Oakland Acura – Service Department

Brace yourself — I take my Civic Si here, and the Acura guys treat my car like it’s one of theirs. The prices aren’t any higher than a Honda dealership, and my car is getting luxury-​brand TLC. This time through, I had Jose M. as my service advisor, and he remembered both me and my car from a couple of visits back. I couldn’t feel any more welcome. Thank you!

Moved to Oakland 4 years ago and initially had trouble finding and trusting a mechanic for our MDX. Was initially impressed with the service we received from this place — especially Mike. The first time we left the car for an oil change, they were in such a rush they forgot to put the dipstick back in. However, Mike called us and apologized and had someone drive the stick to our house and gave us credit for our next oil change for our trouble (we had to wait for the stock before leaving for our family trip). We felt it was an honest mistake and handled so well, we decided to continue taking our car there. So much so that I was excited to drop off my car there today! However, got the car back with a significant scratch on the rear fender and when I called to report this and then drove back about it, they said it was there when I took the car in. The scratch still had white powder residue on my black car — perhaps from the white surface (wall?) despite it being a rainy /​WET day. The scratch was also right above the tire that I was concerned about AND DISCUSSED WITH THE SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE so it was a place I looked at specifically prior to dropping the car off. The manager on duty, Phil, said that the car was inspected prior to taking it from me. however, it isn’t part of their routine to review the inspection findings with owners prior to leaving the car «because it slows things down». Even if the scratch was there when I dropped the car off, one would expect that a freshly scratched fender that still has powder marks on it would be something to bring up with the car owner. What’s the point of doing the walk around inspection and noting it on a piece of paper if it isn’t signed off and reviewed with the owner???
When I take my Prius to the Toyota dealer for Service, the inspections happens WITH the driver/​owners and the paper noting existing body damage is signed off — and the whole drop off process is FASTER than my drop off today at Oakland ACURA. AND WE THOUGHT ACURA WOULD HAVE BETTER SERVICE…
If I can’t trust them with the OUTSIDE of my car, how can I trust them with the inside??? Too much rushing around.
Yes fast service is important– but safety and reliability is just as important especially when dealing with cars.
Now, we have to find another mechanic –Preferably a place that isn’t in so much of a rush to get the cars in and out that scratches don’t seem to matter.

I have an Acura TLX and I’ve brought my car in for services here about 3 times for the past year. The service advisor that has been taking care of my car all 3 times named was Sunday. Yes, you heard me right, Sunday! He is an excellent service advisor, very attentive, knowledgeable, and professional. I am extremely satisfied with my experiences because Sunday took care of me fairly quickly, knowing I had somewhere else to be. I was offered a loaner car because my car had to be there for a couple hours, which I thought was very convenient! I could go about to do my errands /​work and not having to take any hours off just to wait for the car being done. When I left, I even received a text saying that I could do a follow-​up of my car through texting. Awesome! No need to call in. As a bonus, my car was cleaned when I received it back! I’m so glad that my experiences were great here, and wish other people would have the same too. I would recommend this location to family and friends! Remember to ask for Sunday!

I have only ever had good experiences here. One time they couldn’t take me before a last-​minute road trip, so I went up to Honda in El Cerrito. Nice people, terrible maintenance job. Oakland Acura always has my car history at the ready, don’t recommend unless they have to, and respect when I don’t want to spend extra on a frivolous repair (no hard sell). I have popped in to them without an appointment (late night flat) and they were gracious and accommodating.

I just had a great experience here last week. Took my car in for a diagnostic and Jose wrote me up. He was very tentative and perceptive to my comments and requests. Quickly got me a courtesy ride home and communicated the progress every step of the way. I’ve been to many dealerships in the past and have not experienced true professionalism until this visit. Jose is an asset to their team. I will definitely be returning in the future.

