Garage advice resulted in possible cause of engine failure
Discussion
My mums Kia Carens 2.0d with 38k on the clock started flashing its check engine light, took it into a local garage whom ran diagnostics on it, came back with no fault and they turned off the engine light, advised to run it and if it came back on take it back in.
2/3 days later the light comes back on, take it back to garage whom this time diagnose it as a faulty lambda exhaust sensor and advise a good run up the motorway to clear the carbon is whats needed. Light came back on quicker this time so returned to garage in concern, but the garage insisted a blast up the motorway will clear it and put the light out.
My mum takes the advice and goes and gets it upto speed on the motorway at which point the turbo dies in a dramatic smoke filled fashion, taking the engine with it.
Now having paid recovery and faced with a hefty repair bill by the garage whom diagnosed it in the first place we can't help but feel a bit hard done by, as it seems a run up the motorway as per their advice is the last thing it needed.
Shouldn't a trained mechanic and diagnostic check have been able to spot a turbo this close to death on one of the 3 visits to the garage?
Would you expect the garage to subsidise the bill? or is it just 'one of these things'
I'm in no way pushing the blame onto the garage - I don't have enough mechanical or lawful knowledge to do that but would like to hear your opinion if it were your car.
Cheers guys,
2/3 days later the light comes back on, take it back to garage whom this time diagnose it as a faulty lambda exhaust sensor and advise a good run up the motorway to clear the carbon is whats needed. Light came back on quicker this time so returned to garage in concern, but the garage insisted a blast up the motorway will clear it and put the light out.
My mum takes the advice and goes and gets it upto speed on the motorway at which point the turbo dies in a dramatic smoke filled fashion, taking the engine with it.
Now having paid recovery and faced with a hefty repair bill by the garage whom diagnosed it in the first place we can't help but feel a bit hard done by, as it seems a run up the motorway as per their advice is the last thing it needed.
Shouldn't a trained mechanic and diagnostic check have been able to spot a turbo this close to death on one of the 3 visits to the garage?
Would you expect the garage to subsidise the bill? or is it just 'one of these things'
I'm in no way pushing the blame onto the garage - I don't have enough mechanical or lawful knowledge to do that but would like to hear your opinion if it were your car.
Cheers guys,
It's impossible to say what the problem was without all the data.
It seems likely that it was lambda probe issues and so the advice was fair enough.
Clearing the fault, it didn't come straight back so was not severe and was probably thought to be deposits on the lambda proble which the motorway run would burn off.
The turbo blew. Maybe it had previously been making oil deposits inside the exhaust system but not making any siren-like noises and not leaking enough oil to cause any visible smoke which would have raised suspicions.
It seems likely that it was lambda probe issues and so the advice was fair enough.
Clearing the fault, it didn't come straight back so was not severe and was probably thought to be deposits on the lambda proble which the motorway run would burn off.
The turbo blew. Maybe it had previously been making oil deposits inside the exhaust system but not making any siren-like noises and not leaking enough oil to cause any visible smoke which would have raised suspicions.
Gdgd said:
Shouldn't a trained mechanic and diagnostic check have been able to spot a turbo this close to death on one of the 3 visits to the garage?
Would you expect the garage to subsidise the bill? or is it just 'one of these things'
Would you expect the garage to subsidise the bill? or is it just 'one of these things'
Gdgd said:
I'm in no way pushing the blame onto the garage
But you are, aren't you?Dodgy lambda sensor wouldn't cause the turbo to blow up, it might be a symptom (i.e. covered in oil (that was leaking from turbo) = no worky), other than that you'd have a hard time relating the two things.
Diagnosing impending turbo failure isn't easy either - what exactly happened ? did the shaft snap ? a wheel fall off ? wastegate jam open ? maybe a oil seal popped or a water seal ? Why did it cause engine failure ?
The diagnosis was to establish why the engine light was on, not give a comprehensive health check of all components.
A big repair bill is never good but I can't see any other route than you having to swallow it unfortunately.
Diagnosing impending turbo failure isn't easy either - what exactly happened ? did the shaft snap ? a wheel fall off ? wastegate jam open ? maybe a oil seal popped or a water seal ? Why did it cause engine failure ?
The diagnosis was to establish why the engine light was on, not give a comprehensive health check of all components.
A big repair bill is never good but I can't see any other route than you having to swallow it unfortunately.
Edited by Crafty_ on Wednesday 5th February 18:46
The week after a major service, my car started pulling away poorly, to the point where my 2 litre turbo Octavia was outstripped by a little old lady at the lights driving a 306 1.9 diesel...
I'd known my garage for a while and took it back to them, saying "Look, it was fine when you gave it back to me but it's been going slowly more wrong over the following week." They and I both agreed it was unlikely to be a problem caused by them but they agreed to have a look.
It turned out to be a faulty air mass sensor, and since I was a good customer and wasn't being a t
t about trying to blame them etc, they were reasonable about sorting it out swiftly and for a decent price.
My point? Sometimes things really *are* just coincidence.
Not saying you shouldn't ask if there's a link, but be polite and careful how you do. Sometimes approaching a garage in a gentle and polite way earns you sympathy/lower bill in a way that's more pleasant and more effective than shouting at the service manager from the word go.
Good luck OP, however it turns out.
I'd known my garage for a while and took it back to them, saying "Look, it was fine when you gave it back to me but it's been going slowly more wrong over the following week." They and I both agreed it was unlikely to be a problem caused by them but they agreed to have a look.
It turned out to be a faulty air mass sensor, and since I was a good customer and wasn't being a t
t about trying to blame them etc, they were reasonable about sorting it out swiftly and for a decent price.My point? Sometimes things really *are* just coincidence.
Not saying you shouldn't ask if there's a link, but be polite and careful how you do. Sometimes approaching a garage in a gentle and polite way earns you sympathy/lower bill in a way that's more pleasant and more effective than shouting at the service manager from the word go.
Good luck OP, however it turns out.
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