What would you have done (1 Viewer)

[scottie]

A former neighbour and still friend owns a Bessacar motorhome, not sure which model.Anyway, the vehicle had a intermittent fault on the nearside indicators. Basically when indicating left, the rear and mirror indicator failed to work, but the front indicator was fine. Took van to a garage, who then recommended an auto electrical technician. They said that unless fault actually showing at the time , was difficult to diagnose, but probably body control module had gone, suggested take it to the main fiat dealership. This was duly done, 2 hours of diagnostics showed nothing, but mechanic's again pointed to the body control module, but could not be sure, and confirmed even if a new one purchased and fitted, problem could still exist. New module ordered from Italy, cost £ 1000.00, 5 days to arrive, was programmed to said vehicle, didn't work. What next. Dealership suggested a full wiring check, a couple of hours later, front seat removed, part of the wiring for the indicators had chaffed and thus the cause of the problem. So now neighbour has 2 body module units, is £ 1450.00 less well off, and apparently once unit is programmed to vehicle, that's it, cannot be used on another vehicle. Years ago, a continuity check of the wiring would have been standard practice, or if module was say inexpensive, then a quick swop would confirm either way, but £ 1000.00 and no guarantee, what would you guys have done.

 

[simbadog]

I wouldn't have had them order the module at that price!

 

[movan]

I would Ask them to check the fuses... it's all I ever say as I havn't a clue about electric, engines or anything else. I wouldn't have .. well couldn't have ... paid out a £1000 just on a Don't know but it sounds like .. diagnosis.

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[lindyloot]

That is todays culture in the car repair business. ( Used to run a car seerving and repair garaghe with my late husband). Replace part with out checking what actually caused it to fail in the first place is common place. The old ways of working are disappearing. Diagnostics would not in ca chaffed wire but a physicall check of wiring and fuses would have been my first line of finding out what was the cause. I would not have authorised they ordered the part at that price without chaving the wiring checked,

 

[magicsurfbus]

I wouldn't have gone to a main dealership. I'm fortunate enough to have a trusted local family run garage whom I've dealt with for years. Every time I go to main dealerships I feel like I'm part of a depersonalised computer-controlled system that doesn't care a great deal about cost or outcome. Next time, ask a friend or neighbour to recommend a local alternative.

Local garage would probably have spotted the wire chaffing because they'd make more effort to help.

As for solution - maybe try appealing to a higher level at Fiat as the initial diagnosis seemed rushed. Only other option would be to check the second hand value of the control units on eBay - it might be possible to reprogram so somebody might buy them.

 

[EuroTrotters]

That is todays culture in the car repair business. ( Used to run a car seerving and repair garaghe with my late husband). Replace part with out checking what actually caused it to fail in the first place is common place. The old ways of working are disappearing. Diagnostics would not in ca chaffed wire but a physicall check of wiring and fuses would have been my first line of finding out what was the cause. I would not have authorised they ordered the part at that price without chaving the wiring checked,

Yes, I agree. Mercedes approach is Trial and error.

Is all down to poor diagnosis.

Imagine if you called a washing machine engineer (technician). And he said, well I could try a pump, £50. If that does not work, £75 for a module and if that does not work £100 for a new motor>?....................

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[Lenny HB]

As they misdiagnosed it I wouldn't expect to pay.

 

[chaser]

I know this isn't what caused it in this instance but did anyone check the bulbs here, as it's not mentioned.

 

[WillH]

Whenever I have an electrical fault on any vehicle my first call is to the local Auto Electrician and AC guy, he is, after all , a specialist. They seem thin on the ground now.

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[tonyidle]

Ask for your original module as it isn't faulty. I can't understand why anyone accepts that they should pay for an item simply used to test for a fault. More of these should end up in Court - it's almost a self-serving scam. The system creates an incentive for the technician NOT to try to find the fault because every module they change during their "diagnostic" procedure makes profit. An entirely different argument could be made as to why £10-worth of electronics costs £1000.

 

[Taran_Las]

I'd be having a chat to my local trading standards if I was charged for something used to test a fault which subsequently didn't fix the problem.

