I zeroed all the trip odometer and "From Restart" computer before turning over the car to the SA for B1 service. After picking it up I noticed that the "From Restart" indicated 0 miles, 0 MPH, and 1:38 of run time at 3.6 gpm
Does anyone know of any good reason that the engine would be run for over an hour and half, for a B1 service?

The bald rear tire with cords showing seemed to have prevented any joy riding, ha ha My next slow drive will be on the way for some new PSS tires.

For those that our curious, the B1 service with nothing extra was $362.

Probably one session to warm up the oil pre-service then another after to check the levels?

Are you sure that the engine ran for 1:38? Is it possible that the key was never fully disengaged, and left in position 2 the entire time?

Just a thought.............

Yea I see no need for a technician to run an engine for that long in order to circulate the oil. Our engines warm up pretty quickly.

What about this?

If the computer/timer (what ever you call it) will continue recording without the engine running, that could be it. I'm assuming it's only timing and calculating gas millage when the engine is running. I will have to try a test on that one.

That's a pretty creative communication! The amount of cord showing appeared to be about the same as before, so I don't think that is it.

I just now remembered that when I left the dealership the first thing I noticed was the low gas gauge indicator was on. It wasn't when I dropped the car off so I'm pretty sure the engine did run for over an hour and half.

got to watch out for them dealers

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You might want to ask the dealer about that. Extended idling is not a good thing due to the low oil pressure at idle.

Leaving the cars idling (sp?) is unfortunately a common practice at service departments as they go on attending the next car and may not get back to your idling car for quite awhile. I have noticed this phenomenon many times.

Also, do not reset the trip meters to 0, it is just as easy for the service tech to reset it to 0 after a joyride or whatever. Just make a note of the value when you drop it off.. much harder for them to go on a 10 mile joy ride when the trip meters read a few hundred miles on it.. they cannot reset it as easily

Send them an invoice for the fuel...

Off topic but i am due for a A3 service... how much should this cost me?

Somehow that doesn't surprise me.

The SA is trying to reach me to find out what kind of replacement tires to order for my car. Assuming he catches up with me, I will ask him about why the car was running for so long. In regards to the tires, I ordered a set of PSS's from Tire Rack that are being sent to a different shop for installation. That will save over $200 compared to the dealer's price and make up for the gasoline they wasted

Next question, is how do I keep the tire installer from going on a joy ride. The last time I had the rear tires replaced, the tire guy had a big grin on his face and told me how much he liked my C63! I better protect my car and and purchase one of the "Tune without removing the ECU" setups so I can load a valet file just before having the tires installed

Good idea, if they had reset the trip meters I wouldn't have known how long the engine had been running. I knew the odometer reading, but that would have just told me that they didn't go for a test drive. You might want to record the time in addition to mileage.

Saw this in the American Airlines Flight magazine:

http://www.trackingkey.com/

I guess you will be able to track the car's movement and various data while it's in their possession.

How so?