Warrenty - Check Light Error

[justin]

Hey All,

I just have a random question from something that has happened to me today....

This morning i was going to work, such a beautiful day too and an error light comes on, I pull over ring road side assistance they send out NRMA etc all well and good but NRMA's computer isnt working so he suggests me to go to the closest Mitsubishi Center

So i do so willingly and find that Mitsubishi want to charge me $143 to just look at the car... and wont determine that its warrenty related till they have....

Turns out something was wrong with the computer and some error code *P0012 VVT over retarded* and the block says that it could be the sensor or something is wrong with the Variable Timing... (AWESOME RIGHT?)

Anyway he then says that they reset the computer and as far as they are concerned that it doesnt matter (sounded important to me) and that its not a warrenty issue and CA-CHING! $143 lighter...

Im just wondering #1 has anyone had this error because apparently Mitsubishi had never seen the issue before and therefor doesnt matter at all to them and they cant rule it as a warrenty or even a problem...

#2 Since when do we pay for them to check out our cars for something that sounds VERY much like it should be warrenty?

#3 Were do i go from here?

I have already rung mitsubishi Australia and they advised me its my problem, that if i have a problem with being charged for it or the fact they did nothing to resolve the issue besides resetting the computer than i need to take it up with the service center manager and that each service center can decide that something doesnt have to be warrenty if the service center see's or believes it shouldnt than its not....

Sounds like these service centers can do what ever the hell they'd like to charge you money to fix NOTHING....

Thoughts? suggestions?

Im somewhat gob smacked and outraged at the way they treated me there as though there was no issue (even though there was a light flashing at me)...

And the minute i question why am i being charged for something that seems like it should be a warrenty issue i get my head torn off by there service guys...

What the hell?

[ofey]

i'm sorry this is something you've had to go through.

Bear in mind money is so tight at all dealerships, they're out to make whatever money they can.
Technically you have no recourse now as they have indeed provided you a service. Even if it was merely clearing the fault.

With a Tactrix cable and ECUFlash and EvoScan, you could have easily evaluated the problem and solved it yourself by doing what they've done which is simply clear the fault code.

In future, perhaps do NOT overreact and take the car to the dealer at the first sign of trouble and consult the interwebs first. That's what CCJ is for as well.

[aspir3]

im sorry this is something youve had to go through. Bear in mind money is so tight at all dealerships, theyre out to make whatever money they can. Technically you have no recourse now as they have indeed provided you a service. Even if it was merely clearing the fault. With a Tactrix cable and ECUFlash and EvoScan, you could have easily evaluated the problem and solved it yourself by doing what theyve done which is simply clear the fault code. In future, perhaps do NOT overreact and take the car to the dealer at the first sign of trouble and consult the interwebs first. Thats what CCJ is for as well.

I disagree.

If your car is under warranty then any warning light error should be covered.

I would ring up consumer affairs and get some advice before contacting your dealer and Mitsubishi again.

I had the same issue with Toyota. I rang their 1800 number night after night before getting what I wanted. 1800 numbers are great as they pay for the long distance phone call plus have to pay a wage to the call centre employees. In the end Toyota agreed to my wishes as I would not stop ringing them and costing them time and money. Setting your fax machine to the 1800 number is very satisfying as well. It squeals in the ear of the person who picks up the phone plus if you set you fax on redial it will keep ringing until it reaches a fax machine. Very nasty but gets results. It takes months before you receive a letter telling you to stop it.

[justin]

Thanks Ofey,

I get the point that it would have probably helped at the time, but shouldnt warrenty cover this issue? i just dont see how they can charge you on there only willing-ness just because they say so... makes absolutely no sense to me...

At the time i had no choice, i needed to get to work and NRMA advised me that i shouldnt drive the car to far considering he didnt know what the issue was nor could he get into the computer of the car which would have saved me alot of time and money if he had...

How much is the Tactrix cable and ECUFlash and EvoScan Ofey? I should probably look into this now because i honestly cant believe that they arent willing to do anything....

And they have taken all deny-ability and told me if i have a problem speak to my normal service center... what the hell have they got to do with the error that someone else found? :S... Bizzar in my opinion.

Anyway thanks for the advice, ill probably be taking this further considering the service block was saying its warrenty related NEXT time it happens but for now its not there concern.....

