niray9

Hi all,

My TLX 2.4 - 2015, bought Dec 2014 currently has 18500 miles.

I went to the dealer for an oil change and tire rotation and was told there "might" be a leakage of transmission fluid, because they saw something damp under the transmission area. However, he also added that it would cost $160 to open up the skidpad??? to diagnose the situation.

Is this normal? Shouldn't I be covered under warranty?

Thanks all in advance.

dezymond

Worked at Honda in the past and we typically charged a $150 diagnostic fee. However, if a problem was found, then the fee was waived off

thoiboi

normal.

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

Sorry but I don't know why he should have to pay for a single cent if the car is under the original mfg warranty.

Mr Hyde

Agreed!!!

If there's a mechanical issues with an in-warranty vehicle, why are you paying anything? Makes no sense to me at all.

alpha2beta

NOT NORMAL! Go to a different dealer!

And even if the car was not under warranty $160 to take off the skid plate is ludicrous.

quantum7

This was never normal at my Acura dealer until about 3 or 4 years ago when they got bought out.
The service advisor told me about a specific problem and then asked me if I wanted it repaired. I asked the cost. Quoted $1600 which included $95 diagnosis fee. I said no thanks and did not pay anything that time....slow leak oil pump that is not a problem.
Now they want fee whenever they look at car.
There is no way you should pay anything if it is under warranty. Just another way to make money on the service side now that margins are slim on sales side.....slimmer I should say.

hadokenuh

$0 if under warranty.

5 Acuras

iTrader: (1)

^^What he said.

youngTL

It should be covered fully under warranty. Go to a different dealer. That one sounds shady as fuck.

noclue02

I been to several dealers, including Toyota, Honda and Acura, and regardless if it under warranty or not, they still charge the diagnostic fee here. They did mentioned they will waive it after they found the problem and repair it under warranty. I tried to argued with them and they said it is standard. How you guys get away without paying this stupid fee?

JT4

I agree with the others who said you should pay $0 if under warranty. I have never paid a diagnostic fee on a vehicle still under warranty..

hadokenuh

Where are you located?

Maybe give the headquarter a call and ask them?

shmobby

They're protecting themselves just in case you hit something in the road or whatever. They're not "charging" you a diagnostic feel, they're authorizing it. There's a difference.


TLXs have been puking fluid out of one of the side covers. I'll bet that's it.

wlkeel

Same here. And if I'm ever forced to pay one,that's the end for that dealer (and probably the make).

CTNYC

Hmm.. Never had an issue with having to pay a diagnostic fee while my car was under warranty... Been to 4 dealerships in CT, 1 in NJ, and 2 in VA for warranty -- no diagnostic charges to check something out (And they usually spent at least an hour or so looking for an issue, couldn't figure it out until corporate sent out an engineer to spend 8+ hours combing through looking for the issue)

noclue02

OC in Cali. I just remembered that I took my car in for the first time, and the service adviser didn't mention anything about diagnostic fee. The second time I took it in, this one lady refused to waive the fee, even after calling her boss (I think). And then my friend who went in, they also mentioned the fee, but never charge her, even though she didn't get any work done after. I'm guessing it depend on the service adviser?

hadokenuh

I guess different dealerships have different policies based on their customer base. No offense. I understand their position when people just bring their cars in and complain when there is actually no problem found. The diagnostic fee is more like a deterrent. I'd find a service advisor I could work with or avoid these dealerships all together.

If I were you, I'd just call Acura and find out what they think. Maybe they won't give you a straight answer, maybe they will.

CTNYC

Yup - the people complaining when there is actually no problem found

That was me in my ILX... Maybe 15+ total visits to 6 different dealerships and no problem ever found... Until an engineer ripped apart my car and started testing each and every component because I got a lawyer involved... Short story is, my car kept randomly dying on me (in addition to many other issues ranging from my horn going bad, hybrid system going bad, needing new rear shocks, needing the sunroof rebuilt, etc) but the dealerships/corporate thought I was draining the battery myself somehow... The engineer found the defective part that was draining the battery in very specific circumstances...

GhostTL09

iTrader: (1)

$0.00 fee

Rocket_man

Our local Honda dealer started doing this several years ago. $95 diagnostic fee. The way they explained it at the time was that if they found a problem it would be applied to the repair. But the problem I have with this policy is that they may not find the problem, especially if it were intermittent. Or like Acura they would just deny that there was a problem and it was just your opinion that they car should not do that. If all Acura dealerships did that, how much money would the service departments have made by denying there were any transmission problems. This also leads to customers not wanting to bring in their cars for an issue for fear of being charged a fee and being sent out the door.

In my opinion this is just a way for the dealership to increase their revenues, But they also will miss out on customers that take their car somewhere else, or just don't bring it in at all because they are afraid the service department will just take their money and do nothing. Or will buy a different brand next time, Dealerships make most of their money in the service department. But this policy is short sighted.

shmobby

Dealerships make most of their money in the Service Department because there is no money to be made selling cars anymore.

rocket_pup

Something to realize is that dealerships are separate private businesses than corporate - Honda in this case. As far as Service, they get reimbursed from Honda for factory authorized repairs.

If you take your car in for something and they do not find any fault, the time the dealership used to diagnose the problem is lost. So they will recoup that from the customer. (I have personally never experienced this.) It used to be a "cost of doing business", but I can see people taking advantage of a dealer diagnosing a problem (when car not under warranty), and then get it repaired somewhere else.

wlkeel

I think we're talking about this fee when the car is under warranty.

rocket_pup

Hmmm, I've never experienced a diagnostic fee on a vehicle that's still under warranty before. Any warranty repair is reimbursed by the OEM as long as it's authorized. (I used to work for AHM.) I've never experienced this extra fee and I'm in the Los Angeles area... if there is a way to charge extra for something, this is the place to do it. It shouldn't have anything to do with it, but I take my car to the dealer I purchased it from and I'm sure to always mention that when I go into service. If I were ever presented an extra diagnostic fee for a car still under warranty, I would go to a different dealer.

wlkeel

I think we're 100% in agreement - see post #15.

Mr Hyde

Events like that could easily be handled after the fact by just saying the issue was caused not due to failure, but due to damage, and the costs for diagnosis, parts, and labor will be x, y, and z.

As someone else said, if my local dealership started these kinds of tactics, it would be the end of that dealership for me.

HondaOwnerForLife

Interesting thread. A co-worker bought a new 2015 CRV about 6 months ago. He has an issue with the TPMS throwing a low tire pressure warning even though the tire is properly inflated. The dealer where he bought it told him that there would be a $135 diagnostic fee.
I've purchased several Hondas from said dealer. I told him to speak with the Service Manager, not the service advisor. I was very surprised when he told me about this. I've never, ever been asked to pay this type of "fee" when the vehicle was still under the original factory warranty. Agree with Mr. Hyde above.