Kingmeow

Sorry guys but I need a little catharsis here. So I brought my baby in for service for some minor warranty work – high frequency vibration and a noise from the back. Car is less than 2 months old. I was going to just ignore it but I changed my mind and brought it in. Turns out one tire was out of spec by 2.5x what the measurement should be. So most likely this explains the high frequency vibration at highway speeds.
Now for the noise and this is the part where I need some comforting. They believe they located the noise and need to hold the car overnight as they need more time. So when I went to pick up the loaner, holy shit(!) my baby was all torn apart in the back. Back seat was removed, speaker deck was in place though, wires running everywhere though not disconnected, insulation pulled back, etc. I was shocked at the site of the carnage. It looked like a scene from a body shop!
Now here’s the thinking out loud question, should I have just lived with the noise? I’m afraid that they will not put it back together as good as the assembly line folks. There’s always that chance but this is a good dealership and people have posted good things about them. Once I noticed the noise I ALWAYS notice each time it happens. It one of those things where once you know....
So just a fun question to all here, at what point do you say, screw it, I’m just going to live with it as I don’t want people to tear the car apart. Some people’s opinion is “Hey, it’s a car, a mechanical object and stuff happens.” while others are of the opinion “Oh my baby…..!!!!" I’m kind of in between.
I’ve never had this kind of any experience with any car that is so new in its life. Maybe I shouldn't have looked in the first place!!!!

maddogtheta

I've always thought that if I'm going to spend that much money on a car, I had better be satisfied everytime I get into the car. If I notice a noise that shouldn't be there, it is the dealership's responsibility to fix it especially in the first couple of months, yes they may have to pull the car apart, but as long as it gets fixed, and you are satisfied with your car, it will be worth the day of waiting rather than having that annoying noise for the length of owning your car...

0akland

I have a noise from behind my steering wheel since day one (7 miles), now I have 406 miles and its still there. I am electing to leave it alone because I know that it will never be the same when a technician butchers up my parchment interior. I'll wait til it really becomes a safety issue.

1HOT NSX

My policy has always been to stay away from the dealer unless I have no other option. I believe that the "techs" cause more problems than they fix, especially on body parts, interior pieces, and rattles. I've only taken my RL into the dealer once in 86K miles and it was to fix the A/C - no choice there. When the service guy said to me that my car was due for this and that update I told him not to do any of them - he looked very surprised and must have thought I was an idiot, all these "free" updates and I don't want any. Live with the rattle - many times they just go away by themselves.

Kingmeow

I see the two points presented here. They still have my car and I guess I'm holding my breath for the phone call in the afternoon if they need a third day!

In my case, the vibration and another interior defect (passenger side vanity mirror needs to be replaced) I have no choice but to bring it back to a dealer. They did find a single bad tire so there was something wrong.

But when I pointed out the noise in the back, I did not expect them to tear out the entire rear interior!!!! I should have given them the caveat that if it means ripping things out to leave it alone. Oh well, live and learn.

The good thing is that it's at a dealership that's highly recommended for their service department over in the New England thread.

Funny thing is I chatted with my brother who has a M3, he said his BMW dealer does tear downs all the time since things are constantly breaking and they need to have them replaced. He calls it "maintenance". They've tore down his bumpers, door panels, etc.

Kingmeow

Maddog, that's what my brother said and he owns a M3. He said the first few months of ownership it is my job to find everything that needs to be fixed so that 4 years from now the so call little thing doesn't turn into a big problem in which case it's not the dealer's problem anymore.

maddogtheta

I guess it just comes down to how much something bothers a person and their willingness to gamble that they don't get a retarded tech working on their car...

A good policy may be to inquire about the technique the dealership will use to try and fix a noise and then make a judgement call from there. But it seems like you have that figured if/when there's another noise that bothers you.

nearwater4me

This is why I initially try to troubleshoot the problem by myself.
Pin pointing the source of a rattle/vibration is not an easy task to do.
Especially when it's further away from the driver's seat.
I'd rather try to apply some dynamat or heavy object to the suspicious area and try to locate it.

Not easy, but sometimes you get lucky and find it, or like someone said, it goes away by itself.

Dan

Kingmeow

You do make a good point. Everyone is on the assumption that every tech is retarded. There are good ones out there so not every trip to the dealer should be a disaster. Like most forums, people don't really post if they've had a fantastic experience. Mostly the bad ones are aired...

