by "Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing." (granfury)
Published 01/26/2017 at 21:01
by "Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing." (granfury)
Published 01/26/2017 at 21:01
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STARS: 1
As mentioned in an earlier post I took my car in for an oil change and was told there was a CEL, something that popped up after they took possession of the car. They wanted $75-$125 to tell me what code was thrown, this after their own documentation showed that the CEL wasn’t on before they started working on it. When I pushed them on the issue they agreed to check the code, but miraculously there wasn’t one any longer, which lead to my wondering if it was an actual problem or a potential scam. I realize that diagnosis shouldn’t be free, but all I wanted was the code that was thrown, not a full diagnostic run.
I left the dealer and stopped by a local store. When getting back into the car I noticed grease and dirt on the seat and door panel as well as the arm rest. I will admit that there was some minor dirt there previously, but not this bad. I took it back to the dealer and they spent the next 45 minutes cleaning the interior and wheels, even vacuuming up glass from last year’s break in. This was quite a bit more than I was expecting, and makes me wonder if this was a reaction to the CEL issue. Or perhaps they saw the Oppo sticker and reacted with the appropriate respect that this sticker demands. Mind you, this is the same place that has an employee that drives a Eunos Cosmo to work, so they may understand the enthusiast’s mindset.
"mazda616" (mazda616)
01/26/2017 at 21:05, STARS: 0
Nice color! I need to get an Oppo sticker for my 6.
I think they might have just cleared the code. Perhaps they caused it? Who knows.
"Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing." (granfury)
01/26/2017 at 21:11, STARS: 0
One year only color for this bodystyle, and even more rare that it has a 6MT, so it’s practically a rolling unicorn.
Their initial paperwork said that the CEL was clear, so it happened, if it actually happened, on their watch. Do dealers try to get extra funds by claiming to diagnose a CEL that may not exist? It would be a great moneymaker if they did.
"nermal" (nermal)
01/26/2017 at 21:13, STARS: 4
Sounds like you need to find a better place to get your car serviced at.
"Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing." (granfury)
01/26/2017 at 21:28, STARS: 0
Sadly, I thought I did...
There is a dealer closer to me, but the service writer kinda freaked out when I mentioned that I was OK with using conventional 5W-20 instead of the recommended 0W-20 (which they only had in synthetic). It doesn’t get cold enough in STL to warrant such a small change in viscosity, and synthetic isn’t required by my engine. I change it every 4-5K, so I think conventional oil should be just fine.
Maybe I need to find a trusted independent shop that I can work with. I refuse to go to any of those quick-change places after I’ve seen (and repaired) their handiwork, nor am I going to trust some place like Wal-Mart.
"jimz" (jimz)
01/26/2017 at 21:30, STARS: 1
sounds a bit scammy. even if the light goes out, there should be a stored code until it “ages” out of the system.
"jimz" (jimz)
01/26/2017 at 21:32, STARS: 3
if 0W-20 is the recommended grade, then technically your car does require synthetic. there are (as far as I know) no conventional 0W base oils out there.
"Rico" (ricorich)
01/26/2017 at 21:32, STARS: 0
I’ll be honest, I think they were bullshitting you. Glad they made good on cleaning the car and I would’ve thrown the guy a $20 if I was that satisfied with the cleaning job but after that I probably wouldn’t go back.
"Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland)
01/26/2017 at 21:40, STARS: 0
I do the oil changes on my mazda 3 myself. It is quite easy. A little messy due to the plastic tray under the engine, but otherwise not too bad. Full mobile 1 synthetic and filter from Walmart is usually around $30 in parts.
"Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing." (granfury)
01/26/2017 at 21:41, STARS: 0
I’m surprised that there isn’t some sort of large caveat, either in the manual or under the hood, to that effect. My old W210 had a big disclaimer, very obviously displayed, that said Mobil 1 only (which, to be honest, seemed kind of silly for a basic 3V, 215 hp engine).
"jimz" (jimz)
01/26/2017 at 22:16, STARS: 1
what does your manual say? the difference between 0W-20 and 5W-20 isn’t that great, and usually a car’s user manual will have a table of some sort showing what oil viscosities you can use in certain ambient temperature ranges.
My old W210 had a big disclaimer, very obviously displayed, that said Mobil 1 only (which, to be honest, seemed kind of silly for a basic 3V, 215 hp engine).
engine power has little to do with it, it’s mostly about clearances/tolerances.
"Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing." (granfury)
01/26/2017 at 22:42, STARS: 0
Well, the manual does state that 0W-20 is recommended . There is a section for Mexico that says that it’s OK to use 5W-20 or 5W30 if 0W-20 is not available.
My complaint with the W210 is the fact that the engine in that car is just their basic, run-of-the-mill M112 V6 and not some exotic thing like you might find in an AMG variant; if I had one of those I would expect to require the use of synthetic. Considering all of the various vehicles this engine is used in, from C- to S-Class and everything in between, you’d think that they could make it a little more economical to run. Yeah, I know - economical and MB don’t exactly go hand in hand, but I think you know where I’m going with this. And this was 15+ years ago, before ever-tightening emissions made running extremely thin oil the norm.
"LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com" (limitedtimeonly)
01/27/2017 at 08:39, STARS: 0
Gotta be the Oppo sticker.