What to do about dealer joy ride?

blackhawk867

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I just brought my 2019 FK8 in for a 1-year service (oil change, brake service, state inspection), and made sure to check the mileage in+out, and it was only a difference of 1 mile. I thought "ok good, probably ticked over from them driving it around the building to park when they were done with it". After I got back home I checked the dash cam footage, and my heart sank. After I dropped the car off, they let it sit for 30 minutes, then turned it on, pulled out of the dealer, floored it to redline in 1st and 2nd gear, turned around, floored it again, and returned to the dealer to start working on it.

I can't see any rationalization for needing to warm the car up or drive it hard for any other reason than a joy ride. Am I overreacting? Or should I call the service manager and complain?

EDITS AND VIDEO BELOW: Since this thread kinda blew up I'm editing the OP with all the extra info that's come up in the thread so those seeing this later can find everything in one place. I didn't mean for this to get this crazy, but I'm gonna leave the thread open for discussion if people want.

This all happened at Ide Honda in Rochester NY.

I called the service adviser I worked with, she talked to the technician who claimed they drove it out of the dealer for the state inspection. Then the adviser passed me up to the service manager. He apologized and gave me $50 credit towards any future service and asked me to send him the video so he can talk to the technician (claiming he has no tolerance for that kind of stuff). I also made sure to say that I don't want anyone to get fired over this, but it shouldn't be acceptable behavior, especially for a "special" car that I bought from that same dealer.

At around the 1 minute mark in the video he leaves the dealer and redlines it in second, accelerating to 58mph in a 40mph zone, then just before the 2 minute mark he turns around and revs it again (though not quite to redline). 2nd gear redlines at ~56, so in order to get the 58 he most definitely bounced off the redline, and you can hear it briefly in the video.

Around the 30 second mark you can hear him put the car into +R mode, and then hit it again so it beeps 3 times saying it's already in +R mode, which is DEFINITELY not something that would need to be done for an inspection. And at ~1:35 you can hear him play with the sport mode selector again and wiggle the steering wheel to try out the steering stiffness.

The scraping sound at 1:55 I think is my snow brush sliding on the back seat rubber floor mat. The rattling you can hear during the 2 pulls is most likely the dashcam/cord rattling in place.

He did not let the car get up to temperature before redlining it (it was 30-35F at that time, and the engine was stone cold when he pulls out of the spot).

I understand that no harm was caused in what he did, it's a Type R that is meant to redline on a track constantly, but it shows a lack of respect for other people's vehicles. Redlining before the car is up to temp is something I have NEVER done, so seeing someone else do it to my car feels bad.

I agree that the term "joyride" may be a bit overkill for this scenario, but it was definitely more than a standard "warm the car up before working on it" trip. And there is absolutely no excuse for speeding almost 20 over the limit in the cold and rain.

The state inspection (New York) basically just checks to make sure the car is operational and won't fall apart on the road and endanger others. Pretty much the only thing in the description of the inspection I could find that would require driving the car on the road is hitting the brakes and making sure the car doesn't pull to the side. Redlining it and playing with the driving modes are 100% not part of the inspection.

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bluehatch17

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Call and complain. And this is exactly why you do things yourself. No one will care about your car as much as you...
 
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blackhawk867

blackhawk867

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Call and complain. And this is exactly why you do things yourself. No one will care about your car as much as you...
Well the state inspection isn't exactly something I can do on my own, but I also live in a townhouse complex and don't have anywhere I could do the oil change myself, especially in winter. Last time I brought it into this dealer for the first oil change I had no issues, so I hoped that would be the case again this time.

I tried calling but it went to the service department voicemail system, so I'll try calling again later.
 

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I just brought my 2019 FK8 in for a 1-year service (oil change, brake service, state inspection), and made sure to check the mileage in+out, and it was only a difference of 1 mile. I thought "ok good, probably ticked over from them driving it around the building to park when they were done with it. After I got back home I checked the dash cam footage, and my heart sank. After I dropped the car off, they let it sit for 30 minutes, then turned it on, pulled out of the dealer, floored it to redline in 1st and 2nd gear, turned around, floored it again, and returned to the dealer to start working on it.

I can't see any rationalization for needing to warm the car up or drive it hard for any other reason than a joy ride. Am I overreacting? Or should I call the service manager and complain?
Prepare for war!

Thats what i would do anyway...
 


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blackhawk867

blackhawk867

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Update: called the service adviser I worked with, she talked to the technician who claimed they drove it out of the dealer for the state inspection. Then the adviser passed me up to the service manager. He apologized and gave me $50 credit towards any future service and asked me to send him the video so he can talk to the technician (claiming he has no tolerance for that kind of stuff).

I felt like a jerk for calling, but as someone who loves their Type R dearly, it hurt me to watch the video. I also made sure to say that I don't want anyone to get fired over this, but it shouldn't be acceptable behavior, especially for a "special" car that I bought from that same dealer.
 

bluehatch17

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It’s bullshit. You have total and complete right to feel like crap.

