| jrubin |
Recently started having the tach rev problem. Before reading this board and discovering so many people with the same problem, the local (Honda/Acura) mechanic flushed the transmission fluid. The problem persists & he confirms I need a new tranny. Any suggestions on the best approach. I know I need to take it to the dealer next, but what about calling Acura Customer Service? Any "magic words" to tell the dealer?
Thanks for any advice. |
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| JL_SS |
quote:
Originally posted by jrubin
Recently started having the tach rev problem. Before reading this board and discovering so many people with the same problem, the local (Honda/Acura) mechanic flushed the transmission fluid. The problem persists & he confirms I need a new tranny. Any suggestions on the best approach. I know I need to take it to the dealer next, but what about calling Acura Customer Service? Any "magic words" to tell the dealer?
Thanks for any advice.
It sounds like you haven't been having your vehicle serviced at an Acura dealer. If that's the case, it may be a tough fight for any reimbursement. You have to be able to provide service records for all required service. And there is no incentive for the dealer to go to bat for you, which they do for loyal service customers.
If you have been getting it serviced at an Acura dealer, then your chances for reimbursement are much higher.
Either way, I'd go into the dealer with the attitude that you know it's an existing problem (print out some of the tranny threads for backup in case you need it) and you expect Acura to cover all costs to keep you as a repeat buyer like they have been doing for everybody else. Of course, only print out the thread responses that have full reimbursement endings. |
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| NewMDXOwner |
quote:
Originally posted by jrubin
Recently started having the tach rev problem.
When does the rev happen? On the highway or on the driveway? |
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| jrubin |
Thanks for the responses.
It's been getting scheduled maintenance at the dealer but it missed the 60K. I assume that means I'm SOL?
The problem is at highway speeds. |
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| JL_SS |
quote:
Originally posted by jrubin
Thanks for the responses.
It's been getting scheduled maintenance at the dealer but it missed the 60K. I assume that means I'm SOL?
The problem is at highway speeds.
Maybe, maybe not. I don't have the maintenance requirements in front of me - is a tranny service required at 60K?. You do have a better chance at reimbursement if you have been having it serviced at Acura dealers. |
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| jrubin |
| 60K has a transmission fluid change... |
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| ROTORRAY |
...that missing a tranny fluid change at 60K would automatically disqualify an owner for tranny replacement of a unit that has an obsene history of being faulty. It might give them an immediate excuse for not honoring the warranty, but they would likely do that anyway by saying "It's too old", "You didn't do...." this or that. Go through all their hoops first and if they still refuse to honor the warranty take them to small claims court. Subpoena the Service Manager, General Manager, owner (if known), and Acura area service rep., and whomever else is making this decision. Copy all the owner replies on this site about this tranny's abyssmal history and Honda/Acura's selective warranty replacement history. Limit in small claims in $5k. Face it, what's the car worth with a dead tranny? You'll probably get it repaired whether they warranty it or not or you'll take the loss when you sell it. Let them justify their reasoning in front of a judge.
Let us know what you decide and how things work out for you. I'm sure there are a lot off folks on this board who are interested. The new '07 owners shouldn't ignore this problem, either. They should place themselves in this category because they might be next in line. No one is exempt and if you think you are your head is in the sand, believe me. This subject seems to raise it's ugly head every week or so. I'm just waiting for a major failure on an interstate when the wheels lock up and the car gets rear ended by a semi truck. Maybe then Acura will open their eyes and admit to a major problem. Maybe paying out millions of $$$ in damage claims will get their attention. Seems to be inevitable to me. I just hope it's not me or my family, or someone we know, who suffers. |
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| jrubin |
Thanks--will definitely keep folks posted.
FYI--Was just looking at a recent Consumer Reports about used car reliability--the 01 & 02 have the big black dot for the transmission category! More evidence... |
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| jrubin |
1st offer was that I pay $900 to replace it. When I told the service rep I wasn't happy with that he said if he called the Factory Rep back & said I wasn't satisified the facroy rep would pull the offer!
The Service Director is now "seeing what he can do"... |
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| shootist |
| 73,000 miles? I'd take the $900 offer and run like a thief. It's cheaper than if you had bought an extended warranty. |
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| jrubin |
| I guess my feeling is that this should never have happened in the 1st place--it's a known issue, the car has been well maintained, never used for towing, etc. etc |
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| ROTORRAY |
...take the $$$. DON'T sign anything when you pick up the car. They might want you to say this was "final payment" on your warranty claim, or similar. DON'T SIGN IT! Just thank them for their time and get your keys and get outta there. Then I would take them to court for the remainder (what it cost you out of pocket) with all of your documentation on previous warranty settlements. You might even bring your Consumer Reports mag showing the big black goosegg for tranny reliability. I know this might be a hassle but what have you to loose? Worst case is you might lose but, then again, you might just win in court and set a legal precident for the rest of us who had/having/gonna have problems.
Keep us posted. |
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| Markedoc |
quote:
Originally posted by jrubin
1st offer was that I pay $900 to replace it. When I told the service rep I wasn't happy with that he said if he called the Factory Rep back & said I wasn't satisified the facroy rep would pull the offer!
The Service Director is now "seeing what he can do"...
