5 December 2004 I purchased a 2004 Mazda RX8 from your dealership. I don’t recall the name of the salesman, as I’ve had no contact with him since. I do remember the people in your Service Department however, as I’ve had dealings with that part of your dealership on several occasions.
Bottom line up-front:
Your staff in the Service Department has been very cooperative, professional, and courteous when I’ve taken my car in for “little things” such as having rattles fixed, and oil changes. When “big things” happen, I’ve been on an emotional roller-coaster of “We won’t cover your car under warranty” then relenting after putting me through much angst; “Okay, we’ll do you a favor and honor the warranty”…which was included in the $28,500 you spent at Milam. This past week, your Service Department failed me in a most outrageous way.
Details, which will illustrate my frustration, follow. These are in chronological order, oldest to newest events:

• Returned Car for service work regarding: Dealer Repair Information #0003559 – Repaint rust on brake rotors. After a second treatment sometime later, a point was made to tell me the re-painting was done out of the goodness of their hearts, as “Mazda doesn’t reimburse them for the labor involved.” Milam Auto is Mazda to customers.
• HVAC/Radio display unreadable and garbled: Before any other diagnosis I was told “there was no way that will be covered under warranty” because I had installed some basic aftermarket audio components. Milam did NOT prove or illustrate how the aftermarket parts caused the display to go bad. After some frustrating hours, the part was covered under warranty because Milam/Mazda Tech line found ONE OTHER car, in California, with the same problem – which was a radio unit overly sensitive to heat. Had my car been the first case they could find, the display would NOT have been covered.
• Catastrophic failure of the Clutch Disc: After removal of the damaged parts, your Service Department called me, accusing me of abusing the clutch. I was told the clutch disc has been “abused and over-heated”, as the clutch disc had “turned blue, from overheating.” The clutch disc had EXPLODED – the metal rivets holding the clutch disc together simply failed. I suggested employees of your Service Department open a brand-new Mazda RX8 clutch disc if they had one in stock. ALL have a blue hue to the metal pieces. Begrudgingly, the clutch was replaced under warranty with the caveat no future replacements would be done as the clutch is a “part” and “parts” only carry a 12,000 mile warranty. I was told “(Milam is) doing you a favor in honoring the warranty” as my car had just over 13,000 miles when this happened. Your Service Department worked well with me in holding off a few days on the repair, as I had ordered a Mazdaspeed (MS) Flywheel for installation. Had your parts department not told me “No.” when I asked if Milam can order MS parts, the install would have been completed a few days quicker.
• Hard Starting Issue: per Mazda TSB 01-019/05. This problem was not fixed; I was denied warranty coverage. I had cut a VERY small notch in the side my battery cover to allow the pass-through of a ½” diameter power wire for an audio amplifier. I was told by a Service Rep “That small hole is causing the battery to overheat. Therefore the hard starting won’t be covered as your modification lead to the problem.” I was not offered data to support the claim. The “diagnosis” was made only by calling the Mazda Tech phone line and concluding the tiny notch in the cover “must” be the cause of the hard-starting. I also asked your Service Department to look into re-fixing a driver’s airbag rattle which was fixed at one point, but has since returned with a vengeance, per Mazda TSB 08-004/04. I have to keep a wadded-up piece of paper in the gap between the airbag cover and the steering wheel to maintain sanity during driving. The car is now “past the warranty period for rattles.”
• Gradual, severe power loss: Last week, your Service Department gave me untold amounts of ulcer-inducing stress and grief. My car could barely accelerate. The car bucked and shuddered – the only way I could drive the car is by keeping minimal pressure on the throttle to gradually build up speed. When I dropped the car with your Service Department I said that I’d been researching the symptoms online, and thought the power loss was likely the result of ignition coil failure or a clogged catalytic converter. The reaction I got from your Service Department was disbelief; “if the cat-converter is bad, [my car] would have a Check Engine Light [illuminated].” The next day was told by a service representative that Milam would not diagnose the problem with my car. I was told “…we called Mazda Tech line – they told us we are to not touch the car because of a performance intake and exhaust system which may have caused the power loss.” I was effectively denied warranty coverage based on speculation without any determination of the cause of the problem. I had purchased and installed Racing Beat brand intake and exhaust system last year. Racing Beat has a well-documented, established history with Mazda. Your service representative told me he’d never heard of Racing Beat. When I brought up the quality of the parts I’d chosen I was questioned on the brand of air filter. I was told “the air filter might have caused the car’s Mass Airflow Sensor (MAF) to malfunction.” After two days, I was asked to return to Milam and pick up my car. I was to expect a call within a few days to see if they could convince Mazda to cover the car under warranty. When I expressed my frustration, and asked if he thought Milam was in violation of the Magnusen-Moss Warranty Act, I was patronized with the comment “If it’s not a MAZDA brand part, it will void your warranty!” Also, suggestion was made that if I’d have brought in my car with the Original Equipment re-installed, I would have had no trouble getting diagnosis and repair for the car.