They can and should take that $50 and shove it. I hate people who don’t have basic respect for other people’s hard earned stuff.
If you didn’t have the dash cam, you would have never known. Doing it wasn’t the issue for them, them getting caught was.
 

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I say if the guy wasnt smart enough to know what he did was gonna be on your dash cam, he isn't smart enough to be working on my car, so let him be fired. :)
All of this. You shouldn't disrespect others anyway. However, if you're going to do it, see you're being watched, and still do it...you deserve anything coming your way.
 
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blackhawk867

blackhawk867

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All of this. You shouldn't disrespect others anyway. However, if you're going to do it, see you're being watched, and still do it...you deserve anything coming your way.
To be fair, I tucked the dash cam away pretty well behind the review mirror. Unless you're actively looking for it, you won't see it from the driver's seat.

So I doubt he even knew about the dashcam. Still doesn't excuse his behavior though.
 


Shred

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What dealer so anyone else on this forum in the area can avoid that place?

I'd go back and tell them to refund that whole service charge. Doesn't matter or not that it is a performance vehicle, if the service center is mistreating it you shouldn't be paying them a damn cent. The car is going to be fine, but this shows an incredible recklessness. Just because they are service technicians doesn't mean that they are competent drivers, what happens if there is an accident while they were out? For what you had done, there is no reason for the car to have left the service center. All this little stunt did was put your property at risk for a few minutes' entertainment for bored employees. I get I sound like a real hardass or whatever, but this shit is totally unacceptable and $50 worth of service is barely an oil change.
 
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blackhawk867

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What dealer so anyone else on this forum in the area can avoid that place?

I'd go back and tell them to refund that whole service charge. Doesn't matter or not that it is a performance vehicle, if the service center is mistreating it you shouldn't be paying them a damn cent. The car is going to be fine, but this shows an incredible recklessness. Just because they are service technicians doesn't mean that they are competent drivers, what happens if there is an accident while they were out? For what you had done, there is no reason for the car to have left the service center. All this little stunt did was put your property at risk for a few minutes' entertainment for bored employees. I get I sound like a real hardass or whatever, but this shit is totally unacceptable and $50 worth of service is barely an oil change.
The dealer is Ide Honda in Rochester, NY for other's reference. The last time I was there for my first oil change I didn't have any issues, and they actually changed my transmission fluid for free when I mentioned the second gear grind issue I had once or twice. I paid a total of $17 for everything that day, so it felt to me like they cared and wanted to build trust.

This second visit was a different story though. I had a different service adviser even though I requested the same one as previous, and this new one seemed more interested in being as efficient as possible, didn't seem to care as much. And she just referred to it as a 19 civic, not a Type R or anything out of the ordinary million civics she deals with regularly.

I read up on what is required in the state inspection, and they definitely have to drive it in order to test some stuff like "Brake equalization - test vehicle for a straight stop without significant wheel pull" so I'm not that upset about the car leaving the parking lot in the first place.

I'm a pretty non-confrontational person, so making the call was already more than I'd normally do. It would take a lot more than 1 or 2 redlines for me to go back and demand a full refund. I'll take the $50 but I still haven't decided if I'll ever go back there for service in the future. Finding a trustworthy mechanic is daunting which is why I usually stick with the dealer in the first place.
 

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When I got my inspection done, it didn't leave the lot but I also didn't visit a dealer for that. I suppose they are supposed to get that done, but most places, at least around the city, just mark that as passed. I suppose a dealer has to do it the straight and narrow...except when their staff want to experience a little bit of a thrill? That could also be tested driving the vehicle around the service center, unless there is a speed requirement?

I get that it's a hassle to call and complain more, and ultimately and thankfully nothing went wrong. But more and more of this stuff is coming out, if a bigger stink gets made it'll happen less.
 

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The dealer is Ide Honda in Rochester, NY for other's reference. The last time I was there for my first oil change I didn't have any issues, and they actually changed my transmission fluid for free when I mentioned the second gear grind issue I had once or twice. I paid a total of $17 for everything that day, so it felt to me like they cared and wanted to build trust.

This second visit was a different story though. I had a different service adviser even though I requested the same one as previous, and this new one seemed more interested in being as efficient as possible, didn't seem to care as much. And she just referred to it as a 19 civic, not a Type R or anything out of the ordinary million civics she deals with regularly.

I read up on what is required in the state inspection, and they definitely have to drive it in order to test some stuff like "Brake equalization - test vehicle for a straight stop without significant wheel pull" so I'm not that upset about the car leaving the parking lot in the first place.

I'm a pretty non-confrontational person, so making the call was already more than I'd normally do. It would take a lot more than 1 or 2 redlines for me to go back and demand a full refund. I'll take the $50 but I still haven't decided if I'll ever go back there for service in the future. Finding a trustworthy mechanic is daunting which is why I usually stick with the dealer in the first place.

Sorry to hear that man, so glad I don't plan on bringing my SI back there since I drove it off the lot.
 

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I can't see any rationalization for needing to warm the car up or drive it hard for any other reason than a joy ride. Am I overreacting? Or should I call the service manager and complain?
I don't agree with his method to warm it up but it is best to change the oil while its hot.
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