ComplaintsforBlakeley's Mobile Mechanic

• Initial Complaint

  12/01/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I had my car towed to the garage on 10/18/22, was told it would be done 10/21/22 when I called on sed date they stated they hadnt started on it yet because they misquoted me so they were waiting for me to call to make sure they had quoted me correctly. I provided the parts for the work they were doing. On 10/25/22 the mechanic texted me and said the parts I provided wasnt correct. I ordered the correct parts and had them delivered 10/27/22. I got my car back on 11/01/22 and paid them $1,295.02 in cash. I drove it for the rest of the day and noticed it was making a horrible sound from the motor. I took it back to them on 11/03/22. The owner had stated that because we touch it, that doesnt make it a new car again he also stated that when we unhooked the coils we couldve hooked one up wrong and it could be readjusting and reprogramming I left it, They had it until 11/22/22 he had stated that it was a VCT solenoid and charged me another $215.90. Had to take my car back again on 11/25/22 due to the sound still being there and not going away and leaking oil all over on the back and side of the motor. Got a text saying vehicle is ready to go, keys are in console on 11/29/2022. I had replied and asked what happened to be the problem that was causing it to leak oil and all I got back was seal Ive given them time and time again to try and fix my car and it only gets worse after every visit. I have a 4 year old at home and a 5 and a half month pregnant fianc, not having my vehicle for over a month has wore me down financially, mentally, and physically. The parts I had ordered and supplied also cost me $452.37. Ive spent almost $2,000 to have my car fixed and its worse than it was when it was taken to them. Now Im out of a vehicle and cant even drive it because it wants to leak oil out as fast as I can put it in. They ruined a $7-10,000 car and dont want to make it right. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause but Im ready to have a car again.

  

  Business response

  02/13/2023

  Good morning.

  This is ***************************, technician at Blakeleys Mobile Mechanic.

  As far as the vehicle of ******************************

      Original complaint of the vehicle was growling noise internal in the engine. Customer diagnosed vehicle as to be the water pump. Was told by customer that he was out driving in the vehicle when he noticed the initial noise. Pulled unit it in to replaced water pump, after vehicle was disassembled found parts that the parts the customer did supply, water pump and timing chain with tensioners, were to be the wrong parts. Called **** with the *** number and found parts ordered to be wrong. Contacted customer and he ordered the correct water pump and timing chains with tensioners. When the water pump goes bad in these units, it releases the coolant into the oil pan mixing with the engine oil. ********** was sludge inside of the engine from being mixed with coolant and not lubricating properly on bearings, solenoids and cam phasers among other engine components. We did flush out engine block of the to the best of our ability of the old oil. Installed the new water pump and timing chain and tensioners. After vehicle was completed went on 4 mile test drive and everything was working as it should. 2 days after completion I get a message from customer stating its making the same sound again and a video of him revving the engine to hear a clicking sound. Vehicle was brought back to us. Pulled vehicle in and found bank 1 camshaft phaser not engaging properly, ran diagnostic provided to me by **** to find bank 1 variable cam solenoid not applying proper oil pressure to the cam phaser to adjust timing, creating the clicking sound. Replaced the cam solenoid with aftermarket solenoid as **** could not get one for at least a week. After installing solenoid the clicking sound was better but not completely gone. Solenoid is performing as it should now according to diagnostic readings but variable timing is not moving like it should which can either be oil sludge inside of cam phaser or excessive play in phaser. Vehicle needed to be driven ****** miles for computer to relearn new solenoid and timing specs.  Informed customer that this was all due to the oil being contaminated by the coolant and not lubricating camshaft components properly while it was contaminated and that other components such as bearing, cam phasers or other items that rely on oil can still can go bad later down the road from running the engine without proper lubrication. After vehicle was brought back with noise still existent. More diagnostic has been performed variable timing is still not performing properly. Meaning camshaft phaser has excessive wear and is not locking where the *** and solenoid are telling it to lock. Clicking sound is coming from lock not completely locking into place.

  We were not asked to diagnose the initial issue. We were asked to replace the water pump and timing chains provided by customer. This case is some of the reason most shops dont allow customers to supply their own parts. Between wrong parts getting ordered and not all parts ordered to complete the job fully.  Some cases with water pump failure cause other failures some do not.  Just depends on how long vehicle was driven with coolant in the oil. Based on the condition of the oil it appears that coolant had been in the oiling system for awhile. Yes the noise may have just started when the water pump completely failed but unit may still have been leaking internally for some time.

  To repair the vehicle completely the camshaft phasers need to be replaced. Which is 12 hours of labor at $100 hr and parts will run $452.80 for both cam phasers.

  Thank you,

  ***************************

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