Took my car to this place so many times. Actuator issue on TSB was not found to be issue.
Took to Acura of Serramonte and issue is fixed.
Took my car to get brake pads looked at they told me its cracked. Took it to Acura of Serramonte and guess what? 8 mm not cracked. Acura of Oakland will try to sell you pads, other things you dont need. Why are you treating people with such disrespect? People know about cars well to know the truth from false.
I will tell everyone I Know how this dealership lies to people,
Survey? you got ZERO survey from me. Emailed Manager and no response, not even i am sorry. What type of business this is? I bought 2 cars here and serviced 3 cars. You lost me as ACURA customer forever. Will never buy any Acura in my life ever again.

Avoid this particular location for service and maintenance!
I brought my car here 3 times and on the first visit they mentioned that I could potentially have a transmission leak. I was concerned but they assured me it would be fine, and that they would check it the next visit.
On the next visit they said they saw some fluid but not enough to determine a leak. This was fairly disturbing as I have two children and want to keep them as safe as possible.
Fast forward to the last time and they said they didn’t see anything. I decided that I should go to another dealership for my service and Acura Fremont found the issue right away and resolved it.
I’m upset that this dealership is either incompetent or neglectful and all they care about is their survey rating. I will never take my business back here for service or let alone to buy a car. I’d stay away if possible.

I had a great experience with the service department here. My MDX had been recalled to have the airbags replaced. Jose M. took great care of me. I was in and out in less than an hour. The waiting area is nice and there is free wi-​fi. When I got back in my car to leave, I found a peppermint and a thank-​you note. Nice!

I thought I could save some money and install new headlights myself. When I tried I found it too difficult to complete. On a whim I drove to Oakland Acura on a Saturday afternoon to see if a mechanic was available or maybe I could make an appointment for the next week. To my surprise Service Advisor Jose Monterrosa said he would be able to install the new headlights right there in the service entryway. Within minutes he installed both lamps that I had purchased at the auto parts store. There was no charge for what he did and I was told that it’s all part of their customer service. THANK YOU JOSE!

I recently purchase a Certified Pre-​Owned Acura from another dealership. To be fair, some of this may be my fault because I didn’t give the car I purchased a good «tire kicking» and should have discovered the problem before hand.
Anyway, I noticed the CPO car I just purchased was having some gear shifting issues. Instead of taking the car back to where I purchased it, I thought I would it would be easier to have the car looked at locally. I really try to support Oakland businesses because Oakland is where my heart is and I thought I would have a little loyalty here because a few years ago I purchased another CPO from Oakland Acura. All in all, this is my third Acura, which tells you I love the brand.
With that said, let me get to the issue… I make an appointment to have my car looked at. The service writer I dealt with, MIke Shcnur was GREAT! He showed genuine concern, friendly, knowledgeable and so on. He got me into a loaner and really took care of me. I wish they would have did the same for my car. They drove the car, noticed the issue, dealt with Acura Corporate and performed a software update. They also told me they drove a couple of other cars the same year as mine and they were all shifting the same at this point. I picked up my car and did notice the issue was better but not completely gone. So, I drove the car few days thinking this is just how it’s going to be because a few others drive the same way.
Then, I get a follow up call from another individual there asking how my experience was and I told them how I felt. The customer service was great however the issue seems to still be there. I was then given another appointment but this appointment was with their General Manager. I took the car back, the General Manager drove it and began to tell me he didn’t fell anything and this is how they drive. He said he drove one for a couple of years and it felt the same way. He also told me that he «had not problem replacing the transmission BUT if they replace the transmission, send it in to Acura and Acura finds nothing wrong with it. He has a used $ 7,500 transmission sitting on the shelf». We get back from the test drive and he deems the car to be fine.
Not being completely satisfied with his findings I decided to contact Acura Coroporate Offices and they told me there isn’t much they can do if the service shop doesn’t find anything wrong. They did suggest I get a second opinion, so I did. I took the car to Plesanton Acura and drove it with two different technicians and they also noticed the problem and immediately told me «that isn’t normal». After being there a few days they are replacing the Torque Converter. I figured this to be the problem because I did a little research by way of the web and many people on the reputable Acura forums had the same issue and in the end the Torque Converter was the issue.

