In this thread, I describe a bizarre issue where my TSX was found to have three holes in the rear bumper upon delivery. They weren't noticed by the dealer or myself until I had the car for three weeks.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20195

It's now two months later, and due to issues on my schedule and Acura of BOston, the issue is still not resolved. A call to Acura NA customer service in CA the other day finally got the issue towards some resolution. The long and short of it was Acura of Boston wanted me to accept doing some things to the bumper that would take the bumper out of warranty and paint over the factory coat That was unacceptable, so the service manager finally figured out he could remove the bumper from a new silver TSX, swap it with mine and use that one as a loaner car.

My question is this...I blew at least a few days and a ton of calls and aggravation on this to get it resolved. I'd like to get the dealer to recognize this by comping me with an accessory, some services at no cost, etc. Just looking for suggestions from others who have had Acura service issues. I don't want any body accessories. Free oil changes for 2 years? I dunno. Throw some suggestions at me.

 

It wouldn't hurt to press the dealer, but I doubt they'll comp you in any way.

I have to drive about 20 miles round trip to the dealer each time I go, maybe I'll send them a bill for $7.00 for the wear and tear on my TSX.

 

INHO it kinda depends. Were your dealings with this dealer on a professional level or did you them? They may not want to see you back at all if you did. If not then you could ask for almost any accessory you can think of (my guess is you'll get it if its <$200 and they think you'll be back for future services).

 

I understand your ordeal and all, but a comp for a mistake that was fixed? Then logic would say you then deserve a comp for the time it took you to get the comp for the time to get it fixed....see my point?

I wouldn't push it too much further. I agree what happened sucks, and it was the dealer's fault, no question, but they did fix it.

 

I hear your point, but all along the tone of the conversation was total disbelief that Acura could possibly allow a car to have this quality defect to ship...

In other words, every time I talked to a rep or service person or sales person, each one of them implicitly inferred that it looked as though someone (me) had tried to attach a road kit or rear backup sensors and had failed. I literally had 1 service rep, another service rep, a floor sales manager, a body shop guy at Acura, a general sales manager, then an Acura HQ customer service person, then a second level case person at Acura, followed by a call from Acura of Boston (who DIDN'T EVEN KNOW MY CAR WAS ON HIS LOT FOR 3 days SITTING THERE) service manager.

I did not flame, but I did let them know this was not acceptable. How can 5 or 6 people not see the problem, figure out how to solve it and not say "hey, not your problem, we will fix it". The body shop guy literally told me to "leave the holes alone, it won't hurt". Would you like your car to have drilled holes in the bumper after you paid twenty six grand brand new? Like someone couldn't have saved me a few days (and I mean two round trips, several people looking at me like I f@@@@ed the car up, and total disbelief from Acura, along with the service manager not knowing my car was on his lot when the whole reason I was talking to him was because I brought my car in 4 days ago?)

I think the car is great, but this is a bad situation where no one at Acura of Boston or Acura NA owned the issue and tried to get it fixed. Everyone tried the get it fixed at lowest cost and risk to Acura. Dealer's fault, no doubt. Acura NA contact got it fixed. So I think the dealer owns a mea culpa. I spent way too many cycles on an issue that was so obvious (not a rattle you can't see, this was a big visual defect) and they didn't own up to it.

I have no idea how the holes got there, but I didn't put them there. And last time I checked, spontaneous hole drilling in bumpers in north central MA / southern NH was at a minimum

 

fuck all that shit ! You should demand a buyback and get another car ! sheesh and this happened in Boston ??? it almost sounds like some 3rd-world country bullshit. Your story is so bizarre

 

i don't understand how you didn't notice it until three weeks later....how do you know that it was like that when you got it? and how does the dealer know that you're not lying, or mistaken?
really sucks though, gotta be more observant...although i hope you get it resolved with them.

 

IMO, take the free bumper, thank them for their time and be happy with the resolution. They are not obligated to do anything. This is NOT a warranty issue, someone obviously took a drill to that bumper. This is not normally considered a defect in manufaturing.

If you really wanted to post blame on anyone, it's really your fault. It's your responsibility to find these kind of defects before accepting the keys and driving off the lot. These kind of matters are not the dealers problem after you drive off the lot. Unless you can show them a picture of the holes on your bumper the day you took ownership of the car, Too bad. It is possible for the dealer to fix this, but it's at their own desgression, and cost.

Granted, the Sales Person (or who ever gave your the final walk around) should have noticed this as well. A good sales person would have looked for these problems and mention them before you drive away. For all you know it was a greenhorn shop guy who was suspose to install the rear backup sensor on a TL/RL or whatever but grabbed your car by mistake. For all they know, it was you. Who knows. The bottom line is, after you accept the keys and drive off the lot, these problems become YOURS.

 

OK, the main issue I have with your comments is that I didn't mention this. The holes are painted through and through. Bumpers when they go on the car are black. My car is silver. The holes are completely filled with silver paint...that is...the bumper was painted after being drilled. And the sales manager was the one who said that.

The reason I didn't notice it in the first place...it is about 1 inch from the bottom of the rear bumper. You literally have to be at eye level / 18 inches off the ground to notice. (See picture in the original thread). My office is in a split level office building. One day a week or so after I bought it, I backed it in rather than put it across the lot and a coworker said "hey, what are those holes for??".

