From:
David Tanny
PO Box 19569
San Diego, CA 92159

July 6, 2008

To:
American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Honda Automobile Customer Service
1919 Torrance Boulevard
Mail Stop: 500 - 2N - 7D
Torrance, CA 90501-2746

I wish to register a complaint about services performed at Tipton Honda in El Cajon.

Tipton Honda, 889 Arnelle Ave, El Cajon, CA 92020.

On June 12, I took in my car for service because the radiator fans were not working and the car was overheating. The service people performed tests and told me that the fans worked every time. Were they testing them with the air conditioner on? That's why the fans always worked, as another car repair mechanic at another shop told me.

They replaced the timing belt, drive belts, and crank seals because the seals were leaking oil. They apparently didn't notice that it was possible that the water pump was leaking radiator fluid, which in part may have been responsible for the overheating.

There's more. At my request, since I thought that the fans were coming on and off due to wear and tear, I had the radiator fans replaced.

The shop said that they also replaced the relay, fan switch, and thermostat, but I'm not sure if that actually happened, as another mechanic at RAS told me on July 3 later on in this letter.

Just Wednesday, July 2nd, my car overheated again. I took it to RAS. He gave the cooling system a pressure test and found the leak coming out from the water pump. He replaced the water pump.

Tiption told me that they replaced the water pump on October of 2005. It should have lasted another two years. I don't understand why your replacement parts don't last as long as the original water pump did. I had the water pump replaced the first time at 100,648 miles.

In short, I paid too much just for the cause of one faulty part that the R A S mechanic found, as well as for the replacement of parts that may or may not have also contributed to the car's overheating problems. Neither Tiption or the RAS mechanic could isolate which one of the parts was the culprit.

The RAS mechanic tested the car after he replaced the water pump. The cooling system was sealed. The car overheated. He tested the car. He said that the fan switch and relay were worn out. I guess Tipton didn't replace the parts as I was charged for. He also replaced the ECT/Computer switch. He tested the car, again with the air conditioner turned OFF. When the needle went close to the midway point between C and H, the fans kicked in. He tested it longer and they now worked every time. Problem solved.

I saw the R.A.S. mechanic replace the ECT/Computer switch, fan switch, and fan relay myself. I'm very much sure that the Tipton mechanic did not replace the fan switch or the fan relay, and I doubt that the thermostat needed replacing as it was proven by the RAS mechanic that it wasn't the cause of the overheating. The cooling fans lifespan as I thought may be that they could go out anytime after 150,000 miles, so I thought that it's what would solve the problem. I was wrong. At least I don't have to worry about the cooling fans wearing out before I trade the car off about 2-3 years from now. Did I need to come up with a solution of my own because the Tipton mechanics didn't know how to fix the problem?

Now, my problem with Tipton is that I'm not sure if the mechanics could figure out that it may have been just one part that caused the engine to overheat. I was given the runaround that there was nothing wrong with the cooling fans, when in fact, something was causing them to not function. The RAS mechanic thought that it was the cooling fans until I told them that Tipton replaced them, but he doubted that Tipton replaced the fan relay, switch, and thermostat as I was charged for in the first place. When he replaced the fan relay, fan swich, and ECT/Computer switch, as well as replacing the water pump, the overheating problem disappearred.

The mechanics should have known to look for all of the places there might have been coolant leakage as they never told me about the water pump whether it had been leaking all along or not. The mechanics didn't properly test the cooling fans correctly and couldn't accurately isolate the problem, and very well didn't perform some of the serivces that I outlined that I was charged for. If they had correctly isolated whatever the problem was in the first place, I wouldn't have insisted on a new set of cooling fans or additional parts that were not needed.

In short, I paid too much just for the cause of one faulty part that the R A S mechanic found, as well as for the replacement of parts that may or may not have also contributed to the car's overheating problems. Neither Tiption or the RAS mechanic could isolate which of the parts was the culprit.

On June 25, I took my car to Firestone to investigate a noise coming from my engine. He replaced the starter. I never took it in to Tipton for that kind of service. He also noticed that the fan belts that Tipton installed last week weren't installed right, so the mechanic fixed it for no charge.

The R.A.S mechanic replaced the cooling system for no charge. He noticed that the coolant looked a little murky. Tipton supposedly flushed the coolant on my March 12 visit of 2008. I don't think that it was completely flushed.

Even stranger, the oil pan had to be replaced TWICE within the same year. Once on the May 16, 2007 visit, and again on the March 12, 2008 visit. I don't think that it was replaced the first time correctly or at all. It should have been installed right the first time.

There's more. On my March 12, 2008 visit, I supposedly had spark plugs and fuel induction service performed. Three months later, on July 1, my car had trouble starting and the check engine light went on. I went to R.A.S. and they replaced the spark plugs performed a fuel induction service due to a piston misfiring possibly due to the result of what happened the morning of July 1. I don't think that the mechanics at Tipton performed those services correctly.

I am sorely disappointed at the service I received at Tipton Honda in the past three months dating from March 12.

I believe some kind of solution to the poor service I received from Tipton Honda in the past three months should be in some kind of order.

Enclosed are copies of the receipts for the work performed in question by Tipton Honda as well as work performed by other repair shops where I had the problems corrected. The only exception is the receipt for Firestone where the fan belt installation was corrected free of charge.

Please get this problem resolved at once.

Sincererly,

David Tanny