I took our 2009 Fit in for one of the free oil changes offered when we purchased from this St. Louis area dealer. As I always do prior to an oil change, I put three parallel scratches on the oil filter as a way of marking it so I would know if the filter was actually changed. I have been doing this for over 30 years since first discovering a Chevy dealer that routinely did not change oil filters on vehicles when doing oil changes, yet they charged the customers for them.
I must have become complacent over the years and forgot to immediately check the filter after the oil change. A few months later I discovered the filter still had the marks...it had not been changed. I called the service manager and he went into a spiel about the technician graduating from a well known technical school and the family was well known to him, the service manager. He said it had to just be an oversight and nothing intentional. He then asked what service code prompted the oil change. I told him it was the oil life meter which displays as a percentage. He said there is an additional code and possibly it was one which didn't call for an oil filter change. (Don't get me started here, I see no purpose in EVER changing oil without also changing the filter which retains old oil.) I didn't have that code but he went on to check the car's record on his computer. He found the tech had checked out an oil filter for my vehicle's oil change that day. He apologized, saying this was just a simple mistake and to bring the car in when he was there so he could see the filter.
I was pressed for time before leaving on a trip and since the service manager had surgery, we could not link up before my trip. I changed the oil myself. This is when I got very disturbed. The oil was so black that I had to question if the tech had even changed the oil. Normally oil does not get this black between oil changes. I've verified this by checking the oil frequently since. Although the oil is darker, it is nowhere near black yet.
I've worked in the automotive repair and service field in the past so I am quite aware of little cost cutting methods and tricks employed by unscrupulous shops. I cannot say this dealership's service department has any underhanded policies or that my issue was done intentionally. I can without a doubt say this service department did not change my oil filter. And, I am almost positive the oil was also not changed. I have lost all faith in this dealership's service department and the dealership as a whole. They will no longer get my business nor any from family and friends. I will report this to Honda corporate as well.
We purchased our 2009 Fit in the fall of 2008 from Huey's Honda. The dealership changed its name and maybe ownership around July of 2009. Now it is Honda of Frontenac. The incident I reported, happened in October of 2009 after the name change. The address is:
885 South Lindbergh Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63131
314-994-1400
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I took our 2009 Fit in for one of the free oil changes offered when we purchased from this St. Louis area dealer. As I always do prior to an oil change, I put three parallel scratches on the oil filter as a way of marking it so I would know if the filter was actually changed. I have been doing this for over 30 years since first discovering a Chevy dealer that routinely did not change oil filters on vehicles when doing oil changes, yet they charged the customers for them.
I must have become complacent over the years and forgot to immediately check the filter after the oil change. A few months later I discovered the filter still had the marks...it had not been changed. I called the service manager and he went into a spiel about the technician graduating from a well known technical school and the family was well known to him, the service manager. He said it had to just be an oversight and nothing intentional. He then asked what service code prompted the oil change. I told him it was the oil life meter which displays as a percentage. He said there is an additional code and possibly it was one which didn't call for an oil filter change. (Don't get me started here, I see no purpose in EVER changing oil without also changing the filter which retains old oil.) I didn't have that code but he went on to check the car's record on his computer. He found the tech had checked out an oil filter for my vehicle's oil change that day. He apologized, saying this was just a simple mistake and to bring the car in when he was there so he could see the filter.
I was pressed for time before leaving on a trip and since the service manager had surgery, we could not link up before my trip. I changed the oil myself. This is when I got very disturbed. The oil was so black that I had to question if the tech had even changed the oil. Normally oil does not get this black between oil changes. I've verified this by checking the oil frequently since. Although the oil is darker, it is nowhere near black yet.
I've worked in the automotive repair and service field in the past so I am quite aware of little cost cutting methods and tricks employed by unscrupulous shops. I cannot say this dealership's service department has any underhanded policies or that my issue was done intentionally. I can without a doubt say this service department did not change my oil filter. And, I am almost positive the oil was also not changed. I have lost all faith in this dealership's service department and the dealership as a whole. They will no longer get my business nor any from family and friends. I will report this to Honda corporate as well.
We purchased our 2009 Fit in the fall of 2008 from Huey's Honda. The dealership changed its name and maybe ownership around July of 2009. Now it is Honda of Frontenac. The incident I reported, happened in October of 2009 after the name change. The address is:
885 South Lindbergh Boulevard St. Louis, MO 63131 314-994-1400
- scotsman, St. Louis, MO, US