I had a brake switch replaced last winter because of a recall. When the car was “done” I went back to pick it up and they couldn’t find the car on the lot. When it was finally located it was dripping wet on a very cold and dry day. It hadn’t rained. It clearly wasn’t washed. It was just really, really wet. There was no explanation and i just wanted to go home at that point. A few days later I realized that my brake lights were now on all the time… while I was driving, while I was braking, while it was parked overnight in my driveway. They were on all-the-time.
I ended up fixing the issue myself. I wish I hadn’t had that recall done.
Nailed it in One! Actually has 4 recalls outstanding, shift lever is one of them. Previous owners never did anything.
It’s actually not too bad a little car, except for the worst visibility of anything I’ve ever driven. I almost (well, not really, but it got my attention) hit somebody in a parking lot because of the HUGE blind spots forward and when you turn your head, all you see is headrest. :smack:
Well, we now know that it’s a Suzuki, though I don’t think it would have been at all impossible for the car to have been an Isuzu – 2009 wasn’t that long ago, after all. (Suzuki left the US market in 2012 or 2013.)
The Takata recall for my BMW was annoying. I scheduled an appointment, showed up at the right time, and when I got there they didn’t have the parts in stock and acted as if it were somehow my fault. I rescheduled; they said it would take about 8 weeks and they’d get back to me. They didn’t.
Eventually I got a flier from a different dealer having some kind of “recall day”. Went totally smoothly. The rep I talked to said that BMW “really wants to get past this”, as if they’d had a hard time organizing things and was taking a new approach. Or maybe it was parts shortages out of their control.
At any rate, I don’t understand the hostility either. The process was irritating but at no point did they try to charge me or anything. And worth not getting a face full of metal shards.
of course it was. Takata was on the hook to get tens of millions of replacement parts (or other suppliers had to design, validate, and tool up replacements) when normal service part volumes are in the tens to hundreds.
My recollection is, in the months immediately after the recall was announced, parts were, indeed, in limited supply, and owners who tried to have their cars serviced immediately often faced long waits for an appointment.
And, certainly, a recall in which the warning was, “you really need to get this replaced ASAP, because a malfunction could well injure or kill you” was going to get people’s attention, and drive demand for getting it taken care of immediately.
It’s not the overall delay I was annoyed with–it had already been well over a year since the first “you have a defective airbag, but we don’t have the parts yet” notice. It’s the rope-a-dope once I scheduled the repair and they still didn’t have the parts. Maybe Takata was dicking them around and giving BMW false delivery dates, but that doesn’t excuse the dealership from not contacting me.
The second round went far more smoothly. Maybe that dealership was better managed; maybe BMW gave them more resources; maybe BMW gave some sort of ultimatum or at least some kind of incentive to get things done. But in any case there was a clear additional effort involved.
I completely agree – that first dealership didn’t seem to be terribly interested in helping you.
I’ve read that dealerships (and their service departments) dislike doing recall work, as they don’t make any money at it. If so, and if the service manager at dealership #1 was annoyed with how much of his shop’s hours was being taken up by doing airbag recalls, it might explain it (though it certainly doesn’t excuse it).
Could be, though I didn’t really get that impression. It seemed more like they just weren’t getting the necessary parts. And then did a terrible job at communicating that to me.
The parts were at least partly BMW’s responsibility–they replaced the entire visible center portion of the steering wheel, so it required a new set of moldings, a new badge, and for all I know replacement electronics for the button cluster. It was an older car and maybe BMW had to bring the molds out of cold storage.
Yeah, the latter part is where their customer service failed (and where dealership #2 apparently did a far better job). My experience with auto service places, both at dealerships and at independent shops, has far too often been that I have to do the chasing down of information (When can I get an appointment? Is the part in yet? Is my car done yet?).
They certainly make money off recalls or warranty work, but the time percentage that a manufacturer says it will pay does not equal the actual time invested in the repair.
Thank you for the clarification on that. It sounds like the general point still holds: time spent by a dealer’s service department on recall work is less profitable than time spent on “normal” repairs or maintenance work?
Since we answered and all and you are the OP and drifting isn’t always a bad thing --------- Suzuki bikes, like most of the Japanese bikes, are really good for the most part. But there was something with the cars, especially the versions for sale in the US, that always seemed to attract mechanical issues. And not just things like bulbs but entire sections of the power and drive trains. Its like someone in TPTB thought “Honda does it so well, why can’t we?”. Well, for the most part we found out.
Took my 2006 Honda Ridgeline in for a recall this past spring. Got to the dealer and they had run out of the part needed and it would take about 3 days to get it. Instead of leaving in my vehicle, they had me leave it with them and gave me a brand new Ridgeline with only 13 miles on the odometer as a loaner. I really think they were trying to get me to buy a new Honda. I put 100 miles on the new truck before I returned it. The new Ridgeline made my old one feel like a beater car.
If it was the Takata airbag recall, then no they were not “trying to get you to buy a new Honda.” All but one of the deaths/injuries from the Takata defect have been in Honda vehicles so they’ve been rather eager to get people into loaner vehicles while waiting for replacement parts.
Take it to the shop. Ask to speak to the service manager.
You: The manufacturer recommended you, and says that you’ve done several of these repairs for them, is that true?
Him: We’ve done hundreds
You: Well, has there been any trouble at all with them paying you for everything?
Him: Nope
You: I just need to be sure because I don’t have any money to give, and I don’t want your shop to be stuck with a repair bill I can’t pay. So you’re confident that you’ll be paid, by them, for everything connected with this repair?
Him: [Insert answer received here]
Overall, I’d say your attitude about recalls is just silly. They are free repairs to safety issues. Get it done and stop being a Mr. Anxiety Pants about it.
ETA: Don’t sign the agreement, if indeed there’s any signature line for you. The payment agreement is between them and the shop, not them and you. You’re just the guy who drops off the car. Don’t pay for the repair and then try to get a check from them, have them pay the shop directly.
I keep getting recall notices for my Honda Civic.
Apparently, the airbag may explode and turn into deadly metal shrapnel.
If I want it fixed I need to go spend a day at the Honda Service center. They actually managed to find a location in the NYC area that isn’t within walking distance of anything. It’s cramped and miserable with lousy coffee, not enough seats and salesmen that harass you constantly. Appointments are meaningless, everything is first come first serve regardless. The only reason they make them is to give their salesman a chance to review your info before you come in. Did I mention that the salesman harass you constantly? The favorite trick is that they will call your name and you’ll go into the office thinking that your car is ready. But it’s just a trick to get you in front of the guy that wants to sell you a new car. Then you lose your precious seat in the waiting area.
They do have entertainment of sorts. Every single time I’ve been there a customer conflict occurs that is serious enough to merit calling the police.
Bit I get these recall notices and I think to myself that the metal shrapnel sounds less painful than a visit to the service center.
It sounds like the general point still holds: time spent by a dealer’s service department on recall work is less profitable than time spent on “normal” repairs or maintenance work?