Xxplicrr
05-11-2018, 11:37 PM
Bit of a rant, but ultimately would like some advice on next steps...
I've been chasing a front end clunk/knock/pop for the past several months. Only occurs in certain situations...going over speed bumps at 20km/hr - 40km/hr, going over uneven roads at less than 40km/hr, turning left from full stop, accelerating on a slight incline and sometimes turning right. Clunk/knock/pop is not constant once it happens and you hear it, usually occurs only once. At first I thought it was my endlinks or sway bar bushings, but had those checked and they're fine. Also had everything tightened. Brought it to 2 different dealership and 3 indy mechanics (even Jimmy wasn't able to find what was wrong) to have a look at to see if one of them is able to identify what is causing the clunk/knock/pop - none were able to :bang
After spending a couple hours online I found another discussion with folks who have been experiencing the same issue and quoted TSB 02-001/16 (https://mazda.oemdtc.com/208/popping-squeaking-noise-from-front-shock-absorber-andor-creaking-noise-from-front-lower-arm-bushing-2014-2016-mazda3) was able to fix the issue. I figured I'd take a gamble that this would be the fix and made an appointment for today. I took the TSB to one of the dealerships I went to previously and asked them to perform the work on the vehicle based on the TSB. They dismissed the TSB and wanted to do another diagnosis until I told them they already performed a diagnosis and found nothing. Took a little convincing but they agreed to perform the work described in the TSB. Estimated time to perform all tasks on the TSB is listed as 2.4 hours.
I brought the vehicle in at noon and at 5pm I get a call saying that the clunk/knock/pop is still present and they want to keep the car overnight (they close at 6 pm) ... I said I can't leave the vehicle overnight as I commute from work to home via car and couldn't make alternative arrangements with short notice. Went back to the dealership expecting to pay for the parts they ordered and whatever work was done on the car. To my surprise the service advisor handed me the keys and said I'm all set. They told me that I need to make another appointment where I can leave the vehicle for the entire day to have the work done based on the TSB. Here is where I'm confused ... if the TSB says it will only take 2.4 hours to complete, why would I need to leave the vehicle for longer (more labour $$?) and why wasn't work performed on the vehicle today when I brought it in? Service advisor wasn't able to provide an answer when I asked. All they said was once they start the work they'll have to finish (no s**t Sherlock). Maybe I didn't enough time for work to be done today and should have brought in the car earlier?
Between having to educate the dealership about the TSB, having them agree to perform the work today and ultimately not doing anything to my car after having it for half a day, I've lost some confidence in the dealership to do the work. Should I schedule another appointment at the dealership to have them perform the work, this time taking the first appointment of the day or should I just purchase all the parts and bring it to an indy mechanic like Jimmy and have them perform the work on the TSB? Any negatives with the latter?
Apologies for the long post, but thought I needed to rant a little.
I've been chasing a front end clunk/knock/pop for the past several months. Only occurs in certain situations...going over speed bumps at 20km/hr - 40km/hr, going over uneven roads at less than 40km/hr, turning left from full stop, accelerating on a slight incline and sometimes turning right. Clunk/knock/pop is not constant once it happens and you hear it, usually occurs only once. At first I thought it was my endlinks or sway bar bushings, but had those checked and they're fine. Also had everything tightened. Brought it to 2 different dealership and 3 indy mechanics (even Jimmy wasn't able to find what was wrong) to have a look at to see if one of them is able to identify what is causing the clunk/knock/pop - none were able to :bang
After spending a couple hours online I found another discussion with folks who have been experiencing the same issue and quoted TSB 02-001/16 (https://mazda.oemdtc.com/208/popping-squeaking-noise-from-front-shock-absorber-andor-creaking-noise-from-front-lower-arm-bushing-2014-2016-mazda3) was able to fix the issue. I figured I'd take a gamble that this would be the fix and made an appointment for today. I took the TSB to one of the dealerships I went to previously and asked them to perform the work on the vehicle based on the TSB. They dismissed the TSB and wanted to do another diagnosis until I told them they already performed a diagnosis and found nothing. Took a little convincing but they agreed to perform the work described in the TSB. Estimated time to perform all tasks on the TSB is listed as 2.4 hours.
I brought the vehicle in at noon and at 5pm I get a call saying that the clunk/knock/pop is still present and they want to keep the car overnight (they close at 6 pm) ... I said I can't leave the vehicle overnight as I commute from work to home via car and couldn't make alternative arrangements with short notice. Went back to the dealership expecting to pay for the parts they ordered and whatever work was done on the car. To my surprise the service advisor handed me the keys and said I'm all set. They told me that I need to make another appointment where I can leave the vehicle for the entire day to have the work done based on the TSB. Here is where I'm confused ... if the TSB says it will only take 2.4 hours to complete, why would I need to leave the vehicle for longer (more labour $$?) and why wasn't work performed on the vehicle today when I brought it in? Service advisor wasn't able to provide an answer when I asked. All they said was once they start the work they'll have to finish (no s**t Sherlock). Maybe I didn't enough time for work to be done today and should have brought in the car earlier?
Between having to educate the dealership about the TSB, having them agree to perform the work today and ultimately not doing anything to my car after having it for half a day, I've lost some confidence in the dealership to do the work. Should I schedule another appointment at the dealership to have them perform the work, this time taking the first appointment of the day or should I just purchase all the parts and bring it to an indy mechanic like Jimmy and have them perform the work on the TSB? Any negatives with the latter?
Apologies for the long post, but thought I needed to rant a little.