QuestionQUESTION: My car check engine light was on and took it to autozone to identify the problem. They checked it and told me that throttle sensor is open or shorted. I thought I will check with hyundai dearler also. So, I took it to hyundai dealer. The supervisor at dealer told me "fixed the throttle senor problem(cleaned and adjusted the sensor) ,but now it is doing misfiring, need to change the spark plugs, coil, and wires. My car mileage was 154 k, so that it would be good time to replace the spark plugs,so I agreed to do that. They charged me $1208.00 for this. And they kept the car for two days and gave me the second day saying it is fixed. when I started the car , car was vibrating badly while idling, I checked with supervisor, he told me that due to car age , this vibration happens, you can drive it.
I drove to my home and the next day engine light came on. This is second time to ther dealer for the same issue. I again took it the same dealer. He said ,we will fix it. I got the car that day evening, supervisor said, "there was a problem with one of host go IGR value and it is replaced now." This time there was no vibration, but check engine light came on the next day itself.
Again I took it to the same dealer. This is the third time to the same dealer. They kept the car for two days again. whenever I call them up, supervisor was telling me that we couldn't find out bottom of issue, still working on it. And then second day I told them that I need the car if you fix it or not. So, They gave me the car second day saying
"we replaced the one hose ,but the we couldn't fix the bottom of issues and check engine light may come again,so they recommeneded me to get rid of this car ASAP. I was totally fed up with this. And I took the car to home that day. After 18 miles drive, smoke started coming out from the engine badly. And towed to the nearest meachic shop
and he said one of the hose was cut, looked someone messed up and hose is replaced now charged 150 for that. Now car is at my home and check engine light is on again.
Please advise me what to do.
Hyundai dealer didn't fix the misfiring issue,but charged me $1208, and messed up my car, increased the my car problems. I lost confidence on that dealer now. I like to get my money back on this issue. I am thinking to show it to another dealer also.
ANSWER: It's difficult for me to offer significant advice and analysis without knowing what diagnostic trouble codes were present and are currently present. Here's what I can offer based on the details in your story:
-- You'd be hard pressed to find someone at an AutoZone that has the skills necessary to diagnose a problem. What they can do is read a diagnostic trouble code. When they start trying to translate the meaning of that code, problems sometimes begin to occur. If they try to tell you the necessary repair for the trouble code, the likelihood of receiving incorrect information goes up even more.
-- There is no way to clean a throttle position sensor effectively. It is sealed at the time of manufacture and cannot be disassembled. It can be out of adjustment, but this is a rare issue on your vehicle.
-- $1208 for replacing the spark plugs is very high. I hope there were other services performed for you to have been charged this amount of money.
-- If the EGR valve stays open, it will cause the engine to idle rough.
-- If the person looking at your car cannot tell the difference between an engine running rough due to the EGR valve staying open and the normal roughness due to deterioration of motor mounts and other components over time, this person is not qualified to be performing diagnosis on engine performance issues. The "supervisor" is likely relying on information supplied by the person working on the car, so the problem with the supervisor's "normal" statement may be that the supervisor didn't check the vehicle himself to verify the normality of the issue.
-- What is their difficulty in determining the root issue for the check engine lamp? I'm in no position to judge, and without knowing the trouble code, I cannot advise as to the common causes. Some problems are intermittent, making effective diagnosis nearly impossible without the problem physically occurring while the diagnosis is being performed. A mechanic with product experience is valuable in this situation, since he'll know the most common problems causing particular issues.
-- Why are they recommending you get rid of the car? Is it because they cannot identify the problem or because it has a serious problem that may not be worth fixing? If the former, then they seem neither competent nor honest. If the latter, they may indeed be looking out for your interests.
-- Check with the other mechanic regarding the other hose. If it looks like someone purposely sabotaged it, then I think I'd be speaking to the service manager or even dealer owner prior to putting my vehicle back in their service department. If it doesn't look like sabotage, it may have been due to old age. Some hoses get brittle as they get older and may break as a result, particularly if pushed or pulled on during servicing. I'd be in a better position if I knew exactly which hose were damaged.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thanks a lot for such a detailed reply.
--P227 was the first code from Autozone. Dealer said that after P227 Fixed, getting misfiring problems(dont know the code for this). still that is the code/text(misfiring problems) I saw on the local mecahich shop. so this is the current code.
--- I am sure that the supervisor told me that throttle sensor position cleaned up and adjusted. so this means, they lied me about this..
---$1208- Dealer replaced the 6 plugs assy, 3 coils Assmy, 1 Gasket sur , 1 cable set, and one side signal light, so the total parts &507 and remaing was labour charges.
--The car was rough at idle after replacing all these parts.It seems that The mechanic at the dealer couldn't figure it out this issue and the superviosr covered him by saying it is due to car age for the first time, the second time they fixed it. It shows that they are not competnet
--After third time service, supervisor told me that " we couldn't diagonse the problem, we are getting differenct codes everytime. we tried out level best. it could be due to whole wiring system, computer system, or timing belt. I dont recommed you to spend any more dollar on this to fix this issue. changing the wiring system($2000) might fix this issue.
We replaced the throttle body from other car to your and tried it , the result was worst and we are getting differenct code issues. so we have put it back your car throttle body itself."
It is kind of both what you said, they couldn't identify the problem and simply they changing the wiring system would cost 2000$(supervisor told me this charge), it is not worth to fix it.
--I guesss, the hose which is changed by local mechanice would be due to the age as you said, or if is pushed or pulled during servicing. dealer mechanic didn't notice this. it complelty broke after 18 miles drive. He showed me which one he changed,I dont know the name of it, but it was under engine car.
so, Basically I guess, In this case, the dealer ripped me off without diagonsing the problme exactly,just changed some parts assuming it will fix the problem. and the problem is not yet solved. So, Is there any way , I can get money back(atleast the labor charge) or can be fixed by another dealer by contacting hyundai usa directly..?
Thanks
AnswerThere are two ways I know of to get money back:
1. The dealer decides of their own accord to refund part or all of the money you've spent.
2. Legal action.
Of course, if you go the legal action route, you'll need some significant evidence that the dealer didn't do what they were contracted to do.
Contacting Hyundai USA cannot hurt, and they may recommend you return to this dealer or take the car to a different one. They can also pressure the dealer in question to fix your vehicle or return money to you. Upon contacting them, your issue will be brought to the attention of the service manager at a local dealer.
