Help! My car blew up... UPDATE picked up my car..update

[nolatravelgirl]

We drove up to the Mazda dealership today to discuss options with my car as it's still not ready. We sat down with the service manager who was pretty reasonable. We found out that although we had been told that my engine was being replaced, Mazda had changed the recommendation to the cylinder head being replaced, we were unaware of the change per Mazda. Anyway, the new piece arrived and was installed and issues ensued. Mazda then contacted corporate again and was told to pull the entire engine. Now the engine in entirety is being replaced.
I spoke with the manager about my misgivings and have been offered two options from Mazda.
1- an additional 100,000 mile warranty on the drive train as well as an extra year of general warranty being added to my car. That way, if there are any other issues, I won't eat them.
The other option was that I can trade in my car on a new one and a "rebate" would be added from Mazda so that I'm not out as much $ trading in such a new vehicle.
I didn't spend any time shopping there today and I'm really unsure which action I'll take. I had also planned on visiting Honda today to look at the CR-Vs but didn't want to spend the time in the dealership and am home just trying to figure out what to do..

The second option sounds like a really bad idea from a financial perspective. I don't see any big downside to letting them fix it, extend the warranty and drive till the end of the general warranty. The drive train warranty is just BS. You are probably upside down in the value of the car and the rebate isn't really going to do anything for you.

 

[imbatman]

You need to look up your states laws for lemon vehicles.

THIS!!!!!

Grandma bought a new Chevy Impala years back (2017). Upon accelerator, it rattled and hummed. She went round and round with the dealership--for a YEAR. They offered her a similar deal to yours. So she asked a local lawyer in town. Lawyer filed charges on the lemon law. Grandma finally got a new Impala (seriously, they could've done that at the start) and a settlement for the time she spent trying to get it resolved. I'm not saying sue them, but I am suggesting you NOT be out money.

 

[MomToOne]

You really, really, really need to research the lemon law in your state. And you need to start dealing with the manufacturer, not the dealership. Hold their feet to the fire. Don't be crazy unreasonable, but they should make you "whole" - you should not be out anything as a result of this issue. It might be worth paying for a consultation with an attorney who specializes in lemon law cases.

 

[cvjw]

The way the lemon law works is you pay a fee per mile of all the miles driven before you take your vehicle to the dealership for the first time with the problem. If the OP has had the car for 2 years before the problem started, the fee per mile would be huge. With my pathfinder, it equaled out to 50 cents per mile. I am not even sure the lemon law could be used here - In my state, it had to be filed within the first 2 years.

OP, you need to contact Mazda. Set up a case number with them. It can’t hurt.

 

[_19disnA]

Sounds to me like the dealer is being reasonable with trying to fix your issue and is offering some alternatives. I would not waste money on a lawyer and/or threatening the dealer with legal action could likely back-fire when they no longer want to deal with you. Lemon laws vary by state and I believe the dealer has to be unsuccessful after several tries to fix an issue (don't know the exact #).

 

[cvjw]

Sounds to me like the dealer is being reasonable with trying to fix your issue and is offering some alternatives. I would not waste money on a lawyer and/or threatening the dealer with legal action could likely back-fire when they no longer want to deal with you. Lemon laws vary by state and I believe the dealer has to be unsuccessful after several tries to fix an issue (don't know the exact #).

Lemon law can also be triggered by # of days in the shop. OP could easily qualify under # of days in the shop, but she may not qualify because of the age of the car at the first repair attempt (now). Also, the fee for miles driven before first repair attempt would be huge - 2 years of driving.

 

[RamblingMad]

Some info about Lemon Law:

https://www.carcomplaints.com/lemon_law/
Pick your state.

 

[Jimsig]

Sounds to me like the dealer is being reasonable with trying to fix your issue and is offering some alternatives. I would not waste money on a lawyer and/or threatening the dealer with legal action could likely back-fire when they no longer want to deal with you.

I believe some states have it set up that no lawyers get involved (or that you have to pay for a lawyer), the state helps you out on their end, and some have mediation. As others have said the OP needs to research what their state has for a lemon law.

The OP could even get a local TV stations consumer reporter involved.

 

[Birdie dog]

I'm in SC. I'm only covered by the lemon law for 1 year or 12 miles. So, I'm out there

 

[Sandiz08]

I'm in SC. I'm only covered by the lemon law for 1 year or 12 miles. So, I'm out there

I would just keep pushing Mazda to make it right. They might offer you extended warranties for all your troubles or eventually buy your car back. My volkswagon started stalling randomly with 5,000 miles on the odometer. Scariest thing ever while your driving and your car powers down. It took the dealer 7 tries until they finally fixed it . The car now has almost 70,000 miles and is 8 years old. Hasn’t broken down ever since. In the end, cars are man made and can break down, new or old , they don’t discriminate.

 

[auralia]

I delt with a bad mazda once not as bad as yours but bandaid repairs made it to 80000 miles and I cut my losses and got rid of it. Only got like 3k trade in which was 500 more most car places would offer me and I wasn’t willing to sell it to a person knowing what a POS it was. It even had leaks in the roof (not a moon roof) and wasn’t even 6 years old.... radiator issues, transmission, and heating and cooling...... do the math and find the best way to cut your loss... my guess is driving it tell it’s paid off and offloading it when all the systems start to fail/warranty is gone.... I’d try to get the 30000k bumper to bumper extended to at least 60k give the headache they have put you through. I will never own another Mazda.... they messed up the battery/electrical system and it’s connections and my car lost all power while driving.... could have killed me.... that was the last straw got rid of it 2 weeks later. never ever again will I own a Mazda.

