gaebing

Hi,

I need some help. I brought my RX7 to the dealer for clutch job a couple of weeks ago. About a week later, they told me that they somehow broke some parts while replacing the clutch, and they would order another clutch for free. I said ok.
Then they said the car is ready for pick up last Friday. They also asked me if I wanted to do some diagnosis for hot starting problem. I said no because it wasn't that bad. But on a second thought I said yes. And they charged $95 for that.
Today I went there to pick up my car, and the manager said the engine needs to be replaced because there is no compression from one of the rotors. I thought he was joking. But when they brought my car back, it didn't even idle. It felt like one rotor was not firing at all like the manager said. He said he would have a technician take a look at it for free.
But I'm getting a bad feeling about it.
What should I do if they refuse to fix it?
What could have possibly gone wrong?
Does anyone have similar experience with the dealer?

I'd really appreciate your help.
Thank you.

rx7ttwo87

first i work at the madza dealer in cali ok i know whats happen allready. first let me know is your car all hooked up? is it turbo? what they did is put the cltuch in. and then test drove the **** out of it probaly mamybe some burn outs! i seen it happen but never messing up a motor but when they test drive fast car the beat them down. look at the tires. ses if they have wear. but that what happened its most likly there falut.

ThoRx7

the freaken dealer sucks to the max *****!!!! they know crap... last time i went there to get just my radiator replaced, they said i'll get the the next day and what happen? i called the guy... didnt pick up... and then i went over there... there guy was just sitting his fat *** getting the other customers... then i went up to him i asked him about my car he was like the parts are not in yet.. so i was like wtf.. o yeah it was past like 3 days already... so i was like okay w/e.. then i got half way home my brother was like u know just go get your car back screw that.. so i decided to go back to the dealer... went there to mazda... and told him i want the car back.. he told me that he already ordered the parts... so i was like okay... so the guy took me to his booth... and show me my page of parts and stuff he said he ordered... he was like okay look... boom he was shocked and i was like what a freaken liar!! so pretty much he hasnt ordered no parts to my car yet and i waisted 80 buck for diagnostic test... freaken dealers!!! dont go to them they'll rip u off... do it yourself or someone who know's how to touch it...

VTECthis

iTrader: (4)

Tell them that the car was fine and idled great when you brought it in, now its blown up. Tell them if the car is not as it orginally was when you brought it there, you will contact a lawyer. Did you record your mileage when you brought the car in? did the dealer record it? If the car has 5 extra miles on it, they blew your motor.

Herblenny

iTrader: (13)

Not all dealerships are bad..

Its not about the dealers but tech who has experience working on RX7s (FDs). Make sure to talk to the tech instead of just talking to those idiot service write up guys.. Those guys are nothing but liers!! God I hate those dumbass service writer guys.. Not just Mazda but ALL dealership.

Example: I had an older Acura and took it to Acura dealership because my ABS light was on. I drop the car off, went to work, came back and they charged me $100 and said my ABS system needed to be replaced. I told them NO WAY!! and asked if they plug the ABS unit to the tester.. He didn't even know what that was... He said I didn't asked for that.. I was like, then how come you guys are charging me $100 and telling me I need to replace my ABS?? After 10 mins of arguing, they charged me ZERO!

Point of my story, its the stupid service writers that I hate about dealerships.. Get to know your technician and their qualification, its just as good as a good ole small shops (maybe better as they have access to Special tools).

Good luck!

badddrx7

iTrader: (7)

Mistake #1 - Took it to the Dealer.

Learning lesson - Take car to reputable rotary expert or learn about all about the fd and do it yourself.


later

FD3S2005

iTrader: (11)

never take it to the dealer #1.. i took it once only to get the tranny and diff oil changed and i stood there the whole time while they did it..
A PFC coulda prob help.. put the limiter on it... when you drop off your car anywere.. write down the mileage, look at the tires and make sure the mech knows you did all that so they dont try anything stupid

4CN A1R

iTrader: (6)

this is the third thread that i found in the last 2 months about the same issue. the smart thing to do(no matter where you take it) is to take a picture of your milage reading, get the picture developed and get it signed by whoever is working on your vehicle. just a little insurence policy, that way you have have evidence if something does happen thats there fault.

i hope you get everything worked out. some dumbass mechanics out there...

ThoRx7

dude u better say something.. it was your clutch to be replace now its your engine!!! u know they probably smashed out on your car doing some crap to it or something... u know how much everything now is... yeah u should listen to VTECHthis... tell them you'll get a lawyer if they dont fix your car.. dont be scared too cause if u dont say something they'll take advantage of it!! and send u away with a screwd up car

DigDug

Did they actually do a compression test? I've had mine flood and run on one rotor for several seconds before the plugs on the other rotor dried enough to fire. Could even be a loose spark plug wire.

