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Acura Complaint - Acura Integra Engine Problem - Acura Integra 2001 GSR
Acura Integra 2001 GSR - Complaint
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS -- Situation Background
I own 2001 Acura Integra GSR. The car has been driven to and from work 99% of its life, just regular wear and tear. Currently there is 75000 miles on this car. The car has had its oil changed at Acura dealer ship for its entire life every 3 thousand miles.
Mid 2007 I suddenly noticed that my engine warning light turned on. I immediately stopped to investigate. It turned out that oil was low. I have contacted dealer and run oil burning test to see if engine was burning oil. All it is, you drive 1000 miles and check oil level. It was measured that my engine is burning 2 quarts of oil every 1000 miles.
I was shocked to say the least because after our family bough many Honda vehicles over 20 years I have never seen Honda engine burn oil. Two quarts of oil per 1000 miles is huge amount. I contacted Acura Customer service to find out if they can help with this matter as it sure looked like something that should not be happening.
Customer Service Response
Customer service told me that they do not have to help me because my warranty expired but if they are to provide any kind of assistance I need to have a dealer and only Acura dealer determine what the problem is first. I spoke with Service manager at Acura dealer and I was told it will cost me $1000 up front and maybe more to make a determination what’s wrong with the engine. This is not even the costs of repair, which is likely to bring the total cost to be more then if I would just buy a brand new engine. So I was supposed to spend all this money just to find out if Acura would render some kind of assistance to help with my problem.
I have decided to consult with a friend of family a Honda mechanic with 25 years experience with Honda cars. He works for Honda dealer. He assured me that Honda engine can go 200000 miles without burning any oil and there are only two possibilities why my car is burning oil this soon.
1. Manufacturing defect of engine.
2. Oil was not changed properly by the dealer. (McGrath Acura 400 E Ogden Ave Westmont, IL , 60559)
Conclusions
I have thought about it, and called Customer Support again to tell them that I do not believe I should have to spend any money to fix something that is clearly not my fault. They replied that there is nothing they can do for me then.
I’m truly shocked and disappointed that Acura is expecting their customers to throw away a car after 75000 miles. I’m also shocked that the dealership would not offer me some kind of discount on labor they wanted to charge me to determine what’s wrong with the car. When you think about it, they are partially responsible for this situation as they have failed to notify me the engine is burning oil when they were doing oil changes. You would think the dealer might want to mention to you that the extracted oil form engine was much lower then expected, but I guess this must be against their interests. They check your tire pressure but fail to inform you about such an important fact as low oil level during oil change.
I do not understand why a manufacturer with much worse reputation like Hunday is warranting their power train up to 100,000 miles, but Acura turns their back on long term loyal customer when they know their equipment should not break this soon? It is not like I took my car to Jiffy Lube. My car was maintained only by Acura dealer for its entire life.
Acura you leave me no choice.
I have decided that I have no choice but to stop buying Honda made cars and to share my experience with as many people as possible on Internet. Let this be a warning to anyone who thinks Acura and Honda is a guarantee of excellence. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Regards
A very disappointed customer.
I own 2001 Acura Integra GSR. The car has been driven to and from work 99% of its life, just regular wear and tear. Currently there is 75000 miles on this car. The car has had its oil changed at Acura dealer ship for its entire life every 3 thousand miles.
Mid 2007 I suddenly noticed that my engine warning light turned on. I immediately stopped to investigate. It turned out that oil was low. I have contacted dealer and run oil burning test to see if engine was burning oil. All it is, you drive 1000 miles and check oil level. It was measured that my engine is burning 2 quarts of oil every 1000 miles.
I was shocked to say the least because after our family bough many Honda vehicles over 20 years I have never seen Honda engine burn oil. Two quarts of oil per 1000 miles is huge amount. I contacted Acura Customer service to find out if they can help with this matter as it sure looked like something that should not be happening.
Customer Service Response
Customer service told me that they do not have to help me because my warranty expired but if they are to provide any kind of assistance I need to have a dealer and only Acura dealer determine what the problem is first. I spoke with Service manager at Acura dealer and I was told it will cost me $1000 up front and maybe more to make a determination what’s wrong with the engine. This is not even the costs of repair, which is likely to bring the total cost to be more then if I would just buy a brand new engine. So I was supposed to spend all this money just to find out if Acura would render some kind of assistance to help with my problem.
I have decided to consult with a friend of family a Honda mechanic with 25 years experience with Honda cars. He works for Honda dealer. He assured me that Honda engine can go 200000 miles without burning any oil and there are only two possibilities why my car is burning oil this soon.
1. Manufacturing defect of engine.
2. Oil was not changed properly by the dealer. (McGrath Acura 400 E Ogden Ave Westmont, IL , 60559)
Conclusions
I have thought about it, and called Customer Support again to tell them that I do not believe I should have to spend any money to fix something that is clearly not my fault. They replied that there is nothing they can do for me then.
I’m truly shocked and disappointed that Acura is expecting their customers to throw away a car after 75000 miles. I’m also shocked that the dealership would not offer me some kind of discount on labor they wanted to charge me to determine what’s wrong with the car. When you think about it, they are partially responsible for this situation as they have failed to notify me the engine is burning oil when they were doing oil changes. You would think the dealer might want to mention to you that the extracted oil form engine was much lower then expected, but I guess this must be against their interests. They check your tire pressure but fail to inform you about such an important fact as low oil level during oil change.
I do not understand why a manufacturer with much worse reputation like Hunday is warranting their power train up to 100,000 miles, but Acura turns their back on long term loyal customer when they know their equipment should not break this soon? It is not like I took my car to Jiffy Lube. My car was maintained only by Acura dealer for its entire life.
Acura you leave me no choice.
I have decided that I have no choice but to stop buying Honda made cars and to share my experience with as many people as possible on Internet. Let this be a warning to anyone who thinks Acura and Honda is a guarantee of excellence. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Regards
A very disappointed customer.
Comments:
Posted by lobo65 on 2008-02-07:
I don't know that happened to your car. My '97 Integra has 138,000 miles, and is still going strong. Maybe it was a problem with 2001 models.
Posted by dude in lude on 2008-02-07:
if you in fact really do have GSR integra with that low of miles you can sell it for a good amount of cash, that is sought after motor and anyone on hondaforums would take a chance with it.
Posted by Aerocave on 2008-02-07:
Oh Come on Gandalf...I really hope you are not serious...I not downplaying the frustration and seriousness of an engine burning 2 quarts of oil every 1000 miles...but need I remind you, this is a 7 year old car with 75,000 miles...the dealer is not going to just rip the engine apart on a "hope" that Acura will help with the repair (for free)...and to somehow hold the dealership accountable "because they were changing the oil and should have told you about this" is ridiculous. When you change the oil, one of the first things you do is drain the existing oil. I don't know of anyone who "checks" the level first. Again, I see your frustration, but it is a 7 year old machine with 75000 miles. I know the reliability of Honda products. But it is a machine built by man. Things go wrong. Stop trying to make a case for a free repair when it is not warranted. Thats exactly what you are doing.
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