xman23

hi,

I have recently brought my car to mitsubishi in Maywood NJ to replace my brake pads. Overlooking their overpriced charges, I realized I had no AC when I picked up my car! I went straight back to the service guy 5 minutes later when I realized the problem. They said they didn't touch my AC and that they only did my brakes. They refuse to be responsible! He said the mechanics had just left and asked me to go in for a 'free' check up next time.

This free check up turns out to be $190 when I brought it to another dealership in Totowa NJ. They told me I have ZERO refrigerant and it they will have to vacuum out everything, e-charge it, put in dye, and use UV light to examine any leakage! This is bizzarre and I refuse to have them do so.

I brought it to a local mechanic and they SHOWED me the pipelines running from the High Low Pressure valve thru the firewall leading to the inside of my car. The pipes were visible and we had a clear view from atop that there is no damage to the pipe. He checked underneath the car and said it was protected from underneath therefore there's no way I could have hit soemthing from below to cause any damage leading to leakage. He concluded by telling me the Maywood guys had to have stolen/sucked out the refrigerant I am furious when I hear this and I am ready to disupte it with the service manager.

Does anyone have any suggestions or had met similar fate as in my case?
Thank you for reading and thank you for the advices.
-Xman

moreryce

iTrader: (25)

go to walmart... buy a r134a can that comes with dye in it already along with the hose adapter.. put it in yourself... check if you have leaks that way.. just incase.. if all still looks good... then go back to the dealership with the most pissed off look ever and they will service you... just get furious

mifesto

iTrader: (58)

maybe they took ur car for a ride, and a debris hit ur AC line and it all leaked out

irrelevant of who did it.... dont do such general tech at dealerships, their hourly rate is highway robbery. but yes injecting dye and locating the leak is the correct procedure but not for $190!

xman23

thank you for your replies moreryce and mifesto.
I am gonna call and dispute this with the service manager and see what he says. If they don't want to be responsible, I guess I will have to get the R134a and do it myself.. so unethical !!! I am going to report this to the Better Business Bureau...=\

theblue

iTrader: (1)

what mods do you have on your car.. I got a leak in my A/C due to a lower charge pipe clamp (aftermarket) rubbing the line until it put a hole in it.

there is really no way the dealer could have caused this... and there is also no reason or value to why they would do it to cause harm.

is your car under warranty, if so just take it in as a claim. if not you will want to find where the leak is and that will be the clue that tells you how it happened. (READ: it's unfair for you to blame the dealer until you know the cause of the problem)

sblvro

iTrader: (2)

don't "sweat" on it. even with the dye, it is hard to pinpoint the actual source of the leak. just buy a R134 and charge it. if it leaks again then you have a leak somewhere. I don't believe they will all go to all the trouble of sucking out your refrigerant unless you are using R12.

xman23

thank you for your replies everyone...

I am positive my AC was working when I brought it in. I don't have a lot of mods done to my car. Just a boost controller, BOV, turbo timer, and few gauges. My warranty had expired last year.
My friend (who's a certified mech) showed me the pipes and there seem to be no damages and that nothing is close to it nor touching it.
I was told that refrigerant is worth a little money whereas it is now 3times more expensive than it used to be. Regardless, they could have just spoil something and make me come in to fix it.
I talked to the service manager just now and he said he can give me a discount ($170 for EVERYTHING including checking leaks and replacing the R134a) But I don't trust them anymore.
I guess I wil resolve this DIY way.

sigh.. SOL !
thank you very much everyone!

kmxxbadboy

iTrader: (68)

Xman23,

First, I'm sorry to hear about your situation, but I sincerely doubt that my dealership 'stole' your A/C refridgerant. Refridgerant that comes out of a system has to be taken out and sent back for recycling. 'Stealing' your refridgerant makes no sense at all.

Second, there's a lot more to the A/C system than just pipes. You have the condensor, compressor, etc. that can all leak. The A/C condensor sits between the intercooler and the radiator and a high velocity rock at the right trajectory could come right through the front grille and put a hole in your condensor that you'd never see. In a case like trying to pinpoint a leak on the A/C system, the UV method is truly the only surefire way to find a leak. Perhaps you should check those items out first before you jump the gun and contact the BBB.

I think your local mechanic is taking you for a ride and putting paranoid delusions in your head about the evils of franchised dealerships so you'd feel nothing but distrust for a dealership and apparently it's worked. It's very easy for someone to make a dealership look like the bad guy, especially when everyone likes to jump all over the service department's back over the price of service. Don't get me wrong, I have no love for my service department as they rape me on each and every used car check I send their way, but I can't just stand idley by and watch as someone accuses my dealership of 'stealing' refridgerant. That's just absurd.

My dealership may not have the best pricing around, but I have two Evo master techs on staff and they are always right on the money when it comes to what goes in and out of our bays.