BigWopHH

Well, here's my story. It may make you feel better...

From day one, my TL was making a strange creaking noise that I couldn't quite place. It sounded like two pieces of Styrofoam or hard plastic being bumped together, unless I hit a long succession of road bumps which would make the noise sound like annoying, squeaky creaks.

I brought it in three times for repair, and the dealership wasn't able to pinpoint the problem, and hence, couldn't fix it. Each time they replaced something like a seatbelt assembly to no effect.

After the third trip and being without my car for nearly two weeks (mind you, the car was only 3 weeks old at this point), I started moving forward with lemon law arbitration because the dealership and Acura HQ hadn't given me any indication that they'd do anything other than continue to try to repair the car. And there was no way I was paying full price for a defective car.

The dealership eventually pinpointed the problem--a cracked weld on the top of the driver's side B-Pillar. To find it, they had to strip the interior down to the metal and had to drive the car around that way for a while.

Then to fix the car, it had to be sent off to a body shop that could handle the re-weld. They tried to fix it once, but after putting the car back together, the noise came back! The interior then had to be stripped down to the metal again, the pillar re-welded again, and finally, after being reassembled the second time, the car was fixed. And has remained good for a few months now.

I was so angry and disappointed because I thought there was no chance the car would ever be "right" after being taken apart so many times, but they actually pulled it off. If you get the right techs working on the car, there's no reason they can't get it fixed properly if they take their time and pay attention to details. Just stay on top of them and be firm, but respectful, and it'll all work out.

Kingmeow

BigWop, I am speechless!!!!

In your case it was good that you addressed it with the dealer as if you ignored it who knows what would have happened to the weld defect as you put more wear and tear into the car. You could have ended up with a "totaled" car as I would have imagined this would have cost a fortune if you had to fix it yourself. And then perhaps it would have been recorded in CarFax, blah, blah, blah.

Who would have thought that a simple squeak was really the result of a major defect???!!!!!!

I'm curious, did Acura or the dealer compensate you for your troubles? I would that this is a major manufacturing defect.

Kingmeow

OK, just got a followup call with the dealer. I *should* have the car back at the end of the day. The list got slightly longer!

Two Michelin tires - replaced - they found another one where the ground force was measuring two high.

Passenger vanity mirror - replaced - extremely stiff to operate and makes cracking/snapping noise when almost in the up position.

Crooked steering wheel - addressed - it's not an alignment issue but they will put the car on the machine just to check. Car will go straight but steering wheel is off to the left 1-2 degrees. This is annoying due to the many switched on the wheel.

Rear clunking noised - addressed - they think they found the seam between the passenger side rear quarter panel and the door entry way. They siliconed and dimpled the seam to prevent it from rubbing when the car flexes.

Rusted rear rotors - scrape and painted. Initially they feigned ignorance and said that it should be addressed by the original dealer. I didn't argue and left it at that. I was surprised that they took care of it without my whining!

The service advisor said that they were extremely careful since I have the taupe interior. New gloves each time they go in. But I didn't ask about new uniforms....

We shall see tonight. I will post back on what I find. If everything turns out well I will post the dealer's ID.

BigWopHH

The dealership never mentioned compensation, but they did say they would give me what I paid for the car on a trade in if I wanted to wait for an '10. At the time, '09s were running thin and they weren't sure they could get me another WDP w/ Ebony and Tech.

Acura HQ said they would "make some considerations" should the dealership not be able to fix the car, but thankfully everything was fixed.

Since I planned to do some mods to the car, I didn't want to press the issue and piss anyone off, just in case I need to bring the car back in at some point in the future for other in-warranty repairs.

Kingmeow

It's pretty good they would offer you back what you paid for, for a '10 upgrade. I would have taken that offer but to each his own.

Bummer, one more day without it. They just applied the rotor paint and would like to let it sit overnight for it to dry. Oh well, I do have a TSX to zip around town. I'm just dying to give it my inspection on quality of work.

BigWopHH

I would have taken the offer too, but I would have been without a car for a couple of months potentially, and I couldn't really wait. (Wife just had a baby, the whole reason for me buying a new car in the first place.)

Kingmeow

I hear ya'. Sometimes you just have to say F it. With a new baby, a car is not your priority anymore. Been there done that.

I'll let you guys know my impression after I pick the car up tomorrow. Then I'll let you guys know who the dealer is for future reference. So far they are bending backwards to fix my problems and make me happy. Lots of good communications and updates.