It is a shame that I’d be forced to be dishonest, just to ensure fair treatment.

As of the writing of this letter, I have not received the promised phone call.
Monday of this week, I called a different Mazda dealer and explained the problems with my car, and my frustration – at this point I just want to know what’s wrong with my car. I was honest and upfront to the service representative on the phone, telling him of my Racing Beat products. He told me “We’ll take care of you – bring it in.”
No more than 3 hours later, I got a call from the actual technician who worked on my car. He told me he drove the car and suspected the catalytic converter was at fault. He removed the converter to find “…pieces of the catalyst broken and in chunks – falling out all over.” He told me he’d get a new converter as soon as possible.
I asked him if I’d be charged for the converter and if my use of other-than-Mazda parts may have lead to the failure. He wondered if the car had any history of hard-start issues – which, in his opinion, does lead to such a failure of the catalytic converter at times.
When I told the technician of Milam Auto’s refusal to fix the hard start problem my car had been experiencing, he told me he’d absolutely fix that too.
Denying warranty coverage without cause is a violation of Federal Law to the best of my understanding. Speculation is NOT enough. To invalidate a warranty, aftermarket parts must cause a failure of another part. And IF an aftermarket part is shown to cause a problem, only that area of the warranty is voided – e.g., new wheels causing the ball joints to go bad would not invalidate a warranty on the ignition system. At this point Milam Auto’s Service Department hasn’t actually invalidated my car’s warranty – but the threats of such action, coupled with the unwillingness to even just research the current problem borderline on unethical in my view.
At this point, I’ve been driven away from Milam Auto and found a new dealership. Milam Auto gave me a very fair deal when purchasing my car. Milam’s Service Department has left me jaded, and frustrated, however. If I had not found the other dealership I’d absolutely boycott Milam Auto and Mazda, and do what I could to ensure all those I’m in contact with would stay very very far away from your store. I would have also seriously considered legal action and letters to the FTC, BBB, and anyone else who would listen. I would LOVE to frequent Milam Auto for all of my car’s service and maintenance needs, as it’s less than ten miles from my home.
Milam’s sales staff treated me with respect and showed a real willingness to work with me. In fact, recently I went on a test drive with a salesman in a Mazdaspeed6. I enjoyed the experience to the point I’d discussed the possibility of trading my RX8 on the sedan. However, I would need a lot of convincing to buy a car at a place where I cannot trust their Service Department.
Thursday of this week, I picked up my car, running fantastic and repaired correctly under warranty from a Mazda dealer nearly forty miles away. I’m okay with having to put up with the distance for all my car’s future needs too; warranty-covered work or otherwise.
I can accept the problem may not be the sincerity of the personnel in your Service Department, and may be a systemic problem with how much they are allowed to actually do for a customer. I don’t doubt the integrity of the individuals, but have reservations about the policies under which they operate. Something as simple as a pipe and muffler section or a replacement black plastic box with a filter inside won’t cause engine failure. And if they did, I’d appreciate – I believe the average person would demand - data or evidence to support that conclusion, rather than “we don’t know, so that (insert aftermarket part) MUST have been the cause!”
As when shopping for a car, I don’t expect special treatment. I expect a Service Department to look at problems with a car objectively. I expect a Service Department to give me credit for having at least basic knowledge of how the systems in a car work together. I expect a Service Department to have at least the level of information I can find doing a 20-minute search of the internet. I am only after a fair deal. Thank you for your time, sir.