We purchased a used vehicle (in cash) from Gyro Mazda, based on the vehicle model and the dealer's proximity to downtown Toronto. The day of purchase, before we left the dealership, we were shuttled into a room for a "20-minute meeting" with a sales manager who noted to us that "for safety reasons," we should purchase various vehicle upgrades and service packages. We understood the nature of the "conversation" and assumed it was standard industry practice. Either way, we politely declined all up-sell attempts and managed to get out of the room within 10 minutes.
Fast forward two years: we received a letter from Mazda Canada outlining an SSP (Special Service Program), specific to in-car entertainment system touchscreen malfunctions (ghost switching, not accepting commands). Our touchscreen was indeed malfunctioning, so we booked an appointment with Gyro Mazda Service. The letter from Mazda Canada included no mention of costs associated touchscreen replacement and in fact, the word "warranty" is used eight different times in their letter. Further to that are the following quotes from the Mazda Canada letter: "If the Mazda Connect touch screen in your Mazda3 vehicle exhibits this touch screen malfunction, please make an appointment with your Mazda dealer to have your vehicle repaired." As well: "If the Mazda Connect Centre Display touch screen in your vehicle exhibits the touch screen malfunction, your Mazda dealer will replace the center display with a remanufactured one free of charge during the terms of this warranty extension program. The replacement of the center display will take approximately half an hour to complete, however, your dealer may need more time with your vehicle."
The day of our vehicle appointment at Gyro Mazda, as requested, I arrived 15 minutes early, provided my SSP warranty letter, noted to the attendant that our vehicle's touchscreen was malfunctioning and left the vehicle to the dealer for service. Approximately 1.5 hours later, a front-line staff member presented to me an invoice for recommended vehicle service that included: $181.20 for engine drive belt replacement, $233.83 for battery replacement and a $42.88 "infotainment update". Upon request for reasoning of these costs, aside from the fact that I had not requested Gyro Mazda to inspect my vehicle beyond what was noted in the SSP letter, the $42.88 for the infotainment update was justified by stating that "Updating the software would determine whether or not the hardware needed replacement, and we need to charge for a software update." Shortly thereafter, and from multiple service staff, came large amounts of technical car-speak including some "...I don't think you understand what I'm saying" customer-shaming. There was no reasoning with or understanding from any of the staff with whom I dealt - they were firmly entrenched in the stance that, at the very least, in order to determine if our car in fact "qualified" for a warranty/no charge hardware repair/replacement, I had to pay Gyro Mazda $42.88 and at the very worst, on top of that I would need to pay Gyro Mazda an extra $415 plus.
Fast forward (again) to my phone call with Mazda Canada, who very quickly noted that not only is a software update "not required" in order to verify the infotainment system hardware warranty replacement, the entire SSP itself (aka the issue with the touch-screen) is NOT related to software and specifically, the issue is that "The film inside the touch screen may be corroded due to moisture, which might adhere on the lens of the touch screen. This corrosion may cause the malfunction of the touch screen. This warranty extension program applies only to the repair of the center display with this concern."
I will finish with this: in my experience, Gyro Mazda Service relied on trying to confuse me with vague and inaccurate warranty program references, used false and fabricated information to try and perform unrequested service, created an "invoice" to try and justify the unrequested service, integrated a rude "It's your fault for not understanding the process..." customer interaction mindset to actively do everything they could to create an illicit sales opportunity. They were unaware or just plain ignorant of the Mazda Canada-mandated warranty service on our vehicle should be free of charge. And having a clearly printed letter in front them with explicit instructions on how to proceed cannot justify ignorance of the process.
Horrible and arguably illegal service offerings from a team of misguided individuals with an outright questionable ability to act in an honest manner. read more