| stumpie |
Started a thread last week called 'All my dashboard lights on my 03 suddenly came on'. If you've been following the saga, five of my lights suddenly came on on my 5 day old MDX: ABS/Triangle w/exclamation/VTS/Brake/VTM...i think.........anyway, delivered it to the dealer yesterday when it happened for the 3rd time. They had me wait an hour while they checked the fuses and for error codes...nothing...latest is: they are clueless! Their vaunted 'Techline' is closed on weekends, so they haven't done anything today (Sat) to my car...which predicated my nuclear response when I found out. Monday may offer some answers, who knows?
But maybe an overarching question is this:
* if they depend so heavily on this 'Techline' division of Acura, what do we do when we have problems on weekends that they can't solve and Techline is closed? Is this the Achilles heel of the TLC program???
An almost scarier comment from the service manager was "we don't have any of the '03 error codes yet"...??
Sorta longing for my days dealing wth my Lexus dealership..or my Mercedes dealership.......or even my BMW dealership...
But my comments may be colored by my emotions of today... |
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| Casique |
Don't expect Lexus treatment out of Acura, they are not even close!
I had the rear fan quit on me (01 X) and it took them three hours to figure it out. They said they had never seen this problem before.
Good luck! If you keep having this problems, ask for a new X! :3: |
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| rlm32 |
| Hmmm, I smell a lemon. Hope everything works out OK for you. |
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| srpbep |
Why I can't say that it is not a lemon, it can be simply be a sensor that has gone bonkers ... the vehicle is new, some new stuff breaks, especially electronics.
Sooo, try and sit back and relax. I assume they gave you a loaner to drive as the repair is covered under warranty (if not, you should be screaming).
There really is no reason for Techline to be available on Saturdays, let alone 7x24. Some/Many/Most (???) dealers only do light work on Saturdays as an accomodation to customers that want the convenience of weekend maintenance. Thus, real problems are usually handled during the week. Thus, need for Techline is mostly working hours Monday - Friday. Bye the bye, Techline is there for the dealer, NOT for the consumer!! I have only talked with Techline once in my whole life and that was because they needed me to help them with the problem (wanted description of symptoms and events in exacting chronological order -- it was a real obtuse and intermittent problem). |
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| manus1980 |
| Acura just had a recall for the 2003 MDX water pump. Maybe that is causing your car to act funny, just a thought.:rolleyes: |
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| vicpai |
quote:
Originally posted by manus1980
Acura just had a recall for the 2003 MDX water pump. Maybe that is causing your car to act funny, just a thought.:rolleyes:
I thought that recall was for 2002 models only |
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| manus1980 |
| I'm certian I just read something about a recall for the 2003 MDX waterpump. I'm certian the article I read said 2003. |
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| jj_mdx |
quote:
Originally posted by manus1980
I'm certian I just read something about a recall for the 2003 MDX waterpump. I'm certian the article I read said 2003.
there seems to be a typo in that article, i think they mean 2003 pilot, TL, etc... but they really are talking about 2002 mdx... the production dates for the vehicles affected by this recall range between june and july, when the 2003 mdx hasn't been produced yet...
there has been an earlier recall on the 2002 water pump already... |
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| jj_mdx |
SafetyAlerts
September 3, 2002
Honda Has Recalled the 2003 Acura CL , TL , MDX , ACCORD , ODYSSEY , PILOT
(SafetyAlerts) - Honda Has Recalled the 2003 Acura CL , TL , MDX , ACCORD , ODYSSEY , PILOT because a timing belt tensioner pulley is misaligned.
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Number of Units Affected: 17551
Manufactured: 07/2002 - 07/2002 |
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| mdxxxx |
quote:
Originally posted by jj_mdx
SafetyAlerts
September 3, 2002
Honda Has Recalled the 2003 Acura CL , TL , MDX , ACCORD , ODYSSEY , PILOT
(SafetyAlerts) - Honda Has Recalled the 2003 Acura CL , TL , MDX , ACCORD , ODYSSEY , PILOT because a timing belt tensioner pulley is misaligned.
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Number of Units Affected: 17551
Manufactured: 07/2002 - 07/2002
Here is the link to the article, however, I think the 2003 is a typo.
http://www.safetyalerts.com/recall/a/02/v00332.htm
Originally posted by paul123
http://www.acuramdx.org/forums/show...=&threadid=8307 |
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| stumpie |
ok....here's the latest:
The dealership invoked the 'Techline' group in SoCal and they recomended resetting the main computer with a certain fuse not installed...it worked, and I picked up my 1 week old X today (they've had it since Friday). After approx 25 miles, guess what? All the lights come on again !: VTM-4, ABS, Brake, VSA, and triangle w/exclamation point. Dropped it off again this afternoon, and am heading for St. Barts for 10 days.....hopefully that may be enuf time for them to figure it out. The service adviser made mention of possibly flying one of the Techline level two technicians up from SoCal....
