gsrblack

Took my car in for the 22,500 mile service on my 6-speed. I know the major things are oil change and tire rotation, but I had a 20% coupon that they honored so I might as well let them check the car through.

Well, I added the following for them to check as well:
1) fix headlights (replaced both last time, but when they put it back on, they're positioned a little different and I can't fit the plastic flap of my nose mask onto the gap between the light and bumper
2) check my e-brake as it doesn't seem to hold too well
3) driver door is misaligned and isn't flush
4) 2nd and 3rd gear grinding sometimes

I dropped it off and got an MDX to drive around last Saturday. Well, they needed approval from the manager so they let me hang on to the MDX over the weekend. Today they tell me they have ordered a new e-brake for me and that they may not be able to do anything to the lights since that's how they're supposed to be. I gave them my nose mask, so if they can get it on, then fine, they can leave the headlights alone.

In order to address the door not being flush, they said they found that the fender (I assume it's the rear quarter panel), is not positioned right, so they're trying to fix that.

Now, what kind of crappy quality is this when the metal body of the car isn't even installed correctly? Honestly, quality is really crappy now. I hope Honda/Acura get their act together soon! Makes me not want to buy another Acura/Honda product anymore! We'll see how service is...my main man Chad is gone now from the dealer....so hopefully the other service advisors will be able to work with me.

But for now, the MDX is a pretty cool vehicle. Good pickup and very comfortable and quiet.

Dan

Repeat after me; my Acura is made in Ohio, not Japan!
Dan

brianlin87

iTrader: (1)

what does that mean exactly

2003type-s6

I think he's saying American quality contol is worse than Japanese. I bought my anthracite, and After a couple weeks noticed the front driver's side quarter panel wasn't quite lined up with the door. It kept bugging me, and I tried to live with it, but it stuck out like a sore thumb evry time I looked at it, so took it to the dealer, then sent it to a body shop, lined it up, no charge, had a rsx auto for 2 days. Wasn't I glad to be back in my CL. I saw another anthracite about a week later at the dentist's office(auto), and he had the same quarter panel mis-alignment!!!! Must be something they missed at the factory, hope they didn't miss too much else.

darrinb

its the damn american workers they suck, when i first got my car i can tell the hood was aligned perfectly near the front bumper

gto2050

Just like the "evenness" of your exhaust pipes or the level of the ACURA across the rear. Mine were both off about an inch.

gsrblack

When I first bought mine, I complained that the rear bumper wasn't flush w/ the rest of the car's body. They realigned it and got it almost perfect. I also complained that the hood did not align properly as well and they sent the car to a body shop and had one of the hinges bent slightly so everything aligned perfectly. Now they gotta fix the door....my guess is the initial "fix" on the hood was because of the mislignment of the front quarter panel.

jruss9819

My rear quarter panels don't line up real well with my bumper. It something that I try not to look at. Everytime I wash the car it always stands out to me. I never mentioned it to the dealership because I didn't that they could fix it Other than that the build quality seems decent.

Question: Does Acura have different quality engineers for the interior and the exterior? If so the exterior guys should be taking notes on the interior guys. To me the interior has great build quality as a opposed to the outside body.

paulff3

What about the transmission?

joedokes28

My 03 6spd has been nearly perfect

MtBikR

How's it going? I am moving to Phx in a month and can't wait to see you guys. This sounds like a great service story really. It seems like they aren't giving you a run around on many of the things. I agree with you on the headlight issue, hopefully they get the guard on okay, otherwise, you've made your point and they have to resolve it. What dealership do you use for service? My guy at N. Scottsdale, Mitch, has moved to the south and I'll need a good contact up there, Thanks. It was good seeing you last meet. Still got that rack? was it a Thule?

vuduvida

hey MtBikR, good to hear you're making the move. You're not wasting any time, are ya? (thought you were moving in Aug.)

It sounds like grsblack went to Bell Acura since he mentioned Chad's name. Other members have talked highly of Chad so it sucks that he's apparently gone.

If you want a contact at Scottsdale Acura, my service advisor there has always been Randy B. He's pretty laid-back about things, never had any problems with him, always been fair so I'd recommend him. Actually, I need to go there soon to get some little stuff looked at so I can mention your name to him when I see him.

But, depending on what part of the area you move to, it might be better to go to Bell Acura since some members felt they got better service there compared to Scottsdale. And then there's Acura of Tempe but I don't know much about them.

Fabvsix

READ MY LIPS: Acura MDX made in CANADA NOT THE USA OR JAPAN for that matter ! Supply for demand is unbelieveable ! MDX sales broke Acura's sales record.......The new RL is LOOKING GOOD !

Glad you like the MDX.....one nice vehicle. Reminds me of a CL on STeriods !

gsrblack

Picked up the car...pretty pleased, they sent the car to their body shop and they were able to readjust the striker plate so the door closes pretty good. They readjusted the headlights and bumper and now the nose mask goes on alright (still tight, but that's alright). As for the 2nd/3rd gear grinding....it's been noted (the 2nd time) but it doesn't happen all the time.

One problem though, after I picked up the car and drove back down to Tempe at work, I looked it over and noticed that the door (the one they fixed) was a bit wavy near the bottom. It looks like there are 2 very small dents there....possibly from pushing the door and trying to position it. I called Bell Acura back and I'll have the manager look at it on Saturday. It just sucks because I have to drive 30 miles one way to get there.

Glad to have the car back though. I got used to the MDX, but sitting back in the CLS was nice. Felt so much more sporty (and I'm stock)...lower and faster.

So far, Bell has taken care of me. It sucks that Chad is gone, but he recommended I go w/ Mark there. I ended up going with some other guy since Mark wasn't there last weekend. Hopefully the manager can fix this "dent" problem. I usually notice all the small anomalies on my car's body, and I know it wasn't there before. But then again, Acura's metal work sucks.

MtBikR....hope to see you and your car soon. You probably can't go wrong with any of the 3 dealers here. I used to go to Scottsdale w/ my GSR but found that Bell had a little better service. I've worked w/ Randy Braten over at Scottsdale Acura and he's a great guy. Only problem w/ them is that you pay like $7-$8 for a loaner. As for Tempe Acura, I heard they were alright...they even have RSX loaners that they'll give for free. Bell Acura has nice loaners...a whole fleet of '04 TLs, a few TSXs and two MDXs.