Just wanted to share my recent horrible experience at an acura dealership ( not naming them)

Went for an oil change last week and prior to that had spoken to the SA about replacing hood stays which the dealership ultimately agreed to replace them for free after having 2-3 calls with the SA and convincing them its not a wear and tear item, the lady at the dealership tells me the hood stays are not in the work order ( my original SA was on leave), took around 10 mins to make her speak to other folks and had it taken care off.

I brought my own oil and repeatedly asked SA to make sure they put my own oil and sure enough the tech did not read the notes and put acura oil... again spoke to the manager and made them put my oil.

The multi point inspection shows my brake pads are at 8 and 6 ( front and rear) and was pleasantly surprised because last year the multi point inspection showed the brake pads were at 5 and 4 ( front and back), since then have put on 3500 miles and car is at 35K miles now. This raises the question that someone in dealership is not doing the work they are supposed to do and the purpose of taking car to dealership was to get quality service by experienced techs.

Should i bring this to the service managers attention?

Is Acura losing the quality they had ?

On a side note not at all impressed with the TLX .. the fit and finish is sub standard and back seat is cramped.. little bigger than the TSX.

 

What is the downside of bringing it to the Service Manager's attention?

 

yeah i feel i should let them know but was wondering whether they will get pissed off with me which may affect my future servicing needs as the dealership is very close to my house and convinient.

 

I had a similar experience last year where my brake pads were apparently "growing" between oil changes. It certainly doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in their service department. I brought it to the attention of my SA who honestly looked confused too, but I didn't bother to escalate it.

 

If the service manager is worth his salt, he should take it as constructive criticism and deal with it appropriately. Don't know the volume of cars your dealer services but likely hundreds or thousands. Could they flag your car / account, I suppose it's possible, but is it worth their time and effort
Are you a good customer and have spend a decent amount of time and $$ there? This may impact things, not sure.

 

Unless they're taking the calipers off to look at the pads (highly doubt it) they're eye-balling it. What one tech thinks is a 6, the other may think is an 8 (I assume you mean on a 1-10 scale?)

If they told you that it had 10mm of pad left and then said you had 20mm of pad I'd be suspicious.

Let's be real, what really is a "8" for a brake pad vs a "5" ?

Oil change thing seems like an honest mistake, the oil change guys are generally the bottom of the barrel (new guys) and operate in auto-pilot. Car comes in, drain oil, fill oil, car goes out. If you're that concerned with what oil/filter goes in your car, why not do it yourself? Takes maybe an hour of your time. Just record the date/milage and keep your receipts for warranty issues.

 

No the measurements are in mm where 3 or below means to be changed. there is a huge difference in brake pads showing to be 8mm when it was measured at 5mm a yr back ... it does not make any sense which shows that the tech is not measuring them.

Never done oil changes nor want to do and messup.

 

Call the dealer up and voice your concerns to the service manager. Incorrect measurement of the brakes could end up injuring someone if it's overlooked and just "eye-balled" or made up.

I would also call acura client relations and let them know of your experience. It seems like you got a rental TLX which is always nice

I hope you have a much better experience the next time you get your car serviced, but it may be cheaper to hire your own new mechanic

 

Yeah... I see no real difference in quality between an Acura service department and a Honda as a example. Perhaps Acura is tad bit more willing to provide "good will" service but nothing to write home about. I mean I hear great things about Lexus service but you hardly hear anything extraordinary about Acura if at all.

 

wouldnt have this problem if you have done your own oil change.. you can only complain to yourself if you fuck up.

 

btw, cant really mess up an oil change unless you are complete idiot.. then that is possible..


here is a step by step:

make sure you havent driven the car for at least 2-3 hours..
jack up car
put jack stands in correct places
open oil cap
put oil collector where the oil will be raining out.
get under car, use tools to unbolt the oil plug
move to the side, unscrew the oil filter
wait 5 - 10 mins for oil to drain.

put bolt back in oil pan
lube the threads on the oil filter and screw it back on to the oil filter location
tighten it to make sure its secure, put 4.5 L of oil back into the engine
take jack stands off and start the car for 10 mins.

go thru the instruction manual to reset the oil level and you are done..

this all should take about 30 mins to 40 mins..

 

Unless you saw them do it, I really doubt one of the techs took the pads out to measure. They probably eye-balled it, I think you'd get that level of service with pretty much any dealership. I don't think Acura is losing their quality. If they did measure it, maybe this time they measured incorrectly and did it while the pads were on the car and measured the metal backing + pad instead of just the pad?

Regarding oil changes, like potmilkz said, it's not really difficult at all. You'll know exactly what oil and filter were used and can be sure no clips or bolts are stripped. You do them once every couple thousand miles - given you said over a year you drove 3500 miles (between these Acura oil changes) you're looking at (worst) two oil changes a year.

 

honestly if you dont know how to do it.. why not learn?? people make post about dealerships messing up their oil change but then they dont realize how easy it is...

you are on a enthusiast forum, if you cant do a oil change.. i dont know what to tell you..

 

had my hood struts replaced under the extended warranty

 

its not that i cant do oil change... i dont want to. Anyways this has nothing to do with this thread.

 

I'd consider myself an automotive enthusiast but I don't do my own oil changes. I did them from age 15-20 but it's boring, shitty work and disposing of the old oil was annoying. If you live where it snows it's even more annoying of a job. I pay Acura to do my oil changes and tend to only do my own tire rotations and fun projects like brake kits, power adders, that sort of stuff. Besides I find getting my oil changes done at the dealer has helped to give me a good relationship with them whenever I need warranty work covered.

 

^^^^^ Agree 100%

 

This would be one reason why I would want to do maintenance at my local dealer except that they freakin charge $125 for an oil change and tire rotation.

 

why not name the dealer...you scared?

 

Check on line at your dealer's website to see what they have for coupons for oil changes. Another option is try your local Honda dealer. I bring all of our cars to the dealers for oil changes as in most cases they beat(with coupons) the indie shop I use for other stuff.

 

Eh... the basic stuff I just do myself but I do buy parts from my dealer just to show my face once in a while.

 

In the OP's defense, this is about his experience.....AND whether he should make a complaint. This thread has gone off topic.

You're the customer and if you are not satisfied because your Acura dealership is not providing good service, I would definitely report it. Professional dealers rather hear these kind of feedback so they don't lose customers. It's the manner of how you address the issue to the manager. I think you just need to find a better SA with better techs and stick with that person. SA typically have assigned techs to work on their orders.

 

The service manager at Acura of Gainesville made my SO cry yesterday so Acura def. got a call from me. I requested a follow up call and got one today from a district representative. Don't be shy to call Acura Client Services (option 6 on the phone tree) and let them know of your experience.