Lore

Hey all:

I know a lot of you guys have TLs here in the SF Bay Area. I also know that many of us have the same issues that crop up from time to time (vibration, rattles, memory seat issues, etc).

I thought it would be beneficial, at least for us, to have a record of dealers and the service managers/advisors at those dealerships that provide outstanding service and fix our issues.

I will begin by saying that I have an appointment for Oakland Acura on Thursday 1/8/04 to look at the rattles in my car. The service advisor that I need to speak with is named Ren.

Then I have an appointment on Saturday with Stevens Creek Acura to install my accessories that I didn't get upon delivery. I also informed them that I want them to look at my rattles. Hopefully with two separate eyes I can have the rattles fixed. The service advisor at Stevens Creek is Rodney Juarez

I will post updates as soon as I have them. I think many of us would appreciate you sharing your experiences with the various service departments in the Bay Area and the individuals we worked with.

Thanks so much!
Kenneth


[edit]
Update! I just got my car back from Stevens Creek to install the body side moldings, mud guards, trunk tray, and all season mats. They took apart my passenger side door to try to find the rattle, found some loose/broken clips, refastened them, and now my passenger side door makes creaking noises around the map pocket when the opening part and the stationary part rub against each other. Agh -- worse than before. Regardless, they had all the stuff installed very quickly and even gave my car a wash right after.

mrtech

I was @ Concord Acura yesterday for the slight vib, memory and start issue. Result - did not find any vib since the tires are warmed up already. Memory - they just reset driver #2 and did not find any problem. Well it takes a few days sometimes a week or so for the mem to disappear on me.

mrtech

I have an appt with Oakland this Saturday. They are suppose to replace the stripped nut/clip on the rear plate holder, replace the battery cover with broken clips and will hit them with vib issue as well. They are suppose to find me the front plate screw covers as well.

mrtech

PS: I think we should sticky this one too. It would be interesting to see if the same dealer will say "never heard of anyone reporting that problem" when more than one of us hits the same dealer with the same issue.

How can you "sticky" this thread.

Lore

I think the Moderator has to be the one that stickies threads (Z-Factor, you there?)

What is this battery clip thing you're getting replaced? I haven't even looked at my battery under the hood yet. Where did you buy your car originally? Did you go to that dealer for service yet?

I want them to replace this rattling in the steering column -- it is getting worse and worse every day.

mrtech

Car was from Oakland Acura. The cover of the battery is loose. After checking why, the two plastic clip on the side to hold the cover down is broken. They have to replace the whole cover. Got it that way, maybe broken by the pre-delivery service person, who knows.

Yes, I was at Oak last Saturday. That was when they checked they discovered that they needed to order parts. They did not check the vibration last Saturday. That is for this weekend.

Lore

Who are you working with at Oakland? Are you finding them to be helpful? Also, where do you drive the car into for servicing? I'm guessing you drive it along 27th and then into the service bay area, but I may be wrong.

mrtech

Spoke to Phil regarding the covers. I forgot the name of the service guy who orders the parts for me (Chinese guy with salt/pepper hair). I was a bit disappointed on my first visit there.

JoganJani

Lore, mertech what are your vin #. Mine is 15719 and I do not have either any issues. 3 weeks and over but will keep my ears and eyes open.

blaketag

We've had an MDX since 10/01 and have had good service experience at both Concord and Solano (Fairfield) Acura. Solano seems to be more liberable with loaners than Concord (they even use MDX's as loaner vehicles), but they tend to be bit more expensive for similar work than Concord. I have no complaints with the service I've received from either dealership. I bought my 04 TL (Anthracite/Ebony, 5AT, Non-Nav) from Concord on 12/23 and they treated me well during the transaction. I'm bringing the TL back on 1/15 to Concord to get some due bill items installed. I'll let everyone know how that goes. So far I have no problems with my vehicle (i.e. no vibration issues or major tire flatspotting). VIN is 007591.

Tom

Lore

My VIN is 21XXX -- Anthracite/Ebony + Navi. I am going to Stevens Creek for the due bill items on Saturday. Thanks for the information about Concord and Solano (although Solano is fairly far for me).

Lore

Daryl is the name of the service advisor with the salt/pepper hair. Phil's the service manager. (I got all this from their website).

