They hurt my baby! Advice?

[Kirthasa]

At an NSX event this weekend, I won a gift certificate for a complete detailing from our local luxury/specialty car shop. I took them up on it yesterday, but when I picked up the car, I noticed a few problems:

1) The felt lining in the center compartment and the change container had been scratched off - In one area, there is a hole the size of your palm, exposing the metal below.

2) When I purchased the car, there was some minor bubbling in the metallic paint around the center air conditioning vent. When the car was being cleaned, however, they managed to rip some of this paint off, exposing the plastic below.

3) Here's the strange one - Since taking the car in for detailing, the LCD display on the A/C is messed up. To begin with, the digit readout shows incorrect digits, with 6's and 5's showing as 8's, etc. In addition, "MODE" LCD display is always lit up. I know that they cleaned area under the hood and applied a protectant on the wires. Is it possible that the protectant is causing a short circuit? I had hoped that this was the case, and that it would be gone by this morning, but the problem persists.

I'm going back to talk with them about the car today, but needless to say, I'm a bit upset. They seem to be a pretty classy joint, so I'd be suprised if they don't fix the problems, but I don't know how to diagnose the A/C problem, which I would wager has a simple solution. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Aaron

 

[Nsxotic]

The only answer I can muster on the A/C LED question is: (and I hope I'm wrong because you won't like it)..... When you push excessively hard on an LED display, you crack the lense behind it causing everything to look like 8's...... I hope they didn't push too hard while cleaning the display, but that sounds like what you are describing.

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Todd Arnold

http://www.geocities.com/nsxcessive/index.html

 

[ScienceofSpeed]

Aaron --

Bummer :-(

Todd kinda sounds right. Have you ever pushed in the screen on a calculator, and seen the numbers get kinda jumbled? Let us know how this turns out :-(

-- Chris

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www.ScienceofSpeed.com - Click for more info
www.NSXClassifieds.com - The internet's only exclusive NSX Classified site!

 

[Kirthasa]

Actually, I guess I was hoping for moral support as well as technical. Doesn't anyone want to post a message saying "That's in the manual. Just press a button and it goes away"?

I wouldn't believe you, but it might make me feel better

 

[Kirthasa]

Update:

I went and talked with the detail manager, showing him the problems. I was a little surprised that the detailer that worked on the car said that the holes in the felt were there before the detailing - I have removed the center console four or five times, and I am very familiar with the interior scratches/blemishes on my car. Regardless, he agreed to fix the felt in the center compartment, which is the most visible problem.

I'm certainly not happy about the small chips in the paint beneath the center A/C vents, but seeing as I'm going to repaint the console anyway, I don't see that as a big problem. As for the A/C, he said that it was probably moisture, and if the problem still exists next Tuesday, we'll take it from there.

I'm certainly surprised to see these kinds of problems from a reputable shop, but everyone's human. What matters more is how they deal with these kinds of mistakes. I'm not completely satisfied, but if the A/C problem goes away and the felt repair is fine, I will feel a lot better.

Aaron

PS - They were going to detail the engine, but the detail manager said that they couldn't figure out how to open it.

They'll take care of it on Tuesday.

 

[SigEpUCI]

Originally posted by Kirthasa:
PS - They were going to detail the engine, but the detail manager said that they couldn't figure out how to open it.

They'll take care of it on Tuesday.

I would tell them thanks but no thanks, last thing you need is dents in the body panels because some idoit dropped his tools. I would get the issues fixed, cap it at that, and move on.


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95 T bl/bl @ 39.6K
DC Headers
RM DTM Exhaust
CT Strut Tower Bar

 

[Kirthasa]

Yeah, now that I think about it, I'm starting to worry. I was pretty upset when I saw the scratches inside my car, and I don't want to take any chances. A bird in the hand...

I'll probably be cleaning my own engine this weekend

Aaron

 

[steveny]

I would find out if they steamed the interior. Some detailers do this to the small dash parts to get the dirt loose. If this is the case they may have gotten it in the lcd display. And BTW I am having mine replaced after a 5 month wait for the display unit to come from japan, and its not cheap!

