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Comments
Also...if you have the money to fix a car, why pay for unecessary insurance to manage the possible problems you may face...it is just insurance, and if you have the money up front, you don't have to buy insurance...Perhaps you are an insurance salesman.
I think it is unfair to characterize people from Rich Fairfield county as cheap. People work hard for money. You can generalize people anyway you want...and sound uneducated everytime...whether, race, money, religion, etc.
Not to go "off topic" but you remember the saying: NEVER criticize another man unless you have walked a mile in his shoes. Well I was born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut. I lived there close to 46 years before moving out of state. Moved back for a year, then left again. It's a very "rich" county, very, very rich !! Cost of living as well as real estate is mind boggling, yet pay for middle class jobs is extremely low. I have seen first hand for over a year, while Service Manager, the vast majority of F.C. people being "penny wise and dollar foolish".... in other words, have NO trouble shelling out money into no-essential options for their vehicle and totally ignoring an extended warranty. Then, as I said, arguing and swearing as they shell out $2500 for A.C. repairs on a Chrysler vehicle just 3 months out of standard warranty. Yes, for the majority of people a standard factory warranty is more than sufficient, especially if one plans to sell or trade-in every three years, or just can't afford the extra $1200+. But one must also understand that it's a "crap shoot" and IF a repair is needed it will be quite costly. Sure "banking" $1800 instead of putting it out up front for an extended warranty sounds sensible, especially if that vehicle never needed any major work for many, many years, many, many miles......... but in this real world of "planned obsolescence" things break, parts fail.
I am NOT an "insurance salesman".... I am NOT "rich", in fact I make less than $30,000 per year. I live paycheck-to-paycheck so for ME there is no "extra" money to shell out for any major auto repair, such as transmission replacement, A.C. repair, etc. My decision to spend $1200 for an extended warranty for MY vehicle was totally up to me. In fact I was the one who ASKED the salesman to ad it on to the new vehicle purchase !!
If you want to defend the "rich" than that is your right......... my comments in this forum was to encourage us "middle class" (just makin' it by check-to-check) to "prepare for possible disaster" in the future, especially if we plan to keep our vehicles 7 years or over 100K miles !!
Remember, I was THERE........ I saw it FIRST HAND............. I had to deal with hundreds and hundreds of cases where the customer got stuck paying for something they should NOT have been charged for but "legally" they did not have a leg to stand on against the big Chrysler Corporation. Being "on the other side" (within a Dealer) it was disgusting what I actually saw, and not to beat a dead horse, but Doctors, Lawyers, Realtors would walk-in with no appointments and demand, yes demand immediate, preferred treatment over the "common folk" that had made appointments weeks in advance. I just call it like I saw it.......................................
I don't have an issue with people who do and or don't buy an extended warranty. Just be careful not to generalize people...all people from Fairfield county are not rich, snobs, stupid, etc. You can find rich, snobs, stupid, complain about out if warranty repairs in every part of the country. Your original generalization smacks of predujice. If you had called a minority class stupid, poor, or something else, your post would have been removed. But since these people are rich it is OK.
I am an opponent of extended warranties and listen to my situation. I bought a 1999 Isuzu Trooper. With a month left on the factory warranty my transfer case stopped functioning properly. The dealer said they couldn't find anything wrong, but agreed there was a problem (the computer didn't tell them anything)...they said they would stand by it since they couldn't find anything wrong and when it died they would fix it. Now my truck won't even go into 4wd...they told me to shove it, take my truck and "never bring it back". If I had an extended warranty I would still be out of luck. Isuzu is just going out of business and us owners are SOL.
If I had an extended warranty I would at least have a legal leg to stand on, but I doubt I would get squat from Isuzu. I still don't think extended warranties are worth it.
Perhaps if we want to generalize...we should have said these people were dumb because they bought a Chrysler :-) Just kidding.
If you would like to continue discussing the pros/cons of extended warranties, please do so in the topic available in Smart Shopper.
Extended Warranties
hope this helps
The fuel tank is made by Kautex Corporation in Troy, MI. There have been three supersession design changes to it since 2001 model year. The fuel tank is really manufactured by so-called blow-molded plastic to be optimized into the odd shaped undercarriage of the car. That explains why they didn't put any noise reducer into the tank (blow molded!), and also explains why it is so difficult to catch the problem.
I know they don't care, but be assured I won't be sending any future $$ Acura/Honda's way on my next vehicle purchase. It really torques me when they say these sounds are normal. You can go drive the cheapest new car around and you won't hear those sounds.
I'm considering a certified used MDX--I just started my search. Am I crazy or is the SUV OK? Any other options? I'm looking to spend between $25-$30K.
I own a 2002 Acura TL-S and had the tranmission swapped out @ 14K miles at no cost. Car has run fine for last 20K miles. This one will replace a '98 QX4 with almost 100K miles.