[ofey]

Warranty, I think is a carefully worded document. You will have to read the disclaimers. I do not think this is a warranty issue. And warranty issues require you to leave the car there and for the dealer to do it at their own time. Yours seemingly was done on the spot.

The stuff you need:
1. Tactrix Open Port 2.0 Cable @ US$169 + postage

2. ECUFlash @ F.O.C.

3. EvoScan @ US$25

EvoScan will allow you to tell what error codes are being thrown up.
Additionally it can be used for vehicle logging though you can use a microUSB card now in your Tactrix open port to do stand alone logging. In turn the data is then used with Virtual Dyno for tuning.

The Tactrix cable with ECU Flash will allow you to read and write changes to your stock rom i.e. to tune.

So well worth the money.

[ofey]

[quote:e13e768bde=ofey]im sorry this is something youve had to go through. Bear in mind money is so tight at all dealerships, theyre out to make whatever money they can. Technically you have no recourse now as they have indeed provided you a service. Even if it was merely clearing the fault. With a Tactrix cable and ECUFlash and EvoScan, you could have easily evaluated the problem and solved it yourself by doing what theyve done which is simply clear the fault code. In future, perhaps do NOT overreact and take the car to the dealer at the first sign of trouble and consult the interwebs first. Thats what CCJ is for as well.[/quote:e13e768bde] I disagree. If your car is under warranty then any warning light error should be covered. I would ring up consumer affairs and get some advice before contacting your dealer and Mitsubishi again. I had the same issue with Toyota. I rang their 1800 number night after night before getting what I wanted. 1800 numbers are great as they pay for the long distance phone call plus have to pay a wage to the call centre employees. In the end Toyota agreed to my wishes as I would not stop ringing them and costing them time and money. Setting your fax machine to the 1800 number is very satisfying as well. It squeals in the ear of the person who picks up the phone plus if you set you fax on redial it will keep ringing until it reaches a fax machine. Very nasty but gets results. It takes months before you receive a letter telling you to stop it.

We just have very different approaches to the matter.
I still do not believe this is a warranty issue based on the information provided.
However, it is necessary to read the fine print of the warranty.
Some dealers follow the warranty statements to the letter. Others don't. Perhaps the nice ones just try harder to put their customer service foot forward. Some don't really care.

[justin]

im not 100% on the warranty but even from what the guy said it should be warranty. but only if it happens again... to be honest i dont believe he knew much of what he was talking about although i mighten know if it should or shouldnt be warranty i sure as hell know the car has been playing up and every time i put it in for service they deny the problems there and then an actual error comes out and sounds like they could be related yet since the other service center has done nothing to resolve the issue the people that look at it now believe its not there problem and they will charge me for whatever reason they can because hey its not there problem... sounds like a giant load of BS to me but no one will take account for whats wrong with it and instead of resolving the issue and fixing it they are happy for a customer to be Peeved at them and never want to buy or take there car back to them since they are rather useless...

Maybe they should think of there future customer basis rather than how much money they are short changing ppl... i wouldnt care if it was $200 if they fixed the issue...

thats what pissed me off the most... the fact that they are happy to temporarily fix it but dont bother investigating whats actually going on with it...

anyway see what happens i may have to order a Open Port cable though and see how i go...
maybe do some tuning as well and get this thing ideling properly because its a tad annoying now with the revs dropping off constantly at traffic lights... (annother issue that doesnt exsist)

[justin]

GUESS WHAT!

MY GOD DAMN FREAKING ERROR IS BACK!!!!!!

good job you stupid Misfits on fixing it and charging me an arm and leg to fix it!

[whitenight]

justin what error code is it ,what does it say ?

[justin]

the last one (which was yesterday) was a P0012 VVT Over retarded Error...

It just comes up with the word "CHECK" and a triangle with an exclamation mark

[justin]

Ok so a bit of research returns this
http://www.obd-codes.com/p0012

In short:
Most likely a P0012 DTC will result in one of the following:

hard starting
poor idle and/or
stalling


So it seems i have 2 of those problems NRMA is here ill let you know how it goes

[aspir3]

Good luck, I hope they find the problem and fix it this time and it justifies you getting your money back.

[justin]

doubt ill ever be seeing my money again... but since its apparently a known issue i may have to take this further

I donno yet i just mainly want it fixed to be honest...

Any idea on how long this would take if it is the timing belt being stretched?