Ok I might get some interesting feedback from this, that’s fine by me. Ill take all that I can get.

I have a '99 Accord coupe. I-4 Manual.

Heres my pre-story:
My check engine light came on about a year ago, I took it into a dealer (its not under warranty) they looked at it, said some minor hose came loose, $300 later they reconnect it, reset the light, fine. A month later, my damn light came back on. Well the dealer was too expensive so I took it to a local mechanic. They had to use a neighboring mechanic for the computer diagnostic, and said that they honestly didn’t understand it, and said that for all they could tell my car was running fine. They reset the light. Yet another month or so later, my light comes back on. Grrrr.



Ok new story. My car was recently hit while it was parked in front of my house. (in the rear, no apparent front damage.) Fortunately the guy stopped and I was able to go thu his insurance. I am to pick up the car from the body shop in 2 days.

So... Um... Im gonna pick my car up, fire it up, and that check engine light is gonna come on.

I will have to decide what to say:

"oh yeah, it was like that before"

* or *

"WTF, why is that on? Fix it!"

I am generally not a dishonest person, but I hate insurance companies to no end, and what if this is simply reconnecting a stupid hose again? People want to charge me $75-$100 an HR JUST TO LOOK at the damn thing, and fixing it’s a whole other story. That makes me mad. I try to do as much as I can on my own on my car but what the hell are you supposed to do with that computer stuff?

Thanks for any feedback.

 

have them look at it while it's there. you're due. you paid $300 for a service that didn't fix the problem, so in my eyes, you're breaking even.

it's not the most honest thing to do, but sometimes you have to lie to get things done.

 

Yeah thats exactly how I feel, and I like the body shop, they are very professional, more work on my car is just more bis for them. Thanks for the feedback.

I am still wondering.. does anyone know if there is any kind of time/date stamp on 'events' or whatever when looking at stuff with the computer?

Thanks.

 

You could take it to AutoZone, they'll hook up the code reader for free. Get them to tell you the error code number, not just the guy's description of what he thinks is wrong.

I don't think there's a date stamp if they just use one of their error code readers. With Honda's genuine scan tool, I dunno...

 

yeah do what he/she/it says, take it to autozone they check it for free and tell u the code and what is wrong and now u know, the mechanic charges about $15-20 for that free job. remember if u need any parts to replace like oxygen sensors and stuff, buy it online try theaccordstore.com now they got ur ride too hehe. mechanic will charge dealer price or more, theaccordstore will have it so cheap, that u will hate the shop and dealer forever lol

 

I've never heard of a date that goes along with a code being blown. I'd pin it on your accident, the field appraiser(the guy from the insurance co that looks at the car) will determine if its related or not. Field appraisers don't check the engine code, they let the shop do that and the shop and field appraiser agree if the damage is related. Chances are your shop can make it look like its related, they want the extra money from the insurance co.

P.S.-I work in a claim center and all sorts of sketchy stuff goes down all the time. I see files all the time of people getting into accidents only to modify their car and get a new body kit, or a new paint job. the insurance company looks the other way most of the time. in your case the worst that will happen is they won't fix your code problem. they won't accuse you of fraud cause you're playing dumb and didn't know.(make sure you play dumb)

 

Thank you all very much for the awesome info! Good stuff!

I think tomorrow Ill play dumb, see how it goes. Like skabone69 said maybe it will work, maybe not. If it doesnt Ill try the autozone/theaccordstore route. I do have a feeling its something stupid like a shady sensor, the car has always run fine.

Thanks again.

 

if it did it 3 times within six consecutive months and you went to honda every time and it was still under warrenty they would have had to give you a new car. i think its like a no lemon policy. same thing happened to my moms car.

 

I bought the car used with no warranty, so I avoid the dealers like plagues.


UPDATE: My car had to have an extra part ordered for it so I just picked it up a few days ago.

No check engine light. I decided not to say anything. If it comes on in the next 30 days (the body shop's guarantee) I will try to have them fix whatever it is.

Thanks for all the feedback.

 

OK, I know this post is kind of old, BUT - It seems to me that when you handed the dealer the $300, it was under the presumption that the reported problem had been repaired by the service that was performed. Obviously, it was not. That being the case, no additional fees should be incurred by taking it back to the same dealer and forcing them to stand behind their work. It's not your fault that they misdiagnosed the problem. That's bull.

I love how mechanics pull this kind of crap. If I walk my car into a shop for a specific problem and that problem is not corrected by the service that was performed, they either need to correct the problem or refund my money.

I had a similiar situation a few years ago with a car of mine. As soon as I established a court date, my money was refunded.