It's like the stupid TV Show Deal or No Deal! Exactly why I would never buy another Acura if it was the last car manufacturer on the planet. $40k POS. What a joke! |
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| jrubin |
| Good news--dealer came through & is paying for the labor; Acura is paying for the tranny. |
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| dj-mdx2 |
quote:
Originally posted by Markedoc
It's like the stupid TV Show Deal or No Deal! Exactly why I would never buy another Acura if it was the last car manufacturer on the planet. $40k POS. What a joke!
Maybe because they sometimes graciously pay for parts and labor despite being out of warranty when other manufacturers would have left you SOL? :) |
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| Markedoc |
quote:
Originally posted by dj-mdx2
Maybe because they sometimes graciously pay for parts and labor despite being out of warranty when other manufacturers would have left you SOL? :)
"Sometimes" is the key word. Based on what - the weather that day? Wow - after haggling, they "graciously" paid for a new transmission for my $40,000 MDX with 56k miles. I suppose it could have been worse. But in MY opinion, there is no excuse for them not stepping up to the plate and extending the warranty on that transmission to 100k miles. I don't know of any other manufacturers that have had this significant of a problem with transmissions (besides Yugo maybe - edit - ok - there may be a few others, but ..)
I still would not buy another. |
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| dj-mdx2 |
quote:
Originally posted by Markedoc
I don't know of any other manufacturers that have had this significant of a problem with transmissions (besides Yugo maybe - edit - ok - there may be a few others, but ..)
I still would not buy another.
Oh, you'd be surprised about the tranny failures from other manufacturers. Browsing through recalls and CR reports can make you shudder. Don't get me wrong - I'm not trying to defend Acura. I agree they should step up to the plate and extend the tranny warranty for the affected model years as they did for other models or at least clarify their "rules" for paying for a tranny replacement. They're sort of stepping up to it. Sort of. :( |
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| ROTORRAY |
| ...First they offer you $900 then they pony up the entire cost? What happened to change their minds? Did they say why their offer changed? Don't rattle their cage, but just curious. |
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| Markedoc |
quote:
Originally posted by dj-mdx2
Oh, you'd be surprised about the tranny failures from other manufacturers. Browsing through recalls and CR reports can make you shudder. Don't get me wrong - I'm not trying to defend Acura. I agree they should step up to the plate and extend the tranny warranty for the affected model years as they did for other models or at least clarify their "rules" for paying for a tranny replacement. They're sort of stepping up to it. Sort of. :(
Well, I just expect more from Acura than I would from Jeep or some other make with a dismal reliability record. If you look at CR, there really aren't many makes/models with significant transmission issues. And when it's a $5k "fix", it's quite a bit more significant that a radio that won't work on FM. |
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| JL_SS |
quote:
Originally posted by ROTORRAY
...First they offer you $900 then they pony up the entire cost? What happened to change their minds? Did they say why their offer changed? Don't rattle their cage, but just curious.
If you read through the numerous tranny replacement threads, that is not all that uncommon. A common scenario is as follows: 1) Dealer calls and says that all but labor is covered (usually $1K), 2) customer complains and wants to talk to the Rep, and 3) the dealer calls back almost immediately and says good news - it is entirely covered. There were quite a few cases where this happened.
Call me suspicious, but I think that Acura really OK's the total cost and some of the dealers try to make more money claiming that labor is not being covered. Then if the customer comlpains or wants to talk to the Rep, suddenly it is covered. Especially in this case where they said the rep would pull the offer if they called back. Also, the speed at which some of these dealers called back was almost immediate when, in my experience, it usually takes at least a day or two for them to get ahold of the rep. |
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| Markedoc |
quote:
Originally posted by JL_SS
If you read through the numerous tranny replacement threads, that is not all that uncommon. A common scenario is as follows: 1) Dealer calls and says that all but labor is covered (usually $1K), 2) customer complains and wants to talk to the Rep, and 3) the dealer calls back almost immediately and says good news - it is entirely covered. There were quite a few cases where this happened.
Call me suspicious, but I think that Acura really OK's the total cost and some of the dealers try to make more money claiming that labor is not being covered. Then if the customer comlpains or wants to talk to the Rep, suddenly it is covered. Especially in this case where they said the rep would pull the offer if they called back. Also, the speed at which some of these dealers called back was almost immediate when, in my experience, it usually takes at least a day or two for them to get ahold of the rep.
I'll bet you are right - a little "double dipping" shall we say ... |
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| GriffinGirl |
| I had read somewhere else just to contact Acura directly and deal with it that way, and that is what I did. They specifically told me "if the diagnostic comes back with something wrong we will cover it". I think the dealership just wants the extra $$ and tries to manipulate the customer by saying "we'll see what we can do" when they know when they call Acura it will be covered. I was told by customer relations that I would be out the $110 diagnostic fee. I think that is fair to get a new transmission (mine already had the jet kit added back in 12/04 with the previous owner). |
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| ROTORRAY |
| ...I recommend that anyone who is out of pocket for any expense (except maybe diagnostic) related to tranny replacement that they sue Acura and their dealer. Subpoena the Service Mgr, General Mgr, Owner (if available), and Acura Area Rep (or whatever he/she's called). Would't it be sweet if the dealer folks testified that they couldn't/wouldn't cover the repair, even though they have for others and the fact that the tranny fails with some regularity, only to have the Acura folks testify that they paid the dealer for the full replacement. Maybe this is why some have settled before going to court just so that doesn't get out. Justa thought. |
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