Oil and coolant leaks

An interesting pattern we noticed of late. We’ve been having an unusual number of vehicles come back for oil leaks we had previously repaired.

As we began to put the data together, we could see the cars were not coming back for the work we had done, they were coming back for other oil leaks we may have missed. Oil pan and valve cover gaskets were the familiar culprits, an occasional timing belt cover or the rear main seal, transmission front pump and tail shaft seal, even an occasional differential pinion seal. We asked ourselves what we could as a business do to prevent the client from having one oil leak fixed, yet still having to come back for other oil leaks.

We went back to basics and started at the beginning. How we intake the vehicle and what questions we ask. From an office perspective, all seemed okay, the right questions went on the repair order and the tech got to work.

And that’s when we noticed the weak link in the process. You see, advice is only worth as much as you pay for it. And we were not asking anything for the oil leak advice.  We expected our mechanics to spend a great deal of their time trying to find the oil leaks when in fact, they would stop at the very first sign of oil and blame the apparent source.

We expected them to spend their valuable work time without the possibility of reward. The message we sent was that their time was not valuable.

We decided to try a pilot program. To charge a fee to the client for the advice on oil and coolant leaks, and to reward the mechanic with a half hours’ worth of time paid. We did have the expectation the mechanic would spend the half hour checking the vehicle for oil leaks, and not to stop at the first sign of oil.

Once we did that, the mechanics started to remove panels, covers, shields, air cleaners, snorkels and all other necessary items to come up with the correct answer. Why? You ask, because now, they are being paid for their time. That’s why!

A lot of unnecessary work is being done on cars simply because mechanics did not take the necessary time to check and inspect things properly. And why would a mechanic not take the time to do the inspection correctly you say? Because the client wasn’t paying for it,

Porsche 911 Carrera 4S type

Lexus F 350 Sport problems

How much does it cost to re-flash my computer?

May I ask why do you think you need to have the computer on your vehicle re-flashed?

I have a 2002 Lexus and have already replaced (elsewhere) both catalytic converters, the oxygen sensor, the mass air flow sensor and the throttle position sensor. I had them put new spark plugs and did a fuel injection service. After all these parts replaced, my vehicle continues to fail the smog test. They tell me the monitors are not resetting and all I can think of is the computer needs to be re-flashed.

I’ll be glad to give you a quote to reflash the computer but, how about changing strategies and doing the right and logical thing instead.

What do you mean?

It seems to me that somewhere along the repair road, you took a wrong turn and just kept going (Yes, I love the line from a Bruce Springsteen song (Hungry Hearts)). He sure wasn’t happy when I told him “the most expensive repair, is the one you didn’t need”.

So! How about if we first diagnose why this Lexus is unable to reset the monitors and then we can offer you a quote to properly repair it.

Well! I’ve already spent over two thousand dollars to fix it and still have nothing to show for it. You must take care of me! I don’t have any more money to pay for on this vehicle.

I really wanted to tell him that I had nothing to do with the largely misguided expense on his vehicle. He had ill-spent the money elsewhere but, considering the nature of the complaint, I had to begin the quote between two to three hours to find the answer.

Oh no! You can’t charge me that much! I’ve already spent over $2,000.00 and I don’t want to spend any more on this,,,,, car!

The client left without any further ado as he felt we had the moral obligation to help him get his car to pass smog. He somehow couldn’t understand the immense effort required to train a technician to reach the level of professionalism required to diagnose complicated problems correctly and consistently. And he couldn’t understand that for us to be here to repair our client’s vehicles, we have to charge for our time, equipment use and knowledge.  

Working on a 2010 Audi Q5

Oil and water don't mix on a Toyota 4Runner

Hi Lee,

“Your team told me that my 4Runner's engine was entirely trashed and tried to convince me to turn the title over to you. I got a second opinion and they were able to repair the damage without needing a new engine, so I will not be taking my car in for service at your shop.”

Wait, Wait, Wait!

This email came to us 3 months ago.

First the facts we know.

The vehicle had 200 K miles and in serious need for some maintenance and lots of repairs.

This Toyota 4Runner came in for “White smoke is coming from the tailpipe on acceleration” This is what we found. TEST AND ADVISE. Found over heating condition codes are stored in computer memory.  P0115 engine coolant temp. P0171 system too lean, (bank 1 possible o2 sensor due to coolant contamination) water pump is leaking (customer has used a stop leak agent to try and minimize the leak) radiator cap is leaking too, there seem to be no records of a timing belt replace. Multiple and severe oil leaks found. Valve covers are leaking profusely onto the exhaust manifolds and oil and coolant have mixed in the engine crankcase.  Further testing should be done as we suspect a head gasket may have failed due to overheat. At this time and due to the age and mileage of the car and the engine, we strongly suggest a rebuilt engine since we don’t know the extent of the damage done by the mixing of the coolant and oil.

Answering to a hostile client can sometimes be a trigger to further aggravation. As such, we always meet and decide by committee what approach we should take. We decided on this one not to answer since this person a) wasn’t asking for anything specific and b) didn’t post anything negative online.

I remember at that time noticing that the vehicle in question was in such poor condition, it really wasn’t a good idea to keep investing money on it. If there was a time to let go, that was the time. She decided not to do anything on the car and ask us what could be done with it. To try to be a solution, we mentioned we could help her dispose of the vehicle. Bring us the pink slip and we’ll donate the vehicle in your name is what we said.

Judging by her statement (at the top of this page) she decided to have some work done but, not to the full extent of our suggestions.

I wish the story ended there as I don’t mind being wrong, and if I was, I would have apologized for our error.

I happened to go and visit one of my peers in the trade, while there I noticed the car in this discussion was in the shop with the hood open. I asked my friend what happened to this vehicle. “She had some work done at another shop and now the engine blew up when the oil and coolant mixed in the crankcase, you should see the rod sticking out from the block!”
#toyota,#4runner,#timingbelt,#headgasket