TL|GTX

Well i took my car in for some stuff 2 fix, and i said my valves tick loud, and well they finish everything and then they say your valves are working fine if they were messed up a check engine light would pop up, and she said also bc u modified your muffler system by taking the mid-muffler out and replacing it with a straight pipe it that sound that your hearing im like 2 her, umm no when i first bought the car the valves were this loud.

Dave_W

I'd go to another dealer. Adjusting the valves is pretty easy once you can get to them.

MDXin

The other day I took my wifes MDX into the stealer for the SRS light (code says it is the seatbelt buckle which is warranteed for life). So, the Technician proceeds to tell me that they have to order the buckle, it will be in the next day. Then he states that they noticed a coolant leak and it will be 184.95 to fix it. Right away Im thinking why were they looking for a coolant leak when I took it in for the SRS light. So I said no thanks ( I usually do all my work on my cars not under warrantee) I picked up the car and guess what... the coolant leak magically dissappeared (it must have healed).

I think the technician didn't have any more jobs to do for the day and since they get paid "flat-rate" he needed to come up with some more work. what a schmuck.

What this technician doesn't know is that I'm friends with the service manager. Right now I am debating on weather or not to tell him.

saintv90

Tell him. Someone else will get screwed otherwise.

MDXin

Well, the rest of my story is that the part didn't come in and I have to take the MDX back to the dealer and get it installed... so, I don't want to rock-the-boat just yet. because I don't want the tech. to create a leak either. I will wait until I get the service done. then tell them I don't want this guy ever to touch one of my vehicles.

LoveMyTL-S

Smart move. Yea, that guy doesn't need to be in the shop period. Repairs are expensive enough for the real one's. And this guy is making things up. That is NOT cool. It's actualy stealing when you get down to it.

gatrhumpy

iTrader: (1)

Interesting.

01tl4tl

maybe the tech found coolant in his stall after your car was brought in
and there was none before
Taking a quick look he found the source of the problem and he knew how much they get for that job
Now:
You need to check the coolant level in the res bottle and the radiator, then pressure test the system
Sometimes techs know things like a lower radiator fitting gets rattled and breaks the seam,,,small leak then biggggggtime leak
Its a techs job to look for work yes, and they have to be able to show how a diagnosis was made and produce a failed part

01tl4tl

gtx- with modified exhaust you will get more sounds in general
Take a mechanics stethascope to the valve covers- you will know right away if a valve is loose
If you have 100k miles its due for valve adjustment with the timing belt and water pump
Racers may want to do it early
at the 105 service - diy's here report 2-3 intakes off spec slightly- but enough to make it run rougher than it should, and will quiet any noise from loose setting

The oil you run can make a differance, as will oil pressure
Carbon buildup on the back and edges of the valve will cause problems
Have you seafoam the intake manifold?
Have you tried 1/3 can of seafoam to the oil and drive 30 miles/minutes, then change oil and filter
That may help the gen3 problem with vtec sliders getting gummed up and failing
Seafoam will remove that grunge and sludge, varnish etc.
Use the rest in 1/3 tank of gas

MDXin

Maybe, but right now, I'm not buying it. I will do more investigating and next time I go in, I will ask him to show me the leak, because where the MDX sits in my garage is spotlessly clean. And with any coolant leak, you can smell coolant.
P.S Your not the tech, are you??

TL|GTX

Well i have 12k on the car, but i do run the car kinda hard. Is it better 2 do a seafoam now?

VQPower37

i dont think you need to worry about seafoam until you hit about 60k.

MDXin

I stand corrected. after taking off the engine cover, I saw a tiny leak from around the water-neck on the engine block. It was so small that it just must have seeped when conditions were just right. So I tightend the nut a quarter of a turn on the water-neck, cleaned it up (only a spec to clean up). Drove it all day and looked and no leak. I will keep an eye on it.
I guess I may have jumped to conclusions a little early, but this is why I waited and did not say anything to the service mgr.

irishbloke

As a technician (not car; computer) I can tell you this stirs up a few thoughts. I occasionally run into clients doubting my assessments. There have been times that I have been wrong and I tell the client flat out I was wrong and/or I missed something. However nothing blows worse than a client stirring up a shit storm (regardless of who is correct).

I say kick back, investigate, and if needed swing by and have a one on one chat with the tech and say "hey I'm not seeing it, care to show where you suspect there may be an issue?". Might of been just a long day for the tech, might of made mistake, or there is really problem. For the most part people are not out to get you.

After spending most of my work years (thus far) in the service jobs (fast food, cleaning shops, computer support etc.) I know first hand how easy it is to get worked up and blew your top - I've done it a few times (both sides of the table). One day/week/month later it doesn't matter.

My personal rule of thumb: If they are servicing your needs, regardless of their pay, don't be a dick and keep your mouth shut until you have solid reason to say something.

A lot of people who work in service industry are not in the best places in their lives. Also a lot of them are young with generally a lot of teenage angst/depression going on (whether or not they are teens). Its may not be your fault they may be unstable, have low self-esteem, or are overdramatic - but dont make it worse. Don't hurt people (even if they did wrong).

grab a beer - it will be all good in the end
~
irishbloke

MDXin

Even though I was wrong and didn't see this leak the first time I looked, $185 to replace the gasket is highway robbery. Esp. when I fixed it by just tightening the nut!

