Whitby Mazda thumbs up

[Mimizu man]

Now that MOT has been crossed off my list, I went down to Whitby Mazda last Wed for my 24 month servicing and block heater install.
Jonathan was who I dealt with, at least that's the name on the cards where he was sitting. :D

Service went pretty well. I'll have to assume that everything was done as I don't have the knowledge/skills to verify what was or was not done.
At this time, I believe that they did what they said would be done.
I did see my car up on the hoist and the wheels were off and something was being done to the brakes.
After chilling there for about 20-30 minutes, I asked to be dropped off at the Home Depot nearby.
The CX5 they use as their shuttle was out so Jonathan arranged for another staff to take a demo 3 to drop me off.
In the end, it took about 1.5 hours for the 24 month service on my 5.
Got a call while at HD and they came to pick me up too.
Was told everything looking good, no problems to report and was good to go after paying.
The car was handwashed inside and out, which was a nice touch. My car went from white back to clear water blue. The floor mats had also been taken out and washed and were nice and black.

After I arrived home, I did find a screw sitting in the passenger footwell. Called back to see if anything was done inside but was told no.
It looks like another screw that's in the car but since I can't tell where it came from and it doesn't look essential, I've just left it in my cup holder. Possibly it was dropped from someone's pocket/hands/belt when the mats were being reinstalled. Maybe when it's spring and it's warm, I'll remember to look for a spot for it.

Originally, the block heater was to be installed during the 24 month service but it hadn't arrived. I got a call Friday that it had arrived and booked for Wed again since that's my day off. Arrived this morning, was in and out in about 1.5 hours.
Jonathan gave me the option of having the plug come from below or just out from the hood. Told him hood would be better. Then went to look at the 5 they had on display and got them to put it at the upper corner of the smile. In this position, you can't really see it's there vs having a cord out from under the hood hanging there. Even though they were already done when I asked for the change, they took care of it with no problems.

So far I'm very satisfied with the service at Whitby Mazda and I think I'll be seeing Jonathan for future servicing.

They could use more cars on the showroom floor though. No 2, 7, or 9s.

TL:DR. I like Whitby Mazda.

[Mimizu man]

Update. 6 hours after posting my positive review, my check engine light has come on after my first use of the block heater.
Checked the gas cap, it's tight.
This is the first time I've ever seen the check engine light come on at a time other than start up.
Service dept was busy so I'll try again later.

[Mimizu man]

Update 2.

Brought the car back and spoke with Sophia. Jonathan hadn't arrived yet. She explained that the CEL could be any thing but they will see if it was due to improper installation of the block heater. However, if it was something unrelated, it would cost me $107 for a diagnostic fee. I figured it had to be looked at so agreed.

About an hour later, she brought me back to the service desk. Seems the computer had registered some torque slippage at some point. I figured it was due to me driving up my icy driveway. Also, there was something going on with the coolant thermostat and that there was a TSB regarding it. They flashed the ecu with an update to correct the error. In the end, it didn't cost me anything.

Happy to know that it was mere coincidence instead of bad workmanship. So even though I ended up going 3 times instead of once, the service at Whitby Mazda has been good.

[thefish]

$107 diagnostic fee seems ridiculous.

[S.F.W.]

$107 diagnostic fee seems ridiculous.
Hourly rate. Other dealers have similar rates.

[Jackal]

Hourly rate. Other dealers have similar rates.

Certainly doesn't take them an hour to hook up the reader. Or maybe it does if they take their sweet time and super careful to get it just right. Lol.

[JD@WhitbyMazda]

Figured I'd chime in here... First up, thanks for the write up Mimizu man. Glad the service, overall, went well for you.

Secondly, regarding the diagnostics fee, Sophia shouldn't have even mentioned any diagnostics fee as the car is still well under the warranty period. The only instance that wouldn't have been covered would be a loose fuel filler cap, which we certainly don't charge $107 for.

Third, the hour diagnostics for engine lights only applies if additional testing is required. I'm sure you understand that the codes don't always pinpoint the exact failure.

[Mimizu man]

Certainly doesn't take them an hour to hook up the reader. Or maybe it does if they take their sweet time and super careful to get it just right. Lol.

You should go talk to Toyota. To find out if my car is part of a recall for the power windows was $113. So just to punch my VIN into the system they wanted $113. Of course, I turned them down for that. In the end, a mechanic friend had his contact at Toyota do it for free. At least with Mazda, I'd be at least paying them do some actual investigating work.

Either way, 4 months from now, I'll be back at Whitby Mazda for my 28mo service.

[thefish]

Figured I'd chime in here... First up, thanks for the write up Mimizu man. Glad the service, overall, went well for you.

Secondly, regarding the diagnostics fee, Sophia shouldn't have even mentioned any diagnostics fee as the car is still well under the warranty period. The only instance that wouldn't have been covered would be a loose fuel filler cap, which we certainly don't charge $107 for.

Third, the hour diagnostics for engine lights only applies if additional testing is required. I'm sure you understand that the codes don't always pinpoint the exact failure.

Have you considered a more rigorous training regiment for your staff? This kind of thing makes it seem like Whitby Mazda is knowingly trying to cheat unsuspecting customers.

[midnightfxgt]

Have you considered a more rigorous training regiment for your staff? This kind of thing makes it seem like Whitby Mazda is knowingly trying to cheat unsuspecting customers.

It seems more like someone made an honest mistake, not that they were tying to cheat anyone. Customer agreed to the charge, and the dealership did the right thing and didn't charge for it.

People make mistakes. In this case, no harm, no foul.

[gomac]

Certainly doesn't take them an hour to hook up the reader. Or maybe it does if they take their sweet time and super careful to get it just right. Lol.

You are right but when you call a plumber or electrician they charge an hourly flat rate even if it takes them 20 minutes to fix something.