Dealer left handtools in my engine bay!!!

[trhee]

i am so pissed off... i took my car in to be serviced (2003 330ci) about 2 weeks ago for a service engine light problem... they fix it telling me it was a bad air sensor... 2 days after i get the car back, the service engine light comes on again... i open the hood and to my dismay and anger, i find 2 handtools in the engine bay... it's back in the shop again... now they say they need to reprogram the ecu and theres a bad wheel speed sensor...

i told my service coordinator about the handtools and he told me he would pass on my complaint to the service manager... i didn't hear back from the service manager so i called bmw of north america and aired my grievances about the following:

1. handtools left in engine bay...
2. service engine light coming on 2 days after being fixed the first time...
3. receiving toyota camry's as loaner cars and being charged for "fillup" gas...

later,
thomas

 

[codex57]

you were charged for fillup gas? that's pretty retarded. I'd never heard of anyone being charged for gas when they took out a loaner before. I've never actually gotten one myself, but I was with my friend when he returned his loaner 525iT and we weren't charged for gas then.

 

[mallards]

woa .... you were given a toyota? and charged for gas? wtf

my dealer told me one of the advantages BMW dealers have over other dealers is that they give you a car of equal or better value to drive if your new bimmer breaks down ... they didnt mention anything about gas but that still sounds a little weird

Ben

 

[PuShAkOv]

Just make sure to tell the story to the doctor the next time you have a surgery....

Oh.. nevermind... let him leave the tools there so that you can get your first diablo

 

[wookie]

What kind of tools were left in your car ?

If nice, you should keep them or sell them on ebay

 

[metallus13]

I understand your anger about the problem not being fixed, but computers on newer cars are a pain and the dealer often did fix the problem and nothing else could be done at the time. Codes on cars pop all the time for no reason. ALL cars. Be patient.

The tools in the bay, why are you so upset? A BMW mechanic has hundreds of things to do in a day and leaving a tool is not uncommon at all. My dad is a mechanic and he has lost tools that way. Don't tell me you have never forgotten anything.

Relax and enjoy your car. Don't let an over worked mechanic or manager screw up you day and time. It isn't worth it.

 

[johndftc]

whassup guys, new to the forums. That is kind of messed up about tools being left in the engine bay. But as long as they didn't obstruct any moving parts or short out any electrical connections, you're fine. Hell, I've left pliers by my battery for a few days before realizing i did it! But them giving you toyotas and charging you for gas?!?! Now that is just wrong! Dealerships........

 

[Kirby]

The tools in the bay, why are you so upset? A BMW mechanic has hundreds of things to do in a day and leaving a tool is not uncommon at all.

IMHO, it's not the fact that the TOOLS were forgotten. It's the fact that the tools were FORGOTTEN. Maybe he got distracted and left the tools because he wasn't finished! It makes you wonder what else was forgotten by the mechanic because he had hundreds of things to do:
- The last 3 quarts of oil on an oil change?
- Tightening the lugs nuts after snugging the wheel?
- Balancing the tires?
- Retensioning the timing or drive belt after a belt change?

I had a similar experience - I picked up my car and the mechanic called the next day asking me to bring it back. He forgot to replace the rubber access plug to the timing belt tensioner after changing the belt. Not dangerous or a real big deal at all - BUT I always wondered what else he missed that I paid for.....

 

[epj3]

the toyota was probably owned by a dealer who wanted a full tank of gas

 

[frolf]

1. handtools left in engine bay...
2. service engine light coming on 2 days after being fixed the first time...
3. receiving toyota camry's as loaner cars and being charged for "fillup" gas...

later,
thomas

i found a few attachments in my engine bay after my first service. and my check engine light has been off a total of 7 days that i have owned the car. 3 days after i bought it, 2 days after each service. if you are still getting good gas mileage don't fret too bad. it used to drive me nuts that my engine light was on. now i don't even notice it, and as long as my mileage is good i know my car is running ok.

 

[trhee]

Update

I dropped the car off Thursday morning (8:30am) for them to fix the service engine light. They call me back at 1pm and say that 2 things are wrong with the car:

1. DME needs to go to BMW North America to get reprogrammed.
2. Wheel sensor is bad

They tell me I should have my car back later that night or Friday at the latest.

