Prima Mazda Service Fail

[zzz3]

The encounter below only reflects Prima Mazdas service department and those involved, not sales, parts or the rest of the staff. Please keep that in mind.

I've been specifying mazda 0w-20 synthetic oil changes for pretty much the life of the vehicle (the car is tracked so correct maintenance is key) and today despite my request (made before work started) to Neville the service advisor, 5w-20 was put in. When I asked them why, they said they went by my oil cap and said that my warranty would be voided (flat out wrong and reprehensible scare tactic). I tried to explain weight and viscosity but that led no where (and 2011-2012 gx mazdas with the 2.0mzr specify 0w-20). The lack of understanding throughout the whole ordeal can be best summed by Chris, i believe the manager, who claimed that "0W-20 oil was thinner" (a common misconception) :facepalm.

You don't have to read bitog forums to know that both are the same at operating temps and the 0w flows better for cold starts. Furthermore the mazda 0w-20 is a group III semi synthetic offered at same price as the plain old 5w-20, and that in itself inherently has many advantages (base, additives etc).

To rectify the mistake, they flushed out the incorrect oil and put in Mobil 1 as a substitute (not sure what grade) as i believe they ran out of mazda 0W-20. What should have been an hour job tops (they tested my battery as part of the service free of charge to their credit) turned into a much longer wait and an annoying inconvenience. I paid the $58 and promptly left as i could not afford to argue any further and was running late.

Now I'm left questioning what was put in this morning (as well as at my previous oil change) and frustrated as to how people can be so narrow minded in their operations and not accept that there are viable alternatives. I have been going to QEW/Budd's Mazda for all my oil changes and have never encountered such a lack of understanding (katie and john know the benefits of mazda 0W-20 and are always happy oblige).

Thank you Prima Mazda for screwing up my day.

[thefish]

The encounter below only reflects Prima Mazdas service department and those involved, not sales, parts or the rest of the staff. Please keep that in mind.

I've been specifying mazda 0w-20 synthetic oil changes for pretty much the life of the vehicle and today despite my request (made before work started) to Neville the service advisor, 5w-20 was put in. When I asked them why, they said they went by my oil cap and said that my warranty would be voided (flat out lie and reprehensible scare tactic). I tried to explain weight and viscosity but that led no where (and 2011-2012 gx mazdas with the 2.0mzr specify 0w-20). The lack of understanding throughout the whole ordeal can be best summed by Chris, i believe the manager, who claimed that "0W-20 oil was thinner" (a common misconception) :facepalm

You don't have to read bitog forums to know that both are the same at operating temps and the 0w flows better for cold starts. Furthermore the mazda 0w-20 is a group III semi synthetic offered at same price as the plain old 5w-20, and that in itself inherently has many advantages (base, additives etc).

To rectify the mistake, they flushed out the incorrect oil and put in the oil I specified. What should have been an hour job tops (they tested my battery as part of the service free of charge to their credit) turned into a much longer wait and an annoying inconvenience. I paid the $58 and promptly left as i could not afford to argue any further and was running late.

Now I'm left questioning what was put in my previous oil change (the car is tracked so maintenance is key) and frustrated as to how people can be so narrow minded in their operations and not accept that there are viable alternatives Prima Mazda. I have been going to QEW/Budd's Mazda for all my oil changes and have never encountered such a lack of understanding (katie and john know the benefits of mazda 0W-20 and are always happy oblige).

It's scary to think that there are people that work on our cars without really knowing what they're doing/talking about. Every annoying experience like this encourages to do more car maintenance myself... so I guess that's good.

[zzz3]

It's scary to think that there are people that work on our cars without really knowing what they're doing/talking about. Every annoying experience like this encourages to do more car maintenance myself... so I guess that's good.

Everything but oil changes is done at street performance. I would have gone to jimmy for the oil change (more so now that my car is out of warranty and there is no incentive to go to a dealer) but i had to pick up parts from prima mazda that i previously ordered. Convenience is why i initially scheduled an oil change as i was due for one and I wanted to ask about activating my recently installed oem cruise control. I didnt have the activation completed (going to another dealer), besides being short on time, because neville the service advisor could not grasp the concept and tech didnt know how to do it :S.

[CloudPump]

You don't have to do your oil changes at the dealership to maintain warranty. You do have to keep receipts of the oil/filter purchases if you do them yourself though.

