ComplaintsforUmansky Honda of Charlottesville

• Initial Complaint

  10/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I took my 2012 Honda CRV to Umansky Honda in Charlottesville ******** in March 2022. I had been to two mechanics previously who were inconclusive about the shuttering issues I was having while accelerating and their only suggestions were some very expensive investigations to figure out the cause of the problem. Both mechanics recommended that I got to a Honda dealership to have my car evaluated. Begrudgingly, I took my car to Umansky to have it looked at. Over the course of an entire five days, they called each day with a new problem to fix and something else that "had" to be done to fix the shuttering while accelerating. This totaled to $3000, which I agreed to because they claimed that each expense was to benefit the car and would make the cause stop shuttering when accelerating and start driving normally again. When I was finally able to pick up my car, the service advisor said (and I quote here verbatim), "The car isn't perfect and it may vibrate a little but it SHOULD be fine. If YOU are uncomfortable with how it's driving, come back and we'll replace the torque converter, but that's another $1000." My CR-V continued to get worse over the next few months and as I am living in ********, I couldn't even drive back to ******** to get it looked at again because the shuttering had gotten so bad. This past week I went to a dealership in ******** where I was promptly told by the service advisor, ****, that were was absolutely NO excuse for the work that Umansky had done and if they had actually examined the car properly they would have seen immediately that the drivers side axle was completely BROKEN beyond repair. So to summarize, I had been driving a car with a broken drivers side axle and also a passengers side axle that was damaged and ended up being replaced as well. This is extremely dangerous and Umansky said NOTHING about it. I have now spent $4500 and only $1400 of that was necessary. Also, the torque converter has nothing to do with how the car was handling.

  Business response

  11/03/2022

  Case # ********

   

   We take the safety of our customer's seriously .We make sure that we follow manufacturers guidelines in diagnosing & repairing vehicles. We followed the appropriate steps in diagnosing the vibration per Honda Service bulletin ****** . The choice of replacing the torque converter if the vibration increased was left up to the customer .Other maintenance items not related to the vibration were approved by the customer. Axle seals leaking, brakes and a water pump & drive belt. If the axle was "broken" beyond repair while in service the customer would not have been able to drive the vehicle off of our lot. If the customer could present us with further documentation of when & where the work was performed we will be happy to review & investigate further.

• Initial Complaint

  01/19/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  In March 2021, Umansky Honda (Charlottesville VA) was authorized to replace the front/rear valve cover gaskets and the spool valve due to diagnosed oil leaks in my minivan. Mid-repair they said that the spool valve did not need to be replaced and assured me they would warranty that advice, and the OEM valve cover gaskets they replaced were factory warrantied. Umansky also assured me all Honda service centers would honor the warranty. On October 1, 2021 the minivan's alternator died causing the battery to completely drain. I brought it to Sheehy Honda, Alexandria, VA because that was the nearest dealership. Sheehy immediately stated the front valve cover was leaking oil that killed the alternator. After learning the front valve cover was under factory warranty (and reviewing the service records), Sheehy changed its diagnosis to say the spool valve was also leaking oil and claimed the oil that killed the alternator exclusively came from the spool valve. Sheehy Honda refused to honor Umansky's warranty except the factory part replacement (they would not cover the cost of the damage to the alternator which was either caused by the failed front valve cover or by the negligent advice not to replace the spool valve). Umansky's service repair representative (Dave) admitted fault for providing negligent advice to me (recommending not to replace the spool valve) and his supervisor attempted to convince Sheehy to cover the cost of replacing the alternator. Sheehy refused. Umansky's district manager also refused to cover the cost, telling me it was my fault I did not bring it to their dealership (which was over 100 miles away when the van died). I was forced to pay out of pocket for the alternator/spool valve repair ($********). I filed a claim on October 1, 2021 with American Honda's Customer Care center (case number ********). They admitted fault and told me I would be compensated. Then they ghosted me without compensation or a resolution.

  Business response

  02/01/2022

  We spoke to the customer and are working to resolve the situation.

  Customer response

  02/01/2022

  The business contacted me directly and made an offer to resolve the complaint, but it will take approximately 4-6 weeks for the business to follow through on its offer.  
  

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