I don't get a call back again that day, no big deal. I'll go pick up the car after work on Friday. Friday, around 1pm I get a call saying that the car won't be ready until Monday now because they don't have a part in stock. I get furious and ask them why they didn't tell me this yesterday and why I have to drive around in a shitty Toyota all weekend AND have to pay for the gas on top of that?!?! He tries to calm me down and ask if I would like a BMW loaner instead? I say that would be agreeable... or even a mini cooper, since they own a mini dealership as well. He says he'll talk to his manager and call me back. He calls me back and tells me they don't have ANY bmw's or mini's to give out as loaners but to make up for things they'll do 3 things:

1. Deliver me the car to my workplace on Monday.
2. Detail my car inside and out before delivering it to me.
3. I won't be charged for any gas useage on the toyota.

later,
thomas

 

[tsquared]

Forgetting tools in the engine bay can be disastrous. It may be human nature to forget where you put things (I can never find the remote for my TV) and make mistakes but when your working on critical systems there is no margin for error, and no excuses.

I’ve experienced two occurrences when mechanics have royally screwed up and could have easily resulted in someone getting seriously injured.

The first one was when I had the belt replaced in my '92 Jeep Cherokee years ago at a local Goodyear shop. Unbeknownst to me at the times, the mechanic left a 2 1/2 foot long screw driver sitting on top of the engine, right on top of the throttle linkage. When I went to accelerate past an 18-wheeler, the screw driver jammed the throttle wide open. I damn near rear ended the guy ahead of me before I figured out that the engine was stuck wide open. I throw the truck into neutral, shut off the engine then wrestled the truck to the shoulder with out power steering or brakes. After taking a few minutes to get my shakes under control, I popped the hood and discovered the screw driver. Needless to say I was pissed and the shop manager got both barrels [target]. His response was so poor I filed formal complaints with states Attorney General Office, the Better Business bureau and Goodyear.

The second occurrence was when a Midas shop failed to properly reattach the brake lines after they did some work to the rear drums of my Jeep. On the way into work the next day I lost all the brake fluid and thus most of the brakes. The shop had just opened when I limped in and with a crowd of about a dozen other customers I loudly asked to speak to the managers about why the brakes on my Jeep failed less then one day after they worked on them. To the shops credit, the manager and 2 mechanics dropped everything they were doing and fixed the problem.

My lessons learned from this has been when ever my vehicles have been in for service, I do a visual inspection of the area that was worked on. Thank fully I haven’t found any other problems.

Stay safe,

 

[mikev]

Re: Re: Dealer left handtools in my engine bay!!!

i found a few attachments in my engine bay after my first service. and my check engine light has been off a total of 7 days that i have owned the car. 3 days after i bought it, 2 days after each service. if you are still getting good gas mileage don't fret too bad. it used to drive me nuts that my engine light was on. now i don't even notice it, and as long as my mileage is good i know my car is running ok.

Theres a £15 tool that resets all the service lights as well as turnin off all warning lights. plugs into the comp interface in the engine bay. if it comes on then there is a problem small or big. ranging from a blowing exhaust (senses the back pressure) to a piston through the head. my first 320i had a faulty handbrake so the light was permantly on thinking the HB was on my soultion was to get some electrical tape and put it over the light

 

[Tweet227]

trhee: do you go to Prestige in Ramsey?!?!

My '04 has been in the shop 5 times in the last 3 months for a total of 7 days. Every time I bring my car in I get a Toyota loaner too and am expected to refill the gas tank! They said they stopped giving out BMWs because too many people were crashing them and they are going to slowly start adding them into the loaner pool again. Jokingly I asked the loaner guy if the reason they give Toyotas instead of bimmers was because they were better quality and he just looked at me and gave me a smile with a slight nod of head (confirming my statment) and i swear my mouth fell to the floor. I couldnt believe that any BMW employee would ever knock their product. Oh and when my car came out of the shop it had a nice new scuff mark on the passenger door, which when brought to their attention was quickly removed by the service manager.