Around 18,000 miles and all is well, for now.

Re: Center console lights out, cont.
 

I'm with you on this, my dealer is giving me a real big problem in fixing this, so much that I haven't taken my car in to fix it as yet, because they're telling me I need to pay for the new part - because I have an AM alarm, and my installer didn't go anywhere near my radio, so one of the people that books the apointments for the service is telling me that my AM alarm shorted out the electrical for the display, so I told him if that's the case, why does my radio still work? As well as my ac/heat. I'm gonna print this entire thread and take it to my dealer when I take my car to get looked at again. It's messed up you think you buy a luxury car and expect luxury service. But that aint the case. So count me in to getting an answer from Honda about this problem and having them make EVERY dealer aware of this. :D

Yeah, it sure didn't make me happy. I had to go out of town the past few days, so just today called the dealership back. Talked to the part dept. The lady initially said "It hasn't come it, but it will be here next Monday". I told her I was very happy because so many others had been told it was on backorder. She said "Oh, I better check that". When she came back on, she said "Well it is on backorder and it will be 3-4 weeks". I then talked to the service manager. I told him about my experience last week. He said that he had fired the service writer yesterday because of repeated problems with him. He also told me that it would be 3-4 weeks for the part, but that I "had been moved up to the highest priority on the list"; whatever that means. I asked him if Acura would provide me with a car that has a heater and air conditioner that worked in the month I am waiting. Yes, the HVAC works, but you can't see the display, you don't know what it's doing, etc. He said he didn't know, he would ask the regional Acura manager. I then called Acura "Client Service". They basically just listened to the whole story, told me that a "case manager" would be assigned and they would call me in 2-3 working days. They asked if I knew what the part number was that the dealer needed; I told them, of course not, I don't know the damned part number. If they want to know what the part number was, they need to call the dealer.

As far as "luxury" vehicles are concened, I have owned a couple of Lexus and a Lincoln. I've never had a dealer's service department treat me like this. I must say that neither the service manager nor the person at the 1-800 Acura number for "Client Service" even said "I'm sorry for your trouble". I had much better service from Honda and Ford dealerships in the past. As soon as I get this monster fixed (in a month or longer), I think I'm done with Acura.

Center console lights out, cont.
 

This is an update on my center console light out problem. I had the car checked out last week and f/up with the dealer today. He said that my part was was located (the center console display) from their parts ordering place (not from a dealer) but did not explain where that is. He said some type of improvement has been made and that they would have it shipped by next Monday and he would receive it by Wednesday. He scheduled my car with a loaner in next Wed.

He said that this new part would only be warranted to the end o the car warranty, even if it was replaced a month or so before the end of the warranty...doesn't seem right.

Sounds like others of you were told that the part is stilll back ordered. I will update everyone if it comes in on time.

I am still going to try to call the 800# and ask why I was told that they did not have a TSB out on this when I get a chance.

Will post update soon.....Good luck to everyone getting this resolved.:(

Update on my center console light problem. After 3 calls to Acura Client Service, I finally spoke to someone with some information on the problem. The "Case Manager" they assigned to my car was sick today, they put me through to his boss. He said that there were 25 of these backordered currently nationwide. He said that given the number of TSXs sold, this number is insignificant. He said that they were coming from Japan, so the delay was getting them here. He told me that the part would probably be ready to ship from San Diego sometime late next week and would probably arrive at my dealer sometime the next week. All told, my wait will be 3 weeks if his predictions are true.

Everyone.......... I am so sorry that you aren't receiving the same level of service that I have received..... My dealership installed a new stereo the next day and fixed the problem immediately. Yes, they took it from another car on the lot, but it was a new car and it was a new stereo. Fixed the problem........... same day... back in my baby right away.... sux you are all having to wait weeeeeeks. I guess I am sooooooooooo IMPRESSED with RON TONKIN ACURA and you should all be holdin your dealers to the same standards. It is ridiculous that you are outa your car for weeks+ and I would advise you to have them at least consider doing what Ron Tonkin did for me................that is if ya want to get the prob fixed ASAP..... I cannnnnooooot believe you have to wait so long and would not accept that if I were you................ :nono:

I suggested to the service manager at the dealership where I live that they could have the stereo out of a new TSX on the lot. He said that they only have one TSX on the lot to sell and they would not consider doing that. So, what are you going to do? I've called Acura Client Service repeatedly, I've talked to the service manager repeatedly. There just isn't anything else to do, but wait. I can't even sell my broken car and get something else (no one is going to buy a broken car waiting weeks for parts). I'm sure glad that your dealership went to such lengths to take care of you and I wish that there were such a dealer here.

Hi all. I just ordered my tsx last week. Its coming on May 10th. The dealer said it won't be built until April 12th. From reading alot from these forums, I'm getting kinda worried about getting a car that has alot of potential problems (blown trans, center light out, clicking sound on clutch, etc...) So heres my question, do you think Acura has done improvements on building these cars? I mean, are they doing anything different in making them now versus what they did, let's say, 6 months ago?

