zoom44

dont know i havent looked

clydejmuggs

We'll wait.

zoom44

i dont have a lift or even a floor jack. no ramps no creepy crawler... i got nothing

clydejmuggs

Have Henry look

He could get a job as a GM in NY..

zoom44

hahahahahahaha

Gomez

OMG, that's not a life worth living. You poor bastard......... :p

sharward

I arrived at AutoWest Mazda Subaru this morning just before 8 and checked the car in. I included a printout of the instructions with the list of components circled.

Shortly after the car went into the bay, the service advisor and the tech came into the waiting area and asked me where I got my version of the instructions. I told them that they were posted on the very helpful Rosenthal Mazda Web site.

So here's the key to the whole "cutting corners" misunderstanding: The instructions that were attached to my vehicle on the computer system are the dealer inventory recall instructions, not the customer already bought the car and took it home recall instructions. Apparently the dealer inventory recall instructions are much shorter (5 pages vs. 13 pages) and call for checking fewer components.

Thus, AutoWest Mazda did perform the correct procedures that were attached to my record. (Well, mostly -- they forgot the under-hood label.)

I was successful in obtaining, with permission, a copy of the 7/14/2005 procedures that were attached to my car the day they did the original recall work last week. I was also successful in obtaining, with permission, a copy of the 7/22/2005 procedures that are attached to my car in the system today. (Yes, they changed!) Both are for "dealer inventory" vehicles. I will digitize them and post them to this thread soon (probably within 24 hours).

Remember, my car was sold during the "suspend all RX-8 deliveries" period -- supposedly my dealer's sales department didn't get that memo or it was misdirected/mishandled somehow -- and I believe the sale wasn't recorded in the Mazda database in a timely manner. This is why the instructions attached to my car were "dealer inventory" instructions, because as far as Mazda knew, the car hadn't been sold yet.

In spite of this fact, no matter how many times I explained it to those guys, I was unable to convince them to do the more elaborate, "post-delivery" recall inspection... so far. They told me they will not perform any more work than is attached to my vehicle in the Mazda system.

I now need to decide whether I am going to (1) live with the quickie "dealer inventory" inspection procedure, or (2) escalate the matter to Mazda North America to have my recall record cleared in their system so that the more thorough "after sale" inspection procedure can be authorized.

I'm tempted to do the escalation for peace of mind's sake.

Gomez

That's crap. I have it on very good authority that Mazda's Service Info website has the full repair instructions, and has had them since I started this thread. There are two documents on that site that refer to this recall, and they are both to be read in conjunction with each other. Your dealer is either bullshitting you, or is totally incompetent. You make the call.

The letter "changed" on the 22nd to include the Group 1 parts repair info, that's all. Prior to the 22nd, that letter mainly referred to Group 2 cars and at that time no parts info was included as Mazda didn't expect any (many) Group 2 car(s) to require parts.

The fifteen page document (now thirteen pages, same info) and the five page document have been hosted on that site since day one. Both have changed to include Group 1 repair schemes, but both are to be read together. There is no "inventory" repair scheme, separate from the "retailed" repair scheme. Escalate, and escalate now.

Gomez .

TJLack

Taking a long trip at the end of August, so wanted to get this done (no letter yet). Called Mazda Service at 1-800-222-5500 and they confirmed that my car was Group 1 and only the one recall (3305G) open for my VIN. They said I had been sent a letter - they checked my address and had incorrect zip code! Made appointment with dealer for next Thursday to take care of the recall.

zoom44

cheekybastard

zoom44

there is only group 1 and group 2. they can pull the same instructions you showed them. escalate

Aratinga

Along those same lines.... My car is currently at the dealer's after the CEL lit back up, and so I figured I'd print out all those TSBs that apply to my car and take them in and have everything done at once. I dropped the car off Monday.

Wednesday I needed the registration paper on the car so I could refinance it (I've given up on selling it or trading it in) and so I dropped by the dealer to get the paper out of the car's glovebox. It was on a rack in the service bay, and I asked the techs there if I could get the thing I needed. They said sure, and then a couple of them approached me and asked, "Where did you get those printouts of the TSBs??" (I'd left the printouts on the car seat so the tech would have them handy.) I told them about the Rosenthal website. They responded that they have a very hard time getting those documents from their computer system! It's not like they can just call up all TSBs and check them out; they have to use some sort of search function, and if they don't enter the correct words or misspell something, the TSB will not get pulled up. I thought this was really stupid on Mazda's part, considering both of these techs were Hispanic and it was obvious that English is NOT their first language. Making TSBs dependent on a tech having an extensive vocabulary and excellent spelling skills is overly optimistic.

I confirmed this system with my boyfriend who works for Honda... same situation applies. Techs DO NOT have ready access to all TSBs; they must use a search function and enter exactly the words or symptoms that the TSB addresses before seeing it. So if a tech enters "Runs too hot" instead of "Overheating", for example, he won't see a TSB applicable to the problem!

So word of advice for y'all... when you have a problem you know there's a TSB for, do your tech a favor and PRINT IT OUT for him/her.

I'm picking up my car today and I'll see what the latest news is at the dealer re: recall parts. ttyl.

zoom44

if the tech doesnt understand english very well how would he read the bulletin even if you handed it to him?

pcimino

I don't think the issue is understanding english. I think the issue is Mazda (or Ford or Volvo) want to avoid unnecessary work. Which is why its a TSB and not a recall. Some dealerships pretend TSBs don't exist. The procedure isoften "if the customer complains enough, then fix it". I had a Honda a while back and there was something wrong with the seat mount. I complained and they said they could replace the seat, blah, blah, blah, $$$$$. I ignored it, complained again, same answer. Next time I was in at another dealer, asked if they could do anything about it, they said sure thing, there's a service bulletin on it, no charge, known problem, old problem, see it all the time etc etc. and fixed it.

So limiting the techs access to the TSBs *might* be a way of avoiding warranty work.

clydejmuggs

Haven't they replaced the gas cap on your car yet?


All the Tech has to do with mazda is type in the car model (hit search) and all the TSB's are listed.

Gomez

Huh? It IS a bleedin' recall.

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

You tell 'em Gomez, you tell the world! :D

Forget what movie that's from...

Aratinga

Pictures and diagrams!

I'm glad to hear that they really do have access to the TSBs via the Mazda website. The only thing I can think of that would apply to what these particular techs told me is if they're not on a computer network with free internet access for everyone, and the techs are limited to a local network for the dealership itself. Maybe that's why they have to jump through hoops to find TSBs. But my b/f says Honda techs can't access TSBs easily either...?? Who knows.

I'll continue to print them out, just so I don't have to have service writers look at me like I'm nuts when I say there's a TSB that applies to the issue my car has. Since this dealer seems to do much more non-Mazda sales and service, I'm not surprised when the service writers aren't up-to-date on the latest Mazda issues.

zoom44

ii had the same thing happen to me too Aratinga- Service writer said i didnt get M flash because i didnt have symptoms. I handed MSP04 to him and showed him the line- "and every car that comes in for service whether they have symptoms or not whetehr they ask or not"- and then he said "well those thigns you get fromteh internet are never true. Like I would hand him soemthign false, like i was lieing. so i said - well open your computer and print it out yourself. he said he couldnt. i said there must be some one here who can. anyway we went round and round and then i got the son of the owner of teh dealership over there. He got the bulletin of the website. compared it showed the Service writer and said "dotn worry charlie i even updated the wds myself this morning" from then on i have dealt with a different service writer also

sharward

Thanks Gomez and zoom44 yet again.

I just got off the phone with a very helpful, courteous, and patient Mazda Customer Service representative in Irvine. I explained my situation and summarized all of the documents I have in my possession:(Note that I am unable to attach these documents because each exceeds the 100K limit on the forum. )

I explained my "car sold to me during the freeze" situation and how the dealer refused to follow the more extensive recall procedure since they (supposedly) were not attached to my vehicle.

She said that the recall has not been officially activated yet -- only the "dealer inventory" recall is currently active. As we already know, they are working on getting an ample supply of parts delivered to dealers before letters are sent to owners.

She has opened a case for me and assured me that once the recall becomes active, I can call her directly, at which point she will contact the dealer to authorize the more thorough inspection.

I should point out that she was quite intrigued (i.e., concerned) about my having possession of the "internal" documents. She asked me how I got my hands on them. I told her the AutoWest service writer gave me two of them and that I got the others from a Mazda dealer's Web site back east. She asked me for names and I obliged. I really hope Rosenthal doesn't get into any trouble or is forced to take the documents down!

I asked the representative to forward the information about the dealer's non-receipt or mishandling of the "suspend deliveries" memo to someone to investigate that. She said she would but that I would not be notified of the outcome. I said that was fine -- it's more of a "heads up" for them.

After we were done, I thought I'd take a stab to try to gain some "intel" about the engine failures in hot climates... She said she couldn't comment on it -- kind of "cannot confirm nor deny." I told her I respected that. Hey, it was worth a shot!

sharward

Well, in their defense, a lot of stuff on the Internet is crap... But an official Mazda TSB isn't and they should be able to recognize the difference!
That's absolutely maddening! I've been a Web software developer for years, mostly involved in intranet information repository systems, and it's inexcusable that every Mazda dealership employee doesn't have free and unlimited access to all of their online resources, let alone the required training to properly use them! Perhaps this is at the root of the number of people who are dissatisfied with dealer service departments.

Maddening I tell you!

zoom44

Yeah but its the dealers not giving them the access. mazda is clearly providing the information. the dealers are just not as Proactive as we all think they should be about getting to the info. some are of course .

silvercloud

Given all the grief people on the forum are having with this recall I have to pat my
dealership on the back.

I took silvercloud in for an oil change a week ago. They told me they'd like to
do the 30, 000 mile service - even tho the car had only 28,000 miles on it. They gave me a free loaner car for the day. They also told me there was a recall out on it and have ordered the fuel tank heat shield.



Good going Jeff Wyler Mazda.

zoom44

well i keep telling people to wait for the letter. glad to here your service center is one of the good proactive ones. is it a standalone?

silvercloud

I'm not sure what " standalone " means in respect to car dealers, but there is also
a Kia, Jeep, Nissan dealership at the same location

Jeff Wyler has many car dealerships all over the Cincinnati area. I believe he married
into the famed Lindner family (part owner of the Reds , Chaquita banana man and polititian magnet)

When I first bought the car I didn't give them very good marks on their service but they seem to have improved a lot.