Interesting service call this morning

Discussion in 'Clarity' started by Tim66, Nov 29, 2019.

To remove this ad click here.

  1. Tim66

    Tim66 Active Member

    I took my 2018 PHEV for its first service A 01. I was first told by the service lady that there really wasn't an oil change required. I asked why and she said just a minute. She returned with another service tech and they discussed whether an oil change was necessary. It turned out that the female service tech thought the car was an all electric vehicle. She asked if the owners manual was in the car and she consulted it to see what an A 01 service netailed. After that was straightened out the discussion became a learning exercise for the two techs as to what the A 01 service entailed. In fact one of them said "your service will be a learning experience for us and the shop". YIKES! They did provide a rental car free of charge because they had only allotted time for a simple oil change not the full service. This is a very large Honda dealer with one of the biggest service departments in town. I shudder to think what service for the Clarity must be like in rural America.
     
  2. To remove this ad click here.

  3. stacey burke

    stacey burke Active Member

    There is no full service on a Clarity. Oil change and a check things out, no real service on the other things, just inspection.
     
  4. Tim66

    Tim66 Active Member

    A little pedantic this morning aren't we? :) She was referring the the A 01 full service to include tire rotation and inspection of various components which takes considerably more time than a simple oil change. The initial appointment was incorrectly scheduled for the oil change only.
     
  5. 4sallypat

    4sallypat Active Member

    Can I ask how much they charged you for this "full service" ?
     
  6. Tim66

    Tim66 Active Member

    $168
     
  7. To remove this ad click here.

  8. Kerbe

    Kerbe Well-Known Member

    OUCH! That's more than twice the price of my A01, here in "rural America", and they replaced my wiper blades, too!
     
    Daniel M W likes this.
  9. Tim66

    Tim66 Active Member

    Here's what they did:

    CODE Maintenance Main Items
    A ● Replace engine oil*1 and oil filter
    0 ● Inspect front and rear brakes
    ● Check expiration date for Temporary Tire Repair Kit
    ● Inspect these items:
    • Tie rod ends, steering gearbox, and boots
    • Suspension components
    • Driveshaft boots
    • Brake hoses and lines (including ABS/VSA)
    • All fluid levels and condition of fluids
    • Exhaust system#
    • Fuel lines and connections#
    • Stay RR, RR Subframe
    • Under body battery cover
    1 ● Rotate tires
     
  10. craze1cars

    craze1cars Well-Known Member

    That all takes 15 minutes....

    And if my experience working inside these service departments have taught me anything, they only changed the oil and rotated the tires/adjusted air pressure, and skipped the rest of that list...for a first service anyway.
     
    stacey burke and 228ra like this.
  11. Kerbe

    Kerbe Well-Known Member

    Yep, same list - AND the wiper blades - and all for $72.00
     
  12. To remove this ad click here.

  13. The Gadgeteer

    The Gadgeteer Active Member

    I paid $40 USD plus NJ sales tax on my first service (A01). I was told that normally the tire rotation adds another $20 but it was done for free. Plus they washed the car.
     
  14. Mowcowbell

    Mowcowbell Well-Known Member

    Definitely sounds like pricing for the A01 should be discussed before the appointment. I bought mine back in March and have a little over 5000 miles on it. Since my dealer forgot the body plugs at delivery and delivered the car 'full' (but the battery was at 2 bars)... not going to hold much confidence in them actually doing the 'inspection items'.
     
  15. Daniel M W

    Daniel M W Member

    $168??? Wow! I suggest you call other honda dealers before your next service appointment. My bill was $98 (Hoffman Honda in CT) for exactly the same service and in my original dealer the bill was $80 (Brandfon Honda in CT).

    By the way... the lack of knowledge about this car in all dealers sometimes is even frustrating. Be prepared for a lot of ridiculous answers or for you to explain them.
     
  16. Tim66

    Tim66 Active Member

    Care to share the names of those service departments that are fraudulently charging for work not done so that others can avoid them?
     
  17. Clarity_Newbie

    Clarity_Newbie Active Member

    Really what this indicates is...Honda USA has absolutely no control nor standards set for their nationwide dealer network.

    Honda USA corporate culture is obviously to sell, sell, then sell some more.

    Seriously...how can this company allow its duly licensed and authorized dealers to act like buffoons n morons? It is embarrassing actually. There are good dealers out there no doubt...but very few and very far between. Furthermore, a good dealership is a testament to the owner/leadership who have old school integrity and take pride in operating a business the right way etc...not because Honda USA has anything thing to do with it.

    This malfeasance is strictly on Honda USA corporate management. If it is a Honda product, the dealers should be given proper guidance and training on any vehicle so they can adequately service customers who own this car...(aka) acting like a professional organization.

