Bad Honda Dealer

[racoon]

Sorry, this is a bit of a rant that has nothing to do with my CAN-AM Spyder, so please skip if you don't want to hear about a really bad Honda dealer.

So I drive a 2023 Honda Ridgeline as my "other" vehicle.
I bought it new from my local Honda dealer, who gave me a reasonable deal on it, and a good trade-in value for my old 2014 Honda CR-V.
I've lived in the area for about 8 years, and the local Honda dealer did the maintenance on my previous vehicle, a 2014 Honda CR-V, until I traded it in for the Ridgeline.

I'm an old retired guy, and don't drive much anymore.
I bought my 2023 Ridgeline in June of 2023, and it currently has about 4,500 miles on it.
No, that's not a typo: four thousand five hundred miles in just under a year.

Last Fall I got a call from someone in the Honda dealer's service department asking me what day in December was good for me to bring my Ridgeline in for it's 50,000 mile service.
I asked them what they were talking about, and they said they knew I was probably getting close to 50,000 miles and I should schedule the appointment ahead of time, or they might not be able to fit me in. I told the person that I hadn't driven 10,000 miles yet, and there was no way I would get to 50,000 miles by December. They told me I really should check my odometer again, and insisted that I had to be getting close to 50,000 miles. I told them to never contact me again about service for my Ridgeline and then hung up on them.

For those who don't know, Honda has a very good "Maintenance Minder" system built into their vehicles, that monitors your vehicle, and then turns on a wrench icon when it thinks you need to have some service performed. You can even use the dash controls to show the codes indicating what needs to be done. The code is always the letter A or letter B, and sometimes one or more numbers from 1 thru 6. Each number means a different service. For example, an A code by itself is oil change. I assume other modern vehicles have similar systems, but I've only driven Honda's for the past 15 years. The reason I even mention the system is that this dealer has a bad habit of recommending their own list of services to the point that when the maintenance minder codes come up on the dash, I look them up, printing out 2 copies of the list of services that are needed, and then make sure to give that list to the service writer, and let them know that I am only paying for those services, and that I have a copy of the list in my pocket. Only once did they come in and ask me to step back out into the service area, and took me out to my vehicle in the bay to show me something that they said needed to be addressed. In that case I agreed to the "extra" service.

Cue a couple of days ago, and the HondaLink app on my cell phone notified me that I had a message. I checked, and there has been a recall for my Ridgeline. Apparently there's an issue with some of the insulation on the wiring that is connected to the backup camera, and corrosion from road salt could cause the backup camera to fail. Not a "lose control, crash, and die" failure, but still important.

And the recall notice does say to call your Honda dealer to schedule an appointment, and to confirm they have the replacement wiring harness part.

So I go online to the local Honda dealer's website, check for available appointment dates and times, and schedule an appointment for 9:30am this morning. And then I call the Honda dealer, ask to talk to the Service department, and then explain about the recall notice I received, and told them about the appointment I had scheduled, and asked if they had the needed parts in stock.

The person on the phone looked up my appointment, and then asked me to hold while she checked with the parts department. She came back on the phone after a couple of minutes, and said they had the part. So I thanked her and said I'd be in for the appointment. According to my cell phone call history, the phone call lasted 5 minutes.

The appointment was at 9:30am this morning. So I pull my Ridgeline up to the service check-in bay, get out and walk up to the service desk. There's a woman sitting at the desk, who greets me. I identify myself and tell her that I'm here to have the recall work done on my Ridgeline. She says "Okay, excuse me a moment" and walks away. There's also a man standing there, and after the woman walks away he greets me and asks if he can help me. I tell him my name again, and tell him I'm there for the recall work.

He frowns, and says "I'm sorry, but we had to order the part and it's not scheduled for delivery until July." I tell him that I talked to someone the day before, who confirmed that you had the part in stock and to bring my Ridgeline in. He asked who I spoke too, and I didn't think to make note of her name, which I told him I didn't know their name.

And he showed me on their computer screen that the part was scheduled to arrive in July.
He then confirmed they had my correct phone number, and said he'd make sure I got a call once they received the part.


And as I'm driving home I start wondering if in these three separate instances I was dealing with the same woman at the dealership:

1. automatically scheduling me for the 50,000 mile service last fall
2. "confirming" that they had the recall part in stock when I called
3. the woman at the service desk who excused herself and walked away when I identified myself

The local Honda dealer is about 10 miles from my home.
The next nearest Honda dealer is about 60 miles away, and I have no idea if they are any better (or worse).

If you made it this far, thanks for reading my rants.

[Bangorbob]

Welcome to the world of customer service - or what they think is customer service.

[racoon]

It's not the first time I've bumped heads with their service department.

I like the Honda Maintenance Minder system, even if it requires diving into the Owners Manual to figure out what it's trying to tell you. The good thing is that it gives you codes identifying what needs to be done at specific times. The only thing not listed specifically on the schedule in the Owners Manual is a note on the Maintenance Minder section of the Owners Manual telling you to have the brake fluid changed every three years, regardless of mileage.

