So I took my 2002 Accord in to have Honda check the airbag because of a safety recall. Took two hours. A couple minutes after driving it off the lot I noticed scratches all over the airbag cover. Drove it back to Honda. They claim the techs don't use any tools besides their hands to pry the cover off the steering column. But that they would have their interior man repair the damage.
I think they're full of it. How would it get scratched up without hard plastic or metal tools? Unless the tech has nails like bear claws. LOL
What would you do in this situation? I don't like leaving the car there.

 

welcome to the forum. Allow them to fix the scratches to your satisfaction, take a picture and record time and date and all info from the time you took the car in for the repair. If not satisfied get a hold of American Honda and ask them what can be done.

 

Thanks. Forgot to take pics. Car is down at the Fort Walton Beach dealership. Half hour away. They left a text msg stating my car was ready this morn. Called them about it and they sounded clueless asking me if I had picked up my car yet. Sounds like they hadn't given my car one thought after I left it there.
Is it just me or are most service departments at dealerships not very honest? It sure seems that way. Tell you just about anything to get you out the door.

 

Just got off the phone with Honda in FWB Fl and they stated they could not repair it and would not replace the $800 air bag unit. I'm calling Honda America.

 

Please let us know how this turns out!

 

Will do.
I picked my car up today. Told one of the main dudes there to take my name and address off their mailing list. I don't want to receive any more mail from Gary Smith Honda again. I will drive another 30 minutes to Pensacola if I have to making the total drive one hour.

 

This is a copy of the letter I sent customer service in Torrance California on Tuesday.

The following are events that led up to the problem with the 2002 Honda Accord driver's airbag cover being damaged.

Tuesday June 21 2011
My wife did not go to work that morning and I went to work later that day so that we could take the Accord down to Gary Smith Honda in Fort Walton Beach Florida to have a safety recall done on the airbag. We arrived at 7:20 am. My wife followed me in our 2000 Honda Civic just in case. I didn't want to get stranded 40 minutes and 28 miles from home. We met with Chris the service advisor after a couple minutes, told him what needed to be done, he told us it would be an hour and a half job and left the car in his hands. The wife and I went to get some breakfast. After an hour and twenty minutes we returned. It was about 8:45 at this time. I asked how much longer it would be and the service advisor told me ten minutes. We finally drove away around 9:25. After a couple minutes of driving and around one mile away from the dealership I looked down at the airbag cover and noticed it was scratched and marred. I pulled over and had my wife look at it and we agreed that the car should go back to the dealership. I pulled the car inside the service bay and told the service advisor Chris that I needed to see him outside. I showed him the damage to the airbag and he stated that he didn't know how the damage occurred when only two screws are taken out of the back of the steering column and the airbag is pulled off by hand.
If this is true why did it take nearly two hours to complete this seemingly simple task?
He also said that no tools were used in this process. Chris told me that he would have to call an interior specialist to have him take a look at the damage and that the specialist would have it looking like new. So I left the car with Honda assuming that all would be taken care of and rode home with my wife so she could go to work and I could get ready for work.

Thursday June 23 2011
After two days I get this text message at 7:00 am from Gary Smith Honda that states:

Mr. Scholl
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to service your vehicle! 850-244-7151

So at 7:30 I give the Honda dealership a call and ask Chris, the service advisor, if my car is ready.
His reply was "You haven't picked up your car yet?"
So I remind him that my car was damaged while at service.
He states that his service manager won't be in for another ten minutes and that he would talk to him and find out what the next step is or something along those words.
At 9:36 I finally get a call back from Chris. He states that the interior specialist does not want to try and fix the airbag cover for reasons that he doesn't want to accept any liability in case something goes wrong with it in case of accident. He also states that the general manager and service manager agree that Honda would not pay the $800 replacement cost of the airbag.

So, here I am in a situation. I have a ten year old car that a take really good care of. We have a dealership who thinks (I assume) that they can treat a ten year old car like trash. I take pride in keeping my Accord looking the best I can within reason. It's my wife's car when she is not driving the Civic. So you know I will treat it nice. (she won't have it any other way)
I know that in Honda's eyes, $800 is not justifiable to replace a unit that has been scratched and damaged. It is through no fault of mine though that these airbag units are overpriced at $800 either. Who can justify an airbag at that cost when a person can get many other items at the same price (a computer, stove, dishwasher).**But, does Honda want to loose a customer that has been driving Hondas since we bought our first new Accord back in 1986?

I like Honda. I bought this car at Gary Smith Honda. But this has put a bad taste in my mouth regarding any future association with Honda. If a dealership like Gary Smith can't own up to it's failings like damaging a customer's car and admit that they did indeed damage the car, I have really not much of an option but to take my money elsewhere and spend it where I think I can get treated better.

If this kind of service is what I would get if I took my car to Honda after receiving mail advertisements for oil changes and requests to buy my car from me, why would anyone in their right mind go to a place to have their car mistreated? Of course the service department is not going to admit they were responsible. That would mean money would have to come from somewhere to pay for the damage and someone would have to answer to the extra expenditure. I don't really expect any remedy to actually occur from this situation. But it sure would be nice to find out what happened to my car. The truth, not some crazy wild story where everyone involved just shrugs their shoulders and says, "I don't know what happened".

Thank you for your time. God bless.

Ted S

Update:
Friday 24 June 2011
Picked up my car at 8:45. Wanted to talk to the general manager but he was in a meeting. Talked to Mark instead. Told him I was not happy with the outcome of this situation and gave him my name and address. I told him to remove my name and address from Gary Smith Honda's mailing list as I do not want to receive any more mail from them. I will not be doing business there anymore if they cannot guarantee the condition of my car while it is being worked on at their dealership. I would rather drive out of my way to Pensacola or Panama City if I have to.

 

Sorry this happened to you,we here these types of complaints all the time,I would first file a complaint with your BBB then contact the Honda district Rep for your area,just maybe he can help. Good luck,Bobby