I brought my 8 to Browning Mazda in Cerritos. I had an oil leak, and a blinking airbag indicator that was an intermittent problem.

Anyway my car has 90k, and is still under extended warranty.. But airbags wasn't covered! Gah. I had StatedCare instead of TotalCare. When I bought my car, they asked me which one I wanted, and I asked what was the difference. The manager said that Totalcare would additionally cover little things like interior trimming, bulbs, buttons, switches, etc., and that StatedCare covers the essentials-drive train, electronics, engine, transmission, etc.

...So airbags aren't considered "essential".. Anyway my lesson there was that I should have inspected the fine print on the service agreement. So now I'm screwed.

Anyway, I digress. Browning diagnosed my car and required for me to replace the airbag wiring harness for the blinking issue for $540. Then they asked for $240 for the oil leak, to replace a "backup lamp switch". What does that have to do with oil?????

I told them I would call them back with my decision. I got on this board, looked up the problems and found helpful posts. Some users complained that they had their wiring harness replaced for this same issue, but in doing so, things were worse, because of the work required to install a new harness included extensive disassembling of the interior-- dash and seats. That was something I didn't like the notion of. Someone on the forum also mentioned that they had the same problem all the time, due to rear passengers foot hitting the connectors under the seat. Bingo!

I declined the repairs, took the car back and checked the connectors. I remember one of them had come loose from the pressure clip mount. This meant it had been kicked. Sure enough it was loose and a bit dusty. I disconnected it, cleaned the connector with an air duster, and re-seated the connector. Then for good measure I did the passenger side as well.

I started my baby up and sure enough the problem was gone.

After my elation, I was pretty pissed at Browning. They were going to charge me for unnecessary repairs. I wonder what I should do at this point.. Maybe I should get my money back for the diagnostic.

I wonder if the "backup lamp switch" is a bullsh*t diagnosis as well, for my oil leak. Sounds like it...


What do you all think?

 

What I think is it sounds like you're well and truly on top of it Squidward. I applaud your initative in problem solving.The search button and this forum has saved my *** on more than one occassion.

I would tell the Manager of the dealership exactly what you have told us here, and shoot for a partial refund...you have a good case...

 

You'll not be able to get your diagnostic money back. Just swallow it and take it as a lesson.

Cuz what you have encoutnered was *typical* dumbass dealership workers. They cant fix ****, all they can do is follow the god damn *service manual* step by step with their wrenches. Something that even my 5 yr old nephew can do.

With Minimum Wage you can only hire dumbasses who cant even finish high school. got it ?

Where is your oil leak anyway ?

 

Contact the better business bureau and let them know they tried to sell you a wiring harness when the only thing wrong with your current one was that a single connector was unplugged. the BBB LOVES to hear about that sort of thing, and can work with you and the stealership to get a satisfactory resolution. A refund on the diagnostic fee is probably not going to happen, but I bet you CAN get them to pay to have the car checked out by your local quality rotary shop. After all, if they couldn't get something as simple as a connector right, how can you trust them with the oil leak? I'd take the approach that since you almost got charged half a grand for something you didn't need, you no longer really trust them to do repairs properly, and would instead like another, more qualified shop to do the repairs, and let the stealership swallow the cost for whatever repairs are under warranty.

Beware you'll probably want to find a new dealership to go to after you do this. They won't like you for it.

 

That most likely wont happen.

because they can blame it on the service manual.

Like i said, most of those morons in dealerships didnt even finish their highschools, you expect them to work properly ? I dont think so.

Just take it as a lesson and forget about it, oh remember tell all your friends about that dealership.

 

I don't think that approach is good. I decided to call them and tell them my story. The manager was very apologetic and actually promised to remedy the situation.

He said he would make sure that I definitely got my refund for the diagnosis and the 1 he would get down to the bottom of it. This m what consumers should do. Not just let it go. Otherwise nothing will improve.

Anyway I just wanted to give Browning a chance. It's not fair to them if they don't get a chance to connect the situation.

 

nj. stick it to em!

