[IHonda2002]

Well, another dealer story, although a minor one.

I've been going to the same dealer since I bought my Insight, and I've been generally pleased with them, but the tire inflation issue is starting to get to me. I went in for a routine oil change and checkup and when I got it back the little check list said the tires were set to 32 psi per factory specs. I questioned the service dude right away and asked if he's ever looked at the door jam where it says 38 and 35. He seemed a little surprised by that so I offered to point it out to him. I then ranted a bit about keeping the techs aware of what kind of a car they are working on, making sure my voice was raised enough so other service managers could hear. If something like that gets by them, something I can check easily, what things are getting by that I can't check so easily. He offered to pump them correctly, but I normally keep mine at 42 and 38 anyway so I said I'd just take care of it at home.

 

[tiger]

IHonda2002; I think I can offer some real world (Insight) to your comment on service.

I would prefer to "NOT" mention the dealership that I work for, not that it really has any bearing on the situation or my comments, but I would like to Retain my job. So.

What few people realize when they drop their vehicle off at a dealer for, lets say an oil change, is that the "Hourly" paid, lowest man on the totum pole gets your vehicle and I can assure you that there is know way that he knows anything (Usually) about the vehicle.

The techs that are the (Master-Technicians) do not do routine service such as oil changes.

So, Mr. or Ms. Public thinks because they drop their vehicle off at a Honda Dealership or which ever dealership that they are getting serviced by the best "Qualified" person at that dealer, believe me they would be surprised.

I think I have said enough to let you see and now know why your tires had the incorrect pressure in them.

Regards;
Terry

BTW; The only way to get around the above situation is to (Specify) on the (Repair-Order) a certain tech to do the work.

 

[Resist]

I can't say this enough, Dealership service department mechanics are idiots! You are better off doing routine service on the car yourself. There will be plenty of time to get taken by them when you reach your twilight years and can't do your own service.

 

[jack9994]

Guys

Just had my car serviced - I requested a Master Technician (and got one) he even drove me to the train station. I asked him to leave the pressures at 44 psi (and he did). My dealer (Holdcroft Honda) is ace and I will continue to use them. Resists generalisation on mechanics is a bit unfair.

Cheers

John

 

[JeffKinTN]

Guys

Just had my car serviced - I requested a Master Technician (and got one) he even drove me to the train station. I asked him to leave the pressures at 44 psi (and he did). My dealer (Holdcroft Honda) is ace and I will continue to use them. Resists generalisation on mechanics is a bit unfair.

Cheers

John

I agree.

If Resist goes into a shop with the attitude he has, that is the service he is going to get. I have had nothing but exemplary service at the dealer we use and the privately owned shop we use. They are both, both knowledgeable and thorough. Personable too...

Cheers back!

 

[Aaron Cake]

The lesson is to stop taking your car to the dealership. After my experience, my car will never even come close to seeing a Honda dealer every again. I was amazed at the stunning lack of understanding that the "senior" and "master" technicians displayed. And not just regarding the Insight, but knowing the basics of how a fuel injection system works.

Tire pressure concerns will probably be the least of your worries if you continue to have the car serviced at the dealer.

 

[Resist]

I don't go into any shop with an attitude. In fact I'm usually the most polite person there. I based my comments on 30 years experience with different makes of vehicles. Not once have I ever had a good service department transaction. Each time they damaged, scratched, or forgot parts when working on my cars. The first service with my Insight was no different. They had to replace a leaking radiator on my new Insight back in 2001. When I got it back I noticed they had scratched the paint on the outside of my drivers door, forgot radiator bolts and scratched engine bay paint. Then when I got it home and checked the coolant level I noticed it was very low. They apparently didn't burp the system. The next warranty service was to replace the front air damns that were coming off. About a year or so later I noticed under the car, they didn't use all the screws that hold the damns in place! I should have known better to check it before driving it home.

I would bet most of you have missing bolts and screws on your car after a service. Maybe it doesn't bother you but it does me.

