Advise with a car dealer

[Guest m&pc9]

I took my daughters vw jetta in to a shop that specialized in vw (check engine light on) They run the codes and found the catalist code. He told me that with that code vw would replace the catalist for free but he is not a dealer so I had to take it to the dealer. So the dealer calls me and said the mass air flow sensor code was on it also But I had to replace it ($450) before they would replace the catalist. So I called the first shop and he says that the MAF sensor code was not on. He says "why would I send work to another shop I would have fix it here". So I get in a piss fight with the dealer (on the phone). So I paid $105 and didnt get a kiss. When my daughter picked the car up I told her to run it by Oreilly auto parts. And low and behold No codes. WTF The more i think about it the madder I get I called the dealer and gave them another piece of my mind after the oreily code scan. But im still pissed. Anyone have any ideas on what I could do.

[molonlabetn]

Ask to see a printout of the MAF code.

[TGO David]

The dealership likely cleared the codes after they did the repairs. It's a common thing to do, that way if the codes pop back up later they know that it's a new trigger and not a remnant from before. You may owe an apology to whomever you chewed out.

[Guest m&pc9]

They forgot to give them to my daughter so they are going to mail them.

[Guest m&pc9]

The dealership likely cleared the codes after the did the repairs. It's a common thing to do, that way if the codes pop back up later they know that it's a new trigger and not a remnant from before. You may owe an apology to whomever you chewed out.

They did no repairs

[TGO David]

They did no repairs

Are you SURE that there are no codes? I'd take it back to the dealership, have them scan it again and then show you the error code relating to the MAF sensor. If they cannot, then you might have reason to be upset. If they can, then there's a chance that the monkey at O'Reillys missed something.

[Guest m&pc9]

Are you SURE that there are no codes? I'd take it back to the dealership, have them scan it again and then show you the error code relating to the MAF sensor. If they cannot, then you might have reason to be upset. If they can, then there's a chance that the monkey at O'Reillys missed something.

Amanda said the check engine light is off also

When I call the dealer after oreilys they said "the mechanic cleared the codes' So I said "I Thought they werent suposed to clear the codes until they made the repairs". It sound to me they might have been covering something. Im just so

[Angus]

Honestly, the old (I know it's not an old car, I am just using the word old here) VW might have just needed a reboot.

I have seen my wifes check engine light on after we turn a corner, and then its off...who knows...I wait till I smell smoke....lol..but thats me

[Volzfan]

If they cleared the code without making the repair then the code will come back and the "Check Engine" light will come back on.

I'm lucky, my best friend is a mechanic so I don't have to worry about getting screwed over on repairs. Anyone in the Antioch area that needs any repairs should check him out @ Auto Specialists on Hickory Hollow Pkwy next to Cartronics. He's good.

Edited October 16, 2008 by Volzfan

[Guest m&pc9]

The big ordeal is that the catalist is still under a recall/ext.warranty for another 3-5000 miles after that its $700 to replace. I think I have got the shaft.

[NuTcAsE]

Are you SURE that there are no codes? I'd take it back to the dealership, have them scan it again and then show you the error code relating to the MAF sensor. If they cannot, then you might have reason to be upset. If they can, then there's a chance that the monkey at O'Reillys missed something.

Don't ever trust the goofballs at a parts store. If they knew what they were doing they would be mechanics, making more money. It's like asking the kid a McDonalds to cook you a gormet meal.

Amanda said the check engine light is off also

When I call the dealer after oreilys they said "the mechanic cleared the codes' So I said "I Thought they werent suposed to clear the codes until they made the repairs". It sound to me they might have been covering something. Im just so

It may not come back on. I wouldn't think they're covering up anything either. Since they didn't make any repairs.

The shop you took it too first may not have been able to retrieve the MAF code with his tool, or it may have been in the history. The reason they wanted to R&R the MAF sensor was to cover their warranty work. They may have told you it had a MAF code when actually the tech saw it not reading correctly or not at all, and may have been causing it to run rich which would kill the converter. Converters don't "go bad", they get murdered.

