Interesting trip to ACURA service...
11-20-2004, 09:19 AM
#1
Bears Rule!(Well, kinda')
Thread Starter
Interesting trip to ACURA service...
Hey all...
Don't want to turn this into a rattle thread, but this is a long story with some pretty cool information I haven't seen here before.
Third trip in for the same rattles that just won't go away and a few new ones. Explained that I felt like a jerk for complaining, but something wasn't right. The service guy was more than accomodating and said they'd get it right this time. Had my car for over a week. In the end, before I gave back my loaner I wanted to test drive it. In just a few moments I knew that ALL THE RATTLES WERE GONE!
I was thrilled, becuase it meant that all the things I was concerned about really were issues -- not just me being hypersensitive. I saw the work log when I came in, and every thing they did was to correct "poor assembly" or "loose part". They even gave me a new slider thingy for my sunroof. (The other one, I'm convinced, was made of balsa wood.)
I went to transfer stuff out of my loaner trunk into my shiny-happy TL but the rear deck insulation / liner was still down. I brought it over to the service garage to get it in (it was 8:00 at night -- they were done for the day) and see if someone could finish the work (bolts and pins all over the trunk floor), and I caught the one of the two guys that worked on my car. He laughed, apologized, and took care of it immediately. To get it all back in place it took about 25 minutes since some pins had to be replaced since they were cracked. We chatted the whole time. And this is where it gets good.
I told him how much I liked the car except for the damn rattles, and how I used this forum to learn some fixes. He mentioned how angry the service guys were with the car in general, and the outright fury over the tranny recall. "They even told US it was fixed" he said. According to him, the new TSX is the car with the least problems, followed by the RSX. The MDX has the tranny issue, but other than that is solid as a rock. The new TL -- not so much. He listed the things most people bark about here (headliner falling, window rattles by driver's ear, glove compartment, etc.) but had some new ones.
1) They just had a meeting discussing the potential TSB on the trunk latch since, according to corporate, if the trunk is slammed down from the sides rather than the middle it can land off mark and break rather easily. He said the 2005 doesn't have a more sturdy trunk lid either and was sick of having to replace them. (3 in the past month, I guess.)
2) The rear column (C-pillar?) as it meets the frame of the car, has welding issues or some sort. Nothing that compromised the integrity of the car, but the mechanic said that if the car has rattles from this area, there really is no fix since it's a weld issue. I don't know how welds can actually make noise, but he said that it's structural and nothing they could do.
3) The rear deck rattles are, most commonly, a problem with the seat belt system. There's a little roller that snaps off real easily when used, and then just sits in it's housing with nothing to support it rattleing at every bump in the road. Bring this up if you're having the problem -- he said it takes care of most rear deck problems they see! (Except for re-insulating / clipping the subwoofer.)
AND MOST INTERESTING:
4) He'd still buy the car in an instant. Best bang for the buck on the line. And, since he knew how to fix all the rattles, there'd never be an issue there. He's pushing his dad to get one. (He said if dad gets one he'll do a pre-emptive strike and just do the fixes before pick up.)
After all that, he still felt that strongly about the car. We had a very honest and frank conversation, and it was great to have my concerns validated and addressed rather than some in this forum that shoot down people who have these issues and write them off as being "whiners".
You're not whiners. Get to a good service department and have it handled. I'm happier now than day one when I first made the purchase, probably becuase I felt like I was treated with respect and my issues were solved. I know there are a lot of horror stories out there, but Joe Rizza Acura in Orland Park, IL did it right.
Sorry to be so long winded, but I hope this helps some of you!
Don't want to turn this into a rattle thread, but this is a long story with some pretty cool information I haven't seen here before.
Third trip in for the same rattles that just won't go away and a few new ones. Explained that I felt like a jerk for complaining, but something wasn't right. The service guy was more than accomodating and said they'd get it right this time. Had my car for over a week. In the end, before I gave back my loaner I wanted to test drive it. In just a few moments I knew that ALL THE RATTLES WERE GONE!
I was thrilled, becuase it meant that all the things I was concerned about really were issues -- not just me being hypersensitive. I saw the work log when I came in, and every thing they did was to correct "poor assembly" or "loose part". They even gave me a new slider thingy for my sunroof. (The other one, I'm convinced, was made of balsa wood.)
