So, I experienced the HVAC center module blackout like many of you. I range Acura of Sierra in Alhambra, beause it is only 6 miles from my home. I asked to schedule an appointment to have the module replaced as well as do some other warranty work on the car (fix the sliding seat, apply the TSB described fix to the door speakers, etc). I then requested that they order the required parts ahead of time, as described in the TSB, and make a loaner car available.

The service manager refused to order the part. He said that he could not verify my VIN# in less he saw the car in person. He also refused to make available a loaner. He said that loaners were for "emergencies - for cars that had to be off the road." So, I asked if I could schedule an appointment to have the car fixed while I wait. He replied that he would need the car for at least one whole day.

What an unbelievable jerking around! I got better service and treatment from Honda when I owned an Accord......

 

You should expect good service at Kia. From Acura its just ridiculous.

 

I agree the service is terrible, had 2-3 occasions where this has occured...the short version of the story is they schedule appts then tell me it will be ready at certain times and it never is ready. One time, they had the car for a week. Some of you guys might remeber because it was over the summer before the meet at xizors house. I got it back on a saturday and they left the window in teh down position because the part just had not arrived yet, turns out after the fact they told me they broke the wire. The service is crap...i though Acura was a "luxury" brand. I love my TSX it is great, but damn they could do something with thier svc dept.

 

that just sucks!!

It varies from dealership to dealership though...I've stopped going to the dealership where I bought my car (they were dumbasses) and have been taking my car to a dealership in WI and they've been fantastic.

 

which dealer did you stop going to R? i'm kinda satistied with my dealer, they gave us loaners twice and once it was a new tl. and yea i think that it varies dealer to dealer, but if you think that are not doing thier jobs call the service manager, or the regional manager

 

Is this really true from Acura's policy? I know loaners are not dealer's service, but Acura's.

 

Service is going to vary from one dealership to another, it is better to specify the dealership rather than make a blanket statement, so we know what specific dealership to avoid.

I would also complain to the regional Acura Service manager about the type of service you are receiving from that dealership.

 

Muller's. They said my warped brakes was my tranny downshifting
so they wouldn't even resurface them just to see if it was the rotors.
Took it to Zimbrick and they didn't even ask...just took my car in, resurfaced my rotors...and they even rotated my tires for free!! The second time I took my car in with warped rotors, they just replaced them...no questions asked.

for the thread hijack

 

i have two experiences with acura dealers.

the one in sanford, courtesy acura, has been decent.

fountain acura, messed up my service on replacing my radio, took over a month in total to repair, so i was without a backlighted radio for that long.

also, the people at courtesy are a lot nice, but it's so far from where i am.

i had incredible service when i had a honda, you would think that acura would offer better service for a more expensive product, unfortunately, i have yet to be impresseed

 

I agree duzy, they make nice cars. But its like once they have your money they dont care about anything else. Their people are nice at first but then they just ignore you...the last time the guy who was my service advisor said he would check something and call me back and it was 2.5 hours later we called and he said, well i was just about to call....but this was about 10 minetus before they closed for the evening. And on this call the appt was 25000 mile svc and the appt was in the AM, with a drop of the car the night before.

 

 

i only have experieces with 1 acura for service, and while i am not unhappy, nor happy, i was not impressed. they are not eager to check the car when i express there was a problem. although i don't like Toyotx/LexuY, i got to admit their services is excellent. the attitude is very different. i don't think the price are that different between 2 chain. not bad, just not impressed.

 

I've had a great experience with my dealership. They had a loaner available when I requested it and made the fixes within the day as they said. They called when it was done and it was ready when I got there.

I imagine the problem is dealership to dealership.

 

personally I've had good experiences w/ my dealer, but I haven't had major problems. Only annoying thing was I have the speaker rattles, and I dropped it off for an oil change b/c there's a TSB as well and they said they couldn't replicate it. C'mon, gimmie a break.

But I get a loaner car everytime, I just plan it in advance. I get free oil changes for life and just ask for a loaner so I can get the recall done this time. I'm just crossing my fingers my center console doesn't go out.

 

Pretty much all the Acura dealers I've taken my car to for service have been okay to unimpressive (Continental Acura, St. Louis Acura, and both McGrath Acuras). I set up appointments and request a loaner car cuz I drop off my car in for morning service and pick it up when I get off work, after I run a few errands. They tell me I can't have a loaner car, even when the person told me on the phone they will set one aside for me. I noticed they have a lot of TL loaner cars, but yet they say its given onfirst come first serve basis....BS!!! I used to own an '00 Infiniti I30 and they gave me a loaner no questions asked!

One time the dealer kept my TSX for 5 days just to fix a knocking noise every time I turn my steering wheel in any direction. I ended up renting a car from Enterprise, those bastards! This will most likely be my last Acura, if service continues to be like this....whats the point with the Acura Care program? I certainly don't see it.