He did say that the 'electronics' were differnet in the 03 vs 02....beyond just addition of VSA.
I'm outa here...got a 10 PM flight, gonna have a few cocktails and not even think about anything but my Raiders winning tonight.
Oh yeah, the limo that's picking me up and bringing me back is on them.... |
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| hockeyplayer |
| Man Stumpster! I hope they get you straightened out. That was my biggest fear about buying a new vehicle was that every so often one slips by with a problem like you are having. I hope they are treating you well and good luck. |
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| srpbep |
stumpie,
Enjoy your vacation. When we had our "similar problem", took a week to get it sorted out .... but it DID GET SORTED OUT. |
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| stumpie |
...well, I've been gone 11 days on vacation and my dealer has had my car the whole time, attempting to fix the problem. They still have the car, still are working on it (!)............
As of Wednesday, they will have had the car 20 days total.
They believe the ailment is related to the wiring harness.
Glad to hear so many of you 03 owners are out there enjoying your rides. Hope to join you soon. |
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| laborlitigator |
| What state are you in? |
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| stumpie |
I'm a Californian, native at that....I should note, the dealership has provided me with a loaner car; have invoked their Techline (to no avail in this case) and believe when they replace a portion of the wiring harness that that should do it. I believe I know where you're going with the location question, hope tho that this episode gets resolved satisfactorily and that the only other times I'm in the shop is for regular service.....we'll see.
Of particular interest to other 03 MDXers relating to this episode, should be the 'significant' differences in the elecronics of the 02 and earlier vs the 03s, acccording to them....I will endeavor to find out more about what they're referring to...we all knew the VSA would add changes, but I'll research more. |
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| nm2 |
stumpie,
i admire your patience & understanding. as a new owner myself, i don't know if i could have handled it as well as you! i really hope everything works out for you real soon! |
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| srpbep |
stumpie,
They WILL figure it out at some point (day, week, month, ???), but they will figure it out. If you are getting impatient (wouldn't blame you), start mentioning the CA Lemon Law. You are definately a candidate. This will motivate them to:
** Escalate the problem (e.g. bring the proper resources to bare on the situation).
** They may simply give you a replacement vehicle now. This would allow them to take the X, look it over, sort it out without the pressure that you will be applying.
Either way .... I am sure that you will end up with an 03 X that functions just fine. Just a question of when and how Acura gets you there. |
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| mlkeller |
quote:
Originally posted by stumpie
...Of particular interest to other 03 MDXers relating to this episode, should be the 'significant' differences in the elecronics of the 02 and earlier vs the 03s, acccording to them....I will endeavor to find out more about what they're referring to...we all knew the VSA would add changes, but I'll research more.
Probably related to the use of MCS in the new 'X - see this post:
http://www.acuramdx.org/forums/show...94489#post94489 |
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| pdempsey |
| This is a little scarey as I am 120 miles from the dealer and if something like this happened to me I'd be in big trouble. |
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| Frank Dominick |
My 03 also had a similar problem but it only lasted a few minutes. I went over a speed bump and looked down and the dash was lit up like a Xmas tree. Every idiot light was on ! I was only a few blocks from home so I drove home opened the hood and looked around and nothing seemed odd. I restarted the car and all was back to normal. I called the dealer and they too were at a loss and basically said no code would be posted so why bring it in. That was over 700 miles ago and it has not happened again. I even went over a few more bumps on purpose and nothing.
One more important note I did not "speed" over the bump I just went over it at the recommended limit under 10mph. I will be very interested in how your problem will be fixed. |
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| stumpie |
...well..........when last i posted on this topic my new, 8 day old MDX was down for the count. Xmas tree syndrome, in the extreme...by that I mean multiple (5) lights coming on in the instrument panel - and staying on.
Just picked it up, after 20 days total in the shop => out of 28 days of total life... complex problem:
* in essence, they tested everything they could, with the help of Techline (L2 support in Torrance, CA) for days...upon my return from vacation, they (unfortunately) were still working on the problem
* ulttimately, the culprit was the 'ALB' computer, or module...and maybe the sub-wiring harness from it to the main computer...both were replaced....and both units are being shipped to Torrance for examination
* 'ALB' stands for anti-lock brakes...its a $1600 or so module
Soooo....it's running fine now (currently), and I'm anxious to resume ownership...been so long that I had to re-acquaint myself with some dashboad controls.
And, much to my delight, I noticed [they didn't even trumpet, surprisingly], that my black, touring 03 MDX now has new body side moulding on it....something that I had wanted, but was on order when my unit arrived.
