LillDragun

Sorry I know this is long but it is a week long story….and this is the short version. PLEASE GIVE ME SOME INPUT!!

This is how it started. I got my exhaust last Thursday on the 9th, and everything was fine. Then on Friday when I started my car it started up a lill slow, then while I was driving the speedometer just dropped and the check engine light came on. Later that day every time I started my car it started up slower and slower. Then that night my starter just gave out and wouldn't start. On Saturday I took the car to the dealership and they replaced my starter and the battery. They told me that they couldn't fix the speedometer cause it had something to do with the alarm that I had installed last august.
They told me that my car was fine and I could drive it like it was never broken. Well so I go out for a lill drive and everything is fine except for the speedo. Then I decided to go out to dinner downtown at the mall at my aunt's restaurant, well to my surprise my car just dies in the parking garage while I was looking for a parking spot!!! I was stuck in downtown till 1:00 am!!! It took the tow truck 3 hrs to come get me. And the thing that pissed me off was that he didn't even give me a ride home! Well then they took it to the dealership the following Monday around 2-3 pm. So the dealership couldn't start working on it till Tuesday. Well on Tuesday they found out that the alternator was dead and they said that it was my sub and amp that killed it. So it wasn’t under warranty so I told them to disconnect my amp from the battery after they fixed the alternator. I had to pay $500.42 for the alternator and the labor!!! Well they got the part in on wed and got it done but I couldn't go pick it up till Thursday cause I was in Austin.
Well when I went to go pick it up I left the dealer's lot for maybe 20 min and the Speedo died, the check engine light and abs light came on, and everything started to die. Well soon the car came to a stop and I called the Acura roadside assistance and they dispatched a tow truck. Everything happened just like in the parking garage, same symptoms so I know that it wasn’t the amp that did it the first time. Now remember this is the 3rd time this week that I had to do this. So I had to wait 2 hrs till the truck came by and then he towed the car to the dealership. Well since the car died I couldn't roll my window up all the way on the driver's side. It was cracked about 3-4 inches. This morning I get a call at 8:00 and they tell me that my car is soaked because there is thunder showering in San Antonio. Well they cleaned up the water and after that they worked on my car all freaking day and they call me at 4:00 and tell me that they still haven't isolated the problem. I have to wait till Monday when the tech can start working on my car again.
So here are my questions: is there anyway that I could get the 500 bux back?? Is it possible that I got a lemon?? What ya’ll input?? thanx

Taiwanze7

in cali there is a lemon law....but i'm not sure if it exists for texas. As for the alternator you can try to talk with the service dept.

ebelp

I would definitely get my $500 back since it should be covered under warranty because now you know it wasn't your amp. Give 'em hell, tiger!

gsrapper

hey man i live in san antonio and take my car to gunn acura you know me actually they are pretty cool over there who is your service rep???????

LillDragun

i got rebbecca as the sales rep. is she good??

Hatchy-Ownzjo0

Get your 500 bucs back and threaten to take their asses to court.. and bring up the lemon law because thats bull **** that a 01 is ******* up like that.. what the hell do those ******* always blame it on **** you do to your car... ******* cheap bastards!! "its gotta be your cold air intake" "Def your sub and amp!" What the hell.. how bout i shove my cold air intake up your ***! ******* mechanics at dealerships! Sorry had to vent!

GSRaCeRbOI

thats messed up... 3 times and they blame it on u? how typical.. I would definately ask for my $500 back since it obviously wasnt the amp that was the problem... HOnda/Acura dealer always blames things that happen on your aftermarket mods... my power window glass became misaligned from the rails/guide that it slides on.. making my power window stuck.. and they were all tryin to blame it on my car being lowered and QUOTE "the door and window mechanism recieving more vibration and shock causing it to slip off" I was like wtf? anyway after getting mad at the service advisor they repaired it under "good will/good customer relations" wtf?

