Upselling
After probably 20 years of very little problem with tires and none due to nails, I somehow picked up my third nail this summer. All though I have reason to hate them, my vehicle has run flats by necessity and that has paid dividends in this situation. I get notified on the dash that one tire has low pressure and after determining that it has issues by filling it up with air and getting another notification the following day, I can just drive to the repair shop with no worries. According to the manual, I can drive up to 50 miles on a completely "flat" tire.
Of course they were busy so I made an appointment for an hour later and then drove to do a couple nearby errands on the flat tire and returned at the scheduled time. I fully expected a 30 minute job. An hour and 20 minutes later, they finally called me up and said there was an issue. The TPS (tire pressure sensor) was evidently broken and needed replaced. Okay, do you have one in stock? They did and it would be installed momentarily.
Forty minutes later, the called me up again to say they had another problem. My battery was dead and after testing it, they determined that I needed a new battery. I told them that it was only two years old which caused him to pause and go out and look at the battery again. He came back in and said it must be defective, which sometimes happens and that it really needed replaced. I told him that my smart phone was notified 40 minutes ago that my car navigation system wanted to connect to it which means my car was in accessory mode. I told him my guess was his technician turned my car on accessory mode to program the TPS sensor and didn't turn it off and thus ran my battery out since my cabin fan, lights and radio were all on at the time. Could he just jump start it and let me be on my way. He reluctantly agreed and I was on my way minutes later. I have started it three other times today and it has started right up. Just to be sure, I ordered a device that measures the Cold Cranking Amps of a battery which determines it's health and after testing, it told me my battery was perfectly fine.
I think it is time for a different tire shop.
I have had a faulty TPS for some time -- ever since early spring when we put the summer tires back on. It's on my list though. :)
ReplyDeleteWith run flat tires, it is a necessity to have working sensors as I can't tell by just looking at the tire that it is "flat".
DeleteERJ, nails are the bane of New Home. We have had more flat tire incidents in the last 14 years than in my previous 25.
ReplyDeleteThe Tire Pressure Gauge can be a thing - we have lost ones or had the batteries go out (at which point it just annoyingly flashes). That said, I have become pretty wary of any shop for which I take the car for one thing and learn I need another five things "to be attended to".
I've always had great service at this place before but I noticed that my normal manager wasn't there this time and it was someone I hadn't seen before. It is up in the air right now if it is just due to vacation or perhaps new management. If it is the latter, I have homework to do.
DeleteEd (Not ERJ silly TB, that is a different blog), a manager can make all the all the difference at a location. Another possibility which has happened to us is the shop gets bought out by another organization and we did not know it until we showed up and it was now XYZ company that already had a bad reputation (not like the previous owners that had a good one).
DeleteMore than likely! Perhaps it was a slow day for them. All those add ons add up! In my experience it happens more to women than men.
ReplyDeletePerhaps. Batteries are extremely expensive these days which is why it caught my attention when he said my two year old battery was shot.
DeleteI think it's time for a different tire shop too. Mine tried to tell me that I needed new brakes so I took it to the Subaru dealership who told me that the brakes were fine.
ReplyDeleteIt is a cut throat world in these independent shops and I have tried to teach my girls that one must learn and be familiar with symptoms/fixes and not just trust what is told to you.
DeleteI'm waiting for my dealership to let me know when they get the part for a repair I need. Turns out it's a common problem with my model make/year that GM is aware of, but guess what... I still have to pay for the repair since it's no longer under warranty. It's one of those times I don't think the warranty should be an issue since it's a GM problem.
ReplyDeleteI hope your part isn't affected by the upcoming strike starting tonight at midnight!
DeleteMy experience with a (relatively) new car is that the on-board diagnostics aren't always to be trusted. Ever since running the battery down low a couple of years ago my car is convinced that I have a fault with the front fog lights, even they are working perfectly. It is also sometimes temperamental over starting, it has a push button start, not the old style ignition switch, I can tell when it's not happy as it does not swing out the wing mirrors when I unlock it like it's supposed to when it is sulking.
ReplyDeleteAll of our vehicles currently are Toyotas and I've not had a lot of problems with the on-board diagnostics or sulking.
DeleteAh, a shop to write off. Years ago we gave a Lexus LS400 in pristine condition that was 8 years old to my husband's very good friend. It didn't even have 10,000 miles on it and we kept it under cover until it became too much to handle just to take it out for an occasional spin. It still smelled new with grey leather upholstery and a celadon green exterior. It drove and felt like a dream. We used to use a certified Lexus mechanic who hardly had to do anything except change oil once in a while.
ReplyDeleteOur friend didn't like our old mechanic because he would politely refuse the $100 tips that he offered so he went back to his "friend" who fixed cars. He spent thousands (and tipped each time) on "fixing" things such as the power steering, axle something or other, and said that under the seats were covered with roaches and their nests, so the cost to replace the tracks and mechanisms was gnormous.
Unfortunately, our friend believed this crooked mechanic and thought we gave him a lemon. It was sadly the beginning of the end of a friendship with my husband, who was heartbroken to lose a friend to a fake mechanic that took advantage of a very nice man.
Yeah, I'm a firm believer in not giving money or valuable things to friends as it always seems to come back and bite you. I'm quick to loan, just not give.
DeleteOh, that would have irked Tim. Good catch.
ReplyDeleteIt irked me. It still irks me every time I start it someplace where it not starting would be a hardship because they created doubt.
DeleteYes, find someone else to do your repair work.
ReplyDeleteI may wait to see if the old manager is on vacation or if their is new management. If it is the latter, I'll definitely go elsewhere.
DeleteThose sensors can be a pain to get them fixed. The battery sounds like they were trying to sell you more. -Jeff
ReplyDeletehttps://fromarockyhillside.com
I've not had any problems with sensors that I can recall other than the occasional replacement with old age. However this sensor/tire set was only 7000 miles old or so.
DeleteGood for you, knowing something about that story wasn't right. It does sound like you need a better place.
ReplyDeleteIt is certainly looking like it.
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