This dealership doesn't sound like they know anything about these cars as it is. You should also ask specifically what they broke during the clutch change.

Sgtblue

iTrader: (16)

If your young, consider getting your Dad or an older adult to come with you to the dealership. That's not a slam or meant to be an insult to anyone, but IMHO a reality that they'll be much more likely to take you seriously. Especially true if the car is registered in anyone else's name. Speak only with the service manager. Not the tech, not an assistant manager. Get your dates, whatever documentation and facts together. Check the repair write-up. Whenever I've taken my wife's car to the dealer, they've recorded mileage on those when the car comes in. Tell them your car ran fine, with a minor warm start issue when it was brought in for a clutch replacement. Now it appears to be more serious. Have an idea of what it is you want. A reasonable assumption is that you want the car to run at least as good as it did when it was brought it. Don't speculate yourself as to what has gone wrong. That's for them to figure out. Depending on how they respond, be prepared to go to the dealerhip's General Manager and/or the MAZDA district or regional manager. Be business-like. Patient and pleasant, but firm. Last resort would be an attorney. IF your prepared to go that route, let them know. But don't threaten it every 5 minutes. My .02.

Sprockett

Next time call Chris Sanders at Banzai Racing down in Pierceton, IN. He's the closest rotary expert. Search around on the forum - his screen name is BlueTII.

As for the dealer...that was a mistake, and I made the same one. No matter what happens, I would NOT allow them to even attempt to install a new engine. Trust me - I had my own experience with a dealer up here in mid-Michigan (Thelen). They took 4 months to replace my engine, and still screwed it up.

Super77

First, go to the manager of the dealership and explain to him what happened. Tell him that the engine was working fine until you brought it in for a new clutch. Have him explain to you how the engine could go bad by simply taking it to the repair bay for work. Point is somone from that dealership drove your car into the ground.

Please understand that the dealership is not going to replace your engine for free. They are going to deny any wrong doing.

Find a good mazda shop in your area, get the car towed there, and have them find out what is wrong.

Find the meanst SOB attorney you can find, pay him the retainer fee (even if it is $2,000) and have him write the dealership a letter with the diagnosis from the Mazda shop, demanding a replacement engine or face a law suit.

Go after these jerks. it may be expensive, but you really have no other choice other than to fork over more money for a new engine. (@ $4,000 installed - if your turbos and pumps are in good working order)

Good luck.

Super77

Sprockett

Again, the closest rotary shop is Banzai Racing in Pierceton, IN.

And if your car is modified at all, they can deny you any sort of "free" work. In my case, I had aftermarket seats in my FD because the original seats were torn to shreds by the previous owner's dog. They said they would not warranty anything or honor any previous warranties because the car had been modified.

T2 Tsunami

iTrader: (3)

You should start working on your own car. A clutch job is'nt that hard. You would have saved yourself a big headache and $700+(clutch/labor) that you could put towards aftermarket parts. Start exploring your car.

jbust

iTrader: (16)

The replies above are correct ( engine was running fine, only needed clutch replacement), I am also a mechanic and ive seen this kind of things. Its gonna be hard but it will pay off. You will need to bring your lawyer, police report yada yada.. they blew up your engine and they should be responsible for replacement. My boss wasnt happy when a customer brought paperworks about the shop being sued

gaebing

Thanks guys.

I already told the service manager that the car was running fine except occasional hot start problem when I went there to pick up my car a week ago. And he said he would have some one take a look at it for free.
Now I just called him about an hour ago, and asked him what's the status of my car. He said that there's no compression in one of the rotors. Same thing he told me before. And he claimed that the car was like that when I brought it in. He didn't say that a week ago, even though he didn't explicitly admit that they did something wrong. And he wanted me to pay for the engine replacement. I said no, and told him that I would call him back.
Then I called student legal service (I am a graduate student research assisntant and can use the service for free) and made an appointment with a laywer. It's tomorrow afternoon, so I have to wait. I did not told the service manager about the lawyer, though.
I know, the service manager knows (I believe), and God knows that the car was fine before the cluch replacement, but I'm not sure how I can prove it. The odometer reading indicates that they drove it about 4 miles after I dropped it in. And they had not said anything about the engine being abnormal for about two weeks while replacing clutch. They should have noticed it right away and called me about it if the engine had run like that. I don't think they could have even driven 4 miles with that condition ( it hardly idles).
I still have to see my lawyer tomorrow, but am really worried.

Thanks again for your help.

katit

iTrader: (1)

Well. Clutch is pretty straightforward job on this car. In my expierence - this is easiest clutch job I ever did.