anyway your car is 2001, its under warranty.. and since your amp is disconnected after they put in the alternator its obviously not your amp and subs.. as for your money back... not sure if theres a short in the alarm wiring.. but if its nothing to do w/ any of your aftermarket stuff they should fix it for free.. thats 3 times you got stranded.. not sure what the lemon laws are in Texas.. but that sux.. they should either repair it for free under warranty or buy back your car..

gsrapper

yeah rebecca is real nice, just tell her whats going on in a calm manner she should understand, its not your fault

LillDragun

when i talked to them today they said that the tech is gonna check all the wiring in the car or somethin to see what is going wrong. but damnit i want my damn car!!! if they buy the car back.....this is totally a hypothetical question.....should i try and get a 98 240 sx??......or a GSR? but yeah i talked to my dad and he talked to my uncle and they're tellin me to demand that i get the $500 bux back and maybe sue them for the troubles. they are tellin me that this is happening to me because i am young. damn those bastards!!!

EVOTHIS

I work in the service department at an Acura dealership.
if your car is under warranty they should be kissing your ***, you should be given a car to drive too.
you might have had a bad alt put in if the alternator goes the ABS light will come on too.
A bit of advise. Acura might send you a survey, these are VERY important to the dealership and if a dealership receives a poor survey they will get an *** chewing from someone! If you feel you have been given the runaround say so on the survey. If they say they don't know about the loaner car ask to see a sample survey. It will ask if you were offered things like a loaner and car wash.
Dealerships hate chasing down electrical problems b/c it takes so long and the tech won't get paid crap for it b/c warranty work pays the tech about 20% less than customer pay.

LillDragun

oh yeah and they haven't even given me a loaner car!! they say that they are booked sold till next week!!!! those bastards!!

GSRdriver

Welcome to my world. My car has had soooo many problems. Been out for 3 weeks to 3 months. Finally got it working my man. They will give you a rental. They have to provide you with transportation I'm pretty sure, Acura provided me w/ 3 rentals...1 for 3 weeks putting in piston rings. Then I went through 2 rental in a 3 month period while I was getting my whole new short block. Yes the lemon law exists. I can tell you everything you need to know about it in Cali.

Just P.M. me. Also, ask for the money back if you alternator is not the problem.

Bigstothel

I used to be a car stereo installer for circuit city, and i know that the problem is not with the amp. If anything your battery has gone bad from being drained too much from constant withdrawl and recharging. I have a 95 gsr with the original battery and original starter, and alternator and i have had a system for 3 years, nevr changed a thing. You should definately complain to service. I had a problem with the dealer where i purchased my car last year, and i found that you get a lot of response from American Honda if you write them a letter. You should send a letter to them explaing that the dealership miss-diangnosed the problem with your car and the unneeded expense cost you $500 out of pocket. You might get lucky and they will help you out.

LillDragun

who is American Honda?? where do i write to??

GSRaCeRbOI

Look in your owners manual for the addresses for American Honda and the Zone Office/Manager (look for the office closest to you/your dealership) if you have a complaint about a dealership or your car

tonydatyga

everybody should know that dealers are crap. There are very good dealers but they are the exception not the rule. Stop acting all suprised and outraged everytime a dealer pulls some ****. Fix it yourself or take it to someone that can. Most people that take alcohol for payment know their ****. Most people that take your money don't know ****.

GSRaCeRbOI

while it is true that I would rather do my own work than to take my car to the dealer and pay hella money for bad service, rude service managers, huge prices, etc.. .. my car is a 1995 so its out of warranty and I do all my own work...
Lil Draguns is 2001.. he should not have to pay a cent because his car is practically brand new and is under warranty... the repairs made to his car 1) did not remedy his problem and 2) was blamed on his amp....

sutrusu

if you're not under warrantee, never take your car to a dealer for anything. ever.