 

[Wildbill]

Check bulbs output from control modal its not hard to do bit of wire and bulbs or multey meter continuity check inspection of wiring before ordering a 1000 pounds worth of electronic that on the same base unit for a builders van would cost half that price
bill

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[DavidG58]

our turbo was possibly a similar issue, tried using an independent who couldn't fully diagnose but messed with parts around at our cost (£1600), then we went to Mercedes

They diagnosed the turbo had failed and quoted best bit of £4K to fix, so now very wary and already low on funds, I said what if you change it and it still has the same fault, they say, you will get all your money back and Mercedes will cover the cost of repairing whatever it is that is wrong, adding that the diagnosis is very rarely wrong

in our case we never got to find out, it was the turbo

in your case I would have expected them to make you fully aware that if fitted it had to be paid for, that would have got asking them a few more what if's before they went ahead, if they didn't make it clear and if I have read it right they are a main dealer I would have hoped they would be too embarrassed to charge

if it already a done deal with little or no redress I would have hoped that the original component would be quite valuable second hand if now known not to be faulty they could at least recover some of the cost, presuming that £1000 wasn't an exchange price and it has been returned

 

[scottie]

Thanks for all your comments, much appreciated. In retrospect, it seems that a bit of basic fault finding was needed using a multi meter and some visuals. £ 1000.00 is a lot of money to pay for a module when there was no guarantee it would work. Surprised that the technicians and my friend did not mention checking the wiring beforehand,but I suppose a quick module swop is less hassle for the technicians and they are making money all the while. My mate has now got on to the uk customer service director for Fiat uk to see what can be done. Again, many thanks to all who responded, it appears quite a lot could have been done prior to ordering the module.

 

[gus-lopez]

That is todays culture in the car repair business. ( Used to run a car seerving and repair garaghe with my late husband). Replace part with out checking what actually caused it to fail in the first place is common place. The old ways of working are disappearing. Diagnostics would not in ca chaffed wire but a physicall check of wiring and fuses would have been my first line of finding out what was the cause. I would not have authorised they ordered the part at that price without chaving the wiring checked,

^^ What he said ^^^^^^^.
& yes I can confirm that with Peugeot & Citroën also that the ECU & Body modules , obnce programmed , are useless for any other vehicle. Here, on an occasion where one was needed the Peugeot dealer insisted that it was paid for in advance as there was no guarantee that it would cure the fault.

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[scottie]

Thanks Gustav.

 

[scottie]

Sorry Gus.

 

[WillH]

My recent carry on with the Injector System Failure light on the dash perfectly illustrates the problem. My independent mechanic asked me to leave the van for a couple of days because he didn't just want to throw parts at the job, exactly what my local dealer would do.

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[pappajohn]

Had my car in to the Hyundia dealers with an intermittent accelerator fault under warranty.
Under certain conditions it will accelerate from tickover to 1500rpm in 1st or 2nd gear with no intervention on my part....feet OFF pedals.
I explained it only happens at idle in 1st or 2nd approaching lights, junctions etc.
My dashcam runs as long as the car is unlocked so later I watched the footage for an hour of the car in the workshop with next to no activity.
Then he took it for a 10 mile 'test drive' at 60mph (only happens at idle remember)
No fault found....I'm not surprised.
Thing is now, if it happens and causes an accident I have it on record the fault was reported to the dealer but obviously not fixed.

 

[Podney]

Had my car in to the Hyundia dealers with an intermittent accelerator fault under warranty.
Under certain conditions it will accelerate from tickover to 1500rpm in 1st or 2nd gear with no intervention on my part....feet OFF pedals.
I explained it only happens at idle in 1st or 2nd approaching lights, junctions etc.
My dashcam runs as long as the car is unlocked so later I watched the footage for an hour of the car in the workshop with next to no activity.
Then he took it for a 10 mile 'test drive' at 60mph (only happens at idle remember)
No fault found....I'm not surprised.
Thing is now, if it happens and causes an accident I have it on record the fault was reported to the dealer but obviously not fixed.

Surely unsafe for road use. I realise you are an experienced driver,but even so,it shouldn’t be on the road,should it???

 

[Jaws]

Main Stealers.. Unfit for purpose..Any one is so far up their own importance they insist n being called technicians and not mechanics are not worth throwing a spanner at let alone your hard earned lolly.. Bunch of puffed up clowns

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[Derbyshire wanderer]

I would take the view that they have asked them to diagnose an indicator fault and they failed to complete the agreement correctly so should reimburse for the parts not needed.
If I was looking at potential costs to the customer at those levels I would have run new twin core wire to the indicators and asked them to monitor in use (assuming intermittent failure) as it would only involve about an hours work and minimal parts cost.
At the end of the day it is one of the simplest faults with regard to the possible options of repair being
1) Bulb failure - pennies
2) Power feed failure from module - pennies
3) Earth return fault - pennies
4) Module fault - silly money
Without doubt they have paid for a repair that the dealer have failed to complete in a professional manner. As main agents, they should be able to repair it properly better than anyone else.
In answer to the question I would demand a refund for the poor workmanship and use the small claims system if the dealer refused