handydandy

what are the chances that a dealer said they did something but they didnt? for example, a fluid change (MTF) ? this was done under warranty (wasnt necesssary but said they would do it)

dont know why, but im very suspicious...i had that feeling. and no way to check unless i empty it out i guess...

AamirCWITR

Honestly, you should be able to tell if they changed your MTF. Especially if it has not been done in a while. The transmission should feel a lot smoother at first.

Knox

I feel the same way when I get my oil changed. However, with oil, you can pull the dipstick and check the color.

moda_way

If they didn't do and there was a premature failure, you can easily argue for warranty claims because you followed the manufacturer schedule through the dealership.

ACURATECHTX

The chances are very good the may not have changed it, look at the drain plug see if is still dirty or clean

sometimes there will be a little oil left on the case if it was drained


I took my 03 tundra in for a recalled A/C mounting bracket, I thought that the dealer ( Fred Haas toyota) was not performing the work i requested on previous visits so I carved my initials in the bracket , sure enough i got the truck back with the same old part on it!!!

synthetic

All I know is, my friend who works at a very very reputable dealer in Toronto gets a bonus for every bottle of oil he saves for the dealership after charging the customer an arm and a leg for a simple oil/inspection service

I have another friend at Mr. Lube who tells me the most horrific stories about how they never really do any sort of inspection despite charging the customer. He tells me stories about never changing the oil-filter on cars that have a very hard-to-reach oil filter.

I have had a first hand experience of paying for Mobil 1 oil and having QuakerState oil put in my car. When I confronted the mechanic, he calmly said "Oh, don't worry about it. QuakerState is just as good"


I have learned not to trust any mechanic even if it was my own father or son.

Such a dirty world we live in.

handydandy

where is the tranny fluid located in the engine bay? i want to check the dipstick but where is it?

also, is there a color that i should be looking for to see if its new tranny fluid or not on the dipstick?

ACURATECHTX

you said it was a 6mt, if it is there is no dipstick
just a fill plug on the trans case ( drivers side under the car) look in your owners manual for a pic of its location

the manual tranny fluid looks looks motor oil

if remove the FILL plug ( not the drain plug ) the level should come up to the bottom of the hole

p.s I have seen 60,000 mile manual trans flud that looks brand new

waTSX

I would think any dealer would have a lot more to lose than gain by not performing a fluid change. I like to think that Acura dealers in general are pretty reputable, but maybe that's a bit naive on my part.

All it would take to completely tank a dealer's rep would be for one story like this to come out. All to save on some bottles of fluid? Doesn't make sense.

ACURATECHTX

its not so much the dealer wanting to save bottles of oil. its the lazy ass techs that dont want to do the job but still get payed plus a bonus bottle of tranny fluid.

trust me i've worked with these guys for years...

Brandon24pdx

The dealership does not lay a finger my car for many many reasons, this being one of them.

A couple of bad experiences is all it takes to wise up on that one. In general, not to be trusted.

Nogard13

You should always mark the part that you know they are going to change. In the case of an oil change, mark the filter with a sharpie or something so that you KNOW if it's been changed or not. As for MTF, you can always take the fill bolt out and put your finger in there and check the color of the fluid. You'll easily see if it's old or not.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

^^
If one has to go through that kind of trouble, why not just perform the work while you at it?

n1ke5h

i had my transmission fluid changed during my last oil change and i just walked into the shop and watched as the guy drained my fluid. they usually dont say no if you ask if they can watch them do the work on your car. i just took a peak at what they were doing and walked to the showroom floor and chatted with a service rep for the remainder of the time.

Zyuan10

Yea... I think the best way to find out whether they do anything (or nothing) to your car is by monitoring them. It could be interesting if you don't know how to do it and you could learn how to do it yourself next time

bluexcrush

DIY it dealers would do the changes for u, go to the dealership you bought your car at if you are unsure. never goto wal-mart, costco, crappy tires to get these services even if u save a bit. in the long run, u will notice the difference and the repairs will skyrocket.

S14 n Tsx

why would they?

handydandy

what color should used fluid look like?
i only had 5,000 miles on it, but i wanted the new fluid in it so thats why.

what color shoudl i be looking for?

vidgamer

My current dealer doesn't even make it easy to see what they're doing. A lot of places will at least have a window you can stare out of, but not this one -- they want you in a waiting room. You just get the feeling that they could do nothing or screw something up, and noone would be the wiser. Smaller shops, I probably irritate them as I wander to the garage opening occasionally and check on 'em. Heh.

It's pretty easy to check on the oil, since it's such a different color after being in the engine for a while, but I dunno about MTF. Even though it's oil, would it turn color in the tranny? But like someone said, the shifting is definitely smoother when it's done.

To me, my worry is that they'll use normal oil instead of MTF.

bluexcrush

u can tell right away if they use the wrong tranny fluid.

prnstr4life

I work for a ford dealer so i just go to honda and buy everything and do it myself. i write repair orders but dont pay anything on them just so i have proof that the work was done so if i have failure on something its covered under warranty when they say i dont change oil or something else.

i dont trust anyone unless i know where they live and what they drive

nj2pa2nc

my good friend is the acura service manager at the dealer I take my tsx to for service. he drives a tsx and his wife also has one- an 04. I trust him and the rest of his service department.

7Davie7

I caught my dealer not changing both the oil filter and the ATF. The oil filter was easy cuz the old one was all dirty still...clearly not a new one. The auto tranny fluid wasn't that hard either....i just checked the dip-stick...still brown, not red at all...and the ATF bolt on top of the tranny where the new fluid goes hadn't been touched ever...bolt was all dirty and still had salt on it from winter...clearly it had not been touched.
I had the dealer do both in front of me. If they think they can screw you...they will!