Hi,
Last February we were in an accident with our new CX-9. It was about six months old. Despite the fact that the accident was fairly major, no one was hurt. It also was not our fault. A guy drove out into the busy road and we did not have time to stop. Airbags deployed and the front-end was smashed in.
Insurance paid for the damage, it was about $17,000. If the car wasn't so new, we were told it would have been totaled. The adjuster even told us that he tried to total it, but was unable to.
A few months later, in the summer, we start noticing that the A/C stops working when you come to a stop. It continues to blow but the air gets warm and has a very strange plastic smell. This usually takes about 30 minutes of driving for this problem to appear, but then it happens at every stop. Additionally, when the car has been driven for 30 minutes or more and you slow down, it begins to buck. Last night it stalled for the first time.
We brought the car back to the dealership (not the dealership we purchased it from) to have them look at it. The first time around they couldn't find the issue and just charged the A/C. A week later we brought it back again with the same issues.
The dealership had the car for over a week and said it was from the accident and that the issue is the wiring harness and that it will cost a few thousand dollars to fix.
Insurance went down to inspect the car but since several months have lapsed and the dealership can not definitively say or provide adequate proof that it was from the accident, Insurance will not pay for it. Additionally, Insurance found that several items that were supposed to be fixed were not - such as painting the doors. (I assume that it is in a location I cant see because I never noticed it. I am still trying to get that list from insurance.)
The dealership had the car for over three weeks during that time. They said they were able to fix it. They were also kinda sketchy in how that was paid for. First they said they worked something out with insurance (not true) and when pressed about it (because the itemized bill didn't say anything about insurance) they said it was covered under warranty. The next day driving it we saw the exact same problems. For the first time yesterday,for a quick second the a/c and the factory radio shut off and then went back on. It was like someone pulled out a fuse and stuck it back in.
We are getting nowhere with the dealership. We are trying to go up the chain of command but no one is returning phone calls. Between the weird smell from the A/C and the bucking, I think the car is dangerous to drive.
It is really a shame because we really love the car, but this dealership seems incapable of repairing it.
Do you have any advice on what steps we can take to resolve this?
Thank you.
Last February we were in an accident with our new CX-9. It was about six months old. Despite the fact that the accident was fairly major, no one was hurt. It also was not our fault. A guy drove out into the busy road and we did not have time to stop. Airbags deployed and the front-end was smashed in.
Insurance paid for the damage, it was about $17,000. If the car wasn't so new, we were told it would have been totaled. The adjuster even told us that he tried to total it, but was unable to.
A few months later, in the summer, we start noticing that the A/C stops working when you come to a stop. It continues to blow but the air gets warm and has a very strange plastic smell. This usually takes about 30 minutes of driving for this problem to appear, but then it happens at every stop. Additionally, when the car has been driven for 30 minutes or more and you slow down, it begins to buck. Last night it stalled for the first time.
We brought the car back to the dealership (not the dealership we purchased it from) to have them look at it. The first time around they couldn't find the issue and just charged the A/C. A week later we brought it back again with the same issues.
The dealership had the car for over a week and said it was from the accident and that the issue is the wiring harness and that it will cost a few thousand dollars to fix.
Insurance went down to inspect the car but since several months have lapsed and the dealership can not definitively say or provide adequate proof that it was from the accident, Insurance will not pay for it. Additionally, Insurance found that several items that were supposed to be fixed were not - such as painting the doors. (I assume that it is in a location I cant see because I never noticed it. I am still trying to get that list from insurance.)
The dealership had the car for over three weeks during that time. They said they were able to fix it. They were also kinda sketchy in how that was paid for. First they said they worked something out with insurance (not true) and when pressed about it (because the itemized bill didn't say anything about insurance) they said it was covered under warranty. The next day driving it we saw the exact same problems. For the first time yesterday,for a quick second the a/c and the factory radio shut off and then went back on. It was like someone pulled out a fuse and stuck it back in.
We are getting nowhere with the dealership. We are trying to go up the chain of command but no one is returning phone calls. Between the weird smell from the A/C and the bucking, I think the car is dangerous to drive.
It is really a shame because we really love the car, but this dealership seems incapable of repairing it.
Do you have any advice on what steps we can take to resolve this?
Thank you.
