But after every service event they call here three or four times to give
us this damn survey to ask us how we liked the experience! Geez! Being
attentive and nice is one thing, but hounding us with calls every time
is another! I'm about ready to drive the extra 8 miles to Ron Tonkin
Mazda -- they're also nice, and they don't feel bound to call afterward
with all these touchy-feely questions!
Whew. OK, I've got that off my chest. I'll go back to being productive
now.
--
Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com
Posting from Google? See http://cfaj.freeshell.org/google/
> Premier Mazda in Gladstone OR seems to be a nice place -- we've had a
> recurring "engine check light" problem that they've worked through about
> as well as can be expected (with multiple visits, but hey). The place
> is clean, the service guys are attentive and polite, they worked hard to
> rush the last repair because my wife needed the car that weekend.
>
> But after every service event they call here three or four times to give
> us this damn survey to ask us how we liked the experience! Geez! Being
> attentive and nice is one thing, but hounding us with calls every time
> is another! I'm about ready to drive the extra 8 miles to Ron Tonkin
> Mazda -- they're also nice, and they don't feel bound to call afterward
> with all these touchy-feely questions!
>
> Whew. OK, I've got that off my chest. I'll go back to being productive
> now.
Is the car a Miata by any chance? My wife's has the intermittent check
engine syndrome. Probably nothing more than time to change plugs and check
the HV leads.
Don
My 15-year-old Jeep gets a Check Engine light whenever it is cold or wet
enough to use the defroster and I come to a stop, such as at a traffic
light. My theory is that the intermittent load of the air conditioner is
enough to drop the idle speed down below the check limit.
My wife's 10-year-old Mercedes, on the other hand, always has a check engine
light.
My 1996 F350 gas pickup turns on the CE light every time I'm on the
interstate for more than 45 minutes. Been doing that for years
Well, ya! It's a Ford. It was never expected to run for over 45 minutes at a
time! :)
>Tim, do you have a code reader? It is highly beneficial to own one.
>
>My wife's car (Honda CR/V) developed a CE light at some point. A check
>with a code reader reveraled that the gas tank sensor was
>malfulctioning. I searched google and found out that it was due to,
>drumroll, poorly tightened gas tank cap (no kidding). Resetting the
>code and re-tightening the cap solved the problem.
>
>Without it, it would be a wasted evening, a service charge, and
>depending on the degree of dishonesty of car mechanics, multiple
>"repairs" too.
>
>i
>
My '03 Civic has a placard in the gas cap well that says something to the
effect of "not tightening the cap three clicks may cause the check engine light
to appear."
Regards, Marv
Home Shop Freeware - Tools for People Who Build Things
http://www.myvirtualnetwork.com/mklotz
During the cross-Arizona gas pipe line failure a few years ago,
fearing thievery, I went looking for a locking gas cap for my Frontier
PU.
The Nissan parts department didn't have a locking cap that wouldn't
screw up the CE light, but they pointed me to a website that made
after-market locking caps that were the proper vent.
...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |
It's what you learn, after you know it all, that counts.
I see people make jokes about Fords like that all the time, but
I've owned a perfectly even number of Ford and GM products, and
the GM products were nothing but trouble.
The Fords weren't perfect either. The O2 sensor died on my
Ranger PU at 10000 miles and the thermostat died on my Explorer
at somewhere around 35000 miles, but that's nothing compared to
the trouble I had with the GM vehicles.
But I guess the small number of vehicles I have owned doesn't
constitute a significant sample size.
Nice site.......
I like this nugget
Volume of a pizza of thickness 'a' and radius 'z' is given by pi z z a
martin
I've owned two '86 Fieros in the last few years, and both have had a
constant "check engine" light. I've heard that it's almost legendary
amongst repair folks - nothing they do can fix it. )-;
Thanks,
Rich
For some reason, I've always had really good luck with Fords - basically,
if you remember to keep oil in them, they'll run practically indefinitely.
But I did have a surprisingly good experience with a '76 Plymouth Gran
Fury - it just kept running and running - I think it was a one-owner
car, who had died - it looked like it had been out in the weather for
about a year, and it had that green plastic thing across the top of the
windshield, and a bunch of "VFW"-type stickers on it. I got rear-ended
once by some little Mazda or Toyota or something and it did about $1200.00
worth of damage to her car, but my Gran Fury had a little paint mark on
the bumper. :-)
Cheers!
Rich
[and yes, "Gran Fury" is not a typo - that was actually the car's model
name.]
> Premier Mazda in Gladstone OR seems to be a nice place -- we've had a
> recurring "engine check light" problem that they've worked through about
> as well as can be expected (with multiple visits, but hey). The place
> is clean, the service guys are attentive and polite, they worked hard to
> rush the last repair because my wife needed the car that weekend.
>
> But after every service event they call here three or four times to give
> us this damn survey to ask us how we liked the experience! Geez! Being
> attentive and nice is one thing, but hounding us with calls every time
> is another! I'm about ready to drive the extra 8 miles to Ron Tonkin
> Mazda -- they're also nice, and they don't feel bound to call afterward
> with all these touchy-feely questions!
Have you told them how you feel about this? Like, "Hey, the service is
great, but please QUIT PESTERING ME!!!!" Something like that?
Good Luck!
Rich
Yes. Two or three times. The last time was right before my post, as a
matter of fact.
> Tim, do you have a code reader? It is highly beneficial to own one.
>
> My wife's car (Honda CR/V) developed a CE light at some point. A check
> with a code reader reveraled that the gas tank sensor was
> malfulctioning. I searched google and found out that it was due to,
> drumroll, poorly tightened gas tank cap (no kidding). Resetting the
> code and re-tightening the cap solved the problem.
>
> Without it, it would be a wasted evening, a service charge, and
> depending on the degree of dishonesty of car mechanics, multiple
> "repairs" too.
>
> i
>
No, this was a specific problem that could be one of three things. They
started with the most common and cheapest thing to fix, and worked their
way up. The service manager _promised_ that this most recent fix would
be the one, that we would _never_ have a problem again.
When I pointed out that such confidence would cause the wheels to fall
off he apologized, and knocked on wood for me.
I'll grant that they could be lying through their teeth, but their
descriptions and behavior are consistent with how I go about fixing things.
There's a simple fix. Buy an answering machine, plus caller ID, and
don't pick up the phone unless it be your choice.
I never answer our phone unless I know who's on the other end-----and I tell
them so on the message. Our greeting on the answering machine requests
they speak their name to identify themselves, and includes an invitation for
them to hang up because we don't accept calls from solicitors, should that
be their goal. It's worked miracles. If we get constant calls from a
given number, I can even block them so they can no longer get through. Our
life is much better these days.
Funny thing------we did this long before the "Do Not Call" list came about.
About a week after I put the message on the answering machine, a caller, a
solicitor, no doubt, called and stayed on the phone long enough to say "Your
message sucks". How bad does it suck? Works for us!
Harold
I have had both + toyota. Toyota is basic, but you get what you pay
for.
Hmmm. Sounds to me that this irritant is common enough to go pester our
federal regulators an legislators.
--
JosephKK
Gegen dummheit kampfen die Gotter Selbst, vergebens.
--Schiller