PhilB81

I do agree with what you say for the most part, however if someone tries to sell you a 180 dollar service you don't need, I think they diserve a punch in the face more than a hug.

irishbloke

On second thought, go punch the wanker! just kidding.

Perhaps he loosened up the nut? Sounds much too neat.

Let me add/rephrase what I said before: People are not out to get you but many of them are sure out to get your money.

I figure he just quoted you some generic rate/price. I occasionally get that kind of response. A lot of times the reason why the prices are so high is that techs dont do "patch work". They order new parts and replace them. Sad but true. Personally I hate patch work because it tends to have problems (at least in computers). In cars though I believe patch work is much more acceptable and should be done first.

~
irishbloke

cherplex

iTrader: (3)

I despise stealerships, I usually buy parts and go to a trusted mechanic or if it's simple enough I do it myself.

PhilB81

lol, okay, my punch in the face was more of a figure of speach.
I'm particularly bitter with dealers, because on my old 94 grand cherokee, while i was on a trip, [summer time] i brought it in for some service with the rear differential, and the dealership STOLE my rear limited slip differential. I only noticed it back in the winter when my wheels were spinning in all sorts of directions, I take it to the local shop, and he says that I no longer have an LSD... so ya i was mad. Also, with the Jeep, when I lived in atlanta, i brought it in because a CV joint was clunking. The mechanic was telling me, no no, that's no cv joint, that's my AC compressor unit. then we reproduce the sound without the ac on, and i get this magical explanation of how the ac is still spinning and all, but the air isn't cold. I also had my car sit at the dealership for 7-10 days, and I would call them, and ask when i can get it back. They would tell me, "oh we're working on it right now sir". Well, that was great till I go to the dealer one day looking for my car, its not there, so I wait, comes back, it was loaded with parts and other misc boxes in the back. So I go look at it, and i noticed that it had about 500 to 600 extra miles on it [though i couldn't prove that] so at that point, I honestly don't care in what state of depression the mechanics are in [his gf dumpted him, his pet rabbit died, whatever] I'm gonna let it rip.

Quite honestly, I like to watch when they work on the car, at acura they usually don't let you in the garage bays, because its a liability, but I just sit out in the sun just outside the garage doors. They probably think I'm messed up in the head, but that's ok by me.
the only problem i had at acura, was that one dumm dumm washed my 01 CL, and it left several marks on the paint. That and I had some sexy mechanic paw prints on my steering wheel and door [beige interior], but I just told my service advisor, he appologized, cleaned it up, and I was out of there, no fuss, all was good.

I hate cars

What I can't stand is they rely on a check engine light for everything. These guys are getting so dumb it's amazing. In order for the check engine light to come on due to valves needing adjustment, they would have to be so horrible that it produces a misfire. The techs are completely retarded. They can't diagnose anything on their own anymore, the rely solely on the computer. I took an advanced computer controls and a smog class in college and it was cake. Some of the dealer techs in that class failed and most struggled. It really opened my eyes to how little the average dealership tech knows.

I would love to stick them on an old 60s carburated car with points and condensor and a distributor with no computer controls.

nfnsquared

Here: I'll loan you a few periods...........Heck, just take 'em. Looks like you need them

Aman

Man, I should consider myself lucky that I've never had a car decent enough to warrant going into the dealership for service until now.

PhilB81

lol



I agree with you, however, old carb engines are easier to diagnose than these modern engines with computers and relays and all that sh!t.
On my 94 jeep I was trying to figure out why sometmes it wouldn't run. And my god what a pain.turns out it was one obscure relay that 'sometmes' didn't kick in which confused the ecu, etc...

AckTL05

iTrader: (18)

i had this ticking from the black valve cover. turns out my spark plug came loose and i replaced them all with ngk and its alot more quiet and still sticks alittle but thats normal for a honda to tick.

blaz0033

Why do dealerships act like they are doing you a favor when they replace something under warranty? So the finish was flaking off one of my rims so I took it in and they said they had never seen that before....we'll have to have the Acura Rep come and look at it, so 2 weeks later the rep comes and looks at it for like 30 seconds and say yea that shouldn't be happening....we'll take care of it. So the dealer proceeded to remind me no less than 5 times that they are doing me a favor in good faith to replace the rim as it is just a cosmetic issue. Isn't this what warranties are for? Just replace the part and shut up......irritating

wrxyboy

iTrader: (2)

I had horrible experience with the Stealership and being on an island that has no other stealerships i can go to, they use this to there full advantage. My srs light came on and the car is little over 1 yr old. But because i have my air ride gauge's in big pocket of the front center console they wouldnt warranty the work due to modification which was not related to any srs system, no where near my gauges and the wire that came loose was above the navigation screen so they said that my gauge cause the srs light to come one. Need less to say they charged me $145 to warranty a item that i did not touch. What a joke, so i called corporate and they are investigating the service. I raised hell though at the service office and got other people worried about there cars as well, which is good cause they must rob everyone since they are the only acura dealership.