And before you question my credibility, I may be one of the sales managers at Maywood Mitsubishi, but I also own an '05 Lancer Evolution, am one of the head moderators at Evo-NY, am the president of Tri-State Evo and if someone contacts me for an issue beforehand, even if I don't know them or they come from far out of state, I do my best to help them, even if it's not my department.

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=227595

To sum it all up, have those other parts of the A/C system checked first by a mechanic that will actually look at more than just the pipes. I am quite certain your front condensor has a leak in it.

GotBoOst05

iTrader: (12)

that sucks....

mbamrah

iTrader: (1)

I am a regular at maywood mitsubishi, and haven't had any problems so far with the service. Their prices are a bit high, but work wise they are pretty good.

s2kguy

Frankly why would the bother doing something with your AC when you can go to walmart and replace it yourself fairly easily?

If they wanted to sabotage your car to make money off of you there are better ways to go about it.

xman23

=\
I am going to have a reputable AC car mechanic find out the real reason for the missing refridgerant. If it is not possible to be caused by me and/or there is no leak and someone delibrately let my R134a out (though I know it's illegal to dispense the chemical into the air), I will report it to the BBB.

But regardless, this incident made me lose faith in Maywood. The least they can do is to offer to run the test for me free and if the incident turned out to be coincidently a fault of mine or of nature, then I will pay for it to get it fixed.

How can I not be furious to go in with my AC working and come out without any. It's not like I messed around with my car and fix things all the time. All the mods I mentioned were installed 2-4 years ago. The only thing I do myself is oil changes.

Besides, the Seal Cap from the High pressure valve is missing. I am sure it was there. I didn't know what it was but I know there have always been two light green caps towards the left. With that missing, the chances that Maywood mechanics have touched that part are multiplied.

thank you everyone for your inputs.
Xman

PhoenixEvo

iTrader: (1)

Gotta love our Mitsubishi Stealerships!!!!!

kmxxbadboy

iTrader: (68)

So you brought it to Route 46 Mitsubishi for a 'free' checkup when the service department at Maywood Mitsubishi told you it would be free? I don't understand why you would do that when Route 46 Mitsubishi had no idea about your situation. Of course 46 is not going to honor the offer that Maywood made. I know Ron Federico, the service manager, very well and if he says that he'd do the UV check for you free of charge, then he's going to stand by his word. You picked up your car after hours, it seems. We don't have techs on duty during those hours, so there would be no way to do anything 'on the spot' no matter how badly they wished to fix your problem. Our techs do work during certain hours, just as you probably do too.

Didn't you say in your first post that they did offer to check it out free of charge when the techs were there and you had time to come in? From what I read in your first post, that's exactly what they offered you. Am I mistaken?

Take a word of advice and bring you car in and speak to the service advisor that took care of you (either Chris Folmer or Bob Saurwein (Uncle Fester)). Kindly remind them that they offered to have your A/C system checked out for leaks free of charge. The longer you wait, the more likely it will be that they will forget. It's only human to forget things and they deal with a lot of customers on a daily basis. Please don't come in and accuse them of stealing your refridgerant or mention calling the BBB. Be reasonable with them and they'll be reasonable with you. I'll bring this to Chris and Ron's attention tomorrow when I check in at 9AM. I don't like to see unhappy customers at my dealership, whether it be sales or service related.

Deal?

xman23

Bob didn't offered me to run the UV test free of charge. He simply just said bring in your car another day. He said: "We will check your car for you. It's always free to run a check up". That's what he said. So when I was free the following Saturday, I brought it to a closer dealership by me to save energy and to see what another mechanic can tell me - I live in Little Falls. I asked them to check for my AC without knowing anything about UV testing. Then the Totowa guy told me they will HAVE to run an UV test for a cost to know a cause. I then contacted Ron a few days later. I admit he is a fair guy. But from my perspective, I don't want to pay anything had they damage my AC even though at discounted prices.

I did tell Ron I will have to report it to the BBB if I can't find justice in this matter. But I have not mention the BBB a second time.
It won't be fair trying to dispute this with them while already 'stabbing their backs' sort to speak.

But even if they offered to check my AC with UV testing free, I don't trust them anymore. Why would I trust someone whom I am accusing on? To break that barrier, I would have to think it was another reason for my missing refridgerant. This is all while I am trying to prove that they are they ones who damaged my AC.

But if they do offer to run a free UV test, I will see that they are sincere. Ron offered me to have everything done for $169.95 including the test. But I want to find out the reason why my refridgerant is gone.

I may be wrongfully accusing them; but to think the chance for a leak to transpire right before I turned it in for them is also highly unlikely. My AC was working as it had always been when I brought it in; to slowly leak out beforehand and to leak dry by the time I get my car is really to me a one-in-a-million event, given that it has worked for 4 years consistently.

Xman