 

I agree my parents have a volvo and had great service but it has gotten bad with volvo recently as well...i was trying to convinvce them to get a TL Black...with a spec stuff...but if thier service is this bad then it might be something else. And i dont want to sound like complainer because the car is wonderful. The svc is not haha.

 

I haven't described my worst Acura service experience yet. When I first bought the car and had the fogs installed, the dealer did not re-attach the bumper properly. So, I'm driving down the highway a few days later on my way to Yosemite when I hear "flap flap flap." I get out of the car, and part of the front fender is lying in the street. I managed to get that car to a local Acura dealer, but he didn't have all the parts. He got me on the road, and then I drove home. I got to my dealer the next week, and ask him to finish the job and he wouldn't touch the car! He said that, since another dealer had started it, that dealer had to finish it. So, I wound up having to drive an hour and half north to get my car put back the way it was before my dealer screwed it up.

And, btw, I've called four dealers in Los Angeles about the HVAC module - none would offer me a loaner.

 

I don't really want to get into my experience with the HVAC module fix I when to have fixed last month, but I will!

I had to wait over 6 hours for them to get this done! They even refused to wash my TSX, after parking in the service bay they moved my car outside and parked in on a gravel parking lot, it got dirty with all the mud!

I spend my 6 hours waiting for my TSX by working on my work/projects on my laptop, test drove and beat the piss out of a new '05 Acura RSX-S and MDX! Walked to Chevy and drove a new Malibu casually around for 10 miles, and drove a new Scion tC at the Toyota dealer. Also had some fast food at Hardees! Just another a way to kill time since they won't give me a loaner car!

 

The difference ultimately comes down to the company and its philosophy from the top.

Lexus was designed around service. If you don't reliably provide the level of service demanded by Toyota/Lexus then you don't stay a Lexus dealer. That simple.

My impression is that the newer Acura dealers have been hit with much more demanding dealership agreements than some of the ones who got their franchises early on and have kept them.

And now Toyota is doing the same thing from the bottom, squeezing their dealers with the Scion line. I suspect that ultimately they'd like to end up with a situation where they have pretty close to 100% control over the way their dealers behave. Hard to impose it on existing dealers, but as you add on stuff, you can force new behaviors.

 

That is just outrageous that they put you through that crap. Do you think Infiniti or Lexus would have done that?

 

Yes, because it's on a dealer to dealer basis. The local Infiniti dealer at home in Cali hasn't exactly gotten rave reviews from people I know.

Personally, I have never had problems with my Acura dealers. They always do anything I ask for. I've only been turned down for a loaner car one time, though not every dealer has loaners, apparently.

 

Not true. Infiniti dealers are REQUIRED to offer you a loaner car for the first four years of ownership. And, I seriously doubt that there is any Lexus dealership that pulls this kind of crap.

 

Damn this sucks my old volvo no matter what the problem was if it had to be in the shop my family would get a loaner car

 

which dealership?

 

u know we need to fight back as owners

next time a bad service recived..

start a thread about it... tell us about it, we'll give it our opinions
then u should print it out the thread and mail it to them

or email the link to them!

 

only issues i've had with service is making an appointment to have my car looked at, my service advisor seems to not get the voicemails' i leave him. bunch of crock.

 

great cars...lousy service

 

It is kind of mindblowing that other makes are not following Lexus' example in terms of their dealerships taking care of the customers. Lexus has been #1 in customer satisfaction for like, what, 10 years in a row?! You'd think some other makes would get the idea!

In my opinion, if Lexus actually started making a little better performance cars (or making the cars they have better performers), make their cars look more distinct than the base Toyotas, and bring their prices down just a touch, Acura and Infiniti would be in serious trouble.

 

Wow...I guess I'm lucky to have the dealer I have. I called about my dead hvac on a Monday, dealer called Thursday and said it was in. Dropped the car off on my way to work on a Monday at 9:00, called at 10:30 and it was done already. I will say that I was less than pleased with my loaner car...a Malibu Max. The hvac replacement only pays 1/2 hour to do, not sure about the door rattle tsb in regards to the time to do the repair.

 

Problem is, they generally can't add new requirements after a dealer is signed up. The dealer and the company sign a franchise agreement, and so long as the dealer continues to meet the terms, they get to keep the dealership. Over time, they can get rid of older dealerships as they change hands or otherwise come available and new contracts need to be signed. But those old original Acura dealers are still operating under pretty much the same terms they agreed to when they took on the brand at the beginning.

Lexus started from scratch with the idea that service was key and they forced anybody taking on the brand to meet extremely strict rules for service quality. They also designed things so that there's enough profit in the whole deal that dealers don't have an incentive to skip on service. Acura is an older brand and they didn't have quite so much foresight. Infiniti launched about the same time as Lexus and SHOULD have had as much foresight, but somehow didn't.

Unfortunatley, state laws make it difficult for carmakers to impose new requirements on existing dealers. Sadly, this tends to mean that dealers' groups have the real power in most situations.