 

[erobbins]

Kirthasa -

So basically, you went back to the detailing place and all they're going to do is replace the felt? Is this even possible? I think that the "felt" in the change dish on the center console is an integral part of the center console trim itself. This would require replacement, which would resolve the paint chipping/scratching issue at the same time.

With respect to your A/C display, get some documentation from them that they will fund the repair through a dealership if it doesn't resolve itself before a particular date. Steam cleaning is a popular thing, but the moisture could have screwed up the electronic components that drive the display.

Don't let them off the hook - you drive an expensive exotic sportscar... things like this seriously damage resale value and are expensive to repair.

For what it's worth - this is why I clean my cars myself. I don't care what someone says they will or won't do - it's never done right unless you do it yourself. These places are known to "show" quality products, but use crap. You THINK you're getting Zymol, but you get Turtle Wax.

EDR

 

[Kirthasa]

It gets worse - Last night, I went to dry my car off, and as the cloth brushed across the front left headlight, the entire headlight assembly just pushed right in! I can now remove my front left headlight by hand without any tools. In addition, there is a place where the paint on the bumper was chipped off at the edge where the bumper meets the light. My guess is that possibly when they were buffing the car, they applied too much pressure and pushed the headlight in, and the buffer caught the edge of the paint, which is normally covered by the headlight.

I have gone back to pictures of my car, and in the pictures I took a couple of months ago, there is no chip. In addition, the last time I washed my car (two~three weeks ago), I am sure that the headlight was solidly attached.

I'm starting to wonder if they polished my car with fallapartium...

 

[Kirthasa]

The detail manager suggested that moisture may have gotten into the A/C display unit, and that it should dry out - Yesterday I opened my car up (trunk, windows, engine hatch, hood) and left it open all night in the garage in the hopes that it would dry out. No luck.

I'm leaving open it in the garage until tomorrow in the hopes that moisture is really the problem.

PS - Before anyone reminds me, yes, I detached the light in the trunk so the battery won't go dead.

 

[ScienceofSpeed]

I bought a new change deal awhile ago for about $25.00 from Acura.

-- Chris

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www.ScienceofSpeed.com - Click for more info
www.NSXClassifieds.com - The internet's only exclusive NSX Classified site!

 

[Edo]

Thats a total bummer Aaron. I was pretty jealous when you won that Full detail..but I don't feel so bad anymore...I hope everything pans out alright for you though.

 

[Kirthasa]

BTW, I just saw a photo of my car taken on Saturday, and the paint chip is definitely not there. Gonna have to talk with the service department AGAIN.

 

[SigEpUCI]

Just reading this is pissing me off. I'm already paranoid everytime I leave my car alone with someone. Argg. I feel your pain...

[This message has been edited by SigEpUCI (edited 23 August 2001).]

 

[BB]

Aaron,

Sorry to hear what happened at the detail shop, that doesn't sound like a fun experience! Sounds like most of the problems should be easy to fix or hide. I would be most concerned about the problem with the climate control module. I recall reading a story of someone who had that replaced and it was really expensive.

I once experienced a similar problem on the Honeywell temperature control in my house-- some of the LCD's were so dim that many of the numbers it displayed looked funny. When I took the unit apart, I discovered many of the contacts inside looked corroded. After cleaning them up with alcohol and putting the unit back together, the numbers looked perfect again.

In my opinion, your car is safe with almost no one other than yourself or perhaps another really finicky NSX owner. Because of this, I try to do everything myself whenever possible-- oil changes, fluid changes, exhaust install, sway bar install, detailing, etc. But when I don't feel comfortable with a task (i.e. timing belt), I hire someone else to do it. The last time I had someone else work on my car (Lynwood Acura changing the timing belt), they put scratches on my car. This only re-enforced my feeling.

I was present at the drawing you were at. As Chris got ready to draw the winners, I briefly thought to myself, "what if I win the car detail job? would I use it?" I decided I'd probably just give it away to someone else who wanted it.

As luck would have it I won the Science of Speed t-shirt. At least that prize seems safe. Unless Chris put something in the dye that he's not telling us about.

[This message has been edited by BB (edited 08 September 2001).]