Alin10123

Hey guys,
Just wanted to give you guys a little heads up to BE CAREFUL no matter what small task the dealer is doing. Took my car in for a simple oil change a couple of weeks ago. told them do NOT wash the car and do NOT touch my tire pressure. It was written in huge red letters with a marker across the top and then highlighted to be 100% extra sure. Well... i'm driving around and noticed that my average gas mileage had dropped 5mpg. I thought it might have been the winter gas switchover, sudden dip in outdoor temperature, or just a bad tank of gas. But at the 2nd tank, it happened as well. After taking a really sharp turn i noticed that the steering wasn't as sharp as it used to be so i was curious and i chcked the tire pressure. The dealer had set all 4 tires to below 25PSI. I checked the tires when they were hot too. So it was probably closer to 22PSI. The week before i took the car in for an oil change, i checked the tire pressure myself and i had them at 32/34. So it had to be the dealer. Not only that, they ALMOST washed the car again until i stopped them.


That just confirms my suspisions even more.

Just a heads up you guys. BE CAREFUL out there.

acn684

um....u drove 2 tanks w/o checking your tire pressure once? No offense but 25 psi would make the tires look extremely flat and should've been more obvious than having to check it on ur 2nd tank...or approximately 400 miles

Brandon24pdx

pfffft, you pay the dealership to change your oil?

ChrismanTSX

OK, what idiot would deflate the tires to below 25 PSI? at least if they brought them to spec, you might think that they knew what they were doing... Speak to the manager, this is ridiculous!!!

EuRTSX

If the psi of your tires are around 34/35, and they preset it to 25/24, wouldn't you realize it sooner?

calgary2800

That happens to me everytime I go to the dealer also with tire pressure. They just dont seem to understand that when a car is driven over 10 minutes tire pressure goes up and its not cold tire air they are adjusting.

I bring my car in with 33 all around and come home to 30 all around. And than I have to pump it back up!!

slo007

I put 36.5 on my tires (Falken). The dealer/tire shop always drops them to 32, but the car feels so heavy! I have to pump them back up when I get home.

Alin10123

The tires felt only slightly squishier going through the corners but still managed to grip pretty well. Most of my driving is highway driving though. Felt the same to me on the open road during crusing.

Alin10123

Not everytime. Only when i dont have time to do it.

Alin10123

You'd be surprised. I think depending on the tire brand and model. Mine didn't look like that big of a difference. Plus i've always been taught to never judge a tires inflation by the looks.

I just checked the tires not too long ago before going into the oil change. I'm sorry i trusted them not to touch the tires. I was in a hurry and dind't think straight. i guess i'm bad, i dont check the tires at every fillup. Probably closer to every 4 fillups, plus i have my tires rotated and balanced at an extremely reputable place that i trust. Guess i didn't see the need. I'll know better next time.

Alin10123

They'd probalby just deny any wrong doing.

rx280

I can relate to these stories. Since my very first post-purchase visit to the dealership, I’ve been telling the service advisers that I don’t want the car washed and don’t want the tire pressure changed. I make the no-wash request verbally every time. Invariably, the adviser looks kind of puzzled but then says something like “No problem, sir, and I’ll enter that in your records here on the computer right now so you won’t have to tell us again.” Even though I’ve heard that a bunch of times, I’m still not sure it’s in my customer info. I’ll keep reminding them anyway, and I’ll keep taping a “Don’t Wash, Don’t Vacuum, Don’t Adjust the Tire Pressure) note to the dashboard.
They’ve definitely adjusted the tire pressure a couple of times. Bad enough that they do it despite being asked not to, but they don't even go with the Acura-recommended pressures: 32F/30R. (I keep mine at 35F/33R.) The service techs at this dealership seem oblivious to the recommended 2-pound front-to-rear difference, even though it's on that door-jamb sticker.
But here’s my “favorite” you‘ve-got-to-be-kidding-me anecdote:
After an oil change, which, of course, was preceded by me telling the service adviser that I didn’t want the free wash, the adviser was escorting me to the cashier when he proudly announced: “As you requested, we didn’t wash your car, but I did have the technician wipe it down for you.” So evidently the technician took a rag or a towel (how clean it was, who knows?) and wiped the dirt and pollen around. (This was in the heart of the spring pollen season.) Wow. Thank you very much for being so helpful and attentive.
It’s pretty amazing how much trouble you can have trying to get a dealer’s service department to NOT do something.
One other thing… re. acn284’s statement that “25 psi would make the tires look extremely flat,” I agree with alin10123. Radial tires really don’t show air loss like you’d expect them to. If a radial looks like it’s lost a lot of air, well, it’s probably got only about half as much air in it as you’d guess from how it appears.

EuRTSX

For me, I noticed instantly differences when my tires in the front were low on tire pressure, from the standard oem PSI, maybe down 2-3 psi.


I suppose Dealer's just don't really listen to the minor details, they just want the job done and end up pissing us off regardless.

ndx2

Dude, you can't just go around making ridiculous claims like that.

ndx2

Alin, you're just gonna have to cause a scene at the dealership; be sure you go completely ape shit over tedious things and make sure everyone at the dealership sees you, next to your car, frantically pointing at it and screaming NO WASH, BITCHES.

It takes work to get them to listen to ya...

EuRTSX

It's not ridiculous, I did notice that my ride quality and feel was all wrong. I'm a bit more sensitive than other people.

