tsb's vs. mazda dealerships
 

i have printed out the tsb's from http://www.finishlineperformance.com....php?pageid=11 that apply to my RX-8 and the issues that fall under the tsb's. i plan on taking my car to the dealer tomorrow to address the noisey throwout bearing and the lack of spark plug replacement (which they advised me that they performed). at that time, i'm going to kindly address the other issues i'm having with my car and hand them the tsb's that i've printed out in their entirety. in other's experience, does the dealer usually give you problems with fixing problems associated with the tsb's? are the dealers required to fix the problems that have tsb's?

they don't have to do shit about TSB's, even though they should. there are a few dealers that will sympathize from what i hear.

they're purely FYI.

i tried this looong ago and got shot down... even called mazda usa about them.

Is your car still under b2b warranty? If not then do not expect the work to be done for free.

the good news is that the car is still under warranty

Best advice is to make friends with the techs behind the counter.

sometimes its kind of a insult to tell them they need to do tsb's, its best to be clueless and let them figure it out for themselves, i would just leave the info on the passenger seat for the tech to come across, if you are pushy about wanting tsb's done they can still use the excuse of needing to verify concerns which they have to do anyways (mainly depends on the service writer and of course the tech experience)

a box of donuts or a couple of coffee's from starbucks can go a long way to getting TSB's done for free.

haha yeah techs and service writers love dougnuts and coffee....(and beer but you better not bring beer to their work they might all get fired and nothing will get done) haha

My dealer was awesome and just put in a new starter motor and upgraded battery based on the TSB.

They even apologized to me for not doing it before when I had first complained of hard starting.

The difference it has made is incredible. The car starts with a blip, in the blink of an eye now.

The dealer is a brand new Mazda dealer and the service manager is phenomenal.

My local dealer's service department just ignored the TSB's I printed out when I brought my car in for the squeaking front brakes. Useless. They just replaced the pads and didn't even do it correctly, despite the TSB being in their hands when I brought it in.

Most people don't like being told how to do their job and will react accordingly.

...Which is F#cking bullshit, b/c it's Mazda telling them how to do their jobs--not the customer.

if you walkin with a big stack of papers and slap them on the desk saying "here fix all these problems on my car" they are gonna get pissed. I work in a customer service job now, if someone comes in with an attitude or tyies to demand I do something I am normally give them the shaft. If you ask nicely you should get the work done

you're right Doc... why be nice to people doing work for you.. f-em all.

I personally think that a person should do the job they are paid to do. Once I very nicely went to a dealership, was polite, gave them a copy of the tsb's and kindly requested the services be performed. The person at first was nice and told me they would start the work that afternoon and went and checked that they had the parts. I left, had lunch and came back an hour and a half later to get my work laptop out of my trunk. I went back to notice that my car was in the same spot. I went inside and wondered how my car would be done that day and the same customer service guy said they were working on it at the time and they were almost finished. He then showed me a list of things they already did to include updating the spark plugs to the new ones.


I'm sorry, the customer service people are there working. If they can not handle their job they should quit or receive training to do their job. Maybe i'm just bitter and extremely un-trusting of dealerships, but experience has taught me that the biggest crooks work at dealers... maybe that is different at other locations... Here on long island.... They all suck!

Yup once your bumper to bumper is over you are going to get stuck with the bill for any TSB's. Good luck!

I think you all are approaching this incorrectly and assuming the people working on your car are idiots in the majority. I'm a technician for Toyota and the procedure to diagnose a cars problem is to check tsb's for similar issues then to start getting in depth. I have had a customer come in for 6 tsb with tsb numbers and printouts and they say just do them...... I didn't even look at the car and told them to complain about things.....all they did was walk out the door thinking I'm an asshole but I was hinting to describe the issues(you may take that differently since I care about the correct fix).

There are procedures to perform and diagnose tsb issues. You have to verify the complaint (make it as close as the tsb you are describing with out saying its a tsb if your wanting it looked at properly), duplicate the concern(this means it does have to happen more then once for you and the technician), then perform action(not always right the first time since some issues network). Not like I'm speaking for all technicians but that's how the first steps should be approached and it saves time for those who want to get it done quickly(technicians making money). Is everyone on this forum a master technician(having 8 ASE's and Mazda rated whatever technician status)? I am being helpful so don't take me the wrong way in saying take it to your specialty shop or a dealer over a Joe's shop. If there's a noise concern ride with the technician! I know I don't bite......unless you start barking up the wrong tree, you can always complain to the service manage after if the technician was a douche the whole time. Things like this isn't a competition its customer satisfaction unless your treated like shit by the place.....at least my dealer does this but the customers do make the dealer considering 1 bad experience can extremely multiply by word of mouth. I'm about to change careers because I wanted to fix cars and make people happy yet you can't always do that since people are impatient, stubborn, irritated.... and the list goes on over silly things..... The economy just doesn't help with peoples satisfaction either. Yeah I'm blabbing but its informative for those who want to understand.....If you want to know how a dealer works just pm me I can explain why you more then likely get headaches while your there.