So I had a situation where my transmission failed. Michael Kelly, the manager of the service department, advocated on my behalf to Acura corporate and helped me get this problem solved. He did his best to go above and beyond to help me solve my problem, and I couldn’t have asked for better service. Great job great people. Jose has been making things happen well now.

Review for the Service Department.
November was Acura Appreciation Month where customers were offered a complementary multi-​point inspection. I brought in two cars for inspection, one a recently acquired hatchback, and one a high mileage SUV.
I took the cars and the inspection reports to my regular, trusted mechanic. On the hatchback, only half of the small punch list turned out to be accurate, and one filter that the dealership identified as needing replacement turned out to be brand new.
The SUV has a Kelly Blue Book value of $ 3500, the repairs Acura recommended were $ 3K-​$ 4K at Acura rates, it turned out that exactly ZERO of their recommendations were accurate per my regular mechanic – who is too decent to even charge me for the inspection.
If my SUV falls apart in the next three months, I will update this review and fire my mechanic. Since it’s Acura quality, that isn’t very likely.

Review for the Service Department.
November was Acura Appreciation Month where customers were offered a complementary multi-​point inspection and provide a gift of an Acura portable phone charger. I spoke to Phil, the Service Department manager and tried getting an appointment during the last week of November, but they were totally booked until this week. Concerned that it was outside of the Appreciation Month promotion, he assured me that they would honor the promotion offers.
Brought my car the morning of my scheduled appointment and Mike greeted me and checked me in. The shuttle brought me to my Downtown Oakland office and picked me up at my scheduled time at the end of my workday. Mike had called me during the day and apprised me of the results of the multi-​point inspection.
Overall, very attentive customer service provided by the Service Department.

Just brought my car in to see Ray again. He took such good car of me. I was just dropping it off for my routine oil change and had mentioned that my car had been making a slight ticking nose when it’s idling. During my oil change they find out that my struts needed replacing. Ray let me drive around in a loaner car for a few days until my car was ready and now it’s just as good as new. Thank you for always being such a great help to both me and my car.

Service dept has gone down hill. Oakland Acura changed their entire service team in 2012(?). This long time service dept customer has been unhappy with their service after that.
Joey tried to up-​sell me on new spark plugs when I had them done not too long ago and did not need new ones. He didn’t even bother to check his own service records for my car. Nor would he give me credit for an Oakland Acura battery that needed replacing within the warranty period. He made me find my receipt first — even though their service records should have had it.
Then the last time I brought my car in for an oil change, the car came back with a extra clicking noise that wasn’t there before. They deny causing it and could not locate the source of the noise, but recommended that I spend another $ 890 on new shock absorbers. Last straw. Taking my business to Alameda Import Automotive (found them on Unilocal) and have been happy with them.

My Honda Accord was acting up big time. The amount of money to fix it was more than the worth of the car. It was time for a new car. I decided it was time to upgrade to an Acura. I found a certified pre-​owned TSX, black, beige leather, seat warmers, voice control, and navi and fell in love. The purchase process was amazingly easy. From the time I walked in and parked my old Accord to the moment I drove out with my new sexy wheels, it was less than 3 hours. I came in with my own financing at a great rate and they found me a better deal. Normally, I don’t finance with the dealer, but their deal couldn’t be beat. The service was great and I didn’t feel pressured.
Fast-​forward to the time for the first oil change and service. Juan Martin is the man. He quotes you accurately and when you return to pick up your car, it’s the same price, no pressure to do anything else if it isn’t needed. They even wash and detail the interior. The mints they leave on the dash are a cute little touch.

