So I just got my 05 tl a month ago...

I had some climate control buttons that didn't light up so I took it in to fix it (free under warranty)

so now, after giving my car back to me with different backlights not working (which were working before), on their 3rd attempt to get everything working, they put my air freshener back upside down, and it leaked out and stained the plastic around the nav screen

now they are callin me sayin they don't want to replace the part cuz it'll cost them $3000, and want to compensate me with a few free services like oil change


Sorry for the rant, but I'm a little heated

can I just tell them to F off, and fix it?

 

Absolutely you should make them fix it..

This is ridiculous. I hate dealerships (stealerships).

Call corporate and escalte if you have to.

 

make them fix it for sure ... dont take any free services, get them to spend the 3k and then never go back there again ... dealerships are notorious for this, when they do something they will break something else ... most of the time they have no sense of respect for other's property

 

They NEED to fix that! It is their fault they have to spend that much, you shouldn't take no for an answer!

 

Sounds like the Service WRITER has been talking to the customer~

Speak with the MANAGER
Dash work is a major pain to do, they may have had a junior tech removing it or working on it,,, and spilling your air freshener was an accident you caused
They have shop insurance for just such events~
If the SM wont help you with a full fix, replacement, redye or whatever- then its time to call corp who will handle it!!

Go to an interior shop and ask what they would do

Note to all-remove anything from car before service!!

 

iirc the owner book says not to put any liquid type fresheners on the dash or vents--- as damage may occur

other ziners had same type problem with spill and discoloration

 

Threaten to bring them to court, that'll get them thinking. Then order them to replace it. That's how I got my new engine after the older one started knocking at 78K. :P

 

Please explain how this is the OP's fault??

it as the technician that put the freshener in upside down and caused the spillage....

Just because the OP left the air freshener in the car when it went in for service, I dont' think he can be blamed for the tech's incompetence.

 

My fault? Cuz I want my car to smell nice? It's the stupid tech that replaced it upside down...there didn't seem to be a problem before they touched it

 

Make sure you talk to the person in charge. Speak to the person in an intelligent and cordial manner while being firm at the same time. If that doesn't get you the desired results, you can try ACS, but they're not always helpful. Once you've gone this far (hopefully you won't have to), and you still haven't resolved things, you can go the litigation route. But, this is not the most desirable route.

 

Sucks that they gave you such poor service and it took 3 times to get it done. As far as the air freshener goes, that's on you IMO. Why would you want to constantly breathe toxic chemicals that are strong enough to damage plastics?

 

guys this is not the OP fault its the stealership so make them change it and if you need to send them a legal letter, that will almost always do the trick...it shows your not fucking around!

 

You should do some research before you go in there. Find out some of the chemicals in the air freshener, and tell them that one of the techs put the air freshener upside down, and acurastine, hugecarzathine, and monotone chemicalazine all leaked on the dash and caused a discoloration. Ask them if they would take responsibility for their own actions to fix what they messed up. Put the ball in their court. If not, then escalate it to the corporate office, and let the service manager know you will be calling corporate. Sometimes just the threat might make them change their mind. Good luck!

 

welcome to az

Sorry to hear about your problems. Though I'm not sure if the dealership is 100% liable and corporate would agree. Its almost like leaving a $20,000 ring in your car and brought your car to wash and it was gone. First: You should of never left it in there, Second, you have no proof that the Car Wash did take it. Third, you're fucked.

They may be liable to an extent, but not 100%, If I was working for corporate, this would be a 50/50 deal. You pay half and the dealer pays half.

 

thats not that bad... at least you didn't have to have a clutch put in and get charged a grand and not have more than half of the tranny put back together properly, had your calipers hanging off by the fluid lines, hole torn it the exhaust, missing shrouds, broken CAI, damaged wheels(that all had to be replaced... by me), test driven car that the suspension knuckle wasn't put back together and then fell off and hit the ground, and then had a bag of parts that came off the car but didn't go back into the car plopped in your hands... oh, and i had to pay for all the repairs and finish the original clutch job myself... now that is bad service

 

Wow... yeah. I concur to this one.

 

how is that the OPs fault?!?!?! ... you can do whatever you want in your own car ... if the tech put something in upside down spilling the fluid causing the discoloration ... it is completely the tech's fault ... the dealer needs to pay for everything to fix this

 

wow man ... if that happened to me i would have raised hell ... i dont trust dealers at all most of the time they do a half ass job and dont give two hoots about your car

 

i finally dug up the service news bulletin warning about the use of air fresheners- it's on the last page: http://www.in.honda.com/Rjanisis/pubs/SN/B060400.PDF

 

Speak with the manager. Also a phone call to corporate never hurts.

 

Well they brought me my car, and told me to look over the stain, then call the manager of the dealership, to discuss it....while it doesn't look horrible, it definately is noticeable...

I'll be calling and asking for it to be fixed, if that doesn't work I'll call corporate, if that doesn't work, I may ended up taking the legal route....

I appreciate all the feedback, whether I agree with you or not, thx for the input

 

if none of that works, get more air freshener and dye the entire thing the same color.

 

Could you snap a picture to show what the discoloration looks like?

 

I'll try to snap a pic in the day time tomorrow...as for now, I just got home driving the car, and 2 more dashboard lights are out (drivers side hot, cold, and auto buttons)

 

Well I got a call from the service manager, and he said they would take care of everything...it didn't take any nasty threatening phone calls, actually, it didn't take anything cuz as soon as it for elevated to the manager, he said he'd take care of it

thanks for the input everyone

 

the reason I said its your fault is you expect a tech to know how to remove and replace your air freshener...something that is some piece of junk in the way to them..not trained to remove and replace this part~
Remove all non stock items for your own safety- CDs, liquid air fresheners--which you should not place on the dash per the bulletin

Cool the dealer is covering it no hassle!
As I thought originally- you spoke with a service WRITER not a MANAGER

 

[the reason I said its your fault is you expect a tech to know how to remove and replace your air freshener...something that is some piece of junk in the way to them..not trained to remove and replace this part~]

Oh come on!!!!!! It doesnt take a high school diploma to know how to remove a damn air freshener! REALLY?!?!?!?!

 

they have alot of money make them fix it and let them give u a 4g for a loaner

 

Lol I've driven 4 different 4g loaners from them, all tech editions...good stuff, not too fond of the body style, but are damn nice

with how much the dealer charges, they should have more competant people working on the cars

 

I want my house to smell nice put I would never put a liquid above my ps3. I'm not saying it i your fault but not all people are as careful as you. Just remember to remove these kinds of things when you hand your car over.
They should replace it for sure.

 

If the dealer doesn't make it right, share your experience on Yelp and/or http://www.cartalk.com/content/mechx/. Lots of people read these sites to make decisions as to where to take their business... if the dealer does the right thing, then write about it. If not, then they asked for it...