Back to the OP, I hope the right group of people are taking action on your car or they should just give up or study to be a technician....no one becomes an over night genius.

I don' t think tech's are idiots.. but i think it's naive to assume people will go the extra mile every time they do a job. Building a relationship with people who do work for you is a way to increase your chances of having a better then avg experience.

It would be better, if you just complain of the correct symptoms.

If that don't work, then the next step is to take those TSB and throw it in their faces as a last resort. You don't even have to hand it to them. Just toss it anywhere in their vicinity.

well, since the parts manager i deal with like me and gives me a 20% discount on all of the parts i buy and the guy that sold me the car is a distant friend and has an RX-8, i shouldnt have a ton of trouble. i'm going to go in there this morning and very kindly explain to the service manager my concerns about the symptoms my car is experiencing and explain that i bought my car from the dealership because of their fine reputation and service and that i would love to reccomend their dealersip to friends and family based on all of these qualities. hopefully i can woo the guy with kindness. lincon said "one drop of honey kills more files than a gallon of gall."

on the up side my car is still under warranty. i'll keep you guys posted on what happens. as of note, the problems that i would like addressed are as follows:

-bad throwout bearing
-replace the plugs and wires
-new gasket on the left taillight due to excessive moisture
-squealing front brakes (hoping they can just install the anti squeal shims and clean and grease the applicable areas as the pads are brand new)
-engine mount is bad

wish me luck. i'm off to the dealer. i'll let you guys know how things go there.

TSB's are notification that a car may have have that problem.

No dealership does work for free. They only do TSB's if the problem is verified and some dealers won't even do that.

you mean you can't just talk to people like their idiots, tell them they can't do their job correctly and you can do it better, and then expect great service? astonishing :eyetwitch

""""I'm a technician for Toyota and the procedure to diagnose a cars problem is to check tsb's for similar issues then to start getting in depth""""

Yes, you work for Toyota, not Mazda.

good news to speak of. dealer advised that they will fix everythign on my car that they verify that is indicated in a tsb. i told the service manager about my concerns about the engine mounts, the taillight seals, brakes, and pcv system. he advised that all of that will be repaired free of charge.

the downside is that the dealer is not certain if they will cover the throwout bearing aas the clutch and components only carry a 12month 12K mile warranty. they advised that they will pull the trans and inspect the t/o bearing and clutch and if they feel its bad, they will send it to mazda to verify. if mazda feels it in their good graces to see that the part is prematurely worn they can have the dealer replace it a no charge to me. however, if it is the opposite, i get the bill. i kindly explained to the service manager that if the vehicle wa inspected properly prior to me purchasing it then they should have caught the t/o bearing noise and should have repaired it before i purchased the car. he advised that my car carries a warranty from the dealer on certain items and he will do his best to get it taken care of at no expense to me. the car goes in on jan 8th. i did however tell him that if the dealer will not cover the bearing replacement that instead of charging me, put the car back together and give it back to me and i will do it myself. he again insisted that the problem will be addressed. we'll see what happens.

also, i did get to pick up my all weather mats for the RX-8 and got notification that the parts i ordered for my 85 RX-7 GS will be in tomorrow.

Interesting to run into this thread as I just got off the phone with my local dealer's service manager.

I've got a 2004 4AT and know that there's a TSB for getting rid of my frothy dipstick by them using the previously plugged intake holes.

So I gave him a call, told him I'm seeing a murky milk like substance on my dipstick, informed him that I'm an 04 w/ 19000 miles, out of b2b warranty, but would like to know what all my options are.

He took down my VIN, commented that it was going to require some research and that he'd get back to me tomorrow.

This should be good :)

I was also tempted to request a quote for a 2009 in attempt to bait them but ultimately decided to land on the side of good ethics and see where the process takes me.

I made sure to wish him a happy holiday and thanked him for his time.

Shell

Who said anyhting about not being nice? Sorry if my post came off as if derogatory. I agree that it's appropriate to build polite and respectful relations with your service dept. at all costs.

However, we've all been run around by service centers(dealer and otherwise).

I have found that politely offering a print out of a TSB for a symptom or even a concern is a good way to demsonstrate that you are familiar with your vehicle and its poential problems and solutions, and that, if applicable, you expect that TSB to be performed.

Yes, you work for Toyota, not Mazda.[/QUOTE]

Whats your point? A cars a car if you understand the systems their equipped with......This statement also shows that most people don't know what ASE's are and understand their for ALL vehicles in the field(I apologize if you do know what they are). The only downfall of ASE's are there isn't a rotary specific test which would greatly impact the knowledge out there. Before someone says anything negative about that I'm sure plenty of repair manuals and specialist are out there to help people who are knowledgeable in the subject. If I did just transmissions all day and I could read them like a book on what to fix....I would consider that person a specialist.