-Geoff

[ecbehrens]

I'm going to add my $.02 to this topic as I'm glad I am not the only one who has had this issue.
I had my 12 month service done at Prima Nov. 2nd. As specified by the service schedule my vehicle was due in 12 months or 24.000 kms. I went by the 12 months as I had 20.000 on the car. It's a 2012 Speed3.
$410 later (they claimed my car needed a wheel alignment, like every other car after driving for a year - Everybody must be driving through mine fields these days.) I had not looked at the invoice details until I was back at work. When I checked it had said the oil used was 0w20. I called back immediately and was told by Neville that they put on what was stated on the oil cap (which says 5w30 btw). When I questioned again, the answer changed to "The 5w30 is coded as 0w20 in their system". Needless to say I have that same feeling as you zzz3 because when I spoke with their Sales manager (Yes I called back 5 minutes after speaking to Neville), he told me that he went back there and saw the 5w30 bottles used. Would they use bottles or would it be coming out of a dispenser like the 0w20?
Now I haven't noticed any smoke coming out of the exhaust , which I think would indicate that they put a lesser viscosity and it could seep past the seals, but I still have that uneasy feeling in the back of my mind that I have the wrong oil in.
I guess right now I'm not caring as much as its under warranty, and some part of me wants something to fail so I can refer back to their service.

[Jenuine]

Hmm, I got my last two oil changes done there... car's fairly new. I really hope they've been putting in the right oil. I'm gonna go home and check my invoice details later.

[proDJtege]

I just had a CEL check there for $120 (ouch) and turned out that I needed my EGR valve (and gasket) replaced... the whole thing came to about $700 (CEL tap-in included)... (another ouch).
They also tell me I need a transmission flush and throttlebody cleaning... those are understandable and I was anticipating.

Not really a bad service experience, but I wonder if had I just known some other way, then the CEL could have been ignored as a chargeable item, considering the cost of checking such a thing. I mean, what if the CEL was just to tell me to get an oil change?.. would that turn it into a $170 oil change??

Can anyone suggest good places for throttle-body cleaning?

[gabbygenier]

Can anyone suggest good places for throttle-body cleaning?

just do it yourself. its pretty easy to do. i need to do mine again soon.

a few threads on here about it.
http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?47773-Throttle-Body-Cleaning

here's the tsb for it.
http://www.miata.net/garage/tsb/01-007-09-2069.pdf

[Hyperion]

What he said. Why not just get a friend to check that cel for you first?

[MazdaMike02]

I have heard of cases where manufacturers have had oil analyses done. AFAIK Mazda doesnt, but we've never run into a situation like that.
Also if your car specifys 5W20 why are you putting in 0W20? Why not just get a good quality synthetic 5W20?
Also why are you bringing your car in for service before everything else you have to do in the day? What happened if something happened preventing you from taking your car? (pet peeve...I can't stand when customers bring there cars in when in a rush)
Something like this is bound to happen when you go for service in a rush.

[zzz3]

I have heard of cases where manufacturers have had oil analyses done. AFAIK Mazda doesnt, but we've never run into a situation like that.
Also if your car specifys 5W20 why are you putting in 0W20? Why not just get a good quality synthetic 5W20?
Also why are you bringing your car in for service before everything else you have to do in the day? What happened if something happened preventing you from taking your car? (pet peeve...I can't stand when customers bring there cars in when in a rush)
Something like this is bound to happen when you go for service in a rush.

The answer to why I chose 0w20 is in the op.

As for why I took the car in at the start of the day, what an asinine question. I should be able to take it whenever my schedule permits. Take a gander at their service hours, if they don't want customers in the morning then the hours should of operation reflect that and they should remain closed.

With regards to something going wrong, It's a simple oil change and battery test, why would anything go wrong? The probability of something happening on such a benign and routine service is quite low. It is not a engine rebuild or rocket science. As such I budgeted to be in an out by 1 hour give or take, which is an appropriate assumption given the time required for previous oil changes at the dealership.

However, due to the incompetence and ignorance of some of the employees at prima mazdas service department, I was there for 2 hours or so. I became rushed because my schedule was now in disarray and I had other places to be (like work).

So your assertion that this happened (or was deserved) because I was in a rush is invalid and idiotic.

P.S., I brought the matter to Mr. Rui Martins attention who promised to look into it but never did. I followed up again along with Ami (S.F.W), who also was kind enough to look into this matter with Prima being a site sponsor, to no response. This speaks volumes about Prima Mazdas customer service and resolve. Their modus operendi from top to bottom seems to be promise something and do the opposite.

[zzz3]

So I got two calls from them in the past few days. I thought it was in regards to the terrible experience I had and they wanted to make it right. Turns out they just wanted me to come in for service :S

Coincidentally they are no longer a sponsor:
http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?75212-Prima-Mazda-No-Longer-an-affiliate

[proDJtege]

I've also had a call from them asking about coming in for service

"Sorry, I found a better dealership closer to me for service"

[Blueimpact]

Ah. I've always had a great experience with them. Maybe once in a blue mood I had to wait a bit longer than usual, but I have been with them FOREVER.

They practically sold me a '12 Speed3 for the price of a 3. Straight up. Me and my family have had 6+ cars through them.

I had a close relationship with the old service manager, as he allowed for me to modify my car without it being tagged or voiding the warranty, and even when the new guy came he honored that.

Previously I had a CX-7 and the turbo blew right out of it (engine destroyed) and they replaced it for free. No hassle.

HOWEVER, knock on wood, I have yet to have an issue with my modified speed...so we shall see. And I have a family friend who does my oil, you just need to keep the receipts!