[aht_six]

imported post

barb and dale wrote:

Picked up two nails in rear tire on Sunday night in Phoenix AZ. Came out of mall and noticed flat tire. Tire was not ridden flat, only winched on and off of flatbed tow truck. Had bike towed home and on Monday put air in tire to ride to local dealer for tire replacement. After airing tire up the low air indicator light went off and then while riding to dealer it started flashing and then went solid. Pulled over and re inflated to 40#, light went off and then in three miles flashed and then went solid again as I reached the dealer. Arranged for new tire, went to lunch and then when came back for bike service manager shows me a pile of small parts and claims that the flat caused the tpms sensor to break. I think technician broke it when removing rear tire because if it was broken I think the left light would have been illuminated instead of just the low air indicator. Has anyone had similar experience. Dealer wants $240 for new sensor. Says Honda will not cover under warrant because resulted from damage, not a defect. Thanks

It was working when you gave them the bike. It seems obvious to me that the tech broke the sensor. Probably no way to prove it though. It is possible the tech told the service manager it was broken to cover up his mistake. When I had the tires changed on my 09, the tech didn't know about the TPMS sensors. He told me it was lucky he didn't break the one on the front wheel.

I would try to plea my case with the service manager and ask to see the owner if that didn't work. Be firm but respectful, most shop owners don't want to chase away good customers. If they refuse to cover the cost, ask them to at least split the cost or give you the part for their cost. The sensor can be purchase online for $140.

When my 2005 was almost new, I left it overnight at the dealer to get an insurance estimate for some damage that occured when it was knocked over. I couldn't believe it when a young, very nervous tech, rode out my bike with the left mirror hanging from the wires. The mirror had been fine the night before. When the tech started making excuses, I pointed out the red paint on the mirror and asked him to get his boss. I was able to keep my cool, and after a short dicussion with the owner, he had my mirror relpaced with one taken off a new bike on the show floor. Because the owner did what I considered to be the right thing, I'm still a customer. I have purchased 3 more new bikes from his dealership since that incident.