jayteg01

I know what it is. I had the same problem when I put my exhaust on. If you paid for an alternator and a battery you got ripped off. I'll tell you what happened and how to fix it. Ok here goes. When your exhaust was put on and bolted up the rear oxegyn sensor in the cat was pushed into the shift stablizer bar, causing the oxegyn sensor to be grounded (shorting out) on stablizer bar. It will put the check engine light on as soon as you start it up. Then the longer it goes eventually it blows a fuse. Then your speedo won't work, and the alternator won't charge so all your electronics are running off the battery alone, 'til finnally the car dies when the battery can't fire the ignition and run all the other stuff. Now this is how you fix all your problems. Adjust your exhaust and make sure the Oxegyn sensor doesn't rub on the shift stablizer any more. Then look in the fuse box for the fuse that is bad. It is the speed sensor/alternator fuse. I think it say speedsen/alt or something like that on it. replace the fuse and make sure the speedo works. To get the light off disconnect the battery for a couple minutes. Hook it back up and BAM your back on the road. I hope this helps you out. I hope you can get your money back. The dealer problably replaced the fuse, cleared the code and charged you for the alternator and battery. Dealers suck!


[Modified by jayteg01, 4:07 PM 5/20/2002]


[Modified by jayteg01, 9:18 PM 5/20/2002]

LillDragun

jayteg01: where were you when i needed you!!!!!!!! they just called me like 5 min ago telling me the same thing that you told me. they said that i shoulda paid for the starter and the battery but that i got lucky cause they already sent in the invoice to acura. but they still won't give me the 500 bux back cause they said that it was my amp. they explained something like the alternator is tuned so it can just run the components that are in the car. i'm still gonna try and get my dad to try and get the 500 bux back......or my mom. hehehe. yeah i'm runnin back to the mom and pop for help. i'm getin my damn reinforcements!!!

Kasper.

Well.....sounds like they are giving you the run around....

Its a very good chance that when they installed the new alternator...that they didnt put a brand new one in, but a rebuilt one, my friend had to get 3 diff. alternators for his old bronco in a weeks time, cause he just kept gettin krappy rebuilt ones.....

The bad thing is though they wont give you your money back, that **** wasnt really under warranty like the amp and krap.....sso in a way legally they can say the reason your car isnt working is becuase you installed somthign that wasnt meant for it.....

Which Is totall BS since you can easily hook up a 350 watt amp to a stock alternator and battery and run fine for 2 years...easily...depending on battery strenght.

what would **** me off the most is like to wonder what the hell are they doing in the shop>>?? did they even run a scope on your car(like a diagnostics check?) to try and find out every means necsary as to why your car isnt runnning? Thats what they get paid to do....

Cru_Jones

Nice jayteg01! This is why we love HT.

LillDragun

when they run the diagnostics check do they print out something?? maybe i can ask to see the check-out sheet.

jayteg01

Just tryin' to help. I did the same thing. But I figured out what I did. Then I was trying to get the dealer to put in the oxegyn sensor under warranty. (I put the stock exhaust back on and left the check engine light on pulled the sleeve down on the oxegyn sensor and put a new fuse in so they wouldn't know anything else was wrong) I figured they would check the light find a code for the oxegyn sensor and put in a new one under warranty. WRONG The dealer pulled the code for a downstream oxegyn sensor circuit fault. The service advisor AKA moron asked me who put my stereo in said he is gonna need the car for a couple days to "tear apart the car and see what kind of wiring problem I have" Now since I already knew what the problem was I told him to scedule me in for another day and never went back. I disconnected the battery and the light never came back on.(thank god 'cause the sensor cost like $280) The sensor is fine the exhaust is fine and the car is fine. AND THE DEALER SUCKS!! The service advisor told me that one time someone had a stereo hooked up and after 6 months it burned out their pcm. So that's when I knew I had to leave before I laughed in his face. Oh well I hope I helped some one out.


[Modified by jayteg01, 5:57 PM 5/20/2002]

rubens

isn't the acura warranty honored at all acura dealerships? I'd get the money back and bring it to another dealer. If you can't get it back, sue them in small claims court.