Hi Guys, this is my 5th Acura and overall I am very satisfied. I wanted to share with you an issue I have with the vehicle to get some expert opinions and advise. The below email was sent to Acura Client Relations to hopefully kick off a process of troubleshooting the vehicle and replacing the part. Let me know what you think. In complete honesty, I nor my wife did this to our vehicle. The initial response from my dealer was that it appeared that the door was opened hard and it was "user operation." This is an issue I reported literally before I hit 500 miles on the vehicle. It seems ludicrous to assume, without looking into it further, that it's the owner's fault. Check out the pictures for evidence.

Greetings,

Since I've taken delivery of my brand new 2015 MDX, I reported an issue to my dealership (Pohanka Acura of Chantilly VA) in which the front passenger window rubs/pops against something within the assembly of the door. They informed me that it was a bent checker and that it would be replaced. Upon replacing the bent checker, the door no longer closes properly. It requires a hard slam to get it to close, unlike the rest of the 3 doors on the vehicle. This is my second MDX and I'm positive it is not normal. Unsatisfied with the response from Pohanka (that it's normal), I inspected it further with another auto body shop and noticed damages to the checker, the area where the checker attaches to the vehicle body, and the metal housing on the door assembly (which has a noticeable bend upwards, unlike any other door on the vehicle).

I reported the initial problem within weeks of delivery and the dealership and Acura have treated me as if it's something I did. Clearly from the pictures you will see that I would have had to take the whole door off, bend the parts, and put it back on to accomplish what is being passed off as ownership responsibility.

Please see the attached pictures. The first image shows the scratches and corrosion on the frame, just above joint on the checker. The second picture shows the bent door frame, just above the checker. This would be impossible to cause from swinging the door open too hard. The third picture shows the checker rubbing the weather stripping, which compresses too much when the door closes. These pictures are evidence that either the vehicle wasn't assembled properly in this area or that Pohanka Acura caused damage to the checker assembly when replacing it.

This is my 5th Acura. I am in the process of negotiating a purchase of a 2015 TLX as well. I do not believe my expectations of Acura or Honda are unreasonable. I expect Acura to stand behind its product and dealerships and have this assembly replaced so that the vehicle operates as normal. I'm tired of making trips to the dealer and treated as if the problem isn't really a problem, when clearly it is. Please advise.

 

This seems ridiculous. I agree with sending the email to Acura customer relations, and would follow-up with a phone call.

I think it would also be wise to escalate the issue to the service manager followed by the Pohanka general manager if you haven't done so already. I think the GM will especially be interested since you are looking to purchase another vehicle soon.

If things don't work out, I would look at Tischer Acura near Silver Spring. I just bought my MDX there two months ago and got a great price and fantastic service, though (knock on wood) have not had any service issues to deal with yet.

Good luck and hopefully things work out.