In business terms, it doesn't make sense building these cars the same, knowing there could be potential problems, and then just accepting failed parts from customers to fix. I'm sure Acura has to pay the dealers for the hours they have to spend fixing these problems. Don't they lose millions spending on replacing/fixing/changing these broken parts?

I guess I'm just finding optimism after reading some horror stories in this forum. Please someone reassure me I didn't just pay $27,000 for rental-car quality vehicle. I need a hug...:(

this sux....I turned on my headlights tonight and everything in the center just blacked out...my vin# is in the 9,000's, 14,000 miles

No, you didn't pay $27,000 for a rental quality car. It is a wonderful car; really a pleasure to drive!! And certainly Acura/Honda have a great reputation for trouble free cars.

Havind said that, the problem that I'm having is that there is only 1 dealership here, the next closest is 3+ hours away. And the service dept at this dealership leaves something to be desired.

I must say that once I get my center console fixed, I'm probably going to change to another brand because of the lousy service that I've described above. I don't want to go through a 3-4 week broken car again.

Sounds like the same problem all of us have had. The clock, the radio display, and the HVAC display all black.

Better take it to the dealer and get your name on the waiting list for a new center console. '

Interesting, my VIN is 94XX, I just turned over 10,000 miles.

Update: Parts have yet to arrive, it's been two weeks and I'm getting annoyed. It sucks driving without knowing which temperature your A/C/heat is on, or the mode of the air flow. Ugh, unfortunately, this problem's plagueing the tsx'ers.

You read about a lot of problems because the people that use the forum are usually more picky than those that do not. There's a lot of information on the car here, and everyone wants to contribute with their experience, good or bad, adding up a list of trouble that is uncommon.

In regards to concurrent engineering, I'm sure the newest TSXs coming off the factory have less bugs than the first ones. Yet some won't be fixed any time soon. For example, the rattle on my doors only went away when I replaced the speakers (with Alpines). I doubt Acura is going to change those any time soon.

You'll love your car! I love mine. :love:

thanks. I really hope those people who had tranny problems are the exception, not the norm. I also hope those little things like rattles and stuff can be fixed. thanks for the reassurance...you complete me.

love mine too

When I spoke with the supervisor at Acura Client Services last week, he said that the part for my center console was on a ship coming from Japan. He said that they expected to receive 50 of them late next week (which would now be late this week) at the port of San Diego. Then, they have to go through US Customs and be unpacked from the ocean shipping containers. They will then be shipped to dealers (probably the next week sometime). He told me that there were currently only 25 on backorder across the country and these 50 that are supposed to arrive should alleviate the back orders. He told me that this problem was more of a problem for the TSX than other Acura models since most of it is Japanese sourced, rather than being built here. He said that keeping parts in stock for mostly Japanese sourced vehicles has "always been a problem" for Acura.

You're right, it is quite annoying being unable to adjust the heat/air appropriately. The fellow at Acura was mostly concerned that my defrost work correctly. He said that they would provide a rental car if the defrost doesn't work and my windows were fogged. I told him that my windows were not fogging up, but I couldn't tell what air flow, etc was happening with my heat/air. I think he was mostly interested in making sure that Acura is not sued over the issue (he said that window fogging would be a safety issue and they "don't want you driving an unsafe vehicle"). It is also annoying not being able to adjust the radio/CD player. You can't tell how many CDs are loaded, what station the radio is on, etc.

An update on my broken TSX: Light went out 2 weeks ago yesterday, went to dealership 2 weeks ago today. Still no word on the needed part. The case manager at Acura Client Services said that the part should have arrived in San Diego by now, but it has not. Even if the part were shipped from San Diego to dealership now, it will end up being middle next week before it arrives at dealership and can be installed, i.e. 3 weeks total broken car.

I think it's going to be more like 4 weeks. If I get to the 4 week mark, I will pursue a claim under my state's lemon law. The law here states that is there is a "significant" defect that the manufacturer does not have parts to fix within 30 days of it being brought to their attention, a lemon law claim can be made. So, I'm half way to a lemon claim.

Indeed, this is such an important part, they should have shipped it by airplane, and not by ship across the Pacific. How stupid! You are right to be upset.

Well, I am still driving the car, so it hasn't immobilized it. But I can't tune my radio to a particular station; I can't tell how my heat or air conditioner is set and the clock is broken. The inability to adjust the heat and air correctly is the biggest problem.

According to the case manager at Acura Client Services, there were 25 of these backordered as of last week. Someone earlier on this thread said their service department told them there were 37 backordered. The case manager told me that he had worked for Honda and Acura for many years and that Acura had "always" had a problem with keeping an adequate part supply in the US for Japanese sourced cars like the TSX. He told me that if I had a TL, which is sourced primarliy in North America, this wouldn't have occurred as they have much better part supplies for that vehicle. Obviously he felt that it was my fault that I had purchased a TSX instead of a TL!!!!!!

