Originally Posted by TLtrigirl

you're going to the wrong acura dealership then. personally i dont' really care for the stale donuts and free refreshments (neither of which i'm interested in), there is plenty of seating at the dealer i go to (NoVA), with a 32 inch TV with cable/satellite reception, and work stations for wi-fi access. leave a sign in your car for them not to wash it, tell the SA, and then remind them gently. if you're yelling and screaming and acting like an ass then it's no wonder they hate you. they've even upgraded their check in process and have a flat panel in the waiting room to tell you the status of your vehicle while it's in for service.

Originally Posted by 04desertmist

Laff, no I don't 'yell' at anyone, not my style, but they see me 2x a week sometimes and I'm tipping them. But you are right, I like my car washed a certain way. I need to do it myself. Free isn't always worth 'free'.
Radley in NoVa? Thats where I take my teg. Not the greatest but they've come a long way. I'm willing to drive for good service if you recommend.

Originally Posted by StHalcyon

C'mon, guys. True, there are many surveys out there, but JD Powers is bar none the only one all the automotive manufacturers rely on. If their data is bad, why the heck would every single manufacturer heed so much to the study? If manufacturers find it reliable, then what reasons are there for some (or most) of you to deem it useless? Does the results hurt your feelings? Ownership pride?

Second, the resulting data has taken into account statistical outliers and anomalies, like any quality statistical tabulation should do.

Third, if someone who owns an Acura thinks an oil light is just a recommendation and consider it as a problem on a survey, what's to say that statistically speaking per 100 vehicle owners, there isn't about the same rate of ignorant owners of other manufacturers who behave the same, thereby making the data between manufacturers' score reliable?

I think there is a gross misunderstanding of what these JD Powers rankings mean. The 3 different ones relating to automotive industry:

• IQS (Initial Quality Study) – measures new-vehicle quality at 90 days of ownership. Used as a predictor of long term dependability.
• VDS (Vehicle Dependability Study) – measures problems experienced during the past 12 months by original owners of three-year-old vehicles. Used to help design and build better vehicles.
• APEAL (Automotive Performance, Execution & Layout Study) – measures how gratifying a new vehicle is to own and drive at 90 days of ownership.

The chart the OP posted is for the 2012 VDS, which is for cars made and sold in 2009. You suppose owners who have had their cars for 3 years would somehow try to score it lower? I mean, what incentive is there for people to do that? But let's say that Acura owners have an ax to grind. But what makes you think owners of other manufacturers want to do exactly the opposite, giving high marks for bad quality?



I simply just don't understand why so many people call their studies BS when every auto manufacturer rely heavily on the results. I'll grant you that the IQS is more likely to be subjective because owners are still in their new purchase high, but for the VDS, the honeymoon's over, regardless of what make their car is.



Please don't confuse other proprietary JD Powers studies paid for by each individual manufacturer for a specific survey. Those results are not published by JD Powers, and the data points are not standardized by JD Powers. Such a survey may be about your dealer where you bought your car, or about service departments. The big 3, (IQS, VDS and APEAL) are the automotive industry's gold standard.


As to the OP's original question about customer satisfaction rankings... JD Powers doesn't have a customer satisfaction award for the automotive industry, simply because the customer facing liaison is their sales channel: dealers. This is not like a bank, or cellular service provider, or a hotel, where the brand itself most likely triage the customers.



Bottom line: Check your emotions at the door, and take an objective view as to how and why the scores are the way they are. If the data is truly crap, then at least one manufacturer will declare it so. Yet, they treat such information as gold and truth to the point where some CEOs use low scoring results as motivation for their VPs and directors to shape up or leave.

Originally Posted by nothome17

Too bad I didn't get to report my problems with my 2004 Acura TSX and 2008 Acura TL Type S.

Shout out to Pete2012, Justnospace, TLtreegirl

Originally Posted by nothome17

Too bad I didn't get to report my problems with my 2004 Acura TSX and 2008 Acura TL Type S.

Shout out to Pete2012, Justnospace, TLtreegirl

Originally Posted by TLtrigirl

^^when you call out people and then intentionally "play" on people's user names...yeah...we take it to mean you are serious. w/e. if your Acura's were so bad to you...buy something else at the top of your survey list.

Originally Posted by nothome17

That was just a lil fun. Can't peeps have fun these days on the net. Come on, You need to lighten up, it's just the internet. Do you want me to click on the "Thanks" button to make you happy? There clicked on "Thanks".

Yes, that's what I'm working on. Waiting for the 3rd gen IS250 to come out. It's due for a refresh.

Originally Posted by nothome17

Uhm.. Everytime I see a thread about the GM Synchromesh Transmission Fluid - Friction Modified I think about my 1992 Acura Integra GSR. Had that infamous 3rd grind happen and people were saying the GM Synchromesh Tranny Fluid was just a band aid. It did the job and it's still running with over 300k miles.

WTF!!?? This was happening to my 1992 Acura and it's still happening on the 3rd Gen TL's??? I don't know if it's happening to other Honda/Acura models. But dang.. 12 or so years to fix this issue and no bueno..