I bought a new 08 TL-S back in November of last year. Unfortunately I took delivery of the car in a torential downpour. The next day I discovered scuffs and scratches on the car as well as a small ding on the roof. Also, my passenger side tail light cracked by itself and the subwoofer rattled like crazy.

Took it back to the dealer to have the above problems fixed. Picked the car up again on a cloudy day. Everything appeared to be fixed. Looked at the car the next day and someone had gone crazy with the buffer and burned the paint. Lots of swirls and halos from presumably an inexperienced detailer.

Another month goes by... Every single one of the problems came back. Tail light cracked again and the subwoofer rattled. The ding was the only thing fixed right.

So we made another appointment for service. We immediately expressed our concern for the paint and that it needed to be corrected. This time they took the car to a body shop to figure out why the tail light kept cracking. While it was at the body shop it was supposed to have the paint fixed as well. And of course they couldn't hear the subwoofer rattle. Go figure...

The car was dropped off to me at my workplace because I was fed up with all the time wasted driving to dealer which is not close to my town. Once again it was a cloudy day, but we could tell the paint looked even worse! There was nothing we could do at the moment since it was just a hired delivery guy we dealt with.

So once again we complained about the paint, subwoofer, and got Acura corporate involved. Oh, and my tail light cracked again after another month! This time the driver's side!

For the past 2-3 weeks we've been going back and forth with Acura corporate. First we wanted them to fix the paint. Acura wanted us to get estimates. We took it to two highly regarding detail shop in town and they both couldn't believe how damaged the paint was. We gave the estimates to Acura and they came back with having to wait until the District Manager could sign off on it. Just so happens he is on vacation until August.

At this point we really don't want the car anymore. The detailers have both said the paint will not be 100%. And the moment Acura gives us a check for the detailing they will wash their hands of it. We have asked for the dealer to take the car back and give us our money back. We were supposed to have had an answer yesterday, but of course at the end of the day they needed to have the DM look at the car.

This whole experience has really left a bad taste in my mouth with Acura. I think it's funny how they want to compete with the big luxury boys and they have horrible customer service. I know for a fact that Lexus does not treat their customers like this. I'm now thinking about doing the unthinkable... Going to another brand.

 

The paint isn't really Acura's fault, it's the dealer that screwed it up. Most of the "detailers" that work at dealerships are hacks. I always tell any dealer when I take the car in, not to wash it. If they do, it always comes back a swirled up mess.

As for the tailight, never heard of them just cracking ramdomly like that, especially 3 f them now.

As for the rattles, I hear you there. I have 8,700 miles on my 08 TL-S, rattles everywhere. Passenger A and B pilar, one in the steering column over rough pavement, and my overhead console is loose and falling down already. I will take it in for rattles eventually, but I'm afraid they'll just make them worse, or create new ones.

 

Wow! I would say the paint issue and the cracking tail lights are definately not the norm. As far as customer service, it's dealership by dealership. In other words, some are better or worse than others. I've seen threads where the dealer bent over backwards to fix or correct an issue. Sorry to hear that's not the case for you. Hope it works out that you get a refund or a replacement. Good luck.

Lemon law may come in play here.

 

You can't throw an entire company under the bus and then say Lexus customer service is completely problem free. It depends on the dealer you go to. I've heard great things about Lexus CS and bad things about Lexus CS.

But sorry for your experience. If I were you I would be that dealers nightmare untilI got what I want. Sad to say it but the last resort would be to ditch the car and take it as a loss.

 

The dealer said it was a common problem on the TL-S. I had never heard of it. Stopped by the Acura dealer in my town yesterday and they said they had never heard of that problem. Doesn't surprise me as dealer I bought my car from has dicked us around from the beginning.

I agree that the paint is more the dealers problem than corporate. They just haven't done anything to fix it which is why corporate is involved.

I too think this car now qualifies for the lemon law. If the dealer or corporate doesn't resolve the issues we may have to take this route.

 

For a lemon law case, it would have to be a major mechanical/safety issue. Like 3 transmissions, etc. They aren't going to lemon law it for a cracked tail lamp assembly.

 

sorry to hear that bro

I feel u on their customer service. Some places are good some are just horrible.

As for the taillights, why not just replace them instead of fixing them??

And as for the district manager coming down, I thought that was gay too..I had brought my car in for the 3rd gear issue, and they said they had to wait for the district manager to come down to check it out and approve warranty work.
Next thing u know they call me back and tell me the car is perfectly fine. That was before I changed it out to GM.

