P-Man

So on Monday I drop off my '01 CL-S at the dealership to have the SRS light taken care of and have them investigate why my car pulls to the right. I also mention that the tranny seems to shutter a bit on the 2-3 and 3-4 upshift so ask them to take a look at that also.

I had my car in the local Honda dealer in July for oil change, etc. and had them do an alignment because it was pulling right. The did the alignment and when I drove home it was still pulling...I bring it back and all they do is a 2nd alignment. Car still pulls, so I ask the Acrua dealer to look at it.

Long story short, I'm getting a new tranny (this will be my 3rd), they fixed the SRS light under warranty and they did a tire rotation to see if that helps the pull.

Today is Thursday...the tranny is in and the rotation is done and the car still pulls to the right. They want $100 for another alignment...what makes me think the results will be any different from the 2 alignments I had done in July??

Here's the kicker - the guy calls this morning to say the car is done, but my battery is dead and they want $150 for a new battery! The battery is no more than 2-3 years old and I had no signs of battery issues before bringing it in...plus there was no mention of a battery issue on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday while they had the car and were test driving it to check the tranny and pull. What the hell? They probably just left the lights on or something and killed the battery themselves.

I've been trading voicemails with the guy all day (although I don't think he checks his)...any suggestions on how to proceed?

weaselbob74

Well I would start by not paying for that battery. $150 for a battery...that seems ridiculous. I would drive it around the block and see if it still pulls to the right before you pay and leave the dealer.

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

Acura batteries only last 2-3 years, & yes they do just go out with no warning.
A good sears Diehard is $80 & install it your self.
An Optima $150.

How did they rotate your tires? If the car is pulling, & the alignment did not help, you need to swap the front tires with each other. If the car now pulls to the other direction, it's the tire/rim. If the pull continues on the same side. It's something in the suspension.

You may have something bent, or the people doing the alignments are monkeys.

Starter

That's funny, I've got the original battery in my 03 (bought in May 02) with 114K and it still is fine.

voigt

Acura screwed me. They told me the same thing, that the battery was about to die. They asked if there was hesitation starting the car. Anyway they put in a new battery and things didn't change. In fact the car had a harder time turning over. This is a cheap way for them to make money. Go to sears buy a new one with a warranty for less and take it there.

cl2

i have an '03, bought in oct '02 and the battery lasted until aug '07. autozone batteries are rated higher if not better than sears' and they cost less.

eaglegreen48

Don't buy their battery. Ask them what is the result of the test drive concerning the pull. If they claim they can't test drive it because the battery is dead, then they have no idea if they fixed it. Tell them to charge the battery (at their cost-it died in their possession). What's the sense picking up a car if its not fixed?

black label

If you have very uneven wear on your tires due to the original bad allignment, it could be possible that the pulling is due to the tire wear not the allignment.

This happened to me on an old accord that I had bought used and it had f'd up tires from the bad allignment, but the car drove straight. When they alligned it, it had a slight pull. The pulling in my case was from extremely uneven tire wear. I put new tire on tand the problem was solved.

Soooooo....... how's your tire tread looking?

TSXACE

Ask them if they have a battery tester that prints out a slip that says your battery is dead and they cant recharge it, if is is recomended that you replace it, get an autozone battery of the same Cold Cranking Amps of the stock battery and replace it yourself.

thevikas87

iTrader: (2)

i dont know whats up with dealers these days...when i dropped off my CLS for the tranny a few weeks ago, they gave it back with a rearview mirror leaking and refused to fix it for free (yes i know our rearview mirrors have a problem) but i feel like because it was in there possession for over a week they should be responsible for it, who the fuck knows how long that car sat in the sun in the SAME spot to heat up that damn mirror?! good luck getting those assholes to switch out the battery for free, oh, and i just NOW changed out my 2001 CLS' ORIGINAL
battery...so this assumption that they last 2-3 years is not always the case...

TSXACE

Location has a huge impact on battery life, as well as driving conditions and total operating hours.

2CLean

Bought my CL in 01, and just replaced the original battery a month ago. Just get a Diehard, the stealership isn't gonna give you a free one.

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

I know a ton of TL guys that had to replace batteries in 3 years or less. I had to myself. On 2 CL's.

Maybe the heat, & driving habits have a roll.

Allout

Just replaced the battery on my Mom's V6 Accord. Stock battery lasted 7 years. Same type of battery I was running in my CL.

YeuEmMaiMai

are you talking out of your rearend?

car batteries in my experience typically last 5 - 8 years. This isn't 198X anymore

my 1998 Accord still had it's ORIGINAL battery when I sold it at 8 years old
my 1994 Accord battery is 7+ years old and is still going strong (according to the waranty it was put in may 2000.

my current car a 2001 CL type S is still on it's original battery and the car is 5 years 7 months old.

I guess you just have bad luck.......lol most batteries carry a warranty of between 3 and 5 years some even go as high as 72 months

thevikas87

iTrader: (2)

whoa there....hah he simply said he knew of some batteries that lasted only 2-3 years....

i guess we were the lucky majority?

always read the fine print "Results may vary"

just like prescription drugs man

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

YeuEmMaiMai

I'm taking specifically about ACURA labeled batteries. The ones you get from a Acura dealer.

I use Optima's BTW.

miker_types

hey P-man, the same thing is going on with my car, it pulls to the right, bad, and i had an allignment done, still feels the same, also i need to take my car in for the SRS thing too, how long did it take them to fix it? and did they give you a loaner?