[dralarms]

The junk scanners at Oreillys, auto zone, Advanced and all the others ain't worth piling in the yard and setting fire to, (gas cost too much). Find you a good mechanic shop (most of them will read codes for free) and for now document everything, Ie date you went to the dealer, code found, what you were told, ETC. but most of all don't trust the parts jockies to diagnose your car problems. I had one idiot tell me my EGR system was screwed, ever time I turned around the check engine light was coming on. I took it to a mechanic shop the read it said "your gas cap is leaking (not sealing properly). So I go to Auto zone and buy another gas cap, 3 weeks down the road the crap starts all over again. This time I carry it to the dealer, yep bad gas cap. Said the ones at parts stores just don't hold the pressure they need to for these newer engines. Bought one from him and the light has never came on again.

[strickj]

Parts stores,and several shops use generic code readers that will at best only give a round-a-bout diagnosis.They could have missed that code,or not even had it show up.

It could also be that extra parts need to be replaced to keep a new part from wearing out.You dont put a new alternator on a dead battery,ya know.

[R1100R]

At my auction we have all kind of scanners. I do the VW open sale. We have a special scanner from VW that is set into a toughbook. This was sen to us from VW. A lot of the high end generic readers will not read all codes. Some can only be read from a factory scanner.

[Guest bigsack]

Parts stores,and several shops use generic code readers that will at best only give a round-a-bout diagnosis.They could have missed that code,or not even had it show up.

It could also be that extra parts need to be replaced to keep a new part from wearing out.You dont put a new alternator on a dead battery,ya know.

yep! chances are if you went to a private shop then they have the same kind of code reader as the parts store. the scanners are expensive as hell and private shops don't have the money to buy one for all of the car makers.

ALL cars since 96 have OBDII systems that are pretty universal, all car use some of the same language in the computer programing. however each car make adds in its own special language and parameters to make it unique. thus you have to go to them to get the total answer.

an example. my mechanic is a honda guy. he has his own official honda scan tool. he can plug into any honda/acura and tell you exactly the same thing that the dealer can. my girlfriend had a nissan and needed to find out what what wrong with her car. he worked on her car as a favor to me b/c i know he hates nissans. she had a CEL(check engine light) on and the code read on his honda scanner as an O2 sensor fault, same thing when i took it to a parts store. we chased it around for a while but didn't replace any parts b/c he wasn't sure. he eventually called a nissan tech friend of his and got ahold of the nissan scanner. the nissan scanner said it was the MAF sensor throwing the CEL code.

long story short the manufactures make it so you almost have to come to them to get it worked on.

chances are if its just throwing a sensor code then they may have reset it to see if it comes back. sometimes codes come up for no reason except maybe a turn in the weather or whatever. if the code comes back and is consitant to the previous codes then for sure change the faulty part.

sorry im a lil long winded:cheers:

[Guest jam]

I would agree with the analysis of the OBDII reader at the parts store might have not been able to analyze all of the data from the car. However, I will also say that I don't trust my local VW dealer and have yet to go to a VW dealer and have a good experience. I don't think that VW dealers understand the words "customer service" and consequently have no interest in buying any vw/audi product.

[Guest Disney]

VW's are easy to get codes from. The cheapest of scanners will pick up the codes from a VW.

It is possible that it tripped a MAF code between garage1 and the dealer. The dealer no doubt cleared the code. If there really is a MAF problem, it will reappear within a few days. The Catalytic converter code should also appear pretty quickly if it's really at fault.

[Guest m&pc9]

The 1st shop I went to specialize in vw. They have a vw scanner. I think the stealership saw a 19yr old girl bring in a car. And thought easy money. Now im out about 10 boxs of 9mm shells ($100)

But I will not worry about it anymore until the check engine light comes back on.

Thanks guys for cooling me down

[kckndrgn]

It can also be that even though the original code read said it was the catalitic converter it was still the MAF that caused it. For example, my van had the CEL come on and it read that all 4 O2 sensors were reading lean, and that they should be replaced. A quick google search found a TBI on the the codes returned and I found out that it was not the O2 sensors, but some "isolator bolts" on the intake manifold that were bad (Ford knew about it, but only replace if under warranty).

After that was fixed I had another code come on and say that the EGR valve was bad, nope not the case, just a pressure switch had failed. A $30.00 part vs. $100+ part, guess it pays to google everything LOL

If your CEL light comes on again, take it back to the VW shop and have them print out the codes. Then have your daughter take it back to the dealership, have them print the codes. See how they compare, if they are different then ask the dealership why that is.

[Guest canynracer]

The big ordeal is that the catalist is still under a recall/ext.warranty for another 3-5000 miles after that its $700 to replace. I think I have got the shaft.

Take it to the dealer, if there are no codes, show the estimate from before and demand they change the cat...