jrobert890

Hi Folks, My 2012 TL SH-AWD with the 3.7L engine and 70K miles recently developed a rattling noise on cold start during the winter. Noise is coming from driver side and it goes away in a few minutes after the car is warmed up.

I dropped the car off at my dealer and they said it would be $125 for a diagnostic. They had the car for 2 days and they called today to say they think it's related to the cylinder or cam or that area around the head. The dealer said they are waiting for an authorization from Acura to do a tear down to find the issue. They said the tear down would be around $500.

I am still under extended warranty until September and asked if this would be covered under the warranty. The dealer responded that they don't have a oil change documented for me for the last 25K miles. I told the dealer that I change my own oil when the indicator is at 20%. I told him that I only had the dealer do it that time because they said it was necessary for an oil consumption assessment when I complained about my excessive oil consumption. Dealer changed my oil at that time and overfilled it so I didn't have an issue when they told me to check the level after 1000 miles. They dealer asked if I have receipts from my oil changes. I said I buy the oil and filter, but I don't have the receipts. The dealer said if it is an oil related issue then it may not be covered if I don't have the receipts.

The dealer called back tonight and said he still has not heard from Acura and I proceeded to tell him that I think this may be related to the oil consumption issue and even though I monitored the oil and didn't let the level drop, the damage may have been done before I bought the car Certified Pre-Owned with 14K miles. I told him I hope this does not become an issue and that I don't have to call Acura.

How do I proceed? Do I let them do the tear down? I think I have to, to find out if it is under warranty. If it is not under warranty, then what? I'm starting to sweat that I might be looking at a $3K - $5K bill for repairs. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you.

Pair of TLs

Got another service place to go?

Kinuto

lltfly

Fuck them. I was also asked for diagnose even my car under powertrain warranty and AcuraCare. I refused to pay that and no payment. esepcially the SA, they fucking know nothing other than asking you to pay diagnose.
I posted the experience to the review. you should do this

andysinnh

You definitely either need to see another dealer and/or contact Acura client relations. Once you get a service manager (or advisor) talking like that, it'll take quite a bit to bring them around. What you have here is the classic case of the advisor assuming the worst-case scenario and leaving it out there and not fighting for more. What you need is someone who will look at the options available and try to get as much as they can first. In the end, you MAY have problems getting payment if they can somehow prove that low oil level or insufficient oil changes are the cause (and you can't prove you did regular changes without receipts). But that should only be after everything else has been looked at. I also do my own changes, but buy my filters thru the local dealer and let them know when I do changes so they can note them in their files. I guess since I've been going to the same dealer for 20+ years they know I'm not pulling their leg and I have some social capital with them. But there is risk in doing your own changes without anything to support those actions...

andy

DoubleF

From personal experience, I had a cam shaft replaced on my 2012 SH-AWD under warranty a few months ago (my extended warranty has easily paid back several times over). I had my mechanic check it out first so I had a good idea what it was. With previous discussions with Acura customer relations on a previous unrelated call (headlight lens), they stated that receipts weren't necessary, but a detailed log book of the work done is required for warranty work.

For the Cam shaft issue, the Acura dealership told me they'd charge a diagnostic fee. They waived the diagnostic fee charge when they determined legitimate warranty work was required. I presume this policy is in place to keep people from randomly getting free diagnostics.

Because I don't go to the dealerships for work and have a backyard mechanic do my work (I just told Acura I do my own work) Acura headquarters accepted a spreadsheet I keep which showed the date, odometer reading, work completed and notes relating to the car as proof that the vehicle was well maintained and the issue was not due to abuse relating to lack of basic maintenance upkeep. I did not need to submit receipts. I would definitely make sure it's covered by headquarters before allowing work done though. Do not pay out of pocket hoping for a reimbursement. Force the dealership to do the internal requests for warranty work approval.

Good luck. I hope you get it done under warranty.

JM2010 SH-AWD

You don't need receipts but since it sounds like you don't have a log that you used to track your oil changes, you'll probably need those receipts to nail down your claim. Did you pay for your oil with a credit card? If so, you can easily obtain your credit card statements for the period in question to show that you purchased oil/filters. Good luck.

Gibbs

One reason why I always had the dealer change the engine oil and filter while the vehicle was still under warranty. There was always a record the oil and filter was changed and always changed no later than the time and mileage as specified by the manufacturer. Also the correct oil was used.

I always trusted the dealer to preformed the work he was being paid to do......

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

The cool thing about modern cell phone photography is that it logs date and time.
I've found myself taking pictures of pre and post completed work with anything in life.
When did I put in that foundation? *Scrolls through pictures* oh yeah!!
Bonus if you take pics of the mileage at time of completion

dv-

Honestly, it sounds like it might be that transmission filter thing. It's a cheap fix, and if you haven't done it already (still on original filter) it's probably a good idea.

http://techinfo.honda.com/Rjanisis/p...nu/B14-049.PDF

I drove around with mine "rattling" (I thought it was more of a squeak) for about 8 months. Didn't hurt anything. It never made the noise by the time I'd get it to a mechanic, anyway. Left it overnight at a Honda dealership, but it snowed and the cleaning crew left it idling before the mechanic got to it.

No way I was gonna pay $500 for somebody to tear the engine down. Since the noise didn't change with engine RPM when I revved the engine, I knew it probably wasn't anything important. ;-)

Between here and Youtube, I found out about the "put it in neutral, noise stops, put it in drive, noise starts" test. Did it at a stoplight, it happened that way, two days in a row. That was enough of a indicator that I handed my mechanic the TSB printout and asked them to please do that thing, figuring it was worth the gamble. $175 and I haven't heard the noise since. Definitely worth it vs. the headache of dealing with Acura, dealership, warranty approval, etc.