THe things are so symetrical, and take into account the paint in the drilled holes and you have the biggest goddamned mystery ever. The fact that the dealer said "yep, came off the truck that way" is enough to say to me that it is not my issue. If you car had a hole inside the wheel well that you didn't notice on delivery that rotted months later, but you could prove it was there on delivery, wouldn't you fight it? This is the case here. I wouldn't have ever expected three symmetric holes in my bumper and wouldn't have gotten down on my knees to inspect any car as it just came off the truck. I did inspect the car (I thought) top to bottom.

And who the hell would ever put 3 holes in a bumper for fun? I don't want an road kit ..what else what would you do with it? As a matter of fact, I didn;t even know what a road kit was until someone at the dealer insinuated I tried to put one on myself and failed.

Weirdest case ever, but NOT my issue. For godssake...I guess the minions come to the defense of the company.

Don't get me wrong. It is a great car, but I didn't inspect every single inch of the lower rear bumper of a supposed excellent quality control car. I didn't see it since it for a while as it was covered in salt and low on the bumper. The paint inside the holes indicate it was drilled before being painted. Period. Freakish, yes? Do I have an explanation? No. SHould I? No. Not my issue.

I am ready to toss it in. THe fact that anyone would think it was done after it came off the truck is a freak. I don't live in the city. The car is never parked in an area where I can't see it. And I live in the sticks. Some gnome came out of the woods and drilled it I guess.

 

maybe if you don't have the OEM kit, it is supposed to have plugs..or maybe it had the OEM kit and they didn't plug it up..that's exactly where the lip goes

 

I'm re-posting OrrScores's pic just so we all see what we're talking about



Looks pretty weird to me. Definitely NOT the way a new TSX should be.

 

it's from the OEM kit...look where the holes are

 

Not trying to be an a$$ here but i thinkn you should just take the bumper and thanked your dealer. I'm still surprised that they replaced it for you. After all it's YOUR resposiblity to inspect your car before you drive that lot.
I'm not trying to blame you but if you put yourself into dealer's position what would you think? You would think that your customer probably tried to install some aftermarket equipment and failed to do so properly so the customer just want to come back for new bumper and blame the Acura.

 

Ok, I must have missed this. Yes, that is very weird.
Most parts that I have seen unpainted tho were white, not black. Also, most pieces are painted before they go on the car, not after.
This still doesn't explain why the holes had paint inside them. Again, very weird.

But this still doesn't cover the issue. My point isn't how the holes got there, it's the fact noone noticed for 3 weeks.

You said that neither you, nor the dealer notice the holes for 3 weeks. You are right, If I had proof, I would fight. If i didn't, its just my word vs his.

Your Quote: As i said (or at least I thought I did) if you don't have proof it was there before you took ownership, you have no case. Alot can happen in 3 weeks.

This is what I ment in this sentence:

I never said that you did this, or tried to even insinuate you did. What my point was, this should have been brought up by you, or the sales manager before you took ownership, or even before it was put up for sale, not after.

I don't know what a road kit is either, unless it's another name for a body kit. which is put on by tape and clips. I could however see someone trying to put the backup warning thingys or whatever. Road kit sounds like something you'd fix potholes with.

Bad form on the guy who insinuated that you did this, especially after they already admitted that 'it came off the truck that way'. The dealer should not have accepted delievery, nad reported it to Acura to avoid this type of problem.

Minion! whoo whoo! I've reached Minion status!

Again I never said that you did this or even trying to place blame on who did this. All I'm saying is that it should have been mentioned before you drove the car off the lot.

To be honest tho. Hondas and Acuras are not my favorite line of cars. There are many other reasons why I bought this car.

I agree, if the dealer had in fact said 'It came off the truck that way', right then and there I would have handed the keys to him and renegotiate a new car deal. It should have been the end of the discussion. Noone should have insinuated that you made the holes yourself or anything.

However, if the dealer did not make that statement, then my original statement stands. Be happy they are helping you fix this issue.

 

you don't drill holes w/ the oem kit... its taped on

 

if you do plan to complain, get your car fixed first and get it back so at worst your car is good

 

damn, i dunno what the hell the holes are for then?

 

 

Yep, sorry about this comment. It was a pretty frustrating experience overall as the car is pretty nice. Adding to the frustration is I had traded in a 5 year old BMW that had a laundry list of issues that were sucking money out of my pocket every day - sun roof issues, broken spring, transmission issues, needed new tires, electrical issues. You get a new set of wheels, you want it to be perfect and go nowhere near a mechanic unless you want your oil changed.

And re: some others comments re: OEM kit being taped on - that's right. I checked that with their body shop people.

In any case - the issue is pretty much closed. I pick the car up today. If I ever see that bumper in traffic (they will turn the car they swap it with into a loaner) in the Boston area, I'll have a good laugh.

 

Back into trees until you get the new bumper.

 

I have those on my Aston Martin

James Bond, who thinks thats where the smoke screen comes out of

Edit: and the oil slick too.

 

If I had those holes I'd probly actually keep the bumper and figure out some anti-tailgating device

 

When I took delivery of my 2005 TSX, the clock wasn't working. After they had the car for several days, they finally figured out that they had to replace the whole radio/clock unit. In return for my patience, I asked for the TSX floor mats and they gave them to me, no problem. That's all I asked for since they were so accomodating with the loaner and everything. The service manager even picked up/dropped off the loaner and my car at my house since he lives close to me. Great service--Acura of Cleveland.