Excellent way to write things not in your control and not negatively pointing at MAZDA aka BAD ROBOT .

I have a safety recall on a BCM. As a 30+years ASE Certified Master Technician I can do most all warranty related repairs and get most auto manufactures to pay for OEM parts and labor (warranty rate) sign off of them. Not my BCM. Nope Mazda says it must be performed at a MAZDA dealership. I ask them does it require a MAZDA Trained and Certified Technician to perform the service.... answer NO!!! But it must be signed off from the service department at the Mazda dealership. LOL so it is a 15 minute job but I have to kill a whole day to have a "PERSON" in the service department change it. LOL I am not mad I understand its just that way it is. Maybe I should talk "smack" about my MAZDA experence..... LOL

 

I don’t know if it is just me, but I go to a Mazda dealership for routine maintenance. (I go to Doug’s Lynnwood Mazda). Every time I go there, they have been awesome and was able to get my car repaired and up and running. Also, if you take your Mazda into service, they provide you a loaner car if you request or let you wait at the dealership like some dealers do. Once the service is done, they send me a video about how well maintained my car is and what they fixed or took a look at.

Also, have you seen Hyundai/Kia/Genesis’s dealership service? There are horror stories about their dealership service. They sometimes don’t fix the parts (they simply refuse to) or in some cases rip you off. And it is pretty much most Hyundai/Kia/Genesis dealers in America, as far as I know. (Correct me if I am wrong)


A horrible dealership service at one Mazda dealer is nothing, imho.

 

well this is a MAZDA forum and I already listen to some information reported in that video that is not accurate or misunderstood. LOL
That video IMHO should not be passed around as evidence of an auto manufacture neglecting to honor a warranty!

 

Sounds like a issue with Dealer Service rather than Mazda. Personally I would bring to another dealer. Just like you would seek a second opinion when having surgery involving another dealer is sometimes a great option.

 

well the only problem with that analogy is surgeons don't national list your visit to them where as once your VIN is entered at any Mazda dealership every MAZDA dealership will know your history which Mada dealership you went to. And they will read the notes and often will contact other dealerships to get more information ?

 

Ok throw the analogy out the door. When you are not getting satisfaction at your dealer level and you car is damaged and poorly repaired in the process the proper way to approach the situation is to go up the chain of command within the dealership. If that fails you go to Mazda USA to bring it to their attention and or laterally to another dealer. Dealers are human and you have good ones and bad ones.


One service last year comes to mind with a brand I deal with and customers car was shipped from NM to CO for windshield replacement. The dealer subcontracted out the actual replacement and was supposed to prep the car so the windshield could be replaced. Shortcuts were taken by dealer and subcontractor damaging the car and charging extra $4K over estimate. Customer complained to Service Manager and owner to no avail.

After two months and not getting anywhere they posted online. Online forum pressure and FB fallout against the dealership combined with pressure from top Service exec for that brand had the dealership back down from their position and made the customer whole again.

Me personally if I have a problem with a dealership I take it behind closed doors within the dealership and have never failed in leaving satisfied. As a former Service Manager this is how I would want me to be approached and in turn this is how I have always dealt with dealership issues.

 

I doubt and really more believe there was more to the story. FORUM PRESSURE..... LMAO. NO!!
If it did not happen to you the only thing you posted was a "musical chair story".

The other thing is some of know about service managers in the dealership business.....sadly most are simply promoted service writers. To bad they don't generally and rarely ever promote a long term factory trained technician for that position. But as you were one there is always an advantage to know the real going on and what you can push in your favor based on that experience as a service manager. every one has that experience level.

 

You're probably right on service managers in general. I came up thru the ranks at multiple dealerships. Started as lot attendant then moved to parts department when all parts were still paper manuals. Moved on to the next dealership as assistant service manager...basically a service writer and glorified lot attendant at a new Honda dealer. Didn't get along with service manager left for parts at another dealer. Finally moved out of the area and started college but ended back doing what I loved this time full time turning wrenches. When the dealership picked up BMW as a new line they sent me off for a week of factory training and was later promoted to service manager but still turned wrenches. Gotta remember this was the 70's and we were just migrating to parts fisches. Nothing was like the mega shops of today.

I was then headhunted to the IT world as a field engineer when two IT managers saw how I worked with my customers and the guys in the shop. Thirteen weeks of intense basic training and then continuing education for the next twenty years that ranged from CBT to six week schools.

Yes forum pressure and fallout from FB posts caught the GM's eye for the windshield issues before the CO dealership admitted the car wasn't repaired in the manner that it should have and made it right. Here's a quote from the thread. The GM of xxxx of Denver Steve xxxxx reached out to me and let me know he saw and read most everything here and on Facebook. He admitted this isn't the way they do work and want to be know for. He admitted that any and almost everything with regards to my car and it's repair work went wrong.
When you have 50K members on a forum that is 70% engineers, car designers and others involved in racing they tend to be extremely intelligent and folks will listen to them. It's a niche forum for a niche car maker that has produced cars in low numbers for 75 years. Mazda makes more cars in a month than they made in twenty five years total and the US only saw 6300 of the best seller that had 35K made in total over 25 years.

While forum pressure wouldn't work for mass production cars like Mazda tech information, DIY help, etc is what a forum can be great at. The only reason I bought my car was the confidence I felt after lurking for a couple of months that there would be no issue I wouldn't be able to tackle myself.

Love my CX-5 joined to see what others were recommending for tires as we'll be needing replacing soon. OEM's didn't last long and were noisy half way thru their life. Conti's have been good so far with last set and just was looking at trends.

 

Nice response and write up .