I give my 2 star review based on my experience with Raymond Leung. He was professional and very helpful.
Now for why I would NOT recommend getting your car serviced here…
I brought my ’04 TSX in for a skiddish SRS light. It would intermittently go on and off. I talked to Raymond who was very helpful and said it would probably be done the next day. I got a call at 5PM saying it was done and so I picked it up and drove home. While I was driving I noticed streaks and pinhead-​sized marks on my window which I assumed was from the complimentary wash. After getting home and upon closer inspection, I noticed that there were streaks, gouges and pinhead-​sized marks on the inside of the window tint. Tint was missing and it was not like that when I had dropped off the car. I called and was told to speak to Michael Kelly, Service Coordinator. I called and he said to bring in the car the next day so he could look at it.
I brought in the car the next day and he takes a quick look and says he’ll think about it and give me a call. He takes down my number and goes about his business. That’s it. I was there for a total of 10 minutes. So this was Strike 1. Michael didn’t seem at all interested in the problem, he obviously didn’t care, and was pretty dismissive.
So I wait over the weekend for his call. No call later that day, no call Saturday, and no call Sunday (which was Easter). I waited til 3:45P to call. When I spoke to him he apologized for not calling because he was «too busy». Strike 2! Then he told me that he would not be able to replace the tint because he couldn’t understand how it could have happened when all they did was «replace the seatbelt buckle». Got it. Then I asked if he spoke to the people that worked on my car and he quickly said yes and that they didn’t do it. Michael went on to say that the I signed a waiver saying the dealership is not liable for damages to my vehicle. He went on to say that even if they did damage the tint while wiping the windows, it wasn’t any error on their part but the fact that i had inferior tint since they «wash a lot of cars everyday with no problems». Strike 3!
I am going to talk to Phil Peterson, the General Manager, next week. I don’t expect to have my windows tinting be covered, but I hope to get treated like a customer and not a nuisance.
CONCLUSION: I would not recommend getting your car serviced here. Or if you do since its convenient, make sure to take pictures of the inside and outside of your car before you bring it in. That and make sure you don’t have «inferior» tint on your windows…

I had my appointment today and it was a much better experience. i can understand why a lot of other Unilocaler’s are now raving about their experiences at Oakland Acura.
Upon my arrival this time everything went a lot smoother. As soon as I got out of my car Mike Schnur greeted me and and took me inside to get me checked it. He told me how long it would take and then pointed me in the direction of the lounge mentioning where I could find the wifi password and grab a cup of coffee.
The lounge area was roomy, and open with plenty of space to sit. After sitting down for a few minutes Michael Kelly approached me, and asked if he could have a minute of my time. Mike profusely apologized about the way I had been treated last time, and reassured me this would never happen again. He then showed me the different amenities they offered they offered. Just Mike acknowledging there was a problem from a Unilocal review really stood out to me as good service.
For the amenities they offered I was impressed with their Internet speed as I was able to connect through my VPN and code away for work. The Peet’s coffee and fresh fruit were great touches. My car ended being done under the quoted time. Mike Schnur came and gave me a update on my car and told me what needed to be replaced in the future, but never pressured me to get it done today or even from them.
Upon leaving Mike Kelley walked out to make sure everything had gone perfect, and told me to email or call him if there is ever a problem.
Overall I’m impressed with the detail of service, and Mike Kelly commitment to make everything right. I will for sure be back to have my car serviced with Oakland Acura from now on.

Dwayne was helpful and jovial each time we went in, and put effort into finding us the (difficult to find) spec RDX we wanted — including doing a dealer swap to get the right one in. He also honored the quote he’d given us previously, 3 weeks later.
However, when it came to doing the deal itself, the flavor turned to car dealer talk about how he could sell it for more to someone else and that he didn’t need to honor the previous quote as things change all the time.
When I queried a mistake he’d made (which made his costs slightly higher), I had to be very firm and insist that he take it to his manager, working against his insistence that there was no way he could be flexible. Of course when he returned «that won’t be a problem» — but if I hadn’t pushed hard I would have lost out, due to his mistake.
(in the end we didn’t buy the Acura anyway…)

This review is for the service department.
I have been to this location a handful of times — change a battery (under warranty), replace a tire, fix mirror, resolve check engine light, etc.
Although there prices are higher than your average mechanic, Acura Oakland has pretty good service. They offer rides to BART, a loaner car if you arrange ahead of time, guaranteed work, and overall good experience. What I like about it is I can feel certain that the job will be done — as opposed to taking the car to two different garages that can’t identify what is wrong.