Brandon24pdx

One time I took my old 92 MR2 Turbo to my mechanic buddy at the Toyota dealership and they ran it through the car washer, and cracked one of the foglight lenses (Glass on those cars) I said

"well, Ill pay for one and ill have two shiney new foglights I guess"

poltergeist

Sorry but this doesn't add up. You really think the tech (in this case likely the hourly oil change guy, who's probably got 4 more oil changes after yours) is going to stand there and bleed 10+ psi out of each tire (which takes awhile) to well below the recommended psi? I doubt it....Where I work, all tires get adjusted to the recommended PSI on the door jamb unless specifically asked otherwise. No way we'd bleed tires down that low without being asked to.

Washes are a PITA because where I work ALL cars are supposed to get washed after service unless asked not to. Even with a note on the RO sometimes a veh. gets grabbed and washed because the porter doesn't normally see the RO. Best bet is to put a note visible in the car.

That said, if you don't like their service, don't go back.

fast1

Whether or not the tech touched your tires against your desires is one thing but I'm highly suspect that they would deflate them to less than factory spec. Are you sure that your tire pressure gauge is correct? With OEM tires and factory psi settings, the tires do look a little low when they are cold and will stiffen up the steering with a couple extra psi in 'em. Looks are highly dependent on the composition of the tire. A lot of the softer rubber looks flat until they warm up. Keep in mind, there may be some policy too that does not allow the techs to let the car out of the bay with incorrect tire pressure so who know. I'd check your tire pressure gauge first- they don't last forever.

For those that don't think you can feel a couple of pounds down in the tires, I can feel it although those are for the fronts. The backs have to be down quite a bit to feel low.

Powered by Honda

I always tell the dealer not to wash my car yet they do and every washs I get a new scratch.

calgary2800

But the thing is tech guys are almost never able to get the PSI right. Their intentions might be to get it to factory specs but from my experience its always off.

If a car just came in the off the road they are adjusting warm air in the tires so the readings are off. How come they cant figure that out?

Alin10123

Washes at this dealer aren't hard. On the way back to the service area from the service bays, there's a car wash machine. They just drive it in, put it in park, put on the radio, and a few minutes later it's done.

With regards to the tire pressure. They've never gotten it right on my car. It's always all over the place. Maybe only +/- 3-4 PSI but NEVER this much. It's been a little bit since i left there so i can't exactly prove it was them. You know dealers. They ALWAYS try to blame someone else regardless of if it was obviously them or not. I only go there becuase it's convenient and on the way.

Alin10123

This tire guage is pretty new. It's not a cheap $.99 one at wally world either. When i take it to my local tire place that takes really care of my car, the tire pressures ALWAYS match up on my guage to what i tell them to put it at. They dealer may not be 100% correct on the pressure all the time but at least usually they are close. Maybe +- 3/4 PSI. But this time it was a little far.

ChrismanTSX

I can also feel when tire pressure is slightly low; it's everything from slightly more bounce in the suspension, a bit more roll-over on a tight curve, feeling the car slightly less "crisp" over some pavement breaks...

studville

I'm the complete opposite of you guys. I could be rolling around on 3 tires and a rim and still probably wouldn't notice anything.

tirebiter

Absolutely. I picked up my TSX w/Navi a few weeks ago. A condition of the sale was that it would have the newest version of the disc. It came with the old one. After 2 weeks of hassling with the salesman, I called the Service Manager (who had left me a "Thank You" message on my phone). His response was ---get this---, "I didn't know the TSX came with a Navigation System". I then spoke with the sales manager, the same person I explained the day after I signed the paperwork, what Navi disc version I expected. His response was, "This is the first I'm hearing about this." Later in the call he actually referred to our earlier meeting.

These people don't know their own product, and lie so effortlessly. They can contradict themselves in two consecutive statements, and never acknowledge it.

BoxedUp

Maybe he really didn't bleed air out of all 4 tires but instead switched them all from another car....Would the TPMS have alerted that all 4 tires were below recommended pressure or does it just notify when one tire is out of sync with the other 3?

poltergeist

What TPMS? I'm sure the dealer goes out of their way to swap wheels and tires from one veh to another for no apparent reason while doing an oil change!!!! (another conspiracy theory to go along with JFK and 911)

jlukja

Alin10123

If they owe you anything, be sure to get it in writing. Or at least have them put it on the "we owe" form.

Alin10123

Um... I dind't know that the TSX had a TPMS

EuRTSX

06 doesnt. 07 Does I believe.

rambalu80

Took my 06 TSX to the dealership (Classic Acura) for the first A1 service on Monday with 5075 miles on the odo. Called in on Friday to schedule it and I decided to take advantage of their shuttle service since all the loaners were booked until Thursday. Dropped my car off & they told me they would change the oil, rotate tires, check all the fluids, wash & vacuum the car for $78 & I had a $10 off coupon. They called me about noon time to notify me that the service was complete & the shuttle was on its way. I get back to the dealership & my car was in the parking lot. It was raining & didn't look like it washed at all although the lady mentioned that it was washed and vacuumed. I didn't care much b/c it was raining & it was gonna get dirty again. I open the door and it looked like they had vacuumed the car but there were huge mud stains all over the seats. I was pissed but late for work & decided to leave & just clean it myself which I did.

A couple days later I get a call from Acura to ask me about my experience and I told them what happened. I guess my feedback was conveyed to the dealership and they called me to apologize and reschedule a complimentary wash & vacuum. Hopefully they do a better job this time!

joerockt

I must have the only dealer that actually listens when I tell them not to wash the car

slo007

That's awfully expensive for an oil change & tire rotation. I paid less than $36 in CA.

rambalu80

I checked all dealerships in Houston & the one in Beaumont. The A1 service is $78 plus tax. The oil change by itself is $26 and tire rotation is $29. It was my first oil change and thats why I prefered to get it done at the dealership and it included the multi point check with the wash & vacuum which they effed up.