Footbag

Not too long after getting my car, I started to hear a rattle/noise coming from the back of the roof when it was up. This spread to the front passenger area, and there was also a different sound, more a fabric/vibration sound that started to occur. With the roof down, a faint squeak developed.

I looked the car over, to see if anything looked like a cause of any of this. Glad I did, because I noticed two faint 'scratch' lines on the rear roof panel, and a fraying cable which was part of the roof mechanism.

I booked an appointment, and awaited the outcome. Initially, I was a bit disappointed. The passenger area sound had been resolved, but the other sounds remained. The 'scratches' (two distinct and uniform lines on either side of the roof) were explained away as some type of glue that was missed during PDI. They weren't scratches, but rather fine particles of dirt/dust which had adhered to the car. I had done numerous wand washes of the car, so it must have been fairly strong adhesive. They cleaned that up, which was fine.

The frayed cable simply got zip tied to hold it out of the way of the roof (it would rub the roof panel on each open/close cycle). It was interesting in that there are two identical large cable housings on either side of the roof mechanism, and the one that had begun to fray was already super electrical taped up (driver side). It was as if someone at the factory or dealership knew of the issue, and thought tape might be a way to protect it. At any rate, the zip tie works, if not overly elegant.

The dealership never called me to say it was ready, and by the time I looked at the clock, the service department had closed. So the next day I called in to see what was going on with the noises. The advisor claimed rain prevented them from addressing the noises, which made sense for the roof down noise, but was a bit odd for the other roof up noises. At any rate, I booked another appointment, and I waited to see if they asked me to do a ride along with the tech, which they didn't. I suggested one, and the appointment was booked.

I met the shop foreman, Ron I believe, and took him for a ride along. The guy was super nice. We hadn't even moved ten feet when I heard the main noise with the roof up, louder than usual. It was Ron, he was pressing where the roof meets the rear window, and causing the sound himself. That was easy. Unfortunately, the roof down noise wasn't making itself heard. We returned to the shop, where Ron informed me he thought he would have to remove the entire roof lining, something he hadn't done before. He also wanted to get in touch with the corporate service team. Basically, it was going to be a long job, and he didn't have time on this day of my appointment. He was very apologetic and understanding about the whole issue. I was fine with booking a new appointment and leaving the dealership.

So I take it in yet again, and eventually receive a call from Ron. He seemed very pleased that he fixed the top up noise, and also the top down squeak. He asked if I could come in shortly before he was done for the day for a test drive with him. Again, he was very nice, and just seemed like an up and up good guy. The main noise with the roof up did seem fixed, but now the secondary noise was evident. He was visibly bothered by the second sound (one that wasn't acting up on our first test drive). Ron mentioned that a couple clips for the roof broke during the liner removal, so he had some on order and would let me know when they came in to get replaced (5 min job). He asked if I had a problem leaving the car over night, and he would work on it some more. Nope, no problem. He commented how I was more patient than a typical customer. Really, since he was so nice, and progress was being made, it only seemed natural to let the situation work itself out as need be.

The next day I was called back. Ron was busy, but the service advisor informed me that the squeak with roof down was fixed. He mentioned the broken clip issue, but stated those were somehow required to fix the 'new' noise. This didn't jive with what Ron had previously said, but I left it at that and drove home. To my delight, all the noises seemed to be fixed. It has been really nice here, so the top has been down. No squeak. Both top up noises seemed to be gone during the few short trips with the top up, so I don't know if the advisor was just confused, or if the 'new' noise really wasn't fixed, just not acting up during the short bit of driving with the roof up.

At any rate, I'm very happy. The service advisor was nice, if not entirely sure of the situation, but really, it was Ron, the shop foreman, that won me over. I've seen a number of negative things said about Ericksen Infiniti of Edmonton, and just wanted to make mention of a positive experience.

Here's hoping all the sounds are fixed, and don't return.

bschurr

iTrader: (2)

I am glad your car is mostly fixed now and you are happy but, you must be a really patient guy to bring your car in multiple times to have a relatively simple issue resolved. I don't think I would give the dealership such a positive review based on the overall experience.