So I've gotten into the habit of printing out a list of what the maintenance codes are indicating that my vehicle needs, and then giving it to the service writer when I show up at the dealer. I then show the service writer the second copy of the list, which I then put in my pocket as I tell them I'm only paying for items on the list.

My favorite of their tricks is them trying to sell transmission fluid changes. While you're in the waiting area, the service writer comes in with a laminated card that has two circled areas with some fluid in each area. They point to one circle, which has a dark fluid, and tell you that's what your transmission fluid looks like, and then point to the other area which has a splotch of nice, new transmission fluid that you can easily see through. And they tell you that your transmission fluid is worn out and needs to be replaced.

American Honda Motor Co recommends changing the transmission fluid using a "drain and fill" method. They do not recommend using any sort of pump or flushing system to change most of the fluid in the trans. Just drain and then fill. If your vehicle has been driven far enough that you actually do need to change the transmission fluid, when you drain the old fluid out, then add the correct amount of new fluid, and then drive for a few miles, when you check the transmission fluid it's going to be a dark color, not the clear fluid straight out of the bottle. The only time all of the fluid in the transmission gets changed is if you have to rebuild the transmission.

And yes, there is a Maintenance Minder code for transmission fluid change.

[Navydad]

My wife has a 2020 Honda Pilot and it has the same setup as your Ridgeline. I do like the maintenance minder system and I DO make them stick to the items that need attention. They always try to toss in some extra dealer ideas to pad the price and when I ask them to show me where the manual calls for this item they back off. She does not get text or email alerts because I didn't get the HondaLink app or subscribe to any online stuff. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING and his name is Honda. I don't want my vehicles communicating with the mother ship or anyone else. That recall you are speaking of also takes in the Pilots and so far I have refused it because she is not having any issues and also it involves stripping most of the interior from the rear half of the vehicle and disassembly of a large part of the dash. I am not going to have them fix what isn't broke. If we start having issues or when it comes time to get rid of the car I will have the recall done. There is no time limit on getting it done I have already checked. Our local dealership has the cable on hand for this recall. I thought about steering my wife towards another Honda dealership, but maybe they all play stupid games. I don't own a car or truck and the more I read this type of stuff the less I want to own one.

[racoon]

Well, things took a very odd turn this morning.

I received an email from a sales person at the Honda dealer, but it was not the sales person I worked with when I bought my Ridgeline last year.

It was a personalized email, thanking me for my inquiry, and included an imbedded video of them walking around their lot showing off some of their inventory.
And the voice in the video introduced themselves and thanked me BY NAME for contacting them about my interest in buying a new Honda.

So I replied to the email asking them where they got my contact information, as I bought a new Ridgeline from them last year, and was not looking to replace it.
I copied the dealership's General Manager and the Service Manager in my response.

I also added a note to the General Manager that he should talk to his Service Manager to find out why I was so angry with their dealership, and also said that if they haven't heard from American Honda Motor Co. yet they should hear from them soon concerning the complaint I filed.

I like my Ridgeline, but I am so done with this dealer.

[ARtraveler]

Welcome to the world of customer service - or what they think is customer service.

x2

[Woodenfish]

The dealer’s parts department computer showed that they had a part in stock on the day you called. It would have been beneficial to put that part on hold for your upcoming appointment. Unfortunately, appointments are frequently delayed by customers or they don’t show up. Having a part on special order for you will have your name attached to it so they can contact you on its arrival and sometimes it is placed in a special bin for a temporary hold.

Parts Departments will sell, use the part for another customer or send the special order items back to the warehouse if the customer does not return in a short period the Parts Manager determines. Overhead costs have to be watched daily. A dealer cannot afford to have a hundred video cameras in stock in case someone shows up for one. It’s not a perfect world nor is this a unique situation.

[racoon]

Woodenfish - an interesting idea, except it was less than 24 hours between when I was told they had the part, and I arrived at the dealer and was told they didn't have the part.

I was starting to wonder if the person I talked to on the phone never checked to see if they had the part, and just made an assumption that the part was available.
But that thought disagrees with what the General Manager of the dealership said to me in an email, after I complained directly to him:

I also apologize that someone told you the parts were in stock for the recall on your Ridgeline and we have been working all morning trying to figure out who would have told you that. It is common knowledge amongst our employees that the parts are not available for the Ridgeline tailgate recall. Pretty much everyone in the building is of the understanding that those parts will not be available for a couple of months so I am unsure who would have told you that but we are making a point to reiterate to all employees that those parts are not available.

He also commented that they were trying to identify who gave me the wrong information, and asking if there was something they could do for me to make up for their mistake.
I already get the first two years of maintenance services free, so there's not much they can offer in that regard.

Weather.com says we have thunderstorms for the next couple of days, but Tuesday is supposed to be dry and warm, so I even have to postpone the wind therapy that would put a smile on my face.