repair shop advise

Was wondering your thoughts on this. I took my 02 Chevy Venture to the Chevy dealer 2 weeks ago for an AC problemm that was blowing out warm air. they diagnosed the problem to a leak in the rear evaporator and for $700 they solved the problem and the AC worked great for 2 weeks ( about 4 operating hours) and now it is doing the same thing again blowing out warm air. We took it back in and now they say it is some ttubing going to the rear and nothing they did. the tubing is on backorder and they haven't got back to me with a cost yet for the repair however, I am not sure if this should be an additional charge or under warranty. THey advised originally that they tested the system out and it was wrking as designed. MY problem is how do I know, maybe it was mis diagnosed to begin with. JUst wanted your guys opinion if you think this should be covered or not. Thanks

 

They are full of it. They tried to do the same thing to me with my wifes older car. How did they determine it was the tubing somehow? Did they do some pressure tests?

Is the compressor coming on? Did they hook up their diagnostic machine and test the control panel and/or blend door? This should be under warranty, I would speak to the boss man, then the bosses boss man, etc.

 

I don't know that I would be as blunt as Mark (he's kind of excitable ), but it does make you wonder. For instance, since they replaced the rear evaporator it would have been expected, I would think, that when they reserviced it they would check that it held vacuum and for leaks after pressurizing. Sort of makes you wonder if there wasn't a leaking line from the git-go.

 

I'm not a big believer in "coincidence".... they fixed the problem, then the same problem came back with a different cause.... C'mon....

Be polite, be professional, but be firm... go to the boss, the bosses boss, etc., until you get the problem resolved at no extra cost.

 

Hard to say without seeing the vehicle..........However with a system under pressure, it IS possible to fix one problem and have the next "weak link" break..........That being said , an evaporator core has more pressure with the system off than it does when it's on...........so it would tend to leak when NOT being used

 

okay, so the latest is they want me to bring the vehicle back to the dealer again so the original technician ( this last time it was a different tech.) can look at the vehicle again to see what the problem is. So I still don't no if they are going to cover it or not. What a lot of B.S.

 

Could go either way. The alternative would be to have it repaired at a good independent garage or auto ac specialty shop.

 

Beat Me to it.....

Contrary to popular belief...Not ALL Mechanics are THIEVES...and I usually dont believe in coincidences either, but the fact still remains that sometimes "Schmitt does happen".....

I would talk to the owner, and maybe not fully covered, but a show of good faith and a willingness to "WORK WITH YOU" should set the bad taste in your mouth to rest

 

I took it back to the dealer again and they have now advised that it is actually the four refrigerant lines that are going to the rear ac system that are now leaking. Originally they changed the rear evaporator and put o-rings into the lines however they advised that that didn't hold and now the lines need to be changed which are still $400 for parts and they would pickup the labor which is about an another $600. so all in all for the evaoporator and the lines this would be about a $2000 worth of work. This sounds outrageous. Can anyone verify there are four lines going to the back and $400 dollars for tubing seems right. Thanks

 

I would call an independent repair shop to get a quote on that work, if I were you. And, next time, find a better shop. I know it's hard to find them, but I have dealt with good honest shops.

I've had A/C systems last anywhere from 6 to 9 years. When they go, I resort to natural A/C, because of the ridiculous cost of repairing them. A few decades ago almost no cars had A/C and we survived that just fine, lol.

QC

 

Sorry to read your three different posts.

I, too got the Camery 1998 with High-mileage a/c repaired only last month or so and working just fine, cold air blowing all over the place inside the car.

Prior to do any work on a/c, I asked was whether there was/were any serious problems which amounted more than $1,000 upon diagnosis(costs around $100). The A/C tech. in the Dealer told me 'Freon/refrigration' needed, ... but down the road, it might need a substantial repair which costs about $1,000. Since the a/c tech. seemed an honest guy, I told him to go ahead.

In my experience through the years over a/c on other cars, one of which was Tempo. long ago,.... dealing with Car A/C is very tricky according to my old, now retired mechanic. Then, there might be some 'luck' on fixing Car A/C.

In my case/Camry '98, there was some 'cold air' blowing, ... not 'warm air,' ... then you need to ask whether there was any major repair which would cost more than the price you want to pay. Because, not all, but some of a/c mechanics or the Dealer might be taking advantage of clients' urgency fixing a/c due to the hot and muggy weather.

BTW, Tempo I had long ago lasted about one year after having paid substantial amount of money. Since then, I'm pretty cautious about fixing it. Luckily, other car, Subaru-Outback with very low-mileage working really good, although it's 8 year's old. 2000 and all 'original' parts intact.

 

I have not looked under a Venture, but all other vans with rear ac I have seen only have 2 lines going to the rear one pressure and one suction, dont know where three and four come in. I would take it to an independant shop for a second opinion, then armed with that estimate i would have a civilized discussion with the manager of the dealership, if you do not get satisfaction there go up the line, Better Business Bereau, General Motors Customer Hotline. GM does not like its dealers trying to defraud customers and many times will give discounts to satisfy customers.

 

Whoa, those were the days....

A few years ago, I had a serious problem with a GM car. When I complained to the Customer Hotline, I got the brush off, so I wrote to the President. To this day I await an answer - and it's been about five years! So I've joined a class action lawsuit over it.

I wish you luck dealing with these people. Other manufacturers haven't been much kinder to me in the past.

Buyer beware has never rung more true than today.