FWIW, Lexus is not really after the "performance" market. They make no bones about the fact that they're primarily targeting Mercedes, not BMW. They are quite clear on the fact that performance -- as most of us think about it -- is of secondary importance to their customers. and they have very little to no interest in the "tuner" or "tweaker" market.

 

Hmmmmm. I guess I'm lucky then.

Just went back to the dealership (Acura of Lynnwood) for the trunk harness recall and my 10,000 mile maintenance.

I asked for a call over the Internet, they called after 30 minutes, and scheduled it. I went in, and asked for a loaner car, filled out the form and was out of there in about 10 minutes total.

Of course, since I was a paying customer, if that makes a difference.

 

It really varies between dealers. I took my car to two different ones; one gave me a Civic and charged me $10 for the loan car. The other gave me a new TSX at no cost...

 

I had the same problem with the Acura dealer in Alhambra. Called in for an appointment and requested for a loaner. Person on the phone said ok. I confirmed it on the phone again several hours before I brought the car in, they said ok. When I brought my car there, they said they can't give me a loaner because the requested services were not for safety reasons (I told them the reasonz why I'm bringing the car in over the phone)...The Alhambra acura dealership is aweful.

I got my car at Cerritos Acura...they have always given me a loaner without any problems and I get the car back as promised.

 

Acura 101 West in Calabasas. If you live deep in LA it's definitely out of the way, but if you live in the Valley or South Ventura County I recommend them.

 

Acura of Orange Park in Jacksonville, FL has always been amazing. My dad got one of the first legends with the second body style in Nov of '90, and we have always had suberb service. I now have the TSX, and had a great experience buying the car. I got a 5k service (rotate and new oil) at Ed Voyles Acura in ATL, and didn't see that much wrong with anything. It was just about 45 minutes and there was no troubles or reasons to hate the acura service from what i noticed. Possibly its the fact that i'm so young and have an acura means (to them) i've got parents or relatives with power that can make their life hell, if only for a short time. So in short, both of those places have been good to me, especially OP Acura.

 

more then anything else, Acura needs to improve the dealership experience

 

No matter where I buy my car, I can bring it into any Acura rite?

Any good dealership you guys recommend in Northern California?

 

My experience with Acura dealers has been mixed. I have been a loyal Honda buyer for years in two cities -- Wichita Falls and Austin(1st Texas Honda) Texas. In both, the Honda dealers and their service departments were excellent.

When I stepped up to Acura, I was impressed by the promise of better service -- loaner cars, roadside assistance, washings. I was almost immediately disappointed. When I bought my car at Gunn Acura in San Antonio it had a small scratch in the bumper. They promised to arrange for it to be repaired at David McDavid close to my home in Austin. I'll save you the details -- essentially some sort of pissing contest between the two dealerships, but it took forever to be resolved. To Gunn's credit they sent a driver from San Antonio to Austin (that's an hour and half each way) a loaner RSX to my place of work, trade cars, did the repair and drove it back me the next day, plus gave me nice "thank you" gift of car care products.

Not impressed with this experience at McDavid I started going for service at Sterling Acura, which is a new second dealership in Austin. They were very eager for my business had a very knowledgable service manager though they were disorganized. In time, the service manager left and they never seemed to get their act together. No offer of loaner, though they were available if I asked. No follow-up -- "we'll order the parts and call you arrange an appointment". No calls when the service was completed. It all just seemed haphazard.

So I switched back to McDavid and I have to say I have been pleasantly impressed. They treat me right. Appointments are at my convenience, they ask if I'll need a loaner car, I am in and out minutes, they explain what is going on, call when promised, follow-up and this is the best part -- actually fix stuff.

So after a rocky start, I am now having the experience I expected.

 

I have always been on very good terms with the service people and have always received A1 quality of service. Right now I am working on something prttey big between myself, the dealer and Acura Canada. Maybe when it's settled I'll get to share the experience.

I can't keep myself from giving out an observation though: Some, not all, who are experiencing some hardships with the service departments are not necessarily dealing with bad or undevoted people. They just need to realise the people on the other side of the counter are not their slaves, and don't deserve to be treated as such. There's no better way to get what you want from people than to be kind and courteous with them.

I am saying this, of course from a professionnal standpoint...

 

Great point! In my experience 95% of us wake up each morning to try to do our best. So I assume it is rare that I am dealing with someone who is genuinely bent on trying to make my life difficult.

One of my favorite quotes, "Pit a good employee against a bad system and the system wins almost everytime" suggests that it is often not the individual who is the problem but the system. I find that if you can enlist the help of the service folks, they will often do "heroic" things to help you over come the system. On a good day we all get what we want -- my needs met, the needs of the service staff to do good things in their work and (if we are really lucky) a change in the system.

...or alternatively, "What does around comes around" you get what you deserve -- treat people well and they will treat you well.