Either way, I do believe that it is a "significant' defect, enough that it will qualify for a lemon law claim. I will certainly persue a lemon law claim if my car isn't fixed at the 30 day mark.

so I took my car to the dealer on thursday and at first they had no idea what to do so they gave me a rental...I got a call later on that day telling me that they're going to replace the radio (which I already knew of course...thanx to the site, but it was funny seeing them totally clueless)

anyways, they ordered a new radio overnight and the next day I got my car back...service was great, no problems for me.

funny how some dealerships can get the radio overnite and some have to wait weeks... odd

I read the note above about having a radio shipped overnight late last week and called the dealership this morning. Interestingly, my part had arrived "late Friday afternoon". I have an appointment tomorrow to have the service done. I think they must have gotten the shipment from Japan late last week and relieved the backorder situation. Thus, they were able to ship the radio overnight now that there are some in North America and they're not waiting on the boat from Japan.

The wait was 19 days for me.

I can honestly say that I've never had such a bad service experience from a car dealership. Not just the wait, but the lies I was told by the service and parts departments. I called corporate Acura and they didn't call me back as they promised to.

I have qualms about taking it into this same dealership to have this work done (or another other work for that matter), but the only other choices are dealerships that are 3+ hours away. So, I'll take it in to the dealer here tomorrow.

Car finally fixed this afternoon. Took about an hour and a half. So far, everything is working well.

Good to hear. Hope it goes as smooth for the rest of the members with the same problem.

Good. Finally. Enjoying your TSX now?

excellent, hopefully no more problems for u

Yes, much better!! I can adjust my radio, heat, and air and the lights are back on!

The service department at this dealership did a good job today. They were ready to fix my car at the appointed time and the service didn't take as long as they had estimated. Everything seems to be working now in good order.

The service manager did apologize for the time it took to get the part, but asked me to remember that this problem was Acura's, not the dealership when I got the survey from Acura about my experience. I told him I would, but I would not forget the facts related to my first visit there, the lies I was told repeatedly, and the fact that the case manager from Acura Client Services NEVER talked to me (there was a message on my answering machine yesterday, but I never actually talked to him). It was still the worst car service experience I've ever had, bar none.

But, my car is fixed and I'm very happy about that. I hope it doesn't break again. Given the bad experience at the Acura dealership here, I just have to decide whether or not to stay with Acura or change. But driving my fixed car is great!!!

Why would you even bother posting then? Post when you have a problem, not to say you don't in a thread where people are trying to help each other with the given problem. If everyone who didn't have the problem posted in this thread it would be a big waste of time trying to find important and pertinent posts. :rolleyes:

lol, while I agree with the excellent customer service from YOUR perspective, I guess Ron Tonkin is either a large dealer (never heard of them so I'm not sure) or has a crappy sales team if they actually have TSXs on their lot in any significant quantity that they feel they can part one out for service customers and not lose a sale by having that car then unavailable to sell. There's two sides to your experience and yes, yours is positive but I'm curious what their inventory situation is like. :rofl:

Interesting point... I guess it is nice to know a former/current customer is just as valued as a prospective customer or a sale. So the car that may or may not sell in the next couple weeks waits for the stereo instead of me.... sounds reasonable. I don't see that as being parted out either. I guess I'm not in sales so I don't see the possible loss of a sale as being more important than me as a customer.

Yes, I gave them props for that.

No, it can't sell until they put it back together. And yes, it probably would sell unless they're purposely sabotaging the TSX market in their area somehow, lol. :D (The TSX is hot pretty much nationwide.)

Not "more", just both are important considerations from the dealership's perspective. Taking a part from a new car on a lot to best serve a service customer is not a new or novel idea, however it IS surprising they would do that on a car that is in limited availability to sell. That's all. :)

:stupid:

FOOKING A.

Turned the key tonight, adjusted the temp, looked away and looked back at a black center console. MF!! 8,300 miles. No Navi.

Guess I'll get over to the dealership in the AM and get on the ever-growing list. MF!!!!

Sh*t!!

Reading the first couple of pages in the thread, the newbie looking up information on the TSX could think every TSX on the road is going to have a problem with the console lights. This is clearly not the case, hence I agree with the post that everything is fine with some TSXs. Mine is fine after 11,300 miles.

That's what the Happy Happy TSX thread is for....

mine happened around 8k miles as well...welcome to the club :cool:

Just got the call from the dealer...yep it's the whole MF console, just like the majority of them. On hot order, it'll be here to install first thing Monday am. Can't beat that, well almost-- if it never happened to begin with.

Check back with you all after the installation Monday.

Cheers!

Even the sad sad TSX threads need a happy happy ending! :angel:

That's something only Acura can provide.

Good luck on the installation. I was initially told that they would get the part over the weekend also. It actually took 19 days to arrive. When the part arrived at the dealership and we made an appointment for the service, the replacement actually only took about 1-1/2 hours. That was this past Tuesday. So far, everything is working well. You will need a new radio code in case your battery is disconnected. Be sure the dealership gives it to you before you leave.

As an aside, I got a card from the service manager at my dealership today asking me to mark "completely satisfied" on the Acura survey they say I'll recieve. I am so completely DISsatisified with the service that the card is a joke. And he knows it because I told him so in person. If I get an Acura survey, I will indicate that this was the worst car service experience I've had in my entire life.