Advice from the mechanics_blown engine

[17 ft sea ranger]

So, my wife takes her car into shop for routine maintenance (Spark plugs) and the next day she mentioned the car wasn't running right. I checked it out and to best describe it it seemed like a miss (hesitation). She took it back to the shop and was then told they were replacing one of the plugs because it malfunctioned. They said the warranty covered the plug but the coil also malfunctioned and we needed to replace that on our dime. We agreed and when my wife went to pick up the car at the end of the day she was informed that there was still a miss so they replaced the other 3 plugs (our dime again) they then told my wife they did a compression test and the engine needed to be replaced do to low compression in 2 of the 4 cylinders (2016 import with 135,000k). No warning or check engine lights are on and they are saying it is throwing no codes.

There was a couple of other nasty customer service issues that go along with the story, but those details are not for here. I am not going to discuss dealer/private shop/make of car because the question is posed not to discredit the shop online, i just need to know my next steps.

They want to bring the car in again to diagnose what the problem is but we don't really trust them at this point. They are more interested in getting our service records and such but can assure the car was well maintained.

My take is that the car went into the shop fine, and came out with an obvious issues there needs to be more to the story.

thoughts on how to proceed.....?

 

[Ringo]

@kingblazer84

 

[Foxsea]

You need to go to a good, independent shop for an analysis. There is no good reason for your car to be running fine before the service and to have a major issue develop afterward. Sounds like the service department is lying to you. I know, shocking!

 

[kingblazer84]

So, my wife takes her car into shop for routine maintenance (Spark plugs) and the next day she mentioned the car wasn't running right. I checked it out and to best describe it it seemed like a miss (hesitation). She took it back to the shop and was then told they were replacing one of the plugs because it malfunctioned. They said the warranty covered the plug but the coil also malfunctioned and we needed to replace that on our dime. We agreed and when my wife went to pick up the car at the end of the day she was informed that there was still a miss so they replaced the other 3 plugs (our dime again) they then told my wife they did a compression test and the engine needed to be replaced do to low compression in 2 of the 4 cylinders (2016 import with 135,000k). No warning or check engine lights are on and they are saying it is throwing no codes.

There was a couple of other nasty customer service issues that go along with the story, but those details are not for here. I am not going to discuss dealer/private shop/make of car because the question is posed not to discredit the shop online, i just need to know my next steps.

They want to bring the car in again to diagnose what the problem is but we don't really trust them at this point. They are more interested in getting our service records and such but can assure the car was well maintained.

My take is that the car went into the shop fine, and came out with an obvious issues there needs to be more to the story.

thoughts on how to proceed.....?

What vehicle make and model and engine please?

I cant speak on that shop but if you were my customer I would be giving you better answers then the above.. sounds like they need to buck up and issue a refund on the initial diagnostic as obviously that was the wrong call. If you can get me some info on the vehicle I might be able to help you out a little bit here im in Kelowna but I can Direct you somewhere that can be more competent if need be

 

[ab1752]

This sounds like a bmw saga in the making..

 

[17 ft sea ranger]

ya...not a pretty situation for sure. Thanks to Kingblazer for offering some direction.....any other info/direction is appreciated.

 

[sly_karma]

Verify their diagnosis with your own compression test. If that confirms the serious problem they're claiming, they should at least refund you the spark plugs and labour. Compression test is pretty basic, do that first and go from there.

 

[Cookie's Cutter]

Sounds like there is more to the story. Perhaps it was running rough when you took it to the shop, thats why you asked them to change the spark plugs.

 

[noluck]

i agree, there was or is a underlying issue, sometimes it does not appear till things are changed. you need to do a cylinder leakdown test to see it it is a head gasket rings, or valves

 

[wishtofish]

Just went through something I have never encountered with my kids kia. After battery replacement it was running terrible. After talking to my mechanic friend he said some of the newer cars computers have to relearn their idle procedures, something like 30 starts. Wondering if they disconnected the battery

 

[17 ft sea ranger]

i agree, there was or is a underlying issue, sometimes it does not appear till things are changed.

Yes, i have not doubt there is an underlying issue, but you would think they would say that and want to look into it......not just say your engine is toast and have a good day

 

[17 ft sea ranger]

Just went through something I have never encountered with my kids kia. After battery replacement it was running terrible. After talking to my mechanic friend he said some of the newer cars computers have to relearn their idle procedures, something like 30 starts. Wondering if they disconnected the battery

hmmm....maybe

 

[twogone]

May not be applicable here but many years ago my wife had a beautiful little Ford Probe GT (Mazda engine) and took it for servicing near her place of work. One day she was told the motor was in serious trouble and the car was not worth the cost of a new one but the service manager said he would buy the car and fix it up himself. My wife was secretly told by one of the mechanics the Service manager wanted the car for his daughter so we took the car to a different shop who said there was nothing wrong with the motor. It ran like a top for another 10 years with no major expenses other than tires. There are a few (fortunately not most) shady shops out there so be careful.

 

[wildmanyeah]

And I know that most people don’t change spark plugs unless there is a problem

Gotta wait till they put you in limp mode then take it to a shop.

Lol

 

[Fishing?]

Did they do an oil change?

It would not be the first time an oil change buggered up a engine. It could have been run with the wrong oil, too much oil or not enough, the wrong filter can also cause oil pressure within the engine issues without showing up on a idiot light or gauge. It could have spun a cam bearing, a main would make a louder sound and a connecting rod hammers. Maybe check for "sparklies" on the dip stick.

Did they change the coolant?

If it was run without enough it could do big damage, like warping a head or blowing a head gasket, not all will smoke heavily.

Even the wrong plug could have impacted the piston causing damage.

Timing belt or chain? Over revving can cause a slip with an older belt, valves impacting and bending on pistons resulting loss of compression (overall usually) and a miss.

A plugged catalytic converter can also cause mayhem with back pressure but that usually will show up with an OBDII code reader as an O2 sensor or cat.

 

[profisher]

If a 4 banger had low compression in 2 cylinders it wouldn't run right and probably be hard starting. If it truly does have low compression in 2 cylinders there will be obvious reasons why once the head is removed. A good mechanic would be able to look at damage and tell you if it just happened, happened over time and have a good guess at the very least as to why it happened. Go spend a few bucks at Princess Auto on a compression tester and get a new tool out of the process. Do a test yourself.....its easy. If it does have low compression..ask around for a good shop and have them take the head off to find out whats going on.

 

[17 ft sea ranger]

They had the car all last week doing testing and such and communicating with the dealership head office in Ontario, they have reported nothing to me yet other than they are running more tests. @Fishing? yes they did change the oil but i do not think the coolant at that time. @profisher it is running low on 3 of the 4 cylinders. We did have the car back for 2 days after the original diagnosis and the car ran great, no obvious issues. Zero check engine light or any other warning lights on through the whole process.

 

[profisher]

They had the car all last week doing testing and such and communicating with the dealership head office in Ontario, they have reported nothing to me yet other than they are running more tests. @Fishing? yes they did change the oil but i do not think the coolant at that time. @profisher it is running low on 3 of the 4 cylinders. We did have the car back for 2 days after the original diagnosis and the car ran great, no obvious issues. Zero check engine light or any other warning lights on through the whole process.

They should at least be able to give you the actual compression test numbers for each cylinder. They have that info if they did that test. That would help determine the actual health of the engine.

 

[17 ft sea ranger]

130PSI, 150PSI, 130PSI, 178PSI

 

[profisher]

With those numbers I would scope the engine with a camera and see what condition the cylinder walls are in for the first 3.