 

[highwater]

RE: Missing bolts.
I bought my Insight from an elderly couple that had ordered the new Accord Hybrid. Seems the Insight was becoming a little to hard on their backsides on longer trips......anyway the gentleman had always had the dealer do the service for him. Being time for an oil change shortly after I got it, I geared up and tackled it. It was missing 6 of the washered bolts that hold on the front underside panels. I seriously doubt they all vibrated out, had they been tightened any at all. And the center Aluminum panel was nasty. Looked like they just drained the oil out on top of it. It's nice and clean now.

So I stopped by the dealer to inquire about getting the_PROPER_bolts...........well sounds like y'all can figr out "The Rest of the Story"



But just in case:
(Service Manager Reaction).......What small Bolts?..........We dont do small hardware here........just find something that fits.
(Customer Response)....I can show you what I'm talking about in the service manual.
(Service Tech Response from the window ajoining the parts counter)........confused silent expression like what the devil are YOU doing with a service manual.
(Customer Response).....confused silent expression :evil: :evil: :evil:

 

[Resist]

I had to order one of those small under panel bolts from a dealership, so they do sell them. They had to special order it as none were in stock. It cost me $2 for one bolt. What a rip off!

 

[rschaffrath]

I had to order one of those small under panel bolts from a dealership, so they do sell them. They had to special order it as none were in stock. It cost me $2 for one bolt. What a rip off!

Yes! Replacement hardware is terribly expensive on the Insight. I needed to get some of the plastic fasteners and they were on the order of $2.50 each. I nearly choked but I needed them.

Don't get me started on the cost of a replacement cabin air filter cover...

 

[Resist]

cabin air filter cover?

 

[rschaffrath]

cabin air filter cover?

Yes, the part is officially called a "DUCT COVER", p/n 79813-ST3-E01, and is the part you remove before pulling out the cabin air filter. It originally sold for around $6.50 back in 2002. Now it sells for approximately $72.

Back in 2002 I accidently broke one of the locking tabs off of mine and ordered a new one at my local dealership and prepaid for it. After nine months of visits to the parts department, my dealer was still trying to get it yet the computer system always said it was out of stock with Honda North America. They had me call the Honda consumer line to see if I could somehow get it shipped as Honda tends to be more responsive to customer complaints than dealer complaints. They were very helpful but nothing ever came of my calls.

Then one day at about 10 1/2 months, I stopped in for my monthly visit to the parts department to get a status update and the computer said the duct covers were available. I asked when mine would arrive and they checked my order. Bad news, someone at Honda North America had cancelled my long standing order and the new price for the part was now $66! Well the parts guy became rather angry and got on the phone with the Honda parts division and chewed them out for cancelling an open order. Net result was I had written proof that I had a prepaid order at the original price and he told them that they owed me a part at the price I paid. Three days later it arrived.

That was my first experience into the world of trying to get "exotic" Insight parts. It did not instill confidence in me...

 

[Rick]

Wow and I thought waiting 6 weeks for a special $1 clip was bad. They shouldn't have cancelled your order though.

 

[tiger]

Honda Insight Dealer Service Departments:

A few more comments to the replies that have been posted above on Honda Service Departments.

If you have a service department that you like and trust, then I say you are very lucky.

They are out there but as I said in my comments above and I still stand by them, believe me in more situations than not I can assure you that just because you take your vehicle to an (Authorized-Dealer) does (NOT) assure you that you will get one of the dealerships Master-Techs. to service your vehicle unless it has a really serious problem. The reason you get a "Hourly" tech to do routine service is because believe it or not oil changes are not a money maker for the dealerships service department, therefore the service dept. uses the cheapest labor person they have which happens to be the oil change techs. (FACT) :!: :!: :!:

Oil change Techs are Hourly Paid, Range From $9.00 To $11.00
Master Techs. are paid from $17.00 To $25.00 Per Hour
So you figure it out, which ones do you think you get for routine Service :?: :?: :?:

My comments here are to be of I hope Some Help to those of you out there that do not know how dealership service departments work.
"Remember I do, I work for a Dealership" :wink:

Regards;
Terry

 

[Wayne M]

That's the way, all right

Yep, Tiger's got it pegged, all right.
The actual techs are also paid on what's known as a 'flat rate' scale, which basicly means that the Honda folks have a book (document, whatever) that states an amount of 'time' the tech gets paid for every item on your car. Just for figurtive example, say the Honda book says "for a Civic major service, Joe Tech will be paid 1.4 hours" (that's one point four). If Joe can 'beat the book', he 'makes a profit'. The pay scale was intended to be an incentive to be productive, but the times they paid me by were frequently way non-realistic. Because if it takes Joe longer than that 1.4 hours, so sorry, thats only what Joe gets paid!

Additionally, this puts self imposed pressure on the tech to get through each job as fast as possible, while doing the job correctly. Comebacks are always done for free on the pay scale. So some guys do tend to get kinda sloppy with hardware going back, and crooked ones will try to screw you over. But the good ones are gems. Treasure them.

 

[tiger]

Re: That's the way, all right

Yep, Tiger's got it pegged, all right.
The actual techs are also paid on what's known as a 'flat rate' scale, which basicly means that the Honda folks have a book (document, whatever) that states an amount of 'time' the tech gets paid for every item on your car. Just for figurtive example, say the Honda book says "for a Civic major service, Joe Tech will be paid 1.4 hours" (that's one point four). If Joe can 'beat the book', he 'makes a profit'. The pay scale was intended to be an incentive to be productive, but the times they paid me by were frequently way non-realistic. Because if it takes Joe longer than that 1.4 hours, so sorry, thats only what Joe gets paid!

Additionally, this puts self imposed pressure on the tech to get through each job as fast as possible, while doing the job correctly. Comebacks are always done for free on the pay scale. So some guys do tend to get kinda sloppy with hardware going back, and crooked ones will try to screw you over. But the good ones are gems. Treasure them.

:arrow: "AMEN"
Regards;
Terry (Tiger)

 

[grnmachine]

Aggg...you all have me a bit worried

Should I NOT take my Green Machine into the local Honda Dealer for its 30k service? Won't this void the warranty if I don't do so? Do they do anything so extensive that a master tech would HAVE to get involved?

I'm due to bring it in asap so any help is very appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[rschaffrath]

Re: Aggg...you all have me a bit worried

Should I NOT take my Green Machine into the local Honda Dealer for its 30k service? Won't this void the warranty if I don't do so? Do they do anything so extensive that a master tech would HAVE to get involved?

I'm due to bring it in asap so any help is very appreciated.

Thanks.

I have the extended warranty, I am currently at a little over 30K and have never had dealer "major service" performed though I honestly do not know if they would hold that against me if I had a claim.

I do have the service manual and, other than performing the required break line flush and break fluid replacement, I have performed all of the other required service items at their required interval including changing the engine coolant. (Note: the Y2K models required a coolant change at three years according to the manual. The 2001's and subsequent models say five years before a coolant change. I believe the five year interval is due to the use of Honda Type II coolant in the newer vehicles. I am now using Honda Type II and plan to change my coolant at the five year mark in 2009 as the coolant bottle recommends.). I did keep receipts for all of the consumables I have purchased to perform the various mainentance items.

 

[Alexander Hales]

Never had good service

I have never taken my Insight to the dealer without having to take it back once or twice, or even three times for the same problem. I recently had the splash shield and the left air dam replaced, not only did they not screw it on AT ALL and zip tied it instead, it fell off on the CA 14 Freeway in rush hour traffic like you only see when their is a major accident (and their was). They replaced the parts for free and screwed it on this time, only they forgot to put the new splash shield on. The story goes on and on….

I wanted to replace the side view mirrors; just the mirrors and they told me the door would have to be taken apart. I pulled the mirror off and pushed the new ones in and it took all but two minutes to do both.

I could go on for pages… But with all this said their is still a benefit to going to the dealership… the warranty and the salesman’s embarrassment over his associates inabilities to fix the same cars they sell.