They never did that before..usually they would do warranty work and stuff like that without question but now the district manager gotta check it out first..

good luck

 

Wow! This is a nightmare if I ever heard one. This thing with the taillight cracking seems like some sort of serious body flexing issue. I'm not engineer or body worker, but I'd think that the lights should be able to withstand the shocks of driving on any street. I would definitely be in Acura's (Corporate) ear about these issues. I think the attempt on the dealer part to pay you off is also unacceptable. Why should you be stuck with a brand new car that may or may not develop some of these issues again. You paid you rmoney, now they need to stand behind their car. One of the things I hate about dealerships is before the purchase they tell all about how if there's any problems.... just bring it in and they'll fix them. Then after the sale, when a nagging issue surfaces, they want to get rid of you.

I know this is frustrating, but good luck and I hope they make this right.

 

look at your buyers order...it should have something that states, if the car is not in the condition you bought it...it can be returned...
re-read your contract

 

Yes the tail light issue is really bizarre. Here is my theory... When I took delivery of the car I noticed a pretty bad scuff the next day on the bottom portion of the passenger side bumper. Someone must have hit something while the car was moved on the lot. I'm thinking that when it was hit it must have tweaked the bumper support or something else that is causing the body to flex and crack the tail lights.



Also, this car had several hundred miles on it when I bought it. Not sure if it was a demo or what, but I guess the dealer can still sell it as new. At least that is what I've heard.

I'm starting to think the dealer was itching to get rid of this car.

Who knows...

Here is the latest to the story. Acura Corp. had scheduled an appointment two weeks ago to fix the tail light (third time's the charm!), subwoofer rattle, and window. This time we wanted it serviced at our local dealer. We specifically requested that we get another Acura as a loner. This is due to the fact that the last time we had it serviced they were out of loners and gave us a Chevy Colbalt! I was stuck driving that piece of crap for two weeks!!! So it was made clear to Acura Modesto that we did not want another 10K dollar rental car to use as a replacement for my 40K dollar car.

Well what do you know, they didn't have a loner for us! They said that they won't lone out Acuras if you did not buy the car from their dealership. I realize that is protocol for some dealers, but at this point in the game COME ON!!! Acura Corp. was supposed to make this happen and I thought they would given all the hell that we've been through the past months. Acura Modesto even had the nerve to say that they can't afford to have tons of loners like the dealer in the bay area does.

So we decided to not leave the car. And now we're waiting for our rep at Acura to come back to the office tomorrow. He apparently takes vacation days several times a week. Must be nice...

And another thing that pisses me off. Apparently once Acura assigns a rep to your case you can't talk to another sole at the office. Only your rep.

We better not have to wait for the district manager to get back from Hawaii. Yes Hawaii! He won't be back until August.

 

i would say get a lawyer involved and see if that scares them so they can get this moving for you ... otherwise they are gonna keep sitting on it

 

lemon law is if you come back to repair the same shit 3 times they have to buy the car from you. might wanna see if the taillight will work for this.

 

loan
loaner
soul

 

That is what I understood as well.

We'll see what happens whenever we hear back.

 

I kept my TL for only about 8 months as well, before trading it in for the S4. I had a major rattle in my subwoofer, and also somewhere inside the column next to the driver's seat. Those little irritating things, along with the service department's repeated failure to detect the rattles that I can hear every single time I drove that car, certainly made for an unpleasant ownership experience. And now that I see the OP's complaint about the problems with his paint, I'm reminded of how the dealership's detailer also messed up my TL's paint job when he tried to remove the residue from the toxic bird droppings that had gotten on the car while it was still sitting on the lot waiting for me to pick it up.

I thought that would end my Acura loyalty but the TSX I bought subsequent to the TL experience has been trouble-free so far...mind you, I never drive it, so who knows.

 

Lemon Law usually applies to things that cause the owner to be unable to drive their vehicle properly. The Tail-light cracking three times surely can be a sign of this.

Reguarding that cracking light, prossibly the dent and the light are related. What if the car was dropped coming off the truck and they hit the rear of the car causing the roof to buckle slightly and ruin/flex the rear end?

Ultimately, it's the dealer's fault for all of these issues. Contact the Manager there and raise chaos in the showroom.

 

I have to agree with VQPower37, get a lawyer involved if they repeatedly refuse to get it fixed. Try the lemon law first, if that doesn't work, go for the dealer and a new car. It shouldn't be that hard for the lawyer.

 

Man I totally feel everyone whose having problems with their car and the dealer where you bought the car is being completely irresponsible and basically trying to make you jump through so many hoops that eventually customers gets fed up and just deals with the problem or sells the car.

When I tried to get my 3rd gear syncro addressed at my original dealer (Thomas Acura, Covina, So Cal) they were just complete asshats about it. They were shoveling me the same BS that the district manager had to come down and personally drive the car signing off on the repair. I thought this was outrageous, not only was his next visit to my area in 2 weeks but the TSB itself says the problem is intermittent. The service rep basically told me that there was nothing they could do.

