Please think twice before taking your car to Acura of Lynnwood for service, let alone buying a car from them.

I took my 04 TL to them last week with a problematic transmission. They promptly set me with a service advisor and asked me to authorize a $115 diag fee to figure out if the tranny was bad or not. At 110K on the ODO I feel that this should be a NON-issue. Acura/Honda has a reputation for building bulletproof cars! I was confident it would be something minor... IE a pressure switch or something of the sort.

I get a loaner car for a couple days and decide in the meantime to call Acura of America to ask about a goodwill transmission replacement. I make a claim, seemed to go pretty smooth. There is apparently a field rep who goes to the dealer on behalf of Acura of America to determine what they will do for me. According to sources Acura of Lynnwood could have fought for me to get a replacement. No such thing happened. When I made the claim I was told by the AOA rep that I needed to await word from her before I decide what to do. Meanwhile I get a call from the dealership service advisor telling me that AOA said that I am out of luck, pound sand essentially. OBVIOUSLY I am beyond frustrated and distraught by the news and he offers to order a tranny from a dealer in Ohio.

I immediately call AOA and leave a message for the previous rep I spoke to. She confirmed with me that she has not had official communication from their man in the field so not to proceed. The very next day she calls me and confirms that AOA is unwilling to offer any type of assistance. I then call the dealership and advise them that 5K for a new tranny was absurd and that I would do better elsewhere with a same produce/service/warranty. I let them know to have my car ready upon my arrival and I would return their rental and pay them the diag fee. He said to me on the phone... No problems see you within the hour.

When I get there my bill was over $650. My wife and I were astonished. I signed for $115 of diag, period. According to the service advisor I was being charged for NO diag, instead I was being charged for freight of the tranny and a restocking fee. WOW! You seriously want me to pay for something that you will 100% use on another schmuck? I am getting a friggin piece of paper saying I got raped for $650 and have a nice day? No wonder LEXUS is ranked #1 in service and resale value among luxury brands. I was later informed that dealers do not pay to send parts between each other and that cost is NEVER relayed to a customer. I guess I am the exception???

So to all of you folks out there who are having transmission troubles. ACURA knows there are problems, several admitted it to me throughout this process. DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT take your care to ACURA of LYNNWOOD. They will screw you in some way shape of form and the mother ship that is ACURA of AMERICA will do nothing to prevent it, nor will they do anything to right the wrong.

Please be AWARE!!!!!

p.s. Last thing I forgot to mention. When I made my initial call to AOA they mentioned 2 safety recalls to get taken care of. NOT 1 time did the dealership mention these. I HAD to mention it to them. DID they fix them? Of course not. They told me that when the tranny was fixed they would take care of them. NOW I am really pissed off. These are safety recalls people. A car that has been "checked" in at an acura dealership and has not had this done is a major issue. Just goes to show you how much Acura of Lynnwood cares! My wife and I mentioned these recalls upon our pick up of our car, they said they did not do them. HOW ABOUT THIS.... We did not fix those yet, yes we know they are unrelated to the tranny but we just had not scheduled it with a tech. TAKE the rental a couple more days and let us take care of the SAFETY recall for you and see you in a day or so... BUT HELL NO did they offer to do the right thing!!!!!! Needless to say the recall still is not fixed.

 

We can understand your agony but your problem with the price can easily be fixed. You just need to talk with the GM. Acura has it's choice to help you if you're past your drivetrain warranty. To be honest, whether you may think this is your responsibility or not, if you spent one hour on AZ to read on replacement of fluid to Redline and new 3rd/4th gear sensors you would had no problem. Nonetheless, that isn't the sole reason you made the thread. You should bring it to another dealership from a reputable dealer from recommendations from AZ users. Sorry for your problem, but with some research you should've been fine.

 

If I were you I'd write them a check for 115 for the diag fee and take your car back. They can't legally hold it and if they take you to court ask them for the estimate you signed approving the 650.

 

i have been charged for crap plenty of times at plenty of places. a more often than not a simple "i am not paying for that" will suffice. i have had people try to charge for adding 7$ worth of widshield fluid to something that was toped off at home and not used since. tires that were NOT rotated, i knew cuz i know which wheel is which on my rims so i can keep track, battery and tire disposle fee when i bought my car when it was 1 new and 2 not going to be in that state when those items would need disposal. the list goes on. when a place has your car some people like to try and sneak in as much charges as possible because you think if you dont pay you wont get your car. stay firm refuse to pay for service not recieved and if all ele fails

"you will hear from my lawer" and turn to walk away work wonders.

that is for any place.

 

Dealers are charged $108 freight from Honda on all transmission orders , which is passed on to the customer. Unless the dealer eats the shipping or they have a parts runner, then they will also pay to ship dealer to dealer.

Did you authorize them verbally over phone to order the transmission?

Are you the original owner of the vehicle? Have you done service with the dealer before?

 

Man, sorry to hear your hassle.

On a side note I thought it was kind of ironic after reading this and scrolling down, I just happen to see a Lynwood ad banner at the bottom of the thread!

 

My father-in-law was never happy with them either when he lived in Washington about a year ago.

 

Call AOA again and tell them of your experience. Tell them you were upset not only about the transmission, but the way you were treated as a customer. Tell them look I can understand the transmission but not taking care of a recall and forcing a 650 dollar charge one me? Come ON! Tell them you don't expect to be treated like this and want it made right. DO NOT say you will never ever purchase a honda or acura again!