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A Mechanic's Life - Tales From Under the Hood

2835 messages,  Last post on May 21, 2013 at 6:38 AM

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Messages Page 168 of 284

#1670 of 2835 Re: Diplomacy isn't my strongsuit [qbrozen] by stickguy

Feb 22, 2013 (4:03 pm)

Replying to: qbrozen (Feb 22, 2013 2:23 pm)
good point Q. I know on my new Acura, there is no schedule (almost positive), just a chart to translate what the letter/number codes mean that the MM will pop up.
 
My 2005 Odyssey was the first one with that system, but I cheated and used the schedule in the manual for my Accord (and eventually Acura TL) to see what to expect. Then did the trans fluid every 30K out of paranoia.

#1671 of 2835 Re: Diplomacy isn't my strongsuit [Mr_Shiftright] by stickguy

Feb 22, 2013 (4:04 pm)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Feb 22, 2013 2:32 pm)
It is pretty hard to ignore. The longer you ignore it, the more obnoxious it becomes. Eventually it practically takes over the dash and won't go away. So you can ignore it, but you sure can't miss it!

#1672 of 2835 Re: Diplomacy isn't my strongsuit [stickguy] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Feb 22, 2013 (5:07 pm)

Replying to: stickguy (Feb 22, 2013 4:04 pm)
Well that's good then. How interesting that the maintenance alerts are loud and obnoxious and the overheat is a tiny little light, as is the oil light---or did BMW finally install a beeper for that?

#1673 of 2835 Re: Diplomacy isn't my strongsuit [stickguy] by steve_ HOST

Feb 22, 2013 (6:04 pm)

Replying to: stickguy (Feb 22, 2013 4:03 pm)
I know on my new Acura, there is no schedule (almost positive)
 
Did you look it up on the Edmunds Car Maintenance Guide?
 
Often I'll find a schedule there when the owner says there's nothing in their owner's manual. And we supposedly get the schedules from the manufacturers. Can't remember your rides but looked up '13 TLs and RDXs and they had schedules. Ditto '05 Odysseys.
 
The Mercedes schedules in the guide are often just "A-Service" and "B-Service". The '12 BMW 5 Series I looked up was "Inspection 1, Inspection II and Every Other Inspection II".

#1674 of 2835 Re: Diplomacy isn't my strongsuit [steve_] by stickguy

Feb 22, 2013 (6:31 pm)

Replying to: steve_ (Feb 22, 2013 6:04 pm)
you work on commision or something?
 
That is not really a schedule, and not sure where it came from, but it is something. Though the 10K interval is not accurate, at least based on the MM.

#1675 of 2835 Re: Diplomacy isn't my strongsuit [stickguy] by steve_ HOST

Feb 22, 2013 (6:54 pm)

Replying to: stickguy (Feb 22, 2013 6:31 pm)
Afaik, all the Guide info comes from the manufacturer. You could try the Acura Owners site. There's stuff in the '12 TL manual about Maintenance A and Maintenance B (and sub items 1 - 6), and to change the oil every year if the "service due now" message doesn't show up. And there's stuff about other inspections independent of the Maintenance Minder (brake fluid every 3 years, inspect idle speed every 160k, adjust valves during any service if they are noisy).

#1676 of 2835 Re: Diplomacy isn't my strongsuit [steve_] by thecardoc3

Feb 22, 2013 (8:59 pm)

Replying to: steve_ (Feb 22, 2013 6:54 pm)
adjust valves during any service if they are noisy
 
Makes one wonder who wrote that. Typical valve wear will have the valve faces and seats in the heads wearing the fastest and that means the valves get tighter and make less noise. When they get too tight they can hang open and that causes them to burn and fail. So a little valve noise is actually better than no noise.

#1677 of 2835 Re: Diplomacy isn't my strongsuit [thecardoc3] by steve_ HOST

Feb 22, 2013 (9:06 pm)

Replying to: thecardoc3 (Feb 22, 2013 8:59 pm)
Guess whoever wrote the 2012 Acura TL owner's manual wrote that. It's on page 540 of pdf version I downloaded.
 

#1678 of 2835 Re: Diplomacy isn't my strongsuit [steve_] by stickguy

Feb 22, 2013 (9:12 pm)

Replying to: steve_ (Feb 22, 2013 9:06 pm)
that looks about like what my owners manual has in it.
 
I always got a kick out of their "inspect the idle speed" at 160K. Seems very random. First, with a tach, kind of easy to do every day. and by that mileage, who cares?

#1679 of 2835 Re: Just to clarify... [roadburner] by thecardoc3

Feb 23, 2013 (4:01 am)

Replying to: roadburner (Feb 22, 2013 12:38 pm)
The mechanic specifically said that the line "wore out "-
 
This is worth a little revisit. We can't see the line, so all we have to judge this is experience. As I said earlier here in western Pa, a corroded line would be quite plausible. I've got a feeling that the mechanic in this case didn't have an attorney and defended himself. There are many people who don't communicate well under pressure situations. As simple of an event as this was he may have been a lot more nervous on the inside that was displayed on the outside. Saying that the line wore out leaves a lot of room for interpretation. Had he of had his own lawyer, (assuming again that he didn't) his lawyer would have made him be specific about just what "worn out" meant.
 
he acted as if it was almost a consumable part like a rotor or clutch disc.
 
They fail and need replaced, heck it's one of the first on the street repairs that I did as a sixteen year old. That AMC Gremlin that I was running around in was only three years old and it lost one of the cooler lines and leaked transmission fluid all over the street. I remember my dad showing me how to use the flaring tool, and the tubing cutter. Then we bought some copper line and transmission fluid and he dropped me off where the car was sitting. The rest was up to me.
 
 Had he said "The line had corroded and was starting to leak at a thin spot in the tubing."
 
He was a mechanic, and likely accepted the failure as common and expected everyone else to know as much about the way they fail as he did. In retrospect he probably should have worded it differently, but thats why he should have had a lawyer represent him. Although that probably would have cost more than replacing the line did.
 
I'm going to give this a 75% chance that he got ripped off by the system.

Messages Page 168 of 284

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