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I started this thread to get ideas about why the dealership was being so aggressive about communicating this recall information to me, relative to other recall notifications I've received from them. It was not my intent to complain. I was curious. I did receive several insightful responses. But along with those, I received a lot of other, not-so-helpful responses. But I accept that as a reality of internet forums.
I'm assuming you meant "keep it to yourself or grow thicker skin"? I think I've kept my responses civil and I've endeavored not to become defensive, despite some pretty harsh posts (as Dburger pointed put).
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Kudos to you for doing the wise thing. Once it's done, they won't be calling and e-mailing you to get it done. Oh, wait, I wonder if they'll be calling you to tell you how happy they are that you took advantage of the recall and to thank you for improving their repair numbers.
Oh, what a tangled web...lol
I live in Northern Virginia and I own a 2004 Honda Accord. I had the airbag replaced (driver's side I guess?) once. So they came out with another airbag recall (passenger side I think) and the dealership has been VERY persistent in getting me in to fix it. In the past month and half they have called me at least a dozen times, and sent me multiple emails.
I'm curious why. I've never had a dealership be this aggressive in getting me into get a recall item fixed. Is it because they'll make more money on this kind of fix?
Because they are concerned about liability, if you get hurt because of the airbag. They are also under orders to replace all the airbags, and want to close out their mission.
I've heard that the service dept actually makes very little on a recall repair, although it may be true that they want the chance to upsell other stuff.
But I think it's mostly that they've gotten boatloads of bad press over this and Congress has dogged them as well. Every death (I think Honda's up to 9 of the 10 confirmed) makes it a little worse.
I'm not here to harp on you for getting it done/not done. That's a personal decision, and really no one but you and your family should be concerned about it.
There are a couple of issues at play to why they are getting on you so agressively.
For the Driver's side, there was a supply issue, so they didn't push hard to get everyone in, as they didn't have sufficient inventory to do them in a timely manner. That's not the case now with the passenger side ones. The supply chain has been amped up, and there is plenty of stock.
Honda has a vested interest in getting these done, as the bad news about the airbags continues to act as a drag on their earnings, and they want to put it behind them as soon as possible. That and this has not become a manditory recall yet, as in you can't drive your car until this is fixed, but if the NHTSA feels that there is not an appropriate level of response to the voluntary recall, that may happen yet.
Takata also has a significant incentive/disincentive in terms of increased fines if they do not get an appropriate number of defective bags off the road.
It's still a real issue, and should be a top priority for everyone
A very helpful, thoughtful response. Thanks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flamingo13
OP is obviously a moron for even complaining about a major safety issue and questioning why they want him/her to take care of it.
This one not so much.
Update! I took the car to the dealer yesterday and the passenger side airbag has been replaced. It was a relatively painless process. They didn't try to upsell me. They didn't try to sell me a new car. I walked out of there for $0 out of pocket. I'm glad it's done. I guess I shouldn't have put it off for so long.
Now we'll see how many people simply read the title of this thread, think of a quick, snarky response, and immediately jump to the end of the thread to post, without bothering to read any of the posts in between!
Because the minute someone crashes their car and the airbag doesn't work and the person is hurt.....omg.....here comes the 20million dollar lawsuit over the horrible negligence and putting profits first attitude of the company.
Even with 3-4 notifications, depending upon what jury of imbeciles they managed to herd together...especially in certain parts of the country....they could still lose their case or at least have to pay millions defending against it.
Update!I took the car to the dealer yesterday and the passenger side airbag has been replaced. It was a relatively painless process. They didn't try to upsell me. They didn't try to sell me a new car. I walked out of there for $0 out of pocket. I'm glad it's done. I guess I shouldn't have put it off for so long.
Now we'll see how many people simply read the title of this thread, think of a quick, snarky response, and immediately jump to the end of the thread to post, without bothering to read any of the posts in between!
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A simple "hey, I'll go ahead and take it in" vs "those pesky dealers always bothering me about this stupid airbag recall is really annoying me. I'm going to vent on an online message board" would have nipped it in the bud.
I'm not complaining, I'm curious as to the aggressive nature of the dealership.
Persistent contact from a dealership is annoying, I've had this happen while browsing around at cars while mine was in for service, which I guess is to be expected but I finally had to contact the manager and ask him to stop contacting me.
I had the opposite happen when my car had an airbag recall, not a peep from the dealership.
Heard about the recall in the news weeks before an oil change, no mention of it as I checked in so I asked that they check for outstanding recalls. Many weeks later Toyota sent me a letter. What's up with that?
I'm curious why. I've never had a dealership be this aggressive in getting me into get a recall item fixed. Is it because they'll make more money on this kind of fix?
They might fear some liability if you sell the car and dont tell the new owner that the airbags are not current.
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Update!
