My car had been experiencing some known issues recently including front brake squeal and weak A/C. I had to take it in for condensation in the rear combi light so I figured I would also have them looking into the issue mentioned above.

In order to make my concerns clear I printed the TSBs from a very popular link I found on this site.

I got a call from the service manager saying the follow:

1. those bulletins don't not apply and are not under warranty. They'd be happy to replace my pads for $240 and charge my AC for $175.

2. Did I read the disclaimer at the bottom as Mazda only intends for me to "read these online" and that printing them and bringing them to the dealer was "infringement"

He said some people there did see them but he'd take care of it.

So while I understand mazda's disclaimer I am a bit dumbfounded by the service managers comments.

Any comments before I unload some of my thoughts?

 

I would have started laughing. Then when I stopped, I would have told him to sell his BS to someone that believed it and he should just do his job and fix my car.

 

thats bull, they should do the work for free.

 

I've always printed out TSB's and taken them to my dealer with no problems...maybe try another dealer in the area? Or they are just tards.

 

seems like they're just trying to find a way to deny doing it for free

 

the thing is the dealer does not do warranty work for free, they charge mazda for the warranty work to avoid the obvious conflict of interest in denying warranty work...id go to a different dealer.

 

Walk into the owners office, and tell him you will never do business with his dealership ever a gain, or any of your friends. Make sure to talk very loud so everyone hears you.
I did that at a Dodge dealership, and I thought the owner was going to **** himself. He called the service and they gave me my keys, and said I didn't have to pay anything.

 

You can print out a TSB and take it into the dealership.

 

Maybe he was right? Call Mazda USA and ask if they have any concerns with you printing it out and bringing it to the dealership.

 

but if they can convince you that mazda won't pay for it they can get both to pay. mmmm . . . . double charging for work . . . .

OP - go somewhere else.

If you've got high miles and are out of warranty it's pushing it to expect these things to be done free. (the 'recharge' you AC makes me wonder if you're way up in miles - vs. just being typical stealership crap) Otherwise, if you have complaints about stuff that there are TSB's for the dealership should be doing it w/out any hassle. If they're not, they're shady, and you should go somewhere else.

The question of copyright issues is just an easy way for the service mgr. to try and divert your attention. It's "smoke & mirrors" as they say. The question then becomes, if you had said "I came across these TSB's on the web" but you did not have them in hand, what would he have said?? "Don't believe everything you read on teh interwebs." "No, that must be wrong, Mazda did not sent out any such TSB." ??? It's all BS. But he got you out of there thinking you did something wrong (irrelevant) & didn't have to promise to do any extra work under warranty - still with the hope that you'll pay.

 

TSB's are just bulletins about potential or common issues - it does not obligate Mazda or the dealer to do any work for free unless the TSB explicitly states they will.

Recalls, on the other hand, are work performed for free.

 

Wouldn't that be considered warranty work. So if you're still under warranty they should fix it.

 

I've taken TSBs to two different dealers. They were happy to have them so they didn't have to look them up.

Sounds to me like your dealer doesn't want to do the work. Why? Likely because he doesn't think his techs can do the work in the time alloted by Mazda. In that case, he picks up the difference. It's easier to tell you to **** off.

I'd quickly go to another dealer and turn this jerk into MNAO.

 

Warranty work is different - if there is an issue and you are still under full Warranty, then they should work to resolve the issue. But, this does not apply to "wear" items such as brake pads and such.

This can get sticky when you have TSB on an item that is not covered under warranty, like squealing brakes. There is a TSB, but this is not covered under normal warranty, thus it is a dealer's (really Mazda's) call on whether or not to do something for free if you complain about squealing brakes. If Mazda will pay for it, the dealer will usually do it.

 

I printed out TSBs and took them to my dealer service manager 3 times and each time he was very appreciative. He immediately (in front of me) called Mazda USA to confirm the issue and the fix then he fixed my car.

It got so that he would call me up when a new TSB came out to find out if I had heard about it yet. That's SERVICE!

Of course the techs that worked on my car last time screwed up, but the service manager was always top notch.

To be blunt: Your service manager sucks and you should tell him/her so. You bought the flagship of the Mazda fleet and he should be catering to your every whim. Tell him so and tell his boss so and tell the dealership owner so.

 

The key here is that Mazda agreed to pay for the work based on the TSB (or you were still under warranty) - if Mazda had not agreed to pay (assuming outside of warranty), the dealer would not have been so accommodating.

 

but are squealing brakes (after a few thousand miles) normal? No and it's a known defect. It's not a wear and tear issue. If you were getting that squealing when your brake pads are worn out, then yea that shouldn't be covered under warranty. The squeal is designed to let you know that you might need new brake pads. It shouldn't be squealing when you have a healthy set of pads.

 

When I get my damage repaired, the brakes will be fixed also, and the motor mounts, and sun visor, and whatever breaks in the meantime.

 

Not so sure about this...

The RX-8 has very aggressive brakes. This is why they squeal, and why in conjunction with our large rotors that magazines never report any significant fade issues at the track.

If you want quiet pads, they won't be as high performance and will fade faster under load.

And I don't see how the squeal will let you know you need new pads. My XP8s squeal loud enough to wake the dead until warm, then they're quiet.

 

In my family's civic, there's something on where the brake pads are attached that when it gets worn out to a certain level, that piece will grind up against the rotor when the brakes are engaged, causing the squeal.

I've heard both and they sound awfully similar. I got my squeal fixed on my 8 and got no hassles from my dealer.

 

c'mon now. sure, call MNAO and bag the f8cker - totally agree with that. but if it were my 8 you can bet your *** I'm not going back to a place that was not "accountable for their misinformation to owners" and tried to rip me off in the process.

 

you mean like I did?

 

Edit: Abbid beat me to it...100% agree with you.

 

If the "popular link" mentioned is the one I am thinking of, it's a large Mazda dealership, no? So either

a) They have permission in writing to make the TSBs available on the internet. In which case, you're free to download them, since there's no other reason for them to BE on the internet.

or...

b) Mazda doesn't care to enforce the disclaimer.

In either case, your local service manager's job is to service your car -- not worry about the TSB's copyright. If they are acting in good faith they should confirm whether or not the TSB is valid, and if they claim it doesn't apply to your vehicle they should be willing to explain WHY. Otherwise, they're just dodging.

I love the walking into the owner's office approach. I did that once after a repair where the wrench monkeys had installed a new tire. Afterwards the car pulled to one side. After repeatedly trying to BS me that it was "normal", I examined the tires and discovered the new one was 5mm larger diameter. I put on a spare and carried the tire into the owner's office and laid it on his desk and loudly inquired how it was that a customer could do a better job troubleshooting a major safety problem, than their mechanics. Man, that was fun. The dude had tire treads on his papers

 

Wow I was pretty upset earlier but you guys really took this to heart.
Here's the deal. The dealership is near Pittsburgh and I'm in Boston for the week. I'll be damned if I'm going to pick a fight over the phone or at all until my keys and my car are in my possesion.

I would like to know if that certain large Mazda dealer has permission and should probably call Mazda to inquire on the use of TBSs.

I'm really questioning the legality and posted here first to see if this had been covered. I was also hoping a certain dealership might pipe in.

Anyway, the dealer where I purchased the car and had other service done is 2 hours away. I guess great service might be worth the trip.