The next week I went to another Acura dealer (Sierra Acura, alhambra, so cal) This place had a completely different attitude. My service rep was very pleasent and gave me a complete no BS attitude. I told him about my problem, he immediately introduced me to a lead tech who took me for a test drive. Even though 3rd gear didn't even pop out on him, the tech told me that he could tell because of the nochiness when shifting. I told him about the rattles that I wanted to get rid of and he was very honest telling me that he would do his best but rattles were usually very hard to make completely quiet. He told me that TL's usually had a few rattles. Now this was very honest of him and I really appreciated the honesty instead of being BS'd around "I don't hear rattles..no rattles here!"

Sorry for the rant, but summary is if your dealer sucks, find another dealer!

 

First off, nobody cares about you at the dealership especially if you didn't buy the car there.

Here is the CA Lemon Law site, read your rights for yourself.

http://ag.ca.gov/consumers/general/lemon.php

Note: I did not read it for you and have no valid opinion.

I would certainly try to get them to buy the car back if covered under LL.
This needs to be made clear to the Acura guy as he will be the one to make it happen I think.
You bought a new car cause that it what you wanted, not a repainted, low mileage car. I think you can be professional and firm.
Let them know what you expect. Use what you must to make it happen. Good luck.

 

 

Well we have been nothing but professional and firm to both corporate and the dealer, yet we are getting nowhere. Which is why the next step will be to either pursue legal action or lemon law.

Honestly I don't think anything is going to happen until the district manager looks at the car. And they will probably make us wait until he is back in the office.

 

If possible, try to keep miles down. If they take it back there will be a use fee based on time and miles. In the event that it is dealer responsibility, you may have to sue them directly. Document everything if you haven't started already. Might want to follow up conversations with certified letters so nobody forgets specific facts and dates.

P.S. Why does the world stop because one guy goes on vacation? Your car note, insurance, car problems, warranty didn't stop to wait for him did they?

Hope everything works out.

 

That's BS.. I took my 06 TL in after I bought it because of the subwoofer rattle and they fixed it, and two and a half years later it hasn't returned!! I have a dealer that insists on giving me loaners on oil changes (MDX). They are very accomodating, they even installed aftermarket slotted rotors and carbon ceramic brake pads... You just hve to find a dealer that gives a shit!!!
I do feel your pain, I had a Mazda RX-8 and had to get to the point of ranting and raving to get things fixed, all the while they gave me crappy cheap loaners... When the service manager was replaced the new guy was awesome.... When will dealerships get that consumers will stick with a brand when they recieve excellent service. Because of Valencia Acura's service I will have a hard time ever leaving the Acura family....

 

I agree. I'm on my 2nd Acura from Acura of Orange Park, FL. They have awesome service.

 

I really don't understand it. I've driven Hondas since I first got my license. I always had great experiences at the Honda dealerships. Now I'm on my second Acura and I never thought I would go through the hell I'm current experiencing. Especially when you step up to a preimum brand!

 

i agree with OP 100% on Lexus having SOO much better customer service than Acura

 

You get what you pay for, simple as that. I have had great experiences when I go to BMW, and the dealership I go to bumps you up if you own a 100K plus car (unwritten rule...) they literally are kissing my hands and feet to make me happy. Acura on the other hand is still nice, but its not the same feeling when I go there. however I do have to give Acura corp. props for all the goodwill work they provide, I doubt any other manuf. does as much as they do!

 

i had a lot of issues when i first got my car...long story short, my service manager and advisor were fired...dealership caused some problems paint scratches and chips, my car had rattles, i had the rotors/pads changed/side mirrors, driver seat leather, rear seat leather...etc...

acura shit themselves and paid my payments for 2 months cause i just threatened to sue...it was a hassle, but in the end im happy with my car now

if you have any questions feel free to PM me...

 

I forgot to mention in my last post about this manager with authority being on vacation. That's fine and dandy that he's on an extended vacation, but they can't make me believe that when a decision-maker is away for some time no one else can make an executive decision and/or has signature authority. I think they are treating you very, very poorly. IMO, Acura so needs to have stepped in already. I think I'd definitely consider getting legal representation as it sounds like this car has some serious issues and they're trying their best to get you to "go away".

 

this is crazy to read considering i have had many problems with my 08 TL-S from windshield molding coming off, to bumper clips broken, to side skirt failling off, to many many rattles, to front bumper paint chipping, to navi going bad and on and on... anyways i go to a dealership that i DIDN'T even buy the car from and they have taken care of me like a KING. I haven't even had the problem with the gear popping out and yet they changed it to GM. i also accidentally ripped the leather in my seat (which was quoted at $1000 including installation) for free!