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

EDIT: @Birdie dog- I just read you are in SC. I am also in SC, in the Midlands area. We used the BBB to have the dealership give us a new car. It did not cost us a dime. https://www.bbb.org/us/sc


OP- I really really encourage your to look up your states lemon laws or like I suggested before reach out to your local BBB to help resolve the issue.
Most states attorneys boards have lawyers in your area that you can get a free consultation with. All I did was call the South Carolina Attorneys Board, told them I had a vehicle issue and they gave me the name & number of three attorneys in my area that I could have a free 1 hour consult with. We already knew about the BBB, but the attorney firmed up the steps to take and the dealership gave us the new car.


I did not have to pay a dime when my van got "lemoned" out. I don't know what state your in, and that may very well have something to do with it.

 

[tinatark]

I'm in SC. I'm only covered by the lemon law for 1 year or 12 miles. So, I'm out there

Other laws cover warranties. Call a lemon law attorney (pick one) - they won't take your case unless they can win. No obligation on your part, no cost on your part, even if you win - manufacturer pays.

 

[supersnoop]

Lemon laws typically require that a dealer try and fail to fix the same problem three times. The OP is on the first try, and the dealer is likely to fix the problem. There's no reason or possibility to go down that path at this point in time.

As long as the dealer follows through on the repair, the OP will be made whole. I'd take the repaired car over any other option.

 

[robinb]

I owned a Mazda 5 for the 7 longest years of my life. It was a complete POS and I was never so glad to trade in a car. I ended up hating absolutely everything about that car. I have owned a Toyota Prius V, a Honda Clarity plug-in hybrid and a Subaru Outback (my DD's car) since then and loved them all.

I would go ahead with the repair and the extended warranty on the car. I would then think about trading it in once it's running properly for a different make. There is no way I would let them talk me into buying another Mazda.

 

[cvjw]

Lemon laws typically require that a dealer try and fail to fix the same problem three times. The OP is on the first try, and the dealer is likely to fix the problem. There's no reason or possibility to go down that path at this point in time.

As long as the dealer follows through on the repair, the OP will be made whole. I'd take the repaired car over any other option.

Lemon laws also take into account number of days in the shop, regardless of repair attempts. OP could file for the lemon day based on her car being in the shop since December. IF she were eligible for the lemon law, which she says she is not.

 

[Mommy2cody]

I am the office manager for 3 dealerships, one of them being a Mazda. I strongly encourage you to call Mazda customer care at 1 (800) 222-5500.

The reason I recommend calling Mazda customer service is because the squeaky wheel gets the grease. The dealership has nothing to do with a lemon law or giving you any free or complementary items. This is a manufacture issue. Once you get the manufacture involved there is much more attention given. The higher ups get involved, they send reps from the factory out. A case is opened and the manufacture will be the one speaking with you. This is a good step if you want to try to lemon law as well but lemon law is when repeated attempts to repair the same issue doesn't work. They wont lemon law a car for one engine issue, they will give you a new engine.

You did say you got an oil change a few days before.... I can not tell you how many times a month we get customers into our service drive that a jiffy lube or another after market oil change place, didn't add any or enough oil to a customers car. Did they tell you what caused the engine issue? It sounds like oil was not put back into your car. Which would make the place you got your oil changed responsible. Also make sure you save your service records if you don't get service at the dealership. Sometimes the manufacture will ask for service history to make sure you have been maintaining the car.

 

[Olaf Myfrenzargay]

Have an eleven year old Toyota RAV 4 with 65K on it. Just got an offer at 10K.

I will never buy another brand. Ever.

 

[Birdie dog]

You did say you got an oil change a few days before.... I can not tell you how many times a month we get customers into our service drive that a jiffy lube or another after market oil change place, didn't add any or enough oil to a customers car. Did they tell you what caused the engine issue? It sounds like oil was not put back into your car. Which would make the place you got your oil changed responsible. Also make sure you save your service records if you don't get service at the dealership. Sometimes the manufacture will ask for service history to make sure you have been maintaining the car.

They are replacing the engine. And the issue was not caused by the shop that changed the oil. This is a known but rare defect in the engine (apparently only a certain time frame of 2018 was affected) where the oil is not distributed properly by the engine making the engine overheats which caused it to crack. Per the service manager, they've had "3 or 4" vehicles with this problem and only from that specific time frame.

 

[tvguy]

Have an eleven year old Toyota RAV 4 with 65K on it. Just got an offer at 10K.

I will never buy another brand. Ever.

We bought my wife a Toyota for the first time in our lives in July. Always had Fords, Chevys and one Dodge. The Dodge was junk. I have high expectations, but I got 31 years out of a Chevy Suburban. Had our Mercury 20 years, when we opted to replace it with the Toyota. I got a Ford Flex in 2018. As I am 63, while I hope to live many many many more years. it is my hope never to have to buy another car.