[megabuck2]

Hi all,
You may have followed by problems here under oil leak....

I just got a call from my Salesperson who spoke with the Service Manager regarding my leaky transmission. It seems the tranny was built with a MANUFACTURE defect. According to the Service Manager, there seems to have been a defect when the part was manufactured by a third party tranny manufacturer.

Mine was 10,900th MDX, build date of, I think, last week of January 2002. So if you have a 'DX built around this time, be sure to check for any leaks, get a flash light and check under your 'DX and also check your trans oil when filling up.

Maybe my tranny is an isolated case but if it was manufacturing flaw, there may be a "batch" that may be bad.

Good Luck!

Mike

 

[dakster]

Thanks for letting us know. First thing tomorrow I am looking underneath to see. Hard to tell when you have a blacktop driveway!

 

[Cdn_mdx_owner]

mine was delivered to me Jan 24.

will check as well.

what colur is urs and what r the last 4 digits of ur vin?

 

[megabuck2]

Cdn_mdx_owner

My last 5 digit of the VIN is 10900, mine was delivered in 2/5/02, with build date of 1/21-1/24 (guesstimating) and my color is Granite Green Tour/Nav.

I am hope I am not crying wolf but its better to check than not, don't you agree?

Good luck,

Mike

 

[megabuck2]

Just to Updat on My Misadventure:

Now the service department had the MDX longer than I have. I was supposed to pick it up on Friday but the new tranny did not arrive in time, so Saturday at the latest, then I called Sat evening to know what the status is and what they said almost made me blow my gasket..."its not ready...and what stautus? It will be finished when it gets done. Won't be ready til late Monday afternoon." Monday morning I called for an update...they will finish by Monday but want to test drive it before handing it over to me, and was told I can pick it up on Tuesday morning @ 7am.... So what do they do when they test drive it? They finish it by 7pm, drive around town for couple of hours?
Now I am getting very upset...first at the failed transmission and now with the service...Friday, Saturday, Monday and now Tuesday... I gave them every benefit of doubt but now I think I am being jerked around. I have a feeling on Tuesday, they are going to say that they test drove it and need some minor adjustment...will be ready on Wednesday, yada, yada, yada..
Any lawyers on this board wo can tell me whether I have any legal recourse?

"I am mad as hell and can't tkae it anymore!!!!!"


Mike

 

[Fireblade6]

Why get Mad? Get Even

Dude-

It sounds like a lemon...I demand my replacement.

 

[megabuck2]

Fireblade,
From what I just read about CA lemon law, the mdx whas to be out of commission for certain amount of time and or 4 attempts to fix the same problem so I don't think Lemon Law would apply yet. But I will keep that in mind and consult legal counsel when need be.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[TheWorm]

Bummer on the tranny...outta curiosity, which dealer is working on the car?

I don't know that I'd necessarily be rushing them to fix it -- last thing you want is them to hurry-it-up and not do it right.

Do a search for "transmission" and "engine" (separate searches) to see what others have done/received for early-mileage failures. You'll need to get a regional rep involved.

I'd ask for a new car (you won't get it), and would expect to walk away with a free extended warranty (you probably will). I'd ask for free 7500/15000 service, or some accessories for your troubles

Good luck!

 

[megabuck2]

TheWorm:

I purchased/working with Acura of Concord.
Beside the $895 "forced" option, the sales have been great. All calls were returned and informed me every step of the way. I guess in hind sight, you are absolutely right about not rushing them. But I just got a call around 6:30pm saying its been road tested and ready to go.

I did search on transmission on this board but I did not get too much info on my troubles.

Anyway, I am going to pick it up tommorw after work...one good thing out of all this is that it will be a "second" home coming....

I will post the result and any "deals" I got for all my troubles.

Mike

 

[megabuck2]

More saga -

Went to pick up my MDX. Everything seemed fine. Drove trowards home. About 10 miles after, the check engine light comes on. Called the dealer and told me to bring it back in.

Brought it back and had 4 guys poking and prodding. Half an hour later, sorry, they have no idea what is causing the check engine light to come on. Leave it and will check on it tomorrow....

Lets see what happens now.... We were planning a trip to L.A but now, we either have to postpone or not go at all...I wonder if the Acura TLC will pay for hotel cancellation fee, refund Disneyland pass, etc .....

Silverlining to all this? Well, got a loaner 3.2TL - beautiful car...maybe I will take this down to L.A :>

Mike

 

[Pauls MDX]

Don't let dealer give you that vehicle

I wouldn't let the dealer give me that vehicle. If have to wait until another one comes in. It sounds like they forgot to check fluid levels in the engine before giving the vehicle to you. There already probably been unchangeable engine damage which cannot be reversed. If your leasing it probably wouldn't matter, but if you own I wouldn't trust for the long run!!!!!

 

[megabuck2]

Paul,
Thanks for your input but my guess is refusing to take the car back won't do any good. I guess lemon law is very strict in what the consumer can ask for and consumer must meet the "definitions". Anyway, I will walk into the dealer today and try to have a gentile conversation (without me blowing a gasket!).
And I will call the District Manager and see what we can do to alleviate these problems.

Mike

 

[megabuck2]

Chapter 1001 - it seems...

