Stealership Seatbelt Problems. Thoughts?
 

So check it out, to make a long story short. I took my car to the dealership b/c my seatbelts stopped working. They fixed and replaced the tracks and motors free of charge. Now here's where the fun begins. Once they replaced everything, they said that the CPU was not getting power to work the belts and that there would be a $85 diagnostic fee. I let them do their thing and they responded with wiring in the dash that was burnt out and toast. $450 quote to fix it... no thanx. I just picked it up from the dealership to find out that they broke my A-pillar trim and when i got home i put a fuse back in the fuse box and guess what... the seatbelts work like a charm.

I've already called them and left a message since they just closed. What do you guys think? Any factory or dealership worker opinions? I'm giving them til tommorow to explain this, but i'd like some input from industry proffesionals if possible. thanks again.

IM no professional, but i know better than to take my 7 to a dealership.

Hell, i dont even take my QX4 to a dealership. Theres tons of information on the internet to diagnose and fix most car problems on my own ;)

Dealerships prey on the ignorant and the lazy! Demons i tell you....

Well he went to the dealership initially to fix the seatbelts because it is FREE. Warrantied for life.

I have heard many times in the past that they DO NOT check the fuse after they fix it.:iwstupid:

yeah go get your 85 bux back and tell them to eat shit. then talk to the general manager, then call mazdausa, then call BBB, they guys need to know they did something wrong

Was the fuse blown and you replaced it, or was it just pulled out?

If it was blown that is one thing, they will always charge you for the worst case scenario. If it was removed then that is a completely different situation and you should go get your money back and let mazda and the BBB know what happened.


BC

Thats stupid to me. They should check the fuses before they go and give you an outrageous estimate.

i'll say this much. if the fuse was blown and they fixed it (without me knowing) then i'd be out $85 with out a clue. but the fact that i brought it home and then replaced a $.10 fuse on my own AFTER i was quoted $450 for a burnt wiring harness, it leads me to believe that they didnt go by the FSM which i would think is their SOP.

i guess what i'm looking for is a mazda tech/mech or dealership worker (in the forum) with some advice. i dont like to cause scenes or act like an idiot. i want to keep this as professional as possible before i start going over some heads. i want my money back for sure, but you best believe they're going to replace my A-pillar!!!

I've heard of how they damage cars during the free seatbelt fix, no company likes to work for free, even if they've already said they would. The best advice I can give for your a-pillar is already too late... Take pics before you take it in, that way they can't dispute the damage and won't even try...

Dealers are funny about stuff like "burnt wires". When I first got my 87 T2 way back in 91 I knew nothing about them. I took it to a dealer because i was loosing coolent and didn't know why. "Well you have a bad seal on that engine and thats where the water is going" "You need a new engine. Turns out it was overflow bottle hose. $2 fix and the "bad engine" lasted another 100k.

If you go to a dealership, know your shit. 85 bucks is still pretty good for a fix, it shoulda been free, but the A-piller thing is bull shit! Make a fuss, where new car customers can hear you and they will probably order a new one.

oh god i would be so damn pissed off.

Thank god there are people i can trust here at the dealership.

And that a ihave an S4 with normal non-shitty seatbelts.

+1 to taking pics.
The local stealership broke the A pillar trim-passenger side-when they fixed my seatbelt. Tried to glue it back together and when I got the car back they tried to charge me for the "free fix" claiming it was limited to only a one time fix and claimed they did not take off the pillar trim. I had taken pics of the interior a week before and had a good pic of the A pillar trim on that side. They reimbursed me the $46 for a junkyard pillar trim and told me me that would be the last time they would fix the seatbelts. I am waiting for them to freeze up again.

My advice to anyone taking their car to the stealership-take pics before you go!!

well they just called me back and have already ordered a new A-pillar for me. they explained that the fuse always blew everytime they replaced it. they said if the fuse doesnt blow when i go to pick up the pillar they'll refund my money.

all in all it worked out by now. thanks for your help and i'll keep all your advice in mind for future encounters. hopefully this will keep others prepared before they go and deal with their local mazda dealership

All these stories of dealership bull crap make me doubt the value of a warranty...

1. Be reasonable people. Sure, these are factory trained techs, but your car is nearly 20 years old plastic after 20 years can get pretty brittle. There's no factory trained techs in the world who know the location of each and every clip and fastener in every vehicle made by their respective employer for the past 4 decades.

Sure, they broke the plastic (which BTW you *should* have expected to happen, ie. take pictures of since you know it would make your argument concrete) and I'm sure they'll look after you.

2. Diagnosis. Funny thing about it. Sometimes a tech will spend the amount of time they charge for dia. (in this case 85 dollars worth) and still not have an answer. Therefore they aim high on the price in order to cover their ass. Not the right thing to do but thats what happens.

Now, you never answered whether or not the fuse was present in the panel. If it was simply blown in the panel then perhaps the estimate was to repair whatever short caused the fuse to blow. If everything was working tip top lollipop on that circuit - then the fuse would be fine.

Go back and talk to them but please, give the benefit of the doubt. Im sure if the dealership was good enough to replace your warranted seatbelts without telling you to stuff it like most others that they'll fix you up here.

i strongly agree with what you say. i always try to be as polite and professional as possible whenever i conduct any business. they've ordered a new A-pillar free of charge and will install it free of charge. i have no complaints with that.

now the fuse... the fuse was in the vehicle (not blown) before i took it to the dealership for the belts. the belts locked/binded themselves and failed to operate. they replaced both the passenger and drivers side belts. this is actually the second time the belts have failed, but they honored the *Lifetime* warranty on the belts free of charge with no hassle.

when they were completed, they explained that the parts were replaced but there was no power to the CPU. they asked if i wanted a diagnostic and i agreed. they said that wiring had gone bad near the socket and quote me ~$450 to fix it.
i said no thanks and brought it home.

when i brought it home there was no fuse in the fuse box. i simply placed one in its proper spot and the belts immediately started to work (outstandigly by the way). i took it for a drive just to make sure that the fuse wouldnt blow and it didnt. this is why i was a little upset about the $85 fee and the dealership is willing to work with me on this one.

it just goes to show that a little professionalism goes a long way. if i acted loud and ignorantly i could only imagine the problems i might be running into.

As far as the A-pillars go, well, take them off yourself before going to have that type of work done. That way, if they break you don't have to worry about getting into it with the dealership. From the looks of your signature a-pillar removal is something you can easily handle.

To hell with dealerships. My experience with them, including Mazda, has been shoddy at best. I don't give a rats ass how well "trained" some of these people are. I won't have work done there, I won't buy parts there, and I'll never buy another car from one.

I've known way too many people that went into auto mechanics that were dumb as rocks to trust a shop, dealership or not. Sadly, I'm presently applying to become a grease monkey. I'm not a complete idiot though. Someone was trying to adjust a sheet metal shear in shop class, and I suggested that (he was a Jr in HS) maybe the wrench didn't fit because it wasn't metric, to which he replied "This IS metric!" when it was a 5/8" wrench...