So two nights ago my 2000 accord starts making this absolutely horrendous screeching noise from the right front wheel, nonstop for like 2 miles. I'm coming back from playing some pickup soccer with two friends a town over and we decide to pull over and take the wheel off to see if theres anything we can do to get it to stop or locate the source of the problem. theres some fresh scratches on the rotor so I figure its probably a rock or something lodged in the caliper, we knock it with the wrench a couple times for the heck of it and put the wheel back on. fortunately the screeching is nearly all gone except during low speed (>20mph) braking.
This noise continues until today when I decide I might as well get it checked out, assuming the pads might be reaching the end of their lives and I have no idea when the PO changed them out. I dig out a postcard from the local dealer advertising free brake check and set up an appointment for today. I go in, describe the issue and hand the keys over, mentioning that my ABS light is on and the anti-lock brakes have stopped working and that they can take a look at that and fix it if it is a bad fuse or something simple, otherwise i couldnt care less if the abs isnt working.
The a while later service guy, who I have delt with a couple of times before, comes out and says they couldnt replicate the problem but the back rotors and pads are coming along to the end of their lives and gives me an estimate. the front brakes are apparently totally fine, oh and "by the way, youre not going to believe this but all your brake lights arent working". and im sitting there like well thats not good, but its also totally not believable.
I have a pretty good feeling theres something shifty going on and I have him take me back to the car where lo-and-behold, the brake lights arent working. fan-f*cking-tastic. i ask how much it is going to cost to figure it out and he says oh probably around $70. i weigh the cost of driving home on the highway at rush hour without brake lights and, oh **** it, just fix it so I can get out of here. Well it takes them well over an hour to diagnose that the brake light switch was the culprit, which seems like a pretty f*cking obvious solution.
I ask him how much it costs to fix and find out apparently im already in the hole $170 for diagnostics. Im like WTF!?!? how the **** did that happen? well we ran codes on your ABS problem and then had to diagnose what the problem with the brake lights is. and none of that is covered by the brake inspection? nope. and how much is it going to cost me to have the brake lights fixed then? oh another $100. are you F*CKING SERIOUS? how long is that going to take? oh about half an hour. fine do it then. he pulls around with the car less than 10 minutes later and lets me know that they did me the favor replacing one of my brake light bulbs that was also allegedly out. im like oh jee thanks a lot.
I talk to the guy about how obscenely expensive this whole "free brake inspection" was and get him to discount the price that was, with tax, nearly $300, down to $250. I pay it, pissed, while the guy tries to tell me something about how they washed my car for me as well.
As I'm driving home I get a text from my dad saying that he saw my brake lights working, hes been away on business for a few days so I brush it aside. I swing my my friends house who was with me when the original brake problem started up and he says he distinctly remembers my brake lights working, that was two days ago. Then, I talk to my brother who I picked up last night, within 15 hours of when I took my car into the shop, and he says that my brake lights were working fine when I went to get him and all the way home.
unless my brake light switch decided to conveniently off itself just in time for the dealer to charge me a fortune to get it fixed I just got totally bent. what a bunch of as*holes. Not only do I get my oil changed there when I'm too lazy to do it myself, but i got my last major service done there as well. but my parents got their last car there and as a family weve had 3 cars regularly serviced at the same fu*king dealership.
and I thought it was really fishy that when they changed out my engine mounts the last time around my alternator failed within 5 days and two car trips of their mechanics yucking around the engine bay.
well anyway, I plan on going there tomorrow and causing a ruckus, but I would really really really appreciate other ideas as well.
This noise continues until today when I decide I might as well get it checked out, assuming the pads might be reaching the end of their lives and I have no idea when the PO changed them out. I dig out a postcard from the local dealer advertising free brake check and set up an appointment for today. I go in, describe the issue and hand the keys over, mentioning that my ABS light is on and the anti-lock brakes have stopped working and that they can take a look at that and fix it if it is a bad fuse or something simple, otherwise i couldnt care less if the abs isnt working.
The a while later service guy, who I have delt with a couple of times before, comes out and says they couldnt replicate the problem but the back rotors and pads are coming along to the end of their lives and gives me an estimate. the front brakes are apparently totally fine, oh and "by the way, youre not going to believe this but all your brake lights arent working". and im sitting there like well thats not good, but its also totally not believable.
I have a pretty good feeling theres something shifty going on and I have him take me back to the car where lo-and-behold, the brake lights arent working. fan-f*cking-tastic. i ask how much it is going to cost to figure it out and he says oh probably around $70. i weigh the cost of driving home on the highway at rush hour without brake lights and, oh **** it, just fix it so I can get out of here. Well it takes them well over an hour to diagnose that the brake light switch was the culprit, which seems like a pretty f*cking obvious solution.
I ask him how much it costs to fix and find out apparently im already in the hole $170 for diagnostics. Im like WTF!?!? how the **** did that happen? well we ran codes on your ABS problem and then had to diagnose what the problem with the brake lights is. and none of that is covered by the brake inspection? nope. and how much is it going to cost me to have the brake lights fixed then? oh another $100. are you F*CKING SERIOUS? how long is that going to take? oh about half an hour. fine do it then. he pulls around with the car less than 10 minutes later and lets me know that they did me the favor replacing one of my brake light bulbs that was also allegedly out. im like oh jee thanks a lot.
I talk to the guy about how obscenely expensive this whole "free brake inspection" was and get him to discount the price that was, with tax, nearly $300, down to $250. I pay it, pissed, while the guy tries to tell me something about how they washed my car for me as well.
As I'm driving home I get a text from my dad saying that he saw my brake lights working, hes been away on business for a few days so I brush it aside. I swing my my friends house who was with me when the original brake problem started up and he says he distinctly remembers my brake lights working, that was two days ago. Then, I talk to my brother who I picked up last night, within 15 hours of when I took my car into the shop, and he says that my brake lights were working fine when I went to get him and all the way home.
unless my brake light switch decided to conveniently off itself just in time for the dealer to charge me a fortune to get it fixed I just got totally bent. what a bunch of as*holes. Not only do I get my oil changed there when I'm too lazy to do it myself, but i got my last major service done there as well. but my parents got their last car there and as a family weve had 3 cars regularly serviced at the same fu*king dealership.
and I thought it was really fishy that when they changed out my engine mounts the last time around my alternator failed within 5 days and two car trips of their mechanics yucking around the engine bay.
well anyway, I plan on going there tomorrow and causing a ruckus, but I would really really really appreciate other ideas as well.