Well I forgot to tell the tech at the dealership that my shift **** was the illuminated one from overseas. So of course when he went to take it off he twisted without disconnecting the wires first. Now usually this wouldn't be that big of a deal as I could probably find someone to solder a couple wires together. But when he twisted it actually broke the plug in that goes into the shift **** at the base. So I can't plug it in anymore at all.

I have already reached out to the dealership in the UK that I bought the **** from and all they can do is sell me a whole new kit. I really don't want to spend the money on a new kit when all I need is the wiring harness, or even a new plug at the end.
The kit is the one from Mazda part number: FE15-V8-170B


The wiring harness itself has a sticker with some numbers on it. (pictured below)
The numbers are:
86582
26/09
5-4809
Made in Germany 816041
There is also an S off to the side.

So anyone have any thoughts or ideas on how to get a new harness or maybe just the plug? I'm getting desperate! Any help would be appreciated

 

Mazda should replace it since the tech destroyed it. At least split the cost. Sounds like something Nelson would do.

 

Why should Mazda pay?
It should be the dealer!
If really true, then take it to the service manager, inform him you are ordering a new one, and will send him or bring him the bill.

End of discussion!

 

Yeah I already tried that. When I brought it up to the service rep that told me about it he said they aren't responsible for things that I do not tell them about. So not sure unless I start griping up the ladder at the dealership.

This may turn in to a for sale thread if I have to buy another. Surely someone out there is good with wiring and would want a slightly used shift ****

 

I'm throwing the BS card at this one! It doesn't matter what you tell them, the dealership is responsible if they broke it. I'm sending you a PM about helping you get them to pay for it. (Legal help - Not for public board).

PS: What was it in service for anyways?

 

I'm not so sure about that. Dont the techs have an expectation for the shift **** to come out like any other stock one would? I assume this one looks very similar to a stock one? If its not a part that comes on the rx8 over here then its reasonable to assume that if the tech popped open the book that said how to take it apart it wouldn't say a thing about any of those wires.

If you install an aftermarket thing on your car that takes a special way to remove yet still looks stock you cant expect the tech to know it needs special care unless you tell him. I know its not truely aftermarket since its a overseas mazda part but for the US it would be considered one I think.

I dont know how much legal water the form you sign holds, but even when getting an oil change done your signing something that says they are not responsible for damage to the vehicle or items within for ANY reason. Doesn't seem like it would hold up to some stuff but for this it might.

They SHOULD pay to fix it for him since they broke it, but I dont think they really have an obligation.

 

The illuminated shift **** is a genuine Mazda accessory and it was sold in the states (not sure if it still is). I don't see how they can't be held responsible for the damage. I would try to reach a compromise with the dealership. Any reasonable service manager would realize they're partly at fault. If they won't give in then I would escalate the issue up the chain.

 

If its sold here then I can see them being more responsible. He said he can only buy it in the UK so I assumed it was a euro part only.

I never said it wasnt genuine, I just said that if you take a jdm or edm(is that right?) part and put it on your usdm vehicle it might as well be aftermarket because its not original to your car.

 

The typical disclosure statement at a service department reads that they "are not liable for loss or damage to the vehicle beyond their control." and This is definitely within their control. Still trying to figure out what it was in service for, as that further defines the scope of what they were doing.

 

Yea I pulled out an oil change receipt last night to read mine and it says
I know that's more for when they are storing your car over night but the statement is so broad it seems like they could try and make it apply to anything.

Like I said above I still think they should replace it free of charge or at the very least pay half of it. I just dont think they are going to.

 

Sorry for the delay in replies, Work is super busy this time of year. Anyway the service was for the heater not switching the air flow from recirculating in the car to coming in from outside. I thought it was the motor that moves the door on the intake to close it or open it. Turned out to be the switch in the button in the control. It didn't occur to me that they might have to change that out, so I didn't tell them about the shift ****. so when they went to take out the center console which is how you access the controls/stereo etc he just grabbed the shift **** and started twisting.

Since all the posts in the thread I have called and talked to the service manager. After a bunch of back and forth, he said he would see about getting the part from Mazda but he would have to email some people to see if it was possible. This part is not available in the US and does not show up in their computers at all. I had already tried that in their parts dept when I first found out about it. He didn't sound too hopeful and when the money aspect of of came up he just quoted some policy about non standard equipment.

He is supposed to call me back tomorrow to let me know what he found out. I'll share when I hear something.

 

Oh and in answer to this question yes it looks exactly like stock but is supposed to come off with a small allen wrench you tighten it on and off with. It twists at first but not all the way down to tighten because of the wires. That is with the allen screws.

 

My shift **** is a genuine mazda part. Not an aftermarket part. It is not your responsibility to tell the tech. Simply because the the tech didn't know about that part. That is just like any other dealer installed upgrade. They are responsible for knowing about mazda parts. If it was aftermarket it would be a different story but thats not the case here. They need to replace this part for you end of story.