 

Nice

Keep it up !

 

Am I the only one appalled at the incredibly poor quality of LA Mazda dealerships? Alhambra Mazda has a bad reputation and my experience with Sierra Mazda has been very poor. Browning has been the best LA dealer for me in terms of getting things fixed, but even they don't have a clean record.

 

When I lived out there, I had the same problem...I couldn't find a good Mazda dealership for service. I tried the one in Santa Monica...and also Long Beach, and wasn't really happy with either of them.

Now I'm on the other coast, and I did find a great one in CT!!

Squid, nice work going back to them and letting them work with you to make sure you are happy with the resolution!

 

Now.......about this oil leak.
Unless I missed it, you never answered someones question on this, so............

How do you know you have an oil leak?

Can you tell where it's coming from?

Give us details and maybe we can help you with this as well.

 

For what it's worth, the airbag problem is a known issue, in that the originally-designed connectors tend to come loose or not make as good of a contact. The fix from Mazda is to replace with a harness such that this does not happen again.

Of course, some of us are content with cleaning the connectors and reconnecting them.

My dealership did do the airbag TSB work since it fell under the 60K safety warranty, but they routed the wires kinda ghetto and now I need to do some extra work to get them to route them properly (they think everything was done correctly).

 

They said I needed a backup lamp switch, which was where the oil was coming from. I suspect this is probably a gasket issue, since the switch is probably mounted somewhere on the transmission case. What's F'd up is that they said it was not covered. I have StatedCare, which is the second best out of four extended warranty packages, top being Totalcare, followed by StatedCare, PrimaryCare, and PowerCare, with each one carrying coverage of the ones below. Well, I believe this should have been covered by the lowest one, since PowerCare covers the following areas: Engine, Manual Transmission/Transfer Case, Automatic Transmission/Transfer Case, Drive Axle (Front/Rear), Seals And Gaskets, Taxes And Fluids

My problem affects drivability in that the oil is required for it, yet I am told by MAZDA HQ that it isn't covered by my policy, and that there's absolutely nothing I can do to about it.

As much as I love the RX-8.. I WILL NEVER EVER BUY A F'KING MAZDA AGAIN BECAUSE MAZDA ARE A BUNCH OF F'KING CORPORATE GREEDY BASTARDS WHO DON'T GIVE A RATS @SS ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMERS.

LESSON LEARNED - DON'T EVER BUY AN EXTENDED WARRANTY FROM MAZDA, and if you do at another company, make sure you get a complete detailed list of covered parts.

I'm *real* f'king bitter about this, the more I think about it, more at Mazda than at Browning. At least Browning fessed up, apologized, and is trying to make amens with their customer. Mazda basically told me, "sorry charlie"...

--no more Mazda for me.. too many Gotcha's I've had to deal with since owning my RX-8.


Well, between a 3-minute connector inspection/reseating, and $550 for a wiring harness, plus having your seats and dash boards dismantled (risking further problems and/or interior noise from reassembly), I think I'll settle for the the former.

 

Squidward, I hope you realize that extended warranties offered by dealerships tend to be from a third party source; Mazda is not in the insurance business and I don't believe (correct me if I'm wrong) that there is an "official" Mazda extended warranty.

 

Careful on this back-up switch issue. I just read a thread on this about 15 minutes ago. See if it's still on here.........the thread was titled something like "oil leak".
If I remember there is a recall or TSB on this and you may be able to find some info on it using the following link.


http://www.finishlineperformance.com...s.php?pageid=4


I'll go see if I can find that thread.

Okay, found the thread. It's an old one and may not apply to your car, but I'd read this thread and see where it takes you!

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...back+up+switch

 

LionZoo,

Actually the extended warranty I have is indeed directly from Mazda, not from a third party. That was one of their selling points when they offered it to me. It's called Mazda EPP (Extended Protection Plan). They sold me on it on the idea that rotary engine technicians are not easily found and that only a certified Mazda service technician could provide me with the best possible service. Well if this is the best, then I have no faith in Mazda or their service technicians...