O2 sensor fiasco

[tice23]

Had the car in to get an O2 sensor fixed so i could e-test it and what a headache it ended up being. Would have done it myself but no room in the garage and time was an issue. The car had a P0160 present, O2 in B2S2 not responding. Had to twist their arms just to get it fixed, but they got it wrong and then decided to replace all 4 of my sensors because they were too dumb to find out which sensor was the problem and bill me for their incompetence. This took place over the course of 3 weeks, they also ran my e-test while i had check engine codes so it obviously failed and billed me and extra $100 to apply for a conditional pass that i wouldn't have needed if they fixed it right the first time. Should have cleaned out my garage and done it myself. The cost of the repair as they billed me was $850 and only booked 1.5h labour!!!. I'm not paying for 3 sensors i didn't need or the conditional pass that wasn't needed either.

Rant aside, I'm pretty sure all it would have taken to fix is checking the wiring harness for proper voltages and ground, then replace the unresponsive sensor. I figured price wise should be 1h labour and the cost of the sensor. I think that would be fair wouldn't it?

If any one else wants to chime in and share their experiences on how they dealt with garage mistakes would be appreciated. I definitely need to find a new shop to do my work though I think.

[jc43089]

Did you authorize them to do that much work? I rarely take my car to a shop but when I do I always say to call if it is anything besides the specific thing I want done.

That is poor troubleshooting to replace all 4 sensors. It should be a quick test to figure out which one is a problem. Also the code indicates bank 2 sensor 2. which is a specific one.

[tice23]

I authorized the fix for the CEL not the other 3, P0160 was the only code being displayed. when i found out he replaced all four I nearly went through the roof. each other sensor has its own fault codes so why he thought that was ok to do without my consent is beyond me.

[flyfishvt]

Time to find a new shop. That being said....you learned a valuable lesson. Get the shop,to fill out a work order and sign it. Only those repairs will be authorised unless they contact you.

Why hey in the name of Batman and Robin did that job take 3 weeks?

[Eric93se]

You should get under the car to verify that they have in fact changed all four sensors!

[tice23]

It took 3 weeks because the idiot on the counter who is responsible for scheduling is completely incompetent and doesn't listen to his customers, then gets some new guy to work on my car who obviously doesn't know his head from his a**. In all the years going there only one tech has ever worked on my car, I trust him, never led me a stray on any vehicle I've ever brought there, always checks with me before going ahead on the job. I settled up now that the car passed the e-test and no more code issues. My O2 readouts look normal again. I only paid for the necessary work. Had a chat with the owner and he was reasonable about the situation, no argument. I've used them for almost 8 years and never had issues like this before. That being said though, it's major trust lost, I wont be back again so long as that fool is behind the counter.

Yeah i took a look underneath and I have all new sensors.

[flyfishvt]

Kudos on taking the high road

[jmo69]

I changed the downstream sensors on mine back in Feb. in my garage, it was a real PITA. I ended up dropping the front section of the exhaust and had to use my torch to loosen them.