Ok, went to bring the car home. Service said they reset the check engine light, test drove it for about 50 miles (I doubt it since my odometer showed 176miles (I drop it off @ 165 miles)...did not want to argue.
Started to go home and lo and hehold @ around 8 miles from the dealership, check engine light came back on. Drove it straight back to the dealer. Per service (which I sort of talked with a service rep...told me the first check engine light was also triggered by the torque converter). The second check engine light is also the torque converter. They need to reflush, take it apart and see what is causing it. Won't be done until TUESDAY...the day I am supposed to come back from my L.A Trip. They gave me the 3.2TL as a loaner and oked me on taking it down to L.A.

They offered to drop it off at home, if I wanted....we will see what happens. Isn't torque converter part of the transmission? If so< i think I can go ahead with the lemon law and force them to give me a new one, maybe I will wait for the 2003....(3 times on the same problem without a fix...yet).

Wish me lots of luck and lots of prayers!!!

Mike

 

[MaD-X]

So sorry to hear about all of this. I expect that your service dept has never replaced a whole transmission in an MDX before, and this could be why it's taking them so many times to get it right. When my drivers side poped on every turn, it took them a whole day to pull the seat apart and took another day to put new seat tracks in. I know seats aren't as important as transmissions but... just trying to make you feel better. Good luck and let us know what happens.

 

[megabuck2]

MaD-X,
Thanks for your post. I think whether we paid $40,000 or $400,000 we expect the product to work as advertised...you, with the seat, me with the transmission, I don't think any one fault is less or more important the other...just make it work, people!

I called my regional rep and left a message with no return call as of yet. The person who handles the calls told me that I should be expecting a call with 48 hours with a case number. Lets see where this course takes me.

As you can see, I postponed my trip down to L.A, and i am now serioulsy thinking about flying into L.A. It would been a nice trip with the 'DX but now, its not the same

Although the 3.2TL is fun car to drive around...but the speed really creeps up on you. From Concord, I did not notice I was hitting 90 mph...geez...I wonder how many speeding tickets from here to L.A on I-5.

I am still trying to take this all in stride...maybe my MDX wasn't ready to go down to L.A....I figure it MUST be happening for a reason...I am hoping for a good reason...Yeah, my wife calls me the hopelessly optimistic (foolishly optimistic, is more like it).

Anyway, I will keep you all posted...

Mike

 

[srpbep]

Lemon Law or ......

Torque converter IS part of transmission [inside, must disassemble to get out].

You are entering the Lemon Law zone. You have had repeated problems with the SAME component. Get Acura to document that the check engine light was illuminated to inform you of a transmission problem [otherwise they are NOT the same problem -- silly but true, "check engine does not equal check transmission" to the arbitration folks].

Acura is not going to want to replace the X [kicking, screaming, .... maybe but not likely voluntarily]. You probably can now get the biggest extended warranty they offer at no cost to you [that's easy for them]. Taking the X back under lemon law is really painful [title must be branded lemon in CA].

We had a 1999 Passport EX [OK, I was stupid, did our homework better on the replacement = the MDX]. Honda traded it out for 2001 V6 Accord at 5pm the day before our arbitration hearing was scheduled. Long, painful, 6 month process.

 

[megabuck2]

srpbep,

Thanks for the info...btw, did you get a legal counsel involved in your 6 month quest? if so do you have any referrals for me?

thanks,

mike

 

[TheWorm]

Just confirming that you have 176 TOTAL miles on the car? Jeez. PM Bellteck and ask him how he handled his buyback and the regional people.

I'd ask for a new car. I'd actually ask harder than I suggested in the earlier post (didn't realize that you'd barely rolled off the lot). You leasing or buy it? Who's financing? American Honda? I'd also ask them to make the payments if it's in the shop any longer. And for the extended 7/100 warranty (costs them nothing) for sure. And the free service, like I said.

I'd also be inclined to let the regional person know upfront that you're going Lemon Law if they don't get it right on the next (4th) try. California is 4th try and it's over, or 30 days in the shop for the same problem. Again, shoot Bellteck a note to see what he did. You don't want the regional person slamming the phone down on you, but you also need to be firm.

Here's a link to some CA state lemon law info: http://caag.state.ca.us/consumers/general/lemon.htm

Pulling for ya!

 

[srpbep]

Legal Counsel or Arbitration or ...

The following is MY EXPERIENCE [not necessarily the only experience out there]:

I did speak to lawyers [do web search on lemon law and see what pops up!!]. Lawyers want to sue, want money up front [no promises], and will tell you that it will take a year or longer. If you do sue, you lose some of the benefits of the Lemon Law vs. going to arbitration [see following] , specifically, you lose the "presumption benefits" [rather you have to prove it].

The CA Lemon Law is centered around arbitration. In this environment, there is a Presumption that the vehicle is a lemon if the dealer has worked on the same problem x times [need to check current value of x] and the item is "safety related" or "deprives you significantly" [trans qualifies as significant deprivation since MDX can't be driven without it].

Let me know if you want more, don't want to get into Honda bashing here. Luv our MDX as much as we hated our Passport AND HONDA [have gotten over Honda hate, Passport deserves to be hated IMO].

 

[megabuck2]

Hey Worm,
You got it right - 176 miles....
Unfortuantely MDX was bought with cold cash...no financing, no lease. I wonder if I had bought it AMEX, AMEX would fight for me :>

Yeah, I had it for a week. too busy todrive on the weekdays so I drove it for total of 2 days I think...and all these things happen.

Yes, I will PM Bellteck and see if he can enlighten me with his experience.

SRPBEP - I pm'd you this evening. Yes, I need all the info I can get!!

Thanks

Mike