Glad to hear their addressing your issue properly. The problem you may have with denying the clutch work is that they could charge you the tear down time, unless they said other about it to you personally.

they havent said much on the teardown time.. i politely advised them that at this point i could not afford to pay for it. that when they advised that there is a warranty on my car for an unspecified period of time and iuleage just becaus ei bougt it used from that mazda dealer. at this point, the service manager told me not to worry about the costs and that he would do his best to take care of the problem. i hope he holds true to his word. i was being very polite and friendly the entire time and was treating everyone with patience and respect. i figured i have to give it to get it.plus its really not their fault the t/o bearing wails like a dog in heat..

So I had a message on my voicemail at work Tuesday from Bob the service guy at my local dealership informing me that there is in fact a TSB for "milky substance" on your dipstick, gave me the TSB number, and then wrapped up the message stating that only current b2b warranty holders are covered.

I called him back a couple hours later and asked if there was a kit Mazda provides for the TSB and if so was it a consumer purchasable item. I had seen the TSB numerous times in the past so I know it's a bunch of vacuum hoses and what not.

So today I had another message from Bob and he sounded very happy to inform me that the TSB kit was indeed available to the consumer for a mere, get this... here it comes.... $320

$320 is awful steep for a new pcv hose and a few other lines/gaskets. perhaps checking withthe parts dept can yeild you better results. perhaps you can buy the parts cheaper individually(strong maybe).

Maybe a catch can would help? anyone know?

not sure that would help much in this case..

TSB's are one of those wonderful "gray areas" that dealerships have absolutely no liability to be do. As a service manager told me...."it simply means that mazda thinks some cars have had those problems. Most don't. If we don't think it calls for a repair, we don't have to do anything".

Basically, it means that if the dealership doesn't like you, they can turn you down simply for the reason that they don't like you alone. They don't even need a reason to.

Anytime i've went in with TSB stuff, I've sucked up like there's no tomorrow.

^^bingo. i was trying to be their best friend on everyting. they said that they couldn't get me in for a week. no problem i said, even though i wanted them to take care of the problems sooner. being patient and understanding really helps. the 8 goes in on wednesday.

leaving for the dealership now. i made an appointment to have the techs lookk that the car. round two starts. i'll keep you guys posted on how this unfolds

car was dropped off. they gave me an 09 mazda 3 as a loaner for the day. i'll let you guys know what they find.

rofl

320 ?

I think I prefer to fill my oil at the right level, change it often, warm my car up(or run it hard enough to boil the oil), and save those 320 bux for something else.

Wasn't there an earlier fix for this, that involved something like a plastic liner for the dipstick tube? Should be a cheaper fix. See if you can find that TSB.

Ken

A plastic liner should probably work!!

There's no way I'd pay $320 for a bunch of tubing... simply not gonna happen. I'll go with nycgps's recommendation and spend it on something worthwhile.

dealer is keeping the car overnight. i'll pick it up tomorrow. they'll let me know what they find wrong and they said that if there's a tsb covering any particular problem they will fix the problem. thats good news. we'll see what they find.

overnight? it should not take that long i know they have probably seen all of it before anway and should know

they said that they were short handed and that they ran into problems on cars that were schedeuled before mine. my only complaint is that i had to call them to find out when my car would be done instead of them calling me to tell me tht it wouldnt be ready until the next day. but if the were really that busy, then its understandable.

LOL

That's the BIGGEST problem I had with my Mazdas. I had a Mazdaspeed6 that needed a new tranny...took SIX weeks to get done. There was maybe TWO times that whole time where I was called to inform me what's goin on. I called up at LEAST a dozen times to check up on it...one time at which they told me "oh yeah we meant to talk to you...they're gonna just give you a new transmission. sorry I forgot" Yeah...minute details really :bash:

I can't STAND our local Mazda dealership (Reineke Mazda).

trust me i know they take forever i had a tranny in my 8 at 18,xxx miles and it took 27days ridiculous!!! but it got fixed so that's all that mattered

overall a plesant experience at the dealer today. i got the car back and they will fix everything except for the t/o bearing, no questions asked. they did say that the t/o bearing sound was normal but i can deal with that later as it is not normal. at any rate, the first pics is the sheet of items they have ordered parts for and are going to fix. the second is a nice sheet that they printed out for me that tells a lot of great info about my car and all of the recalls/warranty work that has been done over its lifespan. i'm not 100% sure what a couple of the codes mean but i can live with it as it was a nice gesture.

http://i469.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/DSC07610.jpg

http://i469.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/DSC07612.jpg

yeah the T/O bearing noise is normal for 8's but I believe that BHR has made a bearing or acquired something to get rid of the noise....if it really bothers u u could check that out

^^ something to look into, thank you for the info. it bothers me only because it sounds like its worn.

I hate that noise too man... drives me crazy!