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A Mechanic's Life - Tales From Under the Hood

2791 messages,  Last post on May 19, 2013 at 7:16 AM

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Messages Page 81 of 280

#797 of 2791 Re: Pressured to not do your best [isellhondas] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Jan 10, 2013 (7:49 am)

Replying to: isellhondas (Jan 09, 2013 9:07 am)
I was just over at Bay Bridge Motors, a Mini Cooper specialist, getting some advice and some work done. We talked about a howl I get when releasing the clutch when the engine's cold--this happens in 1st gear for about 10 minutes, then it's gone.
 
His response? "Oh, yeah, that's a common issue. It's the dual mass flywheel vibrating slightly until it warms up. We could replace the entire assembly for $1700 but quite honestly, it doesn't affect clutch wear and it could stay that way for the life of the car".
 
BING! No fear, no up-sell--just common sense.

#798 of 2791 Re: Pressured to not do your best [srs_49] by thecardoc3

Jan 10, 2013 (8:27 am)

Replying to: srs_49 (Jan 10, 2013 6:38 am)
Is what I just described infallible? Of course not. We still have returns for failures that cannot be fixed with the techniques I described.
 
Such is the nature of machines.
 
I don't know what our numbers are, but if (say) 90% of the in-the-field failures are fixed by swapping out modules, leaving 10% to be returned to the factory, then that is still cost effective versus training and equiping every tech in the field.
 
So do you blame the techs, discipline them and/or call them hacks when your system fails?
 
We warrant many of our systems for 20 years.
To me that means there must be quite a bit of up front profit in the sale, and there is nothing wrong with that because a business doesn't survive without it. Some portions of the GP go towards future developement of the wares you bring to the market, and of course some of it must go towards growing a capable workforce.
 
In our case it's just not practical or cost effective to provide the detailed training and test gear to those in the field who are probably only rotating through a 2 year assignment
 
Really so what happens to these people after you're done with them? Just joking of course, that sounds like it has a military connection to it. Sadly in our trade there is a lot of that same attitude but it has the appearance of being closer to a five year window as techs are forced to always look for greener pastures that are rarely able to live up to expectations.
 
Our trade has to move past this revolving door mentality and it really has to be able to garner a career oriented perspective. You can't justify training your techs to thrive beyond a two year parts swapping capability. Meanwhile there is so much to have to learn in our trade today that twenty or even thirty years isn't enough. In fact today it may not be possible for any individual to be able to "do it all" in their lifetime.
 
I just read this article.
 
http://allthingsd.com/20130107/automakers-open-their-in-car-platforms-first-up-f- ord-and-soon-gm/
 
This is just a glimpse of yet another skill techs like myself will need to have polished and ready to go when someone is able to upload something that starts corrupting some vehicle software and ends up with who knows what not working. We still won't get to do swaptronics, today replacement modules learn the vehicle VIN from the network the moment they first power up and once learned it cannot be reprogrammed. That is intended to reduce theft concerns, it's argued that there will be no sense in stealing it if it won't work in another car. That's just one more challenge that we have to overcome today for our customers, and it's not something we should be blamed for.

#799 of 2791 Re: Pressured to not do your best [Mr_Shiftright] by thecardoc3

Jan 10, 2013 (8:36 am)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Jan 10, 2013 7:49 am)
His response? "Oh, yeah, that's a common issue. It's the dual mass flywheel vibrating slightly until it warms up. We could replace the entire assembly for $1700 but quite honestly, it doesn't affect clutch wear and it could stay that way for the life of the car".
 
aka, "It's normal, they all do that". BUT If it was under warranty some would insist on it being replaced anyway. Someone else would invariably call the manufacturer about how they were treated by that employee who just refused to care about the problem that their car has........ It's almost a wonder why he would risk his job in telling you the truth that it's really not a concern......

#800 of 2791 Re: Pressured to not do your best [thecardoc3] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Jan 10, 2013 (9:04 am)

Replying to: thecardoc3 (Jan 10, 2013 8:36 am)
Well it's not a dealer so that wasn't an issue. Sure, if the car was under warranty, the clutch and flywheel would be replaced, but as is often the case, many factory defects do not manifest until after warranty.
 
It was the view of this particular shop that newer cars are getting worse and worse when it comes to basic reliability, which suggests to me that new car owners should be bailing out at the end of warranty time.

#801 of 2791 Re: Pressured to not do your best [thecardoc3] by srs_49

Jan 10, 2013 (9:05 am)

Replying to: thecardoc3 (Jan 10, 2013 8:27 am)
So do you blame the techs, discipline them and/or call them hacks when your system fails?
 
Nah! They blame us for not designing things better .

#802 of 2791 Re: Pressured to not do your best [srs_49] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Jan 10, 2013 (9:46 am)

Replying to: srs_49 (Jan 10, 2013 9:05 am)
Have you seen some of the car tech at CES in Vegas? Who the hell is going to fix this stuff? Will cardoc repair my armrest when it stops tweeting?

#803 of 2791 Re: Pressured to not do your best [Mr_Shiftright] by srs_49

Jan 10, 2013 (10:07 am)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Jan 10, 2013 9:46 am)
No, haven't paid much attention to the goings on at CES. I'm not what one would call an early adapter . But, like most years, it seems to be full of products that are looking for a need. I mean, do we really need another TV upgrade?
 
Going along with what you and thecardoc3 said, I would worry more about what measures (or lack thereof) the automakers and their vendors are taking to prevent their systems from being hacked.

#804 of 2791 Re: Pressured to not do your best [srs_49] by steve_ HOST

Jan 10, 2013 (10:02 am)

Replying to: srs_49 (Jan 10, 2013 10:07 am)
Officer, my self-driving autonomous car just drove itself to the chopshop.

#805 of 2791 Re: Pressured to not do your best [srs_49] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Jan 10, 2013 (10:14 am)

Replying to: srs_49 (Jan 10, 2013 10:07 am)
the user interface on the 2014 Impala looks exactly like a smartphone screen. You can have multiple screens and you can save your favorite apps. You can even swipe the screen icons from the center display, with your finger, and that screen will appear in miniature in your dashboard display.
 
Ford drivers their "infotainment" center through bluetooth & an android phone---funny though, to drive it with an iPhone, you need a cable!
 
I didn't actually see an armrest that tweets when I touch it with my elbow, but I'm sure it's coming. What with 'google glasses" and all, I expect drivers will soon be watching movies...

#806 of 2791 Re: Pressured to not do your best [Mr_Shiftright] by isellhondas

Jan 12, 2013 (3:51 pm)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Jan 10, 2013 7:49 am)
It sounds like you have a great shop.
 
Other places would have strongly suggested that you spend the 1700.00.
 
Besides, since this is so common it probably would have started howling again at some point.

Messages Page 81 of 280

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