five different tools for removing clips.

Click here to see this kit on Amazon.

Removing The Clips Under The Wheel Well

  1. Go to the left front wheel. Move the front wheel well cover aside. You might need to remove another retainer clip to move it to one side. Under the wheel well are two plastic retainer clips. Remove them by lifting the central lock.
  2. Locate the screw under the wheel well and remove that as well. The head of this screw is facing the floor and might not be easy to spot.
  3. Move to the right front wheel and do the same thing to remove the two plastic retainer clips and the screw.

Removing The Clips Inside The Engine Bay

  1. Open the hood of your Acura.
  2. Locate the two retainer clips on both sides of the engine bay that hold the plastic shell that covers the radiator. The clip can be the same type as the ones under the bumper or a push-type lock.
  3. Two more push clips near the radiator area hold the plastic shell in place. In some Acura ILX models, there are three clips like this, while there are four in others. The push clips work in the opposite way of the regular retainer clips. Instead of prying the central lock, you need to push the central lock into the clip. Use the corner of a flathead screwdriver to push this lock into the clip. Once the lock goes in, pull the plastic clip out.
  4. Check for other retainer clips that are holding the plastic shell down. If there are none left, pull the cover out of the way. Set it aside for later reinstallation.
  5. Remove the two bolts that are holding the front bumper in place.
  6. Check for other retainer clips that are still holding the front bumper in place.

Taking Off The Front Bumper

The hand of a man putting on or removing the front bumper from a red car in a vehicle repair shop. Industry in auto service.

  1. Starting with the edge of the front bumper that is connected to the wheel well liner, pull the front pumper towards you. The only thing left holding the front bumper in place are clips. Place one of your hands on the headlight assembly and pull the front bumper—gently but with just enough force to release it from the clips.
  2. Once you remove the part closest to the wheel well, move to the part of the bumper under the headlights. Pull the bumper once more with one of your hands on the headlight and the other one under the bumper to apply enough force to remove it from the clips.
  3. Move to the other side of the bumper after you finish one side. Start from the wheel well of that side until you remove the clips from under the headlights.
  4. Make a final check to verify that there are no other fastener clips, bolts, or screws that are holding the front bumper in place.
  5. Get back to the engine bay. There are two flaps behind the radiator that are keeping the bumper in place. Peel off the two flaps and lift the front bumper off.
  6. Before carrying the bumper away from your car, set it down for a moment to inspect the grille. Check for cables that are connected to the grille or the bumper. Some models would have a collision sensor on the grille. Some models have fog light wires in case you install fog lights later. Disconnect all the wires from the front bumper and set them on a surface of cloth or foam to prevent scratching the paint.

Removing The Grille On Your Acura

Disassembly of an old and worn car radiator by a mechanic

  1. Set the front bumper down on a surface that will allow you to work on the inside.
  2. Some models use a retainer clip to keep the front grille in place. Remove these clips and set them aside. Use a flathead screwdriver to loosen any clips that keep the rest of the grille in place. Set aside the top front grille.
  3. Unscrew the Phillips head screws that keep the front grille in place. In some models, you will need to remove the top portion of the front bumper. This is connected to the main bumper assembly using clips or Phillips screws.
  4. Push the top front grille out through the front of the bumper to remove it.
  5. There are two front grilles in some models. Remove the second front grille the same way as the top front grille. Set it aside.
  6. There is a wire connector that is connected to the two lower grilles. This is where the collision sensor is connected to. Unclip the wire to give you more room to remove the screws that keep the two bottom grilles in place.
  7. Unscrew the Phillips screw that is keeping the bottom grille in place. Lift the side opposite the screw to unclip it from there and lift off the rest of the bottom grille.
  8. Do the same thing for the other bottom grille to remove it.

In Closing

Removing the grille of your Acura ILX is simple, but you will need to remove the front bumper first. The clips and screws that keep the grills in place are all behind the bumper. You cannot get to them without removing the bumper.

If you enjoyed reading this article, you might find the articles below equally enjoyable to read:

Does Acura ILX Come With Spare Tire?

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