So, life goes on, cars break, cars get repaired, and the continuem continues.....
Stumpster |
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| catzx6 |
| I'm really sorry you had to go through this ordeal. Glad they figured it out. Now start enjoying your new X! :) |
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| hockeyplayer |
| Wow...Stumpie. I admire your outlook. I hope they found the problem. After posting the price of that part I am 90%+ that an extended warranty is in the future for me. Hope all goes well from here on in. Good luck. |
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| stumpie |
| ...thx.......extended warranties are good, i think, if you plan on keeping the car beyond the parameters of your driving (ie miles or years)....i put 55K on my ML320 in 2 years, so I negotiated Acura down from $2500 to $1500 for the 100K extended warranty, altho i hope i won't use it much....IMO, the engine, tranny and rear end are probably pretty solid...but the dreaded "electronics" could put you in the soup line quick...knew a guy who got an extened warranty on his used LX430, for $2200, and then in a month proceeded to assume the genius mode when his main computer died....you never know what you never know....know what I mean? |
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| pdempsey |
Stumpie,
Did they at least give you the side moldings, or did you have to pay for them? |
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| stumpie |
| Yes, mouldings and installation were on them...not sure how much in dollar savings that represents to me, but a few hundred I would guess...maybe $300?? |
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| DaleB |
quote:
Originally posted by stumpie
Yes, mouldings and installation were on them...not sure how much in dollar savings that represents to me, but a few hundred I would guess...maybe $300??
About half that, actually. |
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| stumpie |
| ....not as costly as i thought.....they also picked up a $240 limo round trip to the airport for my recent vacation, which was nice of them....by the way, the 3.2 TL loaner car that I've been using is quite nice. I was getting sorta used to it....if I ever were to buy a sedan, I'd look at it. |
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| mdxxxx |
quote:
Originally posted by stumpie
....not as costly as i thought.....they also picked up a $240 limo round trip to the airport for my recent vacation, which was nice of them....by the way, the 3.2 TL loaner car that I've been using is quite nice. I was getting sorta used to it....if I ever were to buy a sedan, I'd look at it.
Not bad service... Glad to hear it.. Fairness dictates that we can rip Acura for shoddy service, in turn, we must give them their props for good service...:4:
Glad everything is turning out ok...:) |
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| pdempsey |
quote:
Originally posted by stumpie
Yes, mouldings and installation were on them...not sure how much in dollar savings that represents to me, but a few hundred I would guess...maybe $300??
That's good to hear. After all the problems you had. It sounds like they use the Tom Peters' school of service. When a customer has a problem, overreact and you can actually have a more loyal customer when all is said and done. |
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| ardvarkus |
quote:
Originally posted by Frank Dominick
My 03 also had a similar problem but it only lasted a few minutes. I went over a speed bump and looked down and the dash was lit up like a Xmas tree. Every idiot light was on ! I was only a few blocks from home so I drove home opened the hood and looked around and nothing seemed odd. I restarted the car and all was back to normal. I called the dealer and they too were at a loss and basically said no code would be posted so why bring it in. That was over 700 miles ago and it has not happened again. I even went over a few more bumps on purpose and nothing.
One more important note I did not "speed" over the bump I just went over it at the recommended limit under 10mph. I will be very interested in how your problem will be fixed.
I believe it is CRITICALLY important to bring stuff like that in AND GET IT WRITTEN UP so that if there are future issues, either in- or out- of warranty, there is a paper trail.
Right now, as far as acura is concenred, nothing happened ...
paper trail, baby.
Ard |
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| srpbep |
I concur with Ard ... I've been down the path once before with Honda (not the MDX):
** Without a paper trail ==> pound sand.
** With a paper trail ==> you've got a fighting chance.
just MHO. |
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| Frank Dominick |
Your are absolutely right about the paper trail and I will be sure to bring it up and have it documented when I bring it in for the first oil change. It has never happened again but that is not to say the wire harness is not hanging by a thread or whatever else might be wrong. We have 2200 miles on it now and have not had one other problem except a bit of a click and movement in the drivers seat which I want check and is why I will have Acura do the first oil change at 2700 miles. I drive hard and in the Seattle area we have plenty of hills and traffic.
Thanks for tip ! |
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| stumpie |
| .........fyi, i do remember my salesman saying that you did not want to change the first oil prior to it's regular schedule...something about it contained 'break-in' fluids...that you needed to leave in there until 7500..... |
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| DaleB |
quote:
Originally posted by stumpie
.........fyi, i do remember my salesman saying that you did not want to change the first oil prior to it's regular schedule...something about it contained 'break-in' fluids...that you needed to leave in there until 7500.....
Depeding no whether you adopt 'severe' or 'normal' service, it can be changed as early as 3750 miles according to the 'book'. |
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