First off, Thank You for reading this, and giving me your thoughts or advice if you have any.
So I had some work done at my local Tire/Mechanic Shop, and now there is a new noise that was not there before. Here is what work was done: Strut Assembly L/R (Honda Springs/KYB Struts & Misc. Parts), Sway Bar End Links (Honda), Outer Tie Rods (Honda) Steering Rack (Maval from PartsGeek), and Engine/Transmission Mounts (Autopart Premium form Partsgeek).
The car is now sometimes having a rattle/vibration at idle coming from what sounds like the right fender area and a definite rattle on going over bumps (sounds just like a ball joint rattle in an video I saw with another Accord). I am looking into how to add the recordings I have of the noise, but I am going to post this first for the other part of my question.
Here is my main concern: I took it back in for the shop about this, and a couple of other things I noticed (there was a missing nut/not sure what it was for, and a power steering line was not in it's bracket like it should have been. The dude also left pliers under my hood, a power steering lid, and fluid spilled all over fender, just generally sloppy work).
So they keep it for half the day and give up. There is definitely a noise, but they are not able to locate it to fix it. The shop manager tells me that if I take it to Honda, or another shop, and the other shop is able to find/fix the noise, AND it turns out that is was something that is due to the fault of the work that was done, then they will pay for the other shop to fix it.
What if the noise is from one of the parts? Two of the mounts are hydraulic and I am now thinking that maybe one is not plugged in (I will have to check on this), but also what if the mounts are just faulty (Autopart Premium APEM1406 Engine/Transmission Mount Kit)? Could that be making the noise, and if so, would Partsgeek be liable to pay for the labor on replacement?
I feel like the guy that did the work did, or didn't do, something. I saw him when I picked up the car and he made it sound like he had a hard time when I asked him about the job ("I don't want to talk about it" and "that's the farthest I've ever taken a car apart"). Could they just be pawning it off on another shop so they don't have to go back in and drop the sub-frame to check his work, and also maybe hoping I just forget about it?
Anyway, what procedure should I follow here? Is this common? I'm already going to go back and ask them to print me something documenting the time they spent on searching for the noise and getting the stuff he missed, but I'm kind of hesitant to drop my car off at Honda and these guys end up not wanting to pay. Also, I noticed on the receipt that it says "replace 4 mounts" but it should have been 5. Am I going to have to pay someone just to go back in and make sure they did everything?
Please advise... (If it makes a difference at all, this is family named company serving East Texas with 4 locations.)
I will be looking into how to link the videos with the noise.
Thank Ya'll again for any advice!
Who furnished the parts? If the shop/mechanic supplied the parts which are found to be defective, it's on them to correct the issue. They should furnish the replacement part and the labor.What if the noise is from one of the parts?
Your video is not viewable as linked. You have to be logged in to Instagram to view the video. Otherwise, the link only shows "This Account is Private". It's best to follow the advice given for video posting here: READ THIS FIRST
@hixster I brought the parts and sourced them from different websites. Partsgeek will not warranty the steering rack, or mounts, if damaged due to improper installation, and I don't know how to prove that the technician did anything wrong (if the noise is even coming from the rack, which I think it may be because the vibration at idle goes away when turning the wheel slightly).
@seabeevet As a general rule it's best to consult your mechanic before buying any parts. Many mechanics won't install parts 'provided by the customer' because they've learned it can lead to this kind of problem. The dealership is the last place you want to take your car if you value your money. Chain stores are chain stores(even if only 4) and just like dealerships, delivering quality work is not their primary objective. Find a good independent mechanic, take the car there and explain your concerns to him.
@hixster yeah, I've been looking for a mechanic where I moved to last year and found these guys for my oil and tire rotations, but probably shouldn't have trusted them for this job. Another mechanic I went to for valve cover gaskets forgot to reinstall my air filter after the job, and that's when I started going to this tire shop. Thanks for the answers. I don't see how to add the video links directly to my question, but put some youtube links in another answer
I brought the parts and sourced them from different websites.
There's your problem. No mechanic can warranty a job done with customer-supplied parts. (In my experience most mechanics will refuse to do a job that way.) At best they can only stand behind their labor, but you would have to prove they messed up.
You're in a situation where no one party is responsible for the job as a whole. The mechanic is not liable for defective parts and the parts vendor is not responsible for the labor if the part is bad. (Defective new parts are very common these days.)
@chucktobias yeah, that's what I'm starting to think... messed up part is, I went out of my way to bring better parts than what they would have supplied, and how am I suppose to prove the tech is at fault...
There would have to be obvious damage like broken or bent parts, loose bolts, stripped threads, etc.
Unfortunately parts quality is way down no matter what the brand