Was Phil and Daryl nice? I need to talk to them later today.

mrtech

Phil - was nice. Tried to help me with the hole covers but I will still have to wait if he delivers on his promise.

Daryl - He did order the parts needed and re-sched me for this Sat. I'll know more this Sat.

brucehallberg

Lore, I just got my car back from a visit to Stevens Creek Acura and my impression was exceedingly positive. I worked with Rodney, who was terrific.

When I got my car, from a different dealer (North Penninsula area), it had a 70-90mph steering wheel vibration not related to flat spotting, plus the wiper nozzles were adjusted too high. I took it back to that dealer immediately (the following Monday). They grudgingly (I thought) rebalanced and adjusted the nozzles. They made me rent a car for the day, which really ticked me off for a problem there since delivery. Plus, their rebalancing job didn't impact the problem. I then, thinking they were incompetent, went and had a load force balance done, which improved it some, but still didn't correct. Driving around one day during the week and being irritated at the problem, I decided to drop into Stevens Creek Acura and talk with a service advisor, figuring they were a higher volume dealer and maybe would be more on top of things. Rodney was there, and I spoke to him. I asked his advice, he said let us take a look at it. I said fine, but I want to do a road test first so you know exactly what needs fixing. No problem he said. We set an appt for first day, but it was raining (not good for 80mph road tests!) so rescheduled it to the following week.

I went in this past Monday morning, Rodney said Hi and got one of their master techs out (nice guy named Bob) who drove the car with me to an area where I knew one could pick up the vibrations. He detected it, thought it was probably a balance issue, and said they'd do their own balance, and see if they couldn't fix it. I told Rodney I needed a car, and even said I was prepared to rent one (since they weren't my original dealer) but he fixed me up with a loaner RSX at no charge and no hassle. Picked the car up, and over the past couple of days have been evaluating the rebalance. As I told him today, I'm almost 100% they got rid of it completely. My car was cleaned when I picked it up, and I didn't pay a dime for anything, except a bit of gas for the loaner.

The service department is very clean and efficient looking, and it's a really nice setup, nicer even than the BMW dealers in our area. Rodney was unfailingly helpful and friendly, and I can assure you that's where I will do all of my service/maintenance work from here on out.

Hope this is helpful,
Bruce

PS: Bob at one point said something about static balancing being important for wheels like ours, because you can't put weights on the outer rim, which most dynamic balancers are set up to suggest. I didn't quiz him much on this, but thought I'd mention it to folks having a similar issue to mine.

Lore

Bruce:

I am happy to hear that! My service advisor for this Saturday is supposed to be Rodney as well and I will let him know the positive things you said about him. What color is your TL (so that I may jog his memory?)

I just dropped my TL off at Oakland Acura to fix the rattles in the steering column and the rattling/clicking noise in the passenger side during music playback.

I spoke with Daryl Chan who was very pleasant and willing to look at the issue for me. They set me up with a rental from nearby Enterprise for free as all rentals/loaners are covered under the car's warranty repair policy (apparently). I would send in your receipts for your rental to Acura Client Services and demand a refund, citing your specific situation.

Anyway, we'll see how well Oakland is able to diagnose/repair my problem. I'm am still not sure whether I have the flatspotting problem or not but it feels like I do because I got regular lumps when I was driving with cold wheels to Oakland Acura. However, it could very well be the road but I don't think it is.

mrtech

Lore,

Good. I'll see Daryl this Saturday and will bring up the vib issue to. Mine is not severe. I'll ask him though if other owners have reported wheel issues. They do not have a tire blance in the shop. This means it will be sent to a tire shop. More than likely the wheelworks shop across the street. I guess they are keeping your car for more than a day. They only offer shuttle for repairs during the day.

NathanSilver

Lore--
Noticed the body side molding on an Anthra 5AT at the dealer last week:
My opininion is that the door edge protection and body side molding break up the continuity of the GREAT 04TL lines that are--superb by themselves.

Then again, bumper cars followed "fuction over form."

Appreciating the lines as they rolled off of the assembly line....
NathanSilver

Mrtech:
What field are you a "Tech" in?
Got Electrons..........................?
NathanSilver:wow:

mrtech

They (Oakland Acura) have a black loaner with wood trim and side molding. IMO, the side molding looks OK. I did not like the wood trim. They charge over $200 for the side molding. I think Sunnyside Acura sells it for $140.


