Magicboy2
Enthusiast
Car wouldn\'t start- Headache with potential warranty issue- advice please??
A while back, I posted that one day my car wouldn't start. Well, more accurately, it WOULD Start, but then promptly stalled out, as it does when the alarm system is armed. Battery and starter OK, and I could hear the fuel pump priming when I turned the key. After a while, the car eventually started, and ran fine since... problem magically went away.
Until last Friday, that is. Same deal... car would start but then immediately stall. Tried again every few hours with same result. I double and triple checked to make sure the alarm was off (horn didn't sound if I opened the door), but the motor would still stall. This strongly hints at a computer or alarm problem. So I had it towed to the dealership. Unloaded it, and it didn't start there either. They said the soonest they could look at it was the next morning.
The next morning, they called and said it started right up for them. Again, problem magically went away. They performed a diagnostic and the only code that came out was "battery". However, I've never had a dead battery, assuming that I would realize it by my radio presets being erased. Besides, the battery was definately fine while the problem was occuring becuase it had no trouble starting the car afterwords.
So, I'm out $175 for the diagnostic and probably $75 for the tow (I have the MaxCare warranty with $200 ded). That much I guess I'll swallow, but the issue is, that nothing was actually fixed , and what happens when I have this exact same problem again sometime down the road?
Was it reasonable for them to stop trying when the symptoms disappeared? How many diagnostic fees will I waste because the problem magically goes away while the car's in the shop? The dealer even noted on the service invoice, "car will likely need further diagnostic and repair."
Any advice is welcome. Thanks.
A while back, I posted that one day my car wouldn't start. Well, more accurately, it WOULD Start, but then promptly stalled out, as it does when the alarm system is armed. Battery and starter OK, and I could hear the fuel pump priming when I turned the key. After a while, the car eventually started, and ran fine since... problem magically went away.
Until last Friday, that is. Same deal... car would start but then immediately stall. Tried again every few hours with same result. I double and triple checked to make sure the alarm was off (horn didn't sound if I opened the door), but the motor would still stall. This strongly hints at a computer or alarm problem. So I had it towed to the dealership. Unloaded it, and it didn't start there either. They said the soonest they could look at it was the next morning.
The next morning, they called and said it started right up for them. Again, problem magically went away. They performed a diagnostic and the only code that came out was "battery". However, I've never had a dead battery, assuming that I would realize it by my radio presets being erased. Besides, the battery was definately fine while the problem was occuring becuase it had no trouble starting the car afterwords.
So, I'm out $175 for the diagnostic and probably $75 for the tow (I have the MaxCare warranty with $200 ded). That much I guess I'll swallow, but the issue is, that nothing was actually fixed , and what happens when I have this exact same problem again sometime down the road?
Was it reasonable for them to stop trying when the symptoms disappeared? How many diagnostic fees will I waste because the problem magically goes away while the car's in the shop? The dealer even noted on the service invoice, "car will likely need further diagnostic and repair."
Any advice is welcome. Thanks.