    Customers having to accept ignorant and arrogant attitudes about a car built and sold by Honda is unacceptable...or should be to Honda USA and definitely should be to the consumer. No excuse for the BS folks run in to at dealerships.

    Talking about this on a forum is one thing...what needs to happen is the consumer needs to begin to speak up about this malfeasance. It is not ok a person spends ~$30 k on a supposed "engineering marvel" and have to be essentially belittled about their purchase (should've bought/let me sell you an Accord) or have to explain the simplest of things to these service reps and/or mechanics or be legitimately concerned about the cars welfare whilst in their care. Again, its embarrassing actually and should spark the ire of all customers who then should demand change from corporate.

    I won't even touch on the price gouging that goes on with this car at the typical low-brow dealership service department. Truth is, the elderly and uninformed get taken for a ride every day by low-brow dealerships. There is a reason some of us do our own maintenance/service.

    Social media is a powerful tool. It has affected the local Honda dealership sales and reputation...thanks to years of being one of the worst dealerships in the region if not the country. (Despite numerous awards given by Honda USA as a great dealership, #1 in sales etc) It has caught up to them. Downside is...next closest Honda dealer is 150 miles round trip...so they kinda got a lock on the local market which is a big part of the problem. Those of you who have half a dozen within 25 miles to choose from are lucky...problem is 2/3 of the rural areas don't have that choice.

    If any one at Honda USA reads this...take notice...your so called dependable, nationwide dealership network is in disarray and lacks any accountability to the consumer at all. Does that even matter to Honda USA?
     
  18. Have you ever taken a car to a BMW, VW, or Jeep dealership? I have.
    Same ship, different name.

    My brother-in-law, who has owned an independent service shop for the past 10+ years, witnessed both Volvo and Lexus dealerships price gouge affluent old ladies for decades when he worked for them.

    It’s SOP for dealerships. Not just Honda.
     
  19. craze1cars

    craze1cars Well-Known Member

    Not possible to type them all. Hundreds. Mainly just realize that list is “inspect” for nearly everything. That just means put an eyeball on it. Fraudulent is far too strong of a word and that wasn’t my intended point. Truth is simple human nature of someone who is paid by the hour. Most try to do the right thing. But with a new car with 10k miles or so? The mechanics just give a very quick cursory look, do the oil change, swap the tires around, and check off all the boxes on the canned list. As the car gets older they will look more carefully for more stuff that is known to wear out, largely in hopes of earning another repair job that pays them more flat rate hours.

    The only real point is an oil change takes 10 minutes on this car. Tire rotation another 5 to 10. All the other stuff on that list a legitimate 60 seconds if you’re lucky. Oil and filter costs dealer maybe $35? Dealer profit at your price $130 for 20 minutes.

    And frankly I’m not saying that’s bad either. Because someone has to pay for these insanely expensive buildings and everything else. But many independent shops with lower overhead would knock out that entire checklist in the same 20 minutes, with the same quality mechanic/workmanship/parts, and may charge half or less than many dealers.

    I think that’s the main point of people here choking on the high price some pay for what amounts to nothing more than an oil change and tire rotation, and a cursory inspection that every mechanic does in his sleep for every car that rolls thru his or her bay.
     
    stacey burke and Walt R like this.
  20. KentuckyKen

    KentuckyKen Well-Known Member

    My dealer charges way too much and has no more experience with the Clarity than my trusted local mechanic.
    So I use the attached copy of a blank Honda form and had him perform the eyeball inspection when I got lazy and didn’t want to change my own oil in Feb with no garage. This way I have a record for any potential denial of warranty claims. (Blank form attached as a PDF for anyone to use)
    Here is the record of my first A01 service record:
    A46E06DE-1681-43A0-A92B-873C66C7B592.jpeg

    4D92229E-BB41-44EC-B45D-706ADB8B9C90.jpeg
     

    Attached Files:

    4sallypat likes this.
  21. Kerbe

    Kerbe Well-Known Member

    Mine swore the plugs were installed - even though they were in a plastic bag in the trunk... They had to take the cable from my car to charge it before I bought it as they'd never installed the 240V EVSE required of Clarity-certified dealerships. The nearby dealership that provides my service is Clarity-certified but they refused to order one for me: Go figure...
     
  22. vicw

    vicw Active Member

    Strangely ironic that my first A01 annual maintenance cost at my local Honda dealer in Southern Pines, NC, this last February, was precisely the same as yours was, $23.47, for Annual Maint. - tire rotation, oil & filter change. They also installed Service Bulletins 90,91,96 & 97 & checked HV battery capacity (52.8 Ah) - and they supplied the Oil and Filter.
     
  23. insightman

    insightman Well-Known Member Subscriber

    What are people paying for A02 maintenance? I wonder how much I'll save by performing the simple cabin air filter replacement myself and having the dealer do the rest of the A02 check-up?
     

Share This Page