So heres another one of those long stealership stories.

Visit #1
About 2 weeks ago i decided to change my front axles since they were both clicking. Bought the parts from Delray and brought them to northeast Acura in Loudonville NY(only dealer ship within 90 miles of me). Once they changed them for me and I left the dealership, i was hearing the same clicking on both sides just not as loud as before. I was really pissed considering I just dropped 600+ dollars on new axles and the same problem was still their. On top of that their was a new metal jingling noise i heard as i drove the car.

Visit #2
I called the dealership back and explained both problems to them and they told me since they didn't diagnose the car the clicking wasn't their problem but that i should bring the car in and they would check the jingling noise. When I was their I asked if they could diagnose the clicking. After dropping off the car and waiting their for about the 3 hours, they told me everything looks perfect under the car and they couldn't hear the jingling noise. They said the clicking is coming from my aftermarket parts(coilovers and wheels). I found this very odd and later that same day i decided to look at the car myself. I found that the passeneger axle had torn and their was grease everywhere. I was extremely pissed that they had completely lied to me .

Visit #3
I called and told the dealership about the situation and they said they were sorry and that i should bring the car in. This time the manager was their and he drove the car with me and he heard the jingling noise this time. They gave me a loaner and called later that day and told me the jingling noise was from my backing plate(they fixed it) and that they were going to replace my passenger axle free of charge.

Visit #4
After i got the car back and i drove it, the clicking on the right side(the axles they replaced a second time) had gone away but the left side was still clicking. I was gonna call the the next day(Thursday) and tell them about it. When Thursday came around and after i had driving for about fifteen minutes, every time i turned the car left, i would hear a loud metal hitting metal. And it would get louder the faster I took the turn. I immediately pulled over and called them and they told me to bring the car in. I limped over to the dealership, waited their for about 45 min, and they told me my bearing needed replacing. This was on the same side as the axle they changed twice. They said it was going to be 357 dollars. I reluctantly agreed and they are currently changing the bearing.


cliff notes
-needed to change axles because of clicking
-dealer changed them
-car still clicks and has a new jingling noise
-after bringing car back dealer says everything looks perfect and clicking is from my aftermarket parts. They couldn't hear the jingling noise.
-go home same day to see right axle has torn grease everywhere(dealer lied to me)
-dealer replaces right axle and fixes jingling noise
-car still clicks on left side but right side has been fixed
-driving car the day after replacement and the car starts to make loud metal hitting metal noise when turning left
-dealer says i need new bearing on passenger side and will cost about 360 dollars to replace

So should I make a complaint to Acura/Honda or will they just ignore me?
Sorry for long post and mistakes(wrote this in a hurry)

 

They will probably due everything in their power to make you happy. When I worked for Cadillac it was all about making the customer happy. Sometimes things go wrong and humans aren't perfect. The axle could have torn afterwards but I have heard new axles make a little noise until they "break in". I would have fought them on the bearing b/c usually mechanics just hammer on the axle nut and don't always properly torque to specification. But since they didn't do the initial diagnosis they probably won't pay for it. But obviously if the noise continues I would get a refund for the bearing.


On a side question: Are the axles you bought OEM or aftermarket? I installed 2 aftermarket pairs on a 05 TL and the cv flanges on the outsides of the axles were too large, causing a scrapping noise on the inside of the bearing/spindle.

 

This is true, you bought your own parts, did your own diagnosis, and they installed the parts you provided and the problem still persists. They did their job by installing the parts you asked for. Anything else more than that, you need to pay for. Had you went there first, and gotten a diagnosis and they told you to buy axles and they would put them in, then yes, then you would have a right to complain.. but since you did your own diagnosis, the blame falls on you.

A lot of shops won't argue with a customer if they show up with their own parts to install, and if they HAD told you that it wasnt the axles before installing, would you have believed them, or thought they were just trying to get one over on you?

Or am I wrong, did they tell you BEFORE you bought the axles at an outside source that they were bad?

 

i'm leaning on the side fo agreeing with this^^^

unfortunately you keep throwing parts at the car to get rid of the problems which seem to pop up one after another. the dealer is at least working with you to fix the issues. i dont' think it's necessary to involve corporate....yet.

not sure why the axles would keep "clicking" after replacing them (well if the axles weren't the problem n the first place). certainly i would be concerned about the reliability and trust, if they did indeed lie to you about the torn boot (which is just plain wrong). hard to say...maybe they have a lazy tech who knows?

 

I agree it isnt their fault for the clicking still going on. Its when i went in a second time and told them about them about the problem. I asked them to diagnose it and after they did that, they told me everything looks perfect(his exact words were "we looked over everything and couldnt find anything wrong.") They just blatantly lied to me.

 

The reason why most mechanics don't allow customers to bring their own parts in is because they say they "cant verify the quality or brand the customer is providing". This is a simple way of saying "we want you to pay our markup on parts". The fact that they replaced the axle that was torn for you is remarkable, because a lot of shops would have just said "well the parts you provided weren't covered under our shop warranty because you didn't purchase them through us".

(I've worked in the auto-parts industry for 8 years now, this is a common practice among our customers (auto shops))

Them telling you that is BS, I agree. I'd use that as your anchor if you do complain, don't bring up the fact that you brought your own parts in, did your own diagnosis etc.

 

The clicking did stop on the passenger side when they changed the passenger axle the second time. So I think it was an installation error. Right now im just trying to make them admit the bearing failure was their fault.

I understand but the parts were oem. Bought them from Delray Acura.

 

^^that's the part that i'm a little puzzled over. the parts were OEM...the dealer may not be "responsible" for the parts, but there is an acura warranty on the parts regardless (1 yr or 12k mi). i'd say the tech messed up, but they aren't gonna fess up on that. check your invoice...is it the same tech that worked on your car?? look for an employee number. there is always accountability at the dealer (well usually).

the dealer would be directly responsible for install or messing anything else up during the install.

but like i said earlier i will give them credit for trying to work this out with you even though the repeat trips are annoying.