I took my car to the Acura dealer last Friday for my yearly state inspection. It has 92484 miles currently. Knowing that my battery is almost 4 years old and how our cars start to go whaco electronically when the battery starts to fail and therefore I had a brand new battery installed. Since I am retired I only drove 3317 miles this past years so my RL was emission test exempt. I was having a problem with the brakes which after driving for 20 to 45 minutes they were grinding only right before they came to a stop. Therefore the grinding was only happening after they heated up. As long as they stayed cool they worked perfectly. The front pads measured 6/32 and the rear pads were 4/32 on March 30, 2012 when the mileage was 89170. So they diagnosed the grinding as needing new rear pads. I picked the car up on Friday March 29 and on Saturday March 30th after driving for about 20 minutes in all city driving the brakes were still grinding. Therefore after telling them that the brakes were grinding they returned the car with the brakes still grinding. This was a major amateur move on their part. So I took the car back to them today and they said it needs a front brake job. They also told me that the mechanic that worked on my car has 30 years experience. I believe that his 30 years of experience consisted of him learning all he knows in the first year and simply repeating it for 29 more years. when I picked the car up they made sure that it was after hours so there was nobody there to complain to and the front wheels were extremely greasy. They sent me a strong message that they do not want my business.

 

Yup, another example of poor customer service. Second opinion? Is there a good independent mechanic that specializes in Honda products in your area?

 

The main issue here is that I took the car in with the complaint that the brakes were grinding and they replaced the rear pads and resurfaced the rotors and when they returned the car to me the brakes were still grinding. So when I took it back they said that the front pads needed to be replaced. So I told them to replace them. There is a Foreign Car specialist that is excellent right down the street from where I live and in the future I will be using him. I have not tested the car to see if the brakes still grind but this morning I will do so and report back.

 

the service writers are paid to up sell, so if you go in the door expecting them to troubleshoot your car be prepared for the ride.

As for grinding, unless the pads are worn, the rotors are warped, or the calipers are seized, I would have lubed the pads and just turned the radio up.

 

Look around for an independent service shop that's honda/acura certified, if possible. The shop I go to is run by two guys that worked at my nearest Acura dealer for several years before going out on their own. Quality work at a fraction of the cost. Also, a Honda dealer will work on an RL no problem. I've done that also and their labor rates are lower by 30-40 dollars an hour in many cases.

 

^^depending on where you live. honda dealers around me are only $10-20 lower than my acura dealer.

 

agreed on trying the honda dealers.

I use a "authorized honda service center" to work on my car, they can do 90% of the stuff that the dealership does.

 

Another reason why Acura customer service is dope compared to Lexus! Stealer at its best!

 

I just completed the road test and the brakes are now in perfect working order. I truly believe that the problem was a cracked front pad which only grinds when heated up after expansion. I told the service advisor that was probably the case both times that I took the car to them but they just ignored me because there is no way that I could know more than them. Obviously they will never see me again. There is a reputable foreign car specialist right down the street from where I live and I will be using him in the future.

 

Might I suggest a letter to the General Manager of the Dealership explaining that they will no longer get your business and why, and more importantly CCing Acura Customer Relations.

 

Thanks for the great idea. Will do.