My vehicle threw a CEL for a leaky gas cap, and the dealer has billed me 70 bucks for the total. 50 to read my code 20 for the part. Now i dont mind the 20...since my car is out of the emission warranty time frame, but why 50 bucks for reading a code? Can i fight this...anyone got some info/suggestions?

Thanks guys

 

You can try to fight it- but keep in mind that 1. Dealers are independently owned business (not owned by Scion) and 2. Dealers set their own pricing, from cars to labor fees and diagnostic charges, dealers set all of their own prices.

So if anything, it would need to be dealt with at the dealership level-- try the customer relations manager at the dealer.

good luck

 

if its out of warranty you will have to pay.

next time you can go to autozone and get a code reader for free (with $150 deposit that you get all back when you return)

and pull the code and google that code to see what it might have been.

also my car and about 4 other people I know with tcs have had the same problem with the leaky gas cap =(

 

wow man, that 50 is absurd. i would fight this. good luck with it

 

How is it absurd? A tech had to use his time to hook up the scanner to the car and pull the codes. It pretty much is just hooking up the scanner and going thru all the menus on it to read the codes (usually takes 10 minutes to do and clear). If you've never working in a dealership or on cars before, you have no room to talk about free labor. Pay the $70 and move on, if you throw a code, get a cheap scanner and find out the code # and then look it up. I bet it will take you atleast 1.5 hours of your time to get the scanner hook it up, pull the code, find out the meaning of the code, then clear the code, then return the scanner.

 

50 dollars for five minutes of work for tech with scanner!!

 

OMFG are you kidding me!! For 50 backs you can buy your own scanner. AND oh ya, on a tc, it takes only 1 MINTUE to pull the code!!! Go to any pep boys, auto zone etc, and they'll do it for free and pull the code in just under a minute. The hook up is right under steering wheel. Not a 500$ per hour to pull a code!!!! Hellloooooo?????

Yep, fight, speak to the manager!! IT only took me 2 minutes to hook my car onto a scanner and 1 second to find out whats wrong.

 

Did you know about the cost ahead of time? If so pay it stop whining.

 

easy to say when its not your money

 

Like I said, if you've never worked in a dealership, don't talk.

 

deal with it, and next time pull the code yourself, and never go to the dealer to get work done if you are outside warranty unless you want to get raped.

 

If you look around the internet enough you could find a Code Reader for about $50 ...... wait look a nice one for $49 http://www.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=559379 I Call Shenanigans on that Dealership!!!!

 

I had A CEL come on when i left something unplugged on my car under the hood and then drove it for a sec and realized the error and put it back on. The CEL light came on and stayed on I went by Advanced Auto Parts and the guys there checked it, confirmed it was the code for the plug I had left undone in error, and cleared it for me with no charge. Might be best to try the auto store route next time...

-R

 

the hard part is not pulling the codes

sure a 50 dollar OBDII reader will tell you a number but it wont tell you what it is exactly

I pulled three codes once all pointing to emmisions

it could of been alot of things luckily I knew a great mechanic and he told me usually when you pull that cetrian code or mix of codes its the gas cap.

I could of spent ALOT of time trying to trouble shoot and lots of money trying to guess what it was throwing the codes


bascially what im saying is your paying 50 dollars or whatever partly for the machine use and the rest for the experiance of the tech

 

mmmm i been to autozones and all the autozones around my are has said the california government passed a new law where they cant give us a engine code check or w/e or else they autozone would have to pay 200 to the government for every customer they engine check... am i wrong? because the workers at autozone said that to me and i drove to like 5 autozones...

 

that sounds like BS to me, especially since you can buy a scanner yourself

 

They told me something like that when I was reading a CEL light on a honda accord. The law prevents them from reading the code, but not to loan you the tool. So they gave me the tool, after a deposit, and I went to the parking lot and did it myself.

GT

 

I really need to leave california, too many damn laws telling you what to do.

 

I have to agree with CarbonXe, there is very rarely free labor from most locations, especially when it comes to diagnosing and fixing a problem. On top of this going to a dealership, most dealerships will charge you unless the car is under warranty or if they have a thing at their location where they don't charge you for the diagnostic.

Now I can understand about how paying $50 can be absurd, just for reading a code, but at the same time if you came in and told them what was wrong and they fixed it, I would say you shouldn't pay the $50. In the case that they had to find out what the problem was, which takes time and the use of a tool which most people don't have (although you can rent it), then you should have to pay for it.

I really don't see any problem here, like I said if you came in and told them then I can understand your frustration with the charge, but at the same time you (in almost every case) would have been told the cost up front.