fnel1771

I am on my second MDX and can say that Acura support was second to none in my case. They even changed the transmission out of warranty. I always went to the same dealer (Luciani).

More than likely the best support I've had from a car manufacturer including Porsche!

eddy915

It's good to know that they provided you great support. Hopefully, they will step up here and do the same. But the initial feedback I received from the customer service is that the MDX was owned by the dealership and not by them so I should be speaking to the dealer (which I thought was a lousy response as they should stand by their product and offer to see what they could do first) and when I told them the issue existed when I was driving off the lot and therefore was presumably there when the PDI was done, he asked me if I was there during the PDI...obviously I wasn't, so he then stated that I didn't know.

Anyhow, overall rude and a bit of confrontational experience. With that being said he offered to contact the dealer to get me into a 7 seater vehicle rental for 45 dollars a day which is a joke. I mean I paid for a MDX...not a Dodge Caravan.

cpt_slow

We have an RX but I was looking at an MDX as well before we purchased, both are awesome vehicles.

eddy915

I was about to get the RX but they were changing the design for 2016 and I wanted a 7 seater. The Lexuses are made way better (fit and finishing - lots of uneven gaps on the MDX), but I wasn't a fan of the GX look and the LX was out of my price range. My brother has had a couple of RXs and they're bulletproof and the Lexus client 'experience' is at a different level. When I walk into Acura, I feel like I'm at a Honda dealership. There is nothing wrong with that per se, but it's got a different vibe from the Mercedes / BMW / Porsche / Lexus dealerships I've used. This was my first Acura.

BioBanker

In on my second MDX

The first one was a 2009 and we had zero issues with that car. So happy with it that we bought another, a 2014 last year.

The second car had something wickedly off balance within the engine. It went chaotic on us with violent lurching and every warning light on a couple weeks into our ownership. Pulled over. Pushed the Acura Care button and they came and took the car, gave us a demo MDX while they were fixing it and the car has been great ever since.

BTW my best ever car buying experiences have both come from Carmen and Oakville Acura. His shop was very far from my old house in The Beach but it was worth it.

canamfan

Sorry to hear this. No official Lemon Law in Canada . Though check this this link re. Canadian Motor Vehicle Arbitration Plan (CAMVAP) : www.camvap.ca or
https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/oca-bc...g/ca02324.html
Both from Gov. of Canada, Industry Canada

As a consumer, pursue it without hesitation.

This is unacceptable, period.

Pags993

^ Interesting that BMW and Mini are not members of CAMVAP therefore no protection under the plan. I can understand Ferrari, Lambo etc but the BMW group still moves a lot of units in Canada.

Lemikson

Hmmm, not fun at all. I am from the same industry, different brand though...
A few things to consider.
1. They should provide you with an adequate "loaner" vehicle. If not resolved you may want to contact Honda Canada HO and request to speak to President's Office in regards to a major customer satisfaction issue. Industry wise Acura IS consider a luxury brand at par with Germans.
2. No engine tear-up takes place without approval from the HO. HO is the one who will pick up the bill, thru warranty claim,l for that service provided by the dealer.
3. They can and will keep your vehicle in repair as long as the problem is not fixed. The longer the better for you as it increases chances to have the dealer buy it back from you or resolve the issue by providing a new vehicle as replacement.
4. Keep calm and pick your battles. In today's world when the sxxt hits fan customer is usually winning as long as expectations and possible resolutions are somewhat in sync.
Good luck.

eddy915

I heard the older MDXs had less problems (and Consumer Report agrees apparently) but the new ones have average reliability. Do you plan on keeping the 2014 with the original issue you experienced? (I'm not sure how bad it was but it didn't sound good either). For me it's a concern as I tend to keep my cars for a while. So the last thing I want is problems out of warranty period.

