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Eric whatever you decide you should know that many people are grateful to you for your help and inspiration. A lot of people got back on the road when times were tight because of your help. Your story – from the dealership to success on your own – was and continues to be inspiring for many.
I wonder if you might be able to re-package the Fermont project videos once you are done shooting them into a series on automotive systems in depth? Is it crazy to think you might be able to sell these as an educational package, like the Vmanuals but with an emphasis on education and training in fundamental automotive concepts and systems?
For many years I’ve done all my own work and I avoid dealership service departments except for warranty work. I have had some unfortunate experiences:
1.) I left our Odyssey at the dealership to have a malfunctioning sliding door looked at. I got a call about 45 minutes after I dropped off the van informing me that a porter had driven it into a pillar and destroyed the rear quarter panel.
2.) The same car – still under warranty – developed a loud squeak from the water pump. I pointed out the problem to the service writer who informed me that the water pump must be fine because “Honda water pumps don’t fail.” I got a call a couple hours later. The service writer told me that they had ordered an ac clutch for the car and that we could drive the van until the part arrived at the dealership. The next day, while my wife was driving my daughter to preschool, the water pump seized and the timing belt broke. The car was towed to the dealership. The service writer said, “It’s a good thing this is still under warranty because with all that valve damage you would be looking at a huge bill.” When I reminded him that I had brought the car in for a water pump repair the day before, he said to me rudely, “What, are you clairvoyant or something?”
3) My worst dealership experience happened two winters ago. We had a series of bad freeze/thaw cycles here in Michigan and our usually terrible roads became minefields. I hit a deep pot hole with my Infiniti G20 and destroyed the right side outer CV axle joint. (The boot disintegrated and one of the balls fell out of the outer joint.) Over the years I’ve had less than good luck with some of the cheap Chinese replacement axles and I seriously considered shelling out the $600.00 for an OEM Nissan axle. On a whim I called the insurance company and asked them if they would cover the cost of the axle. An insurance adjuster inspected the car and agreed to pay for the repair and waive the deductible as well. The car was taken to the local Infiniti dealer for the insurance work. They gave me a loaner to drive. For some reason – “we’re having trouble getting parts – it took the dealer 10 days to complete the repair. On the drive home from the dealership after picking up the car I heard a loud squeak coming from the right front suspension. When I got the car home I found that the the upper control arm was bad. Oh well, at least I have a new OEM axle! Except when I took a look at my new ‘OEM’ axle I noticed the “Interparts” name stamped on the boot band.
Even though the insurance company paid for the repair, I was given a copy of the invoice the dealership sent to the insurance company. They charged the insurance company $600 for the axle and put the OEM part number on the invoice. I called Interparts to check the retail price for the axle that was actually installed on the car: $100.00. I took a photograph of the axle and brought it and the invoice back to the dealer. The service advisor literally ran away from me when I showed him the photograph. I was left standing there for a few minutes. The service manager eventually showed up and said there was nothing they could do until they talked to someone from parts who was “away for the day.” He said, “I don’t know what, if anything, we will do about this.” I told him if they didn’t make it right I would file a complaint with the fraud division of the state office of attorney general. The call I was promised the next day never came. After three days of not hearing from the dealership I sent a copy of the photograph to the insurance adjuster. He went absolutely ballistic. He called me up saying, “You caught them red-handed!” It was like he was suffering from PTSD or something. He told me that fraud like this was rampant in the industry and that on some days he feels “sick” doing his job. He promised me “they won’t get away with this.” The insurance adjuster faxed the dealership a copy of the State law statue on consumer fraud. The next day I got a call from the dealership informing me that OEM part was unavailable. The dealership manager said “I can’t explain” why the OEM part number and OEM price was on the invoice. They refunded $500 to the insurance company.
That was really interesting Eric – great interview! I’m wondering what you think about their 75,000 mile recommendation for the switch to high mileage oil. Do you agree? I ask because I’ve got a G20 with 165,000 miles on it. So far with conventional oil it doesn’t burn oil or leak. Is a high mileage oil more likely to keep it that way?
That was really interesting Eric – great interview! I’m wondering what you think about their 75,000 mile recommendation for the switch to high mileage oil. Do you agree? I ask because I’ve got a G20 with 165,000 miles on it. So far with conventional oil it doesn’t burn oil or leak. Is a high mileage oil more likely to keep it that way?
Yeah I replaced the bearing, the races, seals, etc. (I just was wondering what happens to the hub when the races are corroded or damaged.)
Yeah I replaced the bearing, the races, seals, etc. (I just was wondering what happens to the hub when the races are corroded or damaged.)
Thanks Eric, CollegeMan and WyseTech. I didn’t explain the whole background to the story. I’d already eliminated the brakes and the splash shield as the source of the squeak and determined that the bearing was probably bad. I didn’t press the hub out of the knuckle in order to do an inspection – I had already decided to replace the bearing. What surprised me was that when the hub was pressed from the knuckle there was no inner race attached to it. On inspection it was clear that the bearing was bad since there was significant corrosion and pitting on the inner race and the grease had hardened. I’m just trying to figure out if it is okay that I reused the old hub when I installed the new bearings, or if significant damage to an inner race usually means that the hub should be replaced along with the wheel bearing. Hope that is more clear.
Thanks Eric, CollegeMan and WyseTech. I didn’t explain the whole background to the story. I’d already eliminated the brakes and the splash shield as the source of the squeak and determined that the bearing was probably bad. I didn’t press the hub out of the knuckle in order to do an inspection – I had already decided to replace the bearing. What surprised me was that when the hub was pressed from the knuckle there was no inner race attached to it. On inspection it was clear that the bearing was bad since there was significant corrosion and pitting on the inner race and the grease had hardened. I’m just trying to figure out if it is okay that I reused the old hub when I installed the new bearings, or if significant damage to an inner race usually means that the hub should be replaced along with the wheel bearing. Hope that is more clear.
hey pope: I had a similar problem on my 96 honda. turns out I had chipped one of the teeth on the “tone ring” that the wheel sensor reads to determine wheel speed. Since one the wheels had less teeth for the sensor to pick up, the computer figured one of the wheels was turning more slowly than the others and it would activate the abs function. So I suggest you check the tone rings on all the wheels and make sure they aren’t damaged.