 

Apparently the district manager will be looking at my car this Wednesday. I don't know if this is the same guy who is on vacation or not.


We'll see what happens!


I swear the paint gets worse everyday. The sun must have been in the perfect angle this morning as I got in it to go to work.

I'm going to work on taking pictures.

 

It is really unfortunate that one dealer can sour an entire company for some people. I'm sure car manufacturers do their best to monitor customer service at all of there dealerships. But with such big companies, that is very difficult to do. The only company that I haven't heard horrors stories about is BMW. But I wouldn't assume they are all amazing.

OP
If you really want to try to make a difference, write a letter to Acura Corporate. I would inform them that they lost a loyal customer due to terrible customer service.

 

If that one dealer is fucking up your car why do you keep going there? I know it's unecessary from you but if you can drive 50 miles to another better dealership than do it. Go to a Honda dealership you trust since you've owned a Honda before. Somethings wong here, to hard to believe unless you're bringing your car to a Pontiac customer service.

 

wow, sory to hear that man. why not cut ties with the dealer? you're in the central valley. try fresno acura. i bought my tl privately when i was 19, and everytime i take my car in, i get treated like family, not some punk kid with a nice car. all of the advisors are great and they wont try to screw you.
call them 559 431 3400. ask for carey. tell him bryan sent you
hope everything works out in your favor

 

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...highlight=1986
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My cousin's friend does customer service for Mercedes Benz answering the phones from pissed off owners. She said that company has sunk to an all time low when it comes to giving a shit about their customers.

She also said the absolute best customer service in the entire automotive industry is by far and away, LEXUS, no ifs, ands, or buts. They will go out of their way to kiss a customer's ass. And considering what Acura of Ramsey recently put me through and the worthlessness of Acura Client Services in the whole fiasco (Story To Follow Soon), I just might consider going LEXUS next time around myself.

Yeah, I know I know, too many people tell me I should be driving a white Escalade.
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yup, fresno acura is the shit! i have bought 3 acuras from them in the last 5 years and they are the reason i keep buying from them. always treat me like royalty and quick to fix any issue i may have. i truly recommend.

 

Well we tried that, but Modesto Acura pissed us off too and gave us an attitude. Plus it's up to Pleasanton Acura to fix the problems since we bought it from there.

Acura corporate has been involved and they basically washed their hands of it. Saying it's up to the dealer. Which I understand to a point, but a little help would have been nice.

So we got a call from the dealer on Friday saying the car was back from the detailer. The service manager said it looked perfect and the tail light was fixed with some spacers so it wouldn't happen again. According to them Acura recently released a TSB on the tail light. Don't know if that is true or not.

We get to the dealer yesterday and of course the car still looks like complete shit. And to top it off there is now a half inch gap between bumper and tail light. Nice!

So we finally are able to meet with the GM of the entire auto mall which include Lexus, and he seems dumbfounded by our entire story. It was like he was hearing our problems for the first time and he probably was. He called the auto body shop who worked on my car and had him on speaker. It wasn't a pretty call. It was also at this time where we caught the dealer in another lie. According the owner of the body shop they never put spacers in for the light. They just replaced it again for the 4th time. The GM was shocked. Or at least he acted that way.

Now the car is supposed to be fixed, yet again, tomorrow. We'll see, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

Arbitration has been filed with the BBB. I faxed over paperwork and the complete service records.

Basically it's going to come down to a court decision. The GM even said if we want the car bought back we'll have to take that up in court. Just fine with us as that is exactly what is going to happen. The tail light issue should make our case a slam dunk.

Well that's it for now.

 

laidback93,

Seems to me that you got a car that LITERALLY FELL OFF THE TRUCK. Don't let them get away with it!
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Dealer

 

Wow. You're definitely doing the right thing getting a lawyer and taking them to court. The dealer should've already offered to give you another new car. I think there's something they're not telling you and Acura corporate knows the dealer screwed up beyond belief.

Once a dealership has terrible customer service it completely throws buying that brand at all out the window. I will never own a Chrysler, Jeep, VW or Audi as long as I live around here, unless another dealer opens.

 

Not sure but I think your purchase dealership has one of the worst reputations in norcal. I almost purchased from them but didn't like the treatment right up front. To feel better about moving forward, get in touch with their local BBB and see what they have to say. Also, check with the state bureau of auto repair for number and type of compliants. Might as well go after them if they lie and waste your time. Either Niello in Sacramento or Fresno Acura would have been better choices. Niello would certainly have given you a better price.