I'll keep in mind the other Acura dealerships if I ever buy an Acura again...but after getting off the phone call with the Customer Service Rep at Head Office...I was a bit livid today. He was standoffish and provided no empathy. He asked me whether I signed a document stating that if there were problems that Acura Canada had to provide a new vehicle. Anyhow...I'm meeting with my lawyer next week when I have some time if this isn't solved.

eddy915

Thanks so much! This info was really helpful and I'm meeting up with my lawyer next week who will cost a fair bit...so maybe I'll try to pursue this avenue instead as Honda Head Office Rep has been basically a dick through this experience. Still hoping that Markham Acura will do something...the Sales Manager has been co-operative and empathetic...just gotta see if he can do anything. He said he will contact Honda Canada as well and I've asked him to speak with their GM.

eddy915

Appreciate the step by step advice and this will help me with the approach I take. I actually asked to speak to the president or an executive but the Head Office Rep told me that's not how it works and kinda scoffed at me on the phone. As I mentioned in an earlier post...he was quite rude and not empathetic to the situation at all.

As for the adequate loaner car. That is something else I'm not very happy with. If the car was in for a day or 2...or even a week...I wouldn't mind the RDX I am now driving (they only had a Kia rental at first which was fine as they didn't expect the car to be left overnight). But I bought the 7 seater MDX for a reason and now it's causing an inconvenience to me not having something bigger. If I wanted to buy an RDX I would have done so and saved a chunk of change. Anyhow...the rep at Honda Canada approved a $45 day rental for me to get something like a minivan. However, I declined the minivan offer (sorry...I just do not enjoy driving a minivan at all) and asked for a MDX. Of course I was told they don't have any MDX loaners....

I thought the longer the car is kept the less likely the dealer would want it back as it's depreciating by the day? So far it definitely feels like I'm losing this battle as it seems the Head Office doesn't care about my business...and the dealership is directing me to solve this via Head Office. I feel that Honda is responsible as they built the car...but the dealer is responsible as they should have caught the noticeable issue during the PDI.

Neither side has accepted any fault...but at least the dealership Sales Manager was very apologetic...it's just a matter of them taking action now.

Next week I'm going to meet with my lawyer (prefer not to take this route as it will be expensive and I'll probably lose even more money on this), however, I also feel what Honda / Dealer did was not 'right'. But before that I will pursue the different avenues that others have suggested.

Btw...you wouldn't know anyone with email addresses for any of the Honda executives would you? haha...really want to share with them my experience and see whether they will stand by their brand.

seafarer

Lucky you have not been to dealerships in Ottawa....You walk into Lexus...no one is even interested in you....( now LExus of Richmond Hill is a real wow experience...bought an RX from them, have never had better experience buying or servicing it there)
Walk into Audi in Ottawa...not an experience you want when paying good money for a car...
Porsche in Ottawa is like you have been to a cycle shop....one picks up a new 2015 model...its basically like here are the keys...there is the car...go now....what a terrible experience...I should have gone to GTA or even Montreal to buy...

Carsly

find out the CEO's name and address and spend a few hundred dollars to have your lawyer draft a letter and send it the equivalent of certified mail. then you'll get funneled into executive complaints where resolution is faster and more in your favor. Don't waste time with call center reps, they have very little latitude to do anything. Good luck and sorry to hear.

We bought a Honda Pilot new in 2008 and still love it - though the OEM Goodyear Integrity tires were horrific, but that's a story for another post.

Lemikson

Sorry, no, I don't have any email contacts from Honda Canada.

eddy915

The Honda website actually has a list of the top execs on their website and the address of the Head Office so I will have the lawyer take care of that if it ends up going that far. Hopefully, it's a few hundred but he charges 600 an hour so hopefully he can meet and draft up a letter for me fast! =P

I would think that the Call Centre Reps would have been better trained to handle a complaint. I've had issues with a cell phone carrier's mistaken billing before and I received better service! (sorry hope I didn't insult anybody working for a telecom company).

Glad to hear that you're having a good experience with the Pilot. I did hear good things about the MDX and that's one of the reasons I purchased. So overall Honda products are fine I'm guessing. I guess I got the Friday evening special. It's just how they handle the issue that is really pissing me off. If I were them, I would have taken back the faulty product immediately, fixed it up and used it as a company car for a while before selling used so this doesn't drag on and I share my experience with others. Pretty short sighted on their part I would think.