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Larry's - Technician Success Stories
When Bailey read the description of the problem, he wasn't sure whether Louie (our service advisor) wanted to pull his leg or whether it was a real problem.
The customer stated that the Airbag light would start flashing from time to time. And that she is concerned about her safety. But all she could remember was that only if her dog would drive with her in her 2001 VW Passat the light would start flashing.
Bailey knew that the dog was the key, and after some research a software update of the Airbag module solved it. How? The Airbag monitoring system for the passenger seat is activated only if a human being is in the passenger seat. A moving dog in this seat is neither an empty seat nor a human being. Hence the flashing.
Taylor test drove the VW TDI that was in for a routine service and was afraid to take it on the highway, it was so slow! The customer had not complained of low power, but Taylor knew these vehicles usually have good acceleration. A call to the customer confirmed that it was used primarily around town and for short drives and yes; maybe it didn’t seem as powerful lately and the mileage had gone down dramatically. From his experience he knew that the intakes manifolds in these vehicles carbon up and restricts the air flow over time. He pulled the intake pipe and checked the manifold with his Boroscope and found less than ½ of the original diameter remaining to flow air. After cleaning up the EGR valve and running some carbon cleaning chemicals through the system the vehicle was back to running like new. The customer was amazed at the new found power!
When the Subaru was towed in for overheating on the freeway Bob began the standard tests to determine the cause. As soon as he attempted to pressurize the system, coolant came out from under the engine. Knowing that these particular engines have a history of ruptured head gaskets he removed enough covers to clearly see the source of the leakage and verified it was in fact the head gaskets. Bob also knew that the factory had authorized the Subaru dealers to repair these problems under warranty and since this vehicle was within the mileage and time requirements, he arranged the vehicle to be towed to the dealer and repaired free of charge.
It is always a good day when he can fix a car and not have to charge for it!
Taylor did not think much about the two child seats in the rear when he began his testing for a no interior heat output on the Audi. First stop was inspecting the electric pump that pushes coolant through the system and, like many of these vehicles, he found it was not operating. Despite several attempt to get it repaired including removing a large glob of sludge, there was still a little something missing for full operation. Speaking with the customer determined that the heater had not operated properly for some time but had stopped completely only recently. Inserting a Boroscope into the air box he saw brightly colored object blocking the air door movement. It turns out the children had 'left' some of their toys at the base of the windshield which had jammed the air doors shut. Removal and disassembly of the heater box, a major task requiring complete removal of the dash, allowed the toys to be removed and the car to once again be heated. Who would have thought a little heat would be such a tough job?
The Subaru owner brought the car in after getting a jump start in the morning. He wanted a battery installed to solve the problem. As soon as Bob heard 'Dead Battery' he asked if the car had been to a car wash in the last few days. “Yes”, said the owner, “just yesterday. How did you know?”. Bob walked out to the car and opened the door. Sure enough the parking light switch on the top of the steering column had been rocked to the 'ON' position while the car wash crew wiped down the inside of the car. Sitting overnight with the parking lights on had drained the battery to a point it could no longer crank the engine over. After charging and testing the battery it was found to be okay and the owner learned about a switch he did not know existed!
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