 

I really hope he manages to import it for you. If all else fails maybe just call MNAO and explain the situation and that you didnt know they had to remove it. Being that it is somewhat of an oem part you never know what they might do.


Doc if I am a tech is the US I cant be expected to know about parts that are not available to me or even in my system, thats crazy. If he was in europe getting it changed and they had never seen it then yes you would have a point. Aftermarket parts to me are things that are not available from oem, which is the case with this shift **** if you live in the US.

 

When I worked for GMC if it was a part that was what they called a "dealer add on" if we damaged it, it was our job to report it and it get it replaced at the shops cost. This included everything from winches, and bullbars, to the illuminated scuff plates. Anything that was officially licensed or sold by GMC/Chevy/Pontiac and so on. It didn't matter if it came with the car or not, if it was something that was sold by and warrantied by the company it was included. This even involved the aftermarket parts sold by the parts department. If we damaged it, we had to get it reported and have the shop replace it.

 

The dealership has limited liability for damage to "aftermarket" parts. However, the shift **** is not an aftermarket part and has a part number. They are legally obligated to fix the car. They cant use the we didnt know about it card because the part they broke is a mazda part. Technically, depending on the state you live in, they are responsible for any damages done to the vehicle while it is in their charge. I would go back and make the service manager understand this.

 

Doc did you ever run into this exact situation though? Its not as cut and dried as you make it out to be. He imported something that was not meant to be on his car.

You seem to think I'm saying anything sold by mazda as aftermarket shouldnt be replaced, but thats not even close to it. I am just saying this part is NOT from mazda in the US which makes it kind of muddy.

 

It depends on how you would consider running into this situation. I worked at GMC and well as for imported vehicles it would depend on how you look at it. They build some vehicles here in arlington texas, others in flint michigan, BUT they also build vehicles, and parts in mexico city and brazil. So if your looking into buying a vehicle from GMC I would check where it was assembled and shoot for one of the texas or michigan vehicles. Now on that note do you want to consider technically imported parts or parts made here?

I have the illuminated shift ****. I cannot vouch for where he bought his but I got mine out of the UK. Here in the US they wanted 300 dollars for them, in Japan they want 350, and thats before shipping. In the UK they are sold for 140 dollars including shipping. Why the huge difference? I have no idea. I was able to find parts guys here in the US that were official mazda dealers with them but way out of my price range. Now It also came with official mazda paperwork and a mazda warranty. The mazda warranty is valid here in the US. When I get home in the morning I will look at it and tell you how long of a warranty that is.

Being that its an official mazda part with a warranty that is valid in the US and is sold by some dealerships, at least the ones that still have them in stock, then his dealership is responsible for it. Think of it like this. Say you bought a Range Rover. This is an imported vehicle. But you could only afford the mid range package at the time. Now say that you decide to import and install the Brembo Brake package that is an option when you buy the vehicle. But at the time you didn't have the money to buy it. Now you get it installed and 6 months later a tech at the service dept damages it. The shop would be responsible for making it right. Even though its an imported part that you purchased later on, its still a part that does come on the Range Rover, just not the model you bought. This is the same situation. His shop is responsible for the damages.

 

Well if its sold here thats a different story. I was going off what the OP said where the dealer didnt know anything about it or even have it in their system. If your right and the OP and dealer are wrong, then so be it, the dealer should replace it in that case.

 

So I consulted with a former shop foreman and a current parts manager. Both of them I have known a long time. They both said the same thing, which is what I was taught. It doesn't matter where he bought the part from, or even if its an american sold part. As long as it is a dealer add on aftermarket part, or a oem part built by mazda they are responsible. These shifters do come with mazda instruction sheets which means the tech would have access to this information online, and even though its a part thats very rare and almost un heard of it doesn't matter. They are responsible for replacing it, and it will probably come out of the techs pocket. Both of them said you need to ask for the owner and get it resolved through him. Since its a mazda part they have to get this fixed for you.

 

As said above, the part is an OEM AVAILABLE part, and the dealer has access to the resources detailing proper removal of the part. They would be responsible.

Furthermore, if their argument is that you should have notified them of the "aftermarket" accessories, you could not REASONABLY know that they would remove the shift **** to fix the heater. Also, what if you bought the car with that **** already on it, but otherwise stock? You may be under the impression that ALL RX-8's have the illuminated shift ****, and didn't think it was aftermarket, (which it's not aftermarket, because Mazda licensed the product).

 

Dude my advice would be to go to radioshack or something and see if you can just get two of those socket plugs... then rip the female end of the connector off and rig it up. It's not perfect, but it shouldn't really matter.

I mean obviously the dealership should pay for it since it is a genuine mazda part and their dumbass tech ripped it out of there without bothering to look what he was doing, but that won't happen. So cut your loses and figure something out.