I went to transfer stuff out of my loaner trunk into my shiny-happy TL but the rear deck insulation / liner was still down. I brought it over to the service garage to get it in (it was 8:00 at night -- they were done for the day) and see if someone could finish the work (bolts and pins all over the trunk floor), and I caught the one of the two guys that worked on my car. He laughed, apologized, and took care of it immediately. To get it all back in place it took about 25 minutes since some pins had to be replaced since they were cracked. We chatted the whole time. And this is where it gets good.
I told him how much I liked the car except for the damn rattles, and how I used this forum to learn some fixes. He mentioned how angry the service guys were with the car in general, and the outright fury over the tranny recall. "They even told US it was fixed" he said. According to him, the new TSX is the car with the least problems, followed by the RSX. The MDX has the tranny issue, but other than that is solid as a rock. The new TL -- not so much. He listed the things most people bark about here (headliner falling, window rattles by driver's ear, glove compartment, etc.) but had some new ones.
1) They just had a meeting discussing the potential TSB on the trunk latch since, according to corporate, if the trunk is slammed down from the sides rather than the middle it can land off mark and break rather easily. He said the 2005 doesn't have a more sturdy trunk lid either and was sick of having to replace them. (3 in the past month, I guess.)
2) The rear column (C-pillar?) as it meets the frame of the car, has welding issues or some sort. Nothing that compromised the integrity of the car, but the mechanic said that if the car has rattles from this area, there really is no fix since it's a weld issue. I don't know how welds can actually make noise, but he said that it's structural and nothing they could do.
3) The rear deck rattles are, most commonly, a problem with the seat belt system. There's a little roller that snaps off real easily when used, and then just sits in it's housing with nothing to support it rattleing at every bump in the road. Bring this up if you're having the problem -- he said it takes care of most rear deck problems they see! (Except for re-insulating / clipping the subwoofer.)
AND MOST INTERESTING:
4) He'd still buy the car in an instant. Best bang for the buck on the line. And, since he knew how to fix all the rattles, there'd never be an issue there. He's pushing his dad to get one. (He said if dad gets one he'll do a pre-emptive strike and just do the fixes before pick up.)
After all that, he still felt that strongly about the car. We had a very honest and frank conversation, and it was great to have my concerns validated and addressed rather than some in this forum that shoot down people who have these issues and write them off as being "whiners".
You're not whiners. Get to a good service department and have it handled. I'm happier now than day one when I first made the purchase, probably becuase I felt like I was treated with respect and my issues were solved. I know there are a lot of horror stories out there, but Joe Rizza Acura in Orland Park, IL did it right.
Sorry to be so long winded, but I hope this helps some of you!
11-20-2004, 09:34 AM
#2
Senior Moderator
Hmmm, very interesting post. I'll ask around at my dealer too the next time I'm in for service. Points for you!
I think people are pilloried for whining around here only because of the frequency of posts about rattles. We know there are issues, and I'm personally reassured that some dealers realize there are issues, AND are willing to resolve them. I'm glad your issues were resolved.
I think people are pilloried for whining around here only because of the frequency of posts about rattles. We know there are issues, and I'm personally reassured that some dealers realize there are issues, AND are willing to resolve them. I'm glad your issues were resolved.
11-20-2004, 10:34 AM
#5
Bears Rule!(Well, kinda')
Thread Starter
He said "pre-emptive strike", so I'm sure that he's going to do it even if they aren't there for his dad just to be on the safe side. I know when I picked mine up it was dead quiet, and the rattles started showing their ugly heads after the first 750 miles or so....one by one. They're gone now though, and I couldn't be happier.
11-20-2004, 11:21 AM
#7
Bears Rule!(Well, kinda')
Thread Starter
Definitely...but after seeing / talking with them about all they did, I'm confident that the ones I identified will stay away. (Then again....stranger things have happened)
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11-20-2004, 12:10 PM
#8
Racer
Join Date: Nov 2004
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Do you feel comfortable mentioning which Chicago area dealer this was? At least for those of us in the area it might help if we have trouble getting a resolution from our own dealer.
11-20-2004, 05:57 PM
#12
Burning Brakes
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Good job on that post. Very informative and helpful.
Good to know that there are dealers out there that do still care about the people and cars after the sale. Not to common anymore.
Good to know that there are dealers out there that do still care about the people and cars after the sale. Not to common anymore.
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