Tech in - computers...

cskksc

As an aside, I have found an independent shop in Santa Clara, CA that only works on Acura/Honda (have been taking my two Acuras (89/91) and Honda (02) there for regular service over the past ten years now). The shop is called Foreign Affair and is located near the San Jose Airport (near Trimble and 101). Obviously not a dealer, and can't take care of warranty items, but for those in the South Bay area who are looking for an alternative to a dealer, Foreign Affair is a shop that does great, honest work...check them out. (http://www.fahonda.com/)

Lore

Actually, he's hoping that if it's something they can fix in one day it will be better for everyone, but since I asked for a loaner from the get-go, they let me rent a car from Enterprise on their dime.

Lore

I would not have purchased the molding (especially at that price) but since they would not give me the decklid spoiler and I wanted the molding, I had to settle on the compromise.

alvon

cskksc - Foreign Affair - I heard about them but never been there for my wife's Accord. How are their prices compare to the dealer?

jime

After 15 years and 4 Acuras, I greatly prefer the Stevens Creek Service Dept. My latest "great service" from Stevens Creek was today when they fixed the HandsFreeLink system on my TL.

When I purchase a new Acura, I always give the selling dealership a chance to impress me. I have tried Hopkins and Sunnyvale Acura but did not continue with them. One of the primary reasons was because of their policy on loaner cars (Hopkins experience was in 1996 so their policy might have changed).

In March of 2003 I took my 95 Legend 6-speed coupe and 98 RL to Acura of Pleasanton. I will never take a car there again! They were totally incompetent, causing damage to my RL that I still have to live with, and requiring me to make multiple 1 hour round trips to pick up cars that were not repaired.

Lore

Here's an update on my TL, which I just got back from Oakland Acura (Service Advisor was Daryl Chan).

The problem with the rattling/loose sound in my steering wheel was apparently a result of the horn connector being loose. They resecured it and it's not there anymore. However, I'm only 2 miles away from the dealership so I did not get a good chance to fully test it out. Will do that after work.

The problem with the rattle on the passenger door the service department could not duplicate. They said that they took apart the door panel and found nothing loose. I will keep messing with it until I find a song that can duplicate it accurately. It's a little click/rattle noise that keeps time with the bass beats of the song.

Overall, for these two minor issues it was fairly painless. I'll be taking it into Stevens Creek this Saturday for my accessory installs so I'll report back then!

Kenneth

mrtech

Ken,

Try playing the radio only on the front left by using the fader and balance setting. Try raising the volume to see if you can replicate the issue. This way your ears are not "distracted" by the other sound coming from the other speakers when you are trying to replicate the noise.

I'll see Daryl this Saturday.

mrtech

Or would that be front -right speaker...

mrtech

Lore - came back from Oakland Acura. Daryl was not there today. Even after checking twice (phy phone) if all the parts were in, I was disappointed that they told me that the battery cover was not in. They did replace the license clip and the front hole covers. What bugs me is that I have to make another trip sometime when they get it.

Lore

I took my TL into Stevens Creek this morning to have its side moldings and mud guards installed.

Rodney was my Service Advisor. He was very helpful.

Unfortunately they tore apart my passenger side door to try to find the rattle. They identified it as several broken clips and so they replaced those...but Oakland Acura never said anything about broken clips, so I wonder if Stevens Creek broke the clips during disassembly. Further, now I hear this creaking/rubbing sound during bumps on that door (which is more annoying than what it was before).

ARGH.

mrtech

Have guys have any experience with Auto Plus in Albany (CA)? I it an independent Honda/Acura shop. I want to start researching on good/honest and reasonable priced auto shops for the maintenance items. I dealers are a bit too expensive for the same/simlar type of service.

Lore

How'd the Concord install go on 1/15? I am bringing in my TL for rattles on Tuesday. So far, the service advisors I've to (frank and bill) haven't been all that nice.

blaketag

The work at Concord went fine on Thursday, although my wife took it in not me. She dealt with Larry and thought he was great. We've worked with him before on our MDX also. She got a loaner without a problem. They confirmed a leak at driver's side window (creates wind noise at highway speeds) and ordered some parts to fix. Everything else they did was just due bill items that closed out my purchase deal. I've never had a problem with service at Concord.

Tom