However, try leaving it in the "on" position for a few seconds and then give it a shot of gas before cranking. I understand sometimes the fuel injectors in all cars need to get primed prior to starting, much like pausing and then giving a old flooded carburated car 3 slow shots of gas and then starting.
Do you run high test? Try stp gas treatment and switching stations.
Unfortunately, things didn't work out the way I planned. My 2004 MDX Touring has all the little(?) problems that equal up to a very irritating ownership experience. As I have written previously, I have the tank sloshing and brake clunking issues so prevalent on this board. Also, my "X" came to me with numerous initial defects. But my biggest gripe is with the rattling noise coming from the driver's window area. I've tried fixing this over six times with the dealership. I’ve now escalated the issue to Acura and their "factory-rep" and met with one of two responses each time: #1 "I don't hear it" or #2 "That is a normal sound". It is amazing how much Acura is NOT a luxury car dealer. This $40K SUV has more problems in year one than my 1989 Dodge Dynasty had in its 14 year run. And that car was my NYC commuter car (read beater.) I am positive I can go get a Kia Rio tonight for $10K that will have less NVH than this MDX.
I'm one of those people on this board that feel cheated and want to lash out at Acura by selling this thing and thus taking a financial bath after less than one year. But I won't. I'm not going to cut off my nose to spite my face. I'll keep this thing 3-5 years then unload it onto someone who is deaf so I don't feel bad about myself. And until that glorious day when I am unburdened by this squeaky, rattling, clunking, sloshing mess ... I plan on letting everyone know how unsatisfied I am with this product and Acura/Honda's ignorance of customer complaints regarding their lapses in "engineering brilliance."
My experience with Acura services is that they always try the easiest and least expensive fixes first on your car. When the customer comes back with repeated problems, more diagnostic and testing will then follow. The key for any debugging process must begin with repeating the problem (by the technician, specifically). If they keep replying that the problem is not present in their hands and it did occur in your hands, ask them to ride with you and show the proof of your problem.
If the problem actually exist, I don't see any one, here means Acura, can get away and have to deal with the problem. If there is no cure for an identified problem, you should talk to their General Manager (GM) and ask for remedy. I believe that GM will be happy to bring this up to Acura since this is a car problem rather than a service problem.
Talking to Acura directly, in my case, did very little to solve the problem.
Looking forward to the inevitable redesign at some point and assuming that goes well will probably trade in then for the new design. Probably the wrong forum for this so will search others to find out when a redesign is expected. I appreciate the information in this forum as it certainly provides valuable perspectives to keep my ears and eyes focused on as our 04 gains more miles.
Rotten Egg smell exhaust
Thanks for the advice!
The Tribeca and X3 are not comparable to the larger MDX - different animals. Tribeca is new model year (although Subies are very reliable) and X3 is a Consumer Reports black dot special (you'll get to know the BMW service manager whether you want to or not)...
My state's Lemon Law's requirements are (should be common):
1. More 4 fixes for the same issue.
2. More than 2 fixes on same critical issue. (like break)
3. In service department for more than 30 days during the first 18 months of ownership.
Document your problems and service records and see where you are. You then discuss your case with your dealer (Management level) and ask them to talk to Acura. You do not need to wait until your car becomes a full Lemon before talking to them. If Acura is willing to stand behind their products and your car is really in bad shape, they have to act and respond.
Everyone want a perfect new car especially it comes to be the MDX. Have you seen Lexus and VW owners forums? There are unhappy RX, GX, Touareg owners just like we saw here. If it happens that you got a bad one, work with all parties (yourself, law, dealer, and Acura) to resolve the problem and save your investment.
Good Luck
So they did the work. The window works great and doesn't make a sound now. I'm very happy with the car once that giant annoyance was fixed. I'll live with the gas sloshing and brake clunks which in the grand scheme of things don't really amount to much. Like I originally said, the X is a comfortable, safe, well-performing SUV that I was pysch'd about being able to purchase. After 9 months of torture by Acura they finally allowed me to force them to do the right thing and I have the SUV I thought I was buying originally. I am happy with it now and since mechanically it has been perfect I can recommend it to others.
Hope everyone else's issues get resolved one way or another as well.
Also, where's the sticker that shows the date the truck was built? I tried under the hood and opening the doors and didn't find it.
Last, did anyone pick up a MDX and notice the leather on the seats was already starting to wrinkle? Is that a sign of poor quality leather or the truck sitting for a while on the lot (hence my question above)? Thanks.
Thank you.
We found ourselves constantly switch to real manual mode to reduce fan speed or turn off the rear AC because we have a little baby in the second raw. The rear upper vents blew air right on my baby daughter's face. We also found that fan speed is usually a bit too strong in AC auto mode.