BenzoDoc

So I had a Service B due, and was totally resigned to the fact that I wanted to retain my CPO status when I renew my extended warranty in July, which meant shelling out $740 for a $690 B service. [all stuff I'm used to doing in my garage on the race car, brake fluid flush, Oil Change, filters changed, overall inspection] I figured that it was a decent tradeoff to retain coverage in the future for stuff I could not handle myself.

Well, I got a call midday when it was supposed to be ready [2 days ago] about all this additional stuff they wanted to do.
-New Belts, tech said belts were worn [$350]
-Tranny Flush and Diff Flush [$700]
-New Spark Plugs [$????????]
-I had asked about purchasing 3 of the 6 plastic clips that hold the mesh over the H/E because 3 of mine are broken...was quoted $130 to replace the clips. I told him I'd rather the mesh fall out whilst driving than pay that.
-There was a rear main seal leak that they would fix under warranty [7.5hrs labor, and is a ****ty, ****ty, boring job, one I've done before on a separate car]

So I asked him to use my vin and check when the plugs/tranny fluid/diff fluids had been replaced. The answer was 40k miles. I currently have 51k miles on the ODO, so I told him that the spark plugs last 100k miles, not 11k miles.

I did instruct him to do the RMS and replace my belts [why take a chance, even at $350].

So the car wasn't ready on day 1 because of the RMS. That's fine, despite not having a loaner. Picked it up yesterday afternoon, and $1144 later, I was home. But my car reeked, and it wasn't a smell I was familiar with [not tranny fluid/brake fluid/burning oil at least]. Drove it home the 5 miles and parked it for the night.

Fired it up this morning, and that's when **** went down. Car started shaking violently at idle, which was a visible shake outside of the car. I pulled out of my garage to drive to the dealer, and the car threw a CEL. The car drove decently smoothly as I limped it up to the dealer <2k RPMs, but at every stop the car would shake violently, but the magnitude diminished the further I drove.

When I got to the dealership, I got out of the car, and the smell was worse than before. The engine didn't sound like it was misfiring, and there was no valve ticking that I could hear.

Anyone have any clue as to what the diagnosis will be?

-Low tranny fluid after the RMS replacement?
-****ed up my belt replacement causing an engine issue?
-Incorrect RMS replacement?

Sorry for the wall of text, just wanted to be as descriptive as possible.

FWIW, my service adviser seemed like he was just doing his job when he asked me to do all that unnecessary crap, and he's been extremely helpful compared to what I'm used to. But when it comes down to it, I'll never be back [assuming they fix my car right this time]. It's one thing to have a friendly service adviser, but he's not the one that touches my car. A competent tech is a must.

bigben320e

Sounds horrible, another case of after the dealer touched it...

What I would go after is, they better fix the damn car for not a penny more. You already got shafted on the price/service, not sure what the problem may be as there are so many factors. These types of incidents and some of my own personal ones make me not trust dealers to a certain degree.

Some of the deeper tech guys care to comment?

grantwoodtx

What dealership did you take it too?

shardul

iTrader: (1)

that sucks did you take it to greenway, north or SL

BenzoDoc

I'll PM you guys the dealership. I'd rather reserve public crucifixion at the moment, and give them a chance to make right.

For those of you that are local, you can probably guess which dealer is closest to the medical center.

cte430

I'm confused - you have to have the dealer do the work in order to maintain the CPO? Even simple service that you can do on your own? That makes no sense.

doing DIY with a new car warranty doesn't void it, why would this be different.

Dealers really are brutal - new spark plugs after 11K miles!!

BenzoDoc

I was led to believe that keeping it serviced at the dealership would prevent me from having to pay the ~$5k CPO fee in the future, to "maintain" the certified status if you will. If that's incorrect, I feel pretty lied to

E55Driver

That dealership sucks! I never go there after they tried to tell me i "needed" all this other stuff too. I go out of my way to the dealership in League city. They actually did what i asked them to do and right without any up selling.

chawkins2001

Did'nt someone else post on here not toolong ago about the violent shake upon start up.

BenzoDoc

Missed that thread.

I'm on my phone but will search when I'm back on a pc.

In the past, tame lateral shaking has been engine mounts.

But this was bad enough that my airmatic was constantly readjusting.

Yacht Master

The only person that is worth a $hi4 in any dealership is the parts-man that orders the part number you give him. All others are fluff.
I swear the new car sales staff is renewed every month at my local MB dealer.
The service........never mind.

BenzoDoc

The verdict: Right Side O2 Sensor #1 Went Bad [Pre-Cat]

They covered it under warranty. [first O2 sensor I've ever had covered under warranty, and I've had multiple O2 sensors go bad on both Porsches, my old RX-8, TT, 335 etc]. This is the first "bad O2 sensor" that has ever made the car rotate on its axis...

I'm happy that I've now got a brand new O2 for free, but I'm still disturbed by the fact that the symptoms don't match the cause.

Logistically, isn't that O2 sensor near the RMS?

Think it got bumped or doused in tranny fluid during the service?

I guess the best I can do is speculate at this point. I wish I knew what was actually wrong with my car, but at least it's fixed now.

grantwoodtx

That's priceless Yatch! BUT oh so true!

220S

I think that's basically illegal under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. The car can stay under warranty under an Indy's care (or your care.) The only issue that could arise is that a service wasn't properly done by the Indy (or yourself.) But a dealership cannot require that you service it specifically through them in order to maintain a warranty of any sort that is attached to the vehicle.

BenzoDoc

Good to know. Guess I'll be having Motorwerks do my work from now on. Or doing it myself.

jamcclureuk

I was recently at the dealer and the Service Advisor had about 10 work orders sitting on his desk. I flipped through them when he went to go look for my key. Every single one of them had "Replace Spark Plugs" listed on them............

ohlord

they can't restrict warranty service to the dealer.
You got hosed. Next time take it to a good indie MB shop.
BTW plugs are every 5 years/most people don't make it to 100k miles in that period.
Get yourself a 59buck obd2 scanner at harborfreight tools and never be in the dark again when she throws a cel
And even the parts man at the dealer is worthless if you buy oem/oe parts online at pennies on the dollar from www.autohausaz.com

03 Hammer

Had a service D the other day. When it was all said and done, they advised me to get about $700 additional maintenance work on it. I said Hell No!!! Example: $280 to replace aux battery and $260 to replace sc belt! Man, you might as well bend over and hand them your wallet!!! I replaced the sc belt myself. Cost was $39 and 15 minutes of labor!! This will be the Last time I will take it to those b**tches! There has to be a better alternative. Good luck.

bigben320e

Fixed.

03'55AMG

Any chance you know an Indy near Chicago?

blackbenzz

May have forgotten to plug the O2 sensor back in after RMS job. Your "new" O2 sensor may not be new at all. Did you look to verify? Just throwing out an idea

bigben320e

This.


Something does not sound right with this whole ordeal. Personally, I would not go back to that dealer anymore, and I would get my car checked out by an Indy ASAP. Just another thought...

BenzoDoc

I have an OBD2 scanner already, but was en route to the dealer already for the veritable seizure that my car was having when the blinking CEL [which solidified in seconds] came on.

grantwoodtx

What was the outcome?

BenzoDoc

Essentially, I bet the tech saw whatever was wrong [grossly] when they put the car up on the lift, and then gave me an O2 sensor to give some semblance of rectification, if you will.

I read up a little bit on CEL's that blink for a bit then solidify. Blinking CEL = pull over because damage to engine is emminent, whereas solid CEL would be more of a, "make an appointment for service."