I'm restarting this post because the original has a problem.

I was having trouble making a post. I gota weird error message. I tried to Email someone in charge of the forum but apparently their inbox was full. I figured I would go ahead and copy and paste what I was going to post for you and will try to update the forum when I figure out what went wrong.

MY POST...

I am keeping this updated incase someone can learn from this experience in the future. Any additional input is still appreciated.

Apparently, while test driving the car it blew multiple fuses (the same one repeatedly) and they ultimately had to tow it in. They are insisting that the EGR has a short and is causing the problem. This is crazy to me considering I have had the EGR code for a while now with absolutely zero performance issues yet all the sudden after this timing belt change there is a critical failure.

Keep in mind that I have not paid anything beyond the initial timing belt change and water pump change that they recommended with it. They have covered a total of 4 days worth of rental transport as well as towing expenses. Not to say they couldn’t try to bill me later. This has got to be costing them a great deal of grief and money.

So here is the plan…

I talked to the manager who was out yesterday and made my perspective clear. I have been very patient thus far but wanted them to know my patience is not unlimited. I mentioned the crank position sensor/wire from the post on this forum and he insisted that they will fully investigate that and repair at no charge if need be. After that, I have approved an EGR, which I will cover and intended to cover anyway. After that, I have approved farming out the cat. converter to a place that does welding. The converter is far enough from the initial work that I don’t think they could be held liable. At this point, I am only paying for stuff I intended to have done anyway and they have no excuses left.

If this fails, I am assuming things will probably get a little heated. I will insist that the car be towed to a dealer since it will be obvious that they are in way over their heads. This is where things like refunds and covering the cost of damage become barriers to civilized behavior. I am hoping that this doesn’t go the route of lawyers and courts, but I am starting to become skeptical. I wish I could understand better what potentially permanent damage is occurring every time they try to make the car run!

 

this story is getting interesting though I'm sorry tcoccia that you are have so much trouble getting your car straightened out.

what i find so confusing is how a mechanical EGR will continually cause fuses to pop. I'd like to know what EGR code is present and which fuse is shorting out.

EGRcodes on Mitsubishis usually relate to a solenoid malfunction. Even a bad solenoid will not cause an electrical short.

 

OK, so apparently I am able to post now!

Firestone ordered a new EGR and Crank Position Sensor. They are supposed to go on today. There is a decent chance, in my mind, that the EGR replacement is just to offset some of their costs, but I really don’t care at this point.

They also had to send some sort of exhaust item off to a machine shop because a bolt “broke”. They said the wanted to play it safe and make sure it was done right. Once they get it back and have the EGR and Crank Position Sensor replaced. I am assuming they are going to see how things go.

They intend to see if the EGR replacement clears the code for the Cat. Converter. They have also made mention of a flow test that can determine if there is a significant blockage by the Cat., but the car must be running to perform the test. I really don’t know much about the test, but I get the concept. If the Cat. Converter continues to fail, they may go ahead with sending it out for replacement. At that point, if things continue to go haywire I think all excuses have been taken off the table and they will have to own up to the fact that they don’t really know what they are doing and what is wrong.

By the way, the recommendation on the crank position sensor may have been a very helpful one. They said that they believe the sensor is what is causing the fuse to blow, but that the wires look pretty good around it. And although they initially told me they were working on the EGR solenoid, I have clarified with them that they are replacing the valve (which was giving the code in the check engine light).

Anyone know if they the dealer can check the timing without redoing the work? My understanding is that there used to be a way to check it through the spark plugs. If this is the case, I am definitely interested in having that checked. I don’t want to get the dealer to do much because I want Firestone to remain liable if they did permanent damage.

 

By the way, I also feel compelled to say something about this particular Firestone. They may have done some things wrong technically (or maybe not), but they have continued to try to get things right. They have provided me transportation which is not typical for shops like this and have put a considerable amount of man hours into the repair. If I get a crazy bill in the end, I will retract this statement but for now I have to atleast give them credit on effort.

Because of their efforts, I have remained patient and will not spread word of poor performance. They made a mistake in rolling through ona vehicle of which they lack experience. In the future, I would recommend that anyone doing major work on a vehicle without much experience should take their time and make sure they don't remove anything or adjust anything without being sure they can put it back in original condition.

Just a thought for any young mechanics or shop managers.

 

did you get your car back yet?

 

I did get my car back and wanted to wait a few days before I made comments. The EGR was replaced as well as the Crank Position Sensor. There have been no performance issues over the course of approximately seven days of driving. When I got the car back the check engine light was off, after 2-3 days it came back on. I am scheduled to have my bank 1 cat. converter changed early next week.

So, mitsupartsman.com got it correct. It was the Crank Position Sensor wire that got crimped during the timing belt change. The EGR wasn't urgent, nor was the converter but I don't want this scenerio to happen again.

At this point, I am expecting things to go smooth with the converter change and for my check engine light to go away. Unless a new code has shown up orthe EGR was done wrong, I should be in good shape.