Issue with car service

GarIT

jmreire wrote: »

I don't think from looking at the pic that the air intake is blocked...more like the joint was opened a little bit because the screw was not tightened in place. and from that point outwards, it would have been facing the front grille...taking clean air, free from any dirt or contamination from the engine bay, which is what the ducting is designed to do. but the air flow would have been fine.

In the very first picture it looks to me like the tubing is offset about 25% of the way from the inlet, not a huge amount but maybe a 25% reduction in airflow could be enough to trigger the sensor. I'm not a mechanic

jmreire

GarIT wrote: »

In the very first picture it looks to me like the tubing is offset about 25% of the way from the inlet, not a huge amount but maybe a 25% reduction in airflow could be enough to trigger the sensor. I'm not a mechanic

I understand what you are saying all right, but see the 3rd pic.....that's the one I am referring to....and if anything, that gap which the screw should close fully, but does not, and would in fact allow even more air in to the ducting, but not necessarily clean air.

bucketybuck

j4vier wrote: »

I know what you are saying, cars do develop faults and without the full picture is hard to find the root cause.

The only question we can ask is what are the odds that the developed issue was down to normal wear and tear and not related to the service?

The timing that it occurred does make it suspicious to me but then again anyone can set their own odds to that question!

Without getting into another garages are bad debate, it is actually common enough that the very act of getting a service or repair can exacerbate or accelerate an issue with the car that was there but just hadn't manifested yet.

For example, you have wiring in an engine wiring loom that had oil leaking on it, the wiring has gone brittle but hasn't broken and everything still works. Then a mechanic does a service and also sets the valve clearances, and while working in that area moves the wiring loom. The brittle wiring finally breaks inside the loom.

The customer collects his vehicle, drives away, hits a bumpy road and the broken wiring starts losing contact and all sorts of warnings come on the dash. Driver starts a thread about cowboy mechanic who broke his vehicle.

Seen it a hundred times. And I've also seen it a thousand times where there wasn't even a broken wire, where the mechanic didn't do a single thing wrong but a fault occurred anyway, pure coincidence but because the vehicle was in a workshop at some point in the last 3 months then its the garages fault.

I don't know what happened this vehicle and I have little time for chain stores, but with thousands of components involved these things do happen and thats kinda just the way it is. Also, they are "brakes".

jmreire

bucketybuck wrote: »

Without getting into another garages are bad debate, it is actually common enough that the very act of getting a service or repair can exacerbate or accelerate an issue with the car that was there but just hadn't manifested yet.

For example, you have wiring in an engine wiring loom that had oil leaking on it, the wiring has gone brittle but hasn't broken and everything still works. Then a mechanic does a service and also sets the valve clearances, and while working in that area moves the wiring loom. The brittle wiring finally breaks inside the loom.

The customer collects his vehicle, drives away, hits a bumpy road and the broken wiring starts losing contact and all sorts of warnings come on the dash. Driver starts a thread about cowboy mechanic who broke his vehicle.

Seen it a hundred times. And I've also seen it a thousand times where there wasn't even a broken wire, where the mechanic didn't do a single thing wrong but a fault occurred anyway, pure coincidence but because the vehicle was in a workshop at some point in the last 3 months then its the garages fault.

I don't know what happened this vehicle and I have little time for chain stores, but with thousands of components involved these things do happen and thats kinda just the way it is. Also, they are "brakes".

100% + Audi A6 1.9 TDI Injector Harness......case in point !!!

coylemj

j4vier wrote: »

I got my car serviced just before christmas at a garage which is part of a known chain.

Are you telling us that you gave your car into a tyre shop for a service?

colm_mcm

coylemj wrote: »

Are you telling us that you gave your car into a tyre shop for a service?

The OP Best Drive over there and get it sorted

j4vier

coylemj wrote: »

Are you telling us that you gave your car into a tyre shop for a service?

Is it a tyre shop that does servicing or is it a servicing garage that does tyres?

Point is, they advertise both among their competencies.

They are always pretty busy every time i drive in front of the garage so i would have assumed that they know what they are doing

corks finest

pablo128 wrote: »

While it looks like carelessness on the mechanics behalf, those parts would have zero effect on the running of the engine.

I'm not making excuses for their work. However we had a lady come into us going mad because her exhaust started blowing, and we were the last people to work on the car. We had replaced the brakes 2 weeks previous.

Chalk it down to a coincidence.

Most garage's are decent,will do good work as they know word of mouth locally is everything,and they want loyal customers

pablo128

corks finest wrote: »

Most garage's are decent,will do good work as they know word of mouth locally is everything,and they want loyal customers

I agree. A Tyre centre by the op's admission that's staffed by a bunch of 20 yr olds on the other hand....

I've worked in Tyre centres btw. I know the story.

coylemj

j4vier wrote: »

Is it a tyre shop that does servicing or is it a servicing garage that does tyres?

It's a tyre shop that has expanded into doing servicing. And they're notorious for pumping up the work. When you said your service included brake pads, I immediately suspected that you'd been to a tyre shop.

greasepalm

What worries me is how bad the discs are when fitting pads as seen a few horrors coming in with issues.

pablo128

greasepalm wrote: »

What worries me is how bad the discs are when fitting pads as seen a few horrors coming in with issues.

If it was a Tyre centre you can be very sure if it needed discs,(or not), the customer would be advised to buy new ones. Their business model is to sell stuff.

j4vier

coylemj wrote: »

It's a tyre shop that has expanded into doing servicing. And they're notorious for pumping up the work. When you said your service included brake pads, I immediately suspected that you'd been to a tyre shop.

In fairness the car is almost 4 years old and it never had a break pad change.

I was only surprised that they said it needed back pads more than front ones but they did not seem to pushy about it.

They said that it was advisable to change them now to prevent damaging the disc as they had only a little bit of life left.

Hellrazer

Actually on an Astra K any disturbance or incorrect fitting of the air filter will throw on an engine light.
The air filter actually clips directly on to the maf sensor and even leaving the air filter box open slightly will throw the light on.
I wouldnt say it was caused by the intake pipe but more likely the screw that was put in crooked and the air box wasnt sealed correctly turning the light on.

coylemj

j4vier wrote: »

In fairness the car is almost 4 years old and it never had a break pad change.

My original (factory-fitted) front brake pads were replaced last year after 98,000 kms.

j4vier wrote: »

I was only surprised that they said it needed back pads more than front ones but they did not seem to pushy about it.

Your rear pads probably have no wear indicators (activates a light on the dashboard when they are close to worn out and an electrical contact is exposed) so they can spin that story, safe in the knowledge that you can't contradict them.

corks finest

pablo128 wrote: »

I agree. A Tyre centre by the op's admission that's staffed by a bunch of 20 yr olds on the other hand....

I've worked in Tyre centres btw. I know the story.

Mechanic for fixing,tyrefitter for fitting tyres

j4vier

corks finest wrote: »

Mechanic for fixing,tyrefitter for fitting tyres

I would't even trust them for fitting tyres.

The fault was due to lack of care, not lack of training or skill. I am not a mechanic but i can see when a screw is out of place