Whenever I hear anyone complain about Honda service I wonder. My local Honda dealer, Joyce Honda, treats me very well. Granted, I've bought 5 cars there and I've gotten to know most of the people, still, I have only good to say about them.

I wish the same was true of Acura. In 2003 we needed to buy a four door sedan for my wife Liz (since she fell in love with her Civic I use the TL). We weren't satisfied with the Accord so we decided to buy a TL TypeS. We thought that Acura, being a Honda product, would bring us the satisfaction and reliability that we've become accustomed to. We also thought that Acura, being the "upscale" brand in the Honda lineup, would come along with great customer service, especially in the service and maintenance area.

We have 27,500 miles on the TL, and until yesterday it had been absolutely bulletproof. We've taken it everywhere and it has been exactly the car we expected it to be. Yesterday, on my way to a client, on the interstate, the car began to lurch. Under acceleration the engine would rev to about 5,500 before the (automatic) transmission would catch and once it caught, it would pull the car forward. This happened twice.

I arrived at my client, spent the day working and left for home. On the way home the car became almost undrivable. It lurched often, the VSA lights came on and wouldn't go off, the transmission gear indicator began to blink, and the engine maintenance light came on.

I slowly nursed the car home and immediately called my local Acura dealer. I had hoped to bring the car right over so that they could look at it the next day. At worst, I wanted to bring the car in sometime this week. I need the car to visit my clients. And while I'll accept the fact that things break and need to be repaired, I can't afford to be without my car for very long periods. That is why I have always had the car serviced by my Acura dealer and had the transmission recall attended to as soon as I got the notification.

When I called the dealer I was flabbergasted. I was told that the soonest possible appointment that they could give me was August 10th. "August 10th is 14 days away, what am I supposed to use until then?", I asked. "I'm sorry but our appointments are all booked until then.", I was told. No matter what I said, it was August 10th.

Today I called customer service at Acura Corporate looking for some help. I spoke to a very pleasant young man, but the best he could do was give me the phone numbers of two other Acura dealers in Northern New Jersey and suggest that I call them and ask for an earlier appointment. When I called, neither of the service departments answered the phone. In both cases I got a recorded message telling me to leave my number. I did both times and neither have returned my call.

I'm disappointed. Not so much by the car. I know that things break, and even though I expected the Acura to be a typical Honda product and be trouble free for many more miles, I will accept that things happen. I am really disappointed in the dealers and Acura Corporate. I thought that they were more responsive to their customers. There are car manufacturers and dealers that I'd expect this from, but I didn't expect it from Acura.

Today, I wish we'd have bought the Accord.

 

Rob, I think that's completely unacceptable especially when you consider that it's a safty issue. The car isn't driveable. I've bought a few cars from Heart Acura in Wappingers Falls NY and I'm very impressed with the dealership in general, and their service dep't. in particular. You have every right to upset about the treatment you received. I'd be really torqued off and try to take it a step further. Best of luck and keep us posted!

 

Frank,

I agree and I'd love to take it a step further, but I'm just not sure what to do or where to go.

I too think it's unacceptable and am livid about this. It is a safety issue, and apparently, Denville Acura didn't do the proper work on the transmission recall when I brought it in.

I never thought that they'd be content to let me sit with a broken car for 14 days. I was sure that the customer service was going to be better. Apparently, American Honda and its Acura Division has a lot to learn.

My mother bought a Lexus and I had a Toyota 4Runner. Neither of us have ever had to wait like this when dealing with Toyota or Lexus. Perhaps American Honda should take some lessons.

 

I take it they were also not kind enough to offer you a loaner car?

I'm sure the answer to that is "No."

 

Lainey,

As a matter of fact when I called Acura Corporate one of the first things they asked me was, "Did you request a loaner? Maybe that's why they have to give you that appointment."

I didn't but ironically I do remember when we were negotiating the purchase of the car how the salesman told me that there would be a "loaner car at my disposal".

 

I've never had any dealership of any of the makes of cars that I've owned tell me I had a 2 week wait for an appointment. Either they are very short staffed or just don't want to do the work on the car. I was wondering how long it is going to take them to fix the problem once they do have the car.

 

Did you buy the acura from this local dealer ?

Sad to say but in my experience when you have actaully bought the car from a particular dealer they seem far more inclined to offer better service

 

I'm wondering about that too. I don't think it's going to be a one day fix.

 

[QUOTE=rbackhouse,Jul 28 2005, 06:49 AM] Did you buy the acura from this local dealer ?

Sad to say but in my experience when you have actaully bought the car from a particular dealer they seem far more inclined to offer better service

 

Rob, sorry to hear of this problem. I have not had good luck with my local Honda dealer for service, and now I take my car up to Cleveland and let Hardtopguy take care of it at their dealership. That is good service .