4 miles is enough of a drive to blow engine if they took car down a block for "test drive"

turBRO240

iTrader: (1)

Believe me... its possible.

gaebing

Oh, I forgot to mention that this is the first time I've ever gone to the dealer for service. I've done quite a bit of maintenance myself. But the car is almost stock except down pipe, catback and boost guage. I've installed down pipe, catback, boost guage and replace numerous things myself. And I was about to do something about the occasional hot start problem, and that's why I let them do the diagnositics thinking that they might find the cause. I thought it would be some kind of electrical problem such as weak alternator/battery, aging solenoids and some faulty sensors.
And when the manager told me about the ZERO compression, I thought it was just some kind of dealer scam. But I'm worried that it is indeed the case.

Nick_d_TII

iTrader: (6)

Just goes to say, "If you want something done right, do it yourself."

This crap happens a lot these days. They probably did break your car. My brother in law works at a dealer, he's been in trouble a few times for hot rodding cars.
I mean if you let me drive your rx, I'd get on it.. a little. Thats why I do all my own work... it may not be the best, but if I screwed up its my fault, and I didn't waste that money on labor...

Good luck, and get a good lawyer!

BlackR1FD3S

Ok, same sort of thing...

My little brother works as an apprentice (trainee) mechanic at a garage here in town, which does warranty servicing & medium mechanical repairs. One day, A 1997 Nissan Pathfinder SUV-kind-of-thing came in for an oil change & service. The service was carried out, and my brother then gave the car the complimentary free wash & took it out on the road for a test, as they do with all serviced cars.
Now, my brother owns a turbocharged 2.6 liter 1974 Chrysler Lancer, and he's right into drifting, etc (as most young people who work in the auto trade usually are) so the "test drive" he gives customer's cars, is one full of limiter-banging, tire screaming hell..
He recounts that he got the automatic trans Pathfinder on the rev limiter in second gear, slammed it into 3rd and heard a bang & a big grinding noise, followed by a loss of forward drive (engine free revving while in gear). He coasted into a carpark, calls his big brother up (me) and says "holy crap, I've just blown up a customer's car! What do I do??" I reply that he should just be honest with his boss, and leave me out of this one!! So he ends up calling his boss, getting the car towed back to the workshop and his boss tells him that "No matter how hard you were driving this thing, we're just going to tell the lady customer that her car was going to blow up anyway"
Turns out, he stripped all the spline teeth off the input shaft of the auto transmission, and welded parts of it together internally, from all his antics. If I were the customer & saw all the spline teeth shredded off the input shaft, I'd know some idiot had thrashed my car.. But this customer wasnt very mechanically minded.
The boss calls her up, says it was going to happen anyway, and it would cost her $4000 all up, in labour & parts to repair everything. And you know what? The silly customer paid it because she didnt know any better!? And apparently, this wasnt the first time this sort of thing had happened, and that would explain why the boss wasnt too shaken up by it, & never got angry about it.
After that, I made sure if my car was going for exhaust work or a wheel alignment or something I couldnt be bothered to do myself, I set my Power FC rev limiter down, so the "mechanics" cant rev it to an early death. And it pays to know, or have a good relationship with the guy who is going to work on your car, because he will respect you & also your car a little more that way.

gaebing

I think that is exactly what happend to my car. Some one took it out for a "test drive" and blew up the engine. But I still hope it wasn't the case. The boost was not particularly spiky before the clutch job. It goes up as high as 11 psi or a little more (but less than 12 psi), but I wonder if it's enough to blow up the engine.
Any way, what is the symptom of a blown rotary engine. They said one of the rotor has no compression at all.
I could start it up when I went to dealer to pick it up. The car was not drivable at all. I stalled it a couple times to just move it about 20 feet. Idle was very rough, jumping any where between 500 to 1500 rpm. The whole car was shaking side to side. The boost(vacumn) was about 8-10 mmhg. After about 5 minutes or so, it eventually stalled. And then I could re-start it.
I don't remember seeing excessive smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe even though the exhaust sound was very rough with some popping every second or two.
Is this something I should expect when one rotor is completely busted?

Thanks.

vrmmmpshhh

your brother is a no good stupid ******* *******. He deserves to get the **** kicked out of him. No respect for other people's property and as a apprentice its even worse cos he cant afford to pay for the damage he causes. If he did that to my $100 ******* that i took in to have an oil change id still get to him with a sharpened golf club. Sorry but hearing about ********* like that annoy me. When i take my FD to any shop i tell the boss that the car has datalogging/ rev limiter and if anything sounds wrong he will pay through the nose.

cp1

i think as a word of advice to anyone who takes the car into a shop, dealer or not, they should be upfront with the service manager or technician that you have recorded the odometer and under no circumstance are they to test drive the car after completion. they can call you to come do that. ive done this before and the shop was very courteous about it and understood completely. any shop that would protest i would walk away from. i dont really care about what their policy might be.

and give them a limit if they need to move the car around (which they might from time to time) but tell them you expect that no more than 200 meters will be justified. there is no shop in the world that needs more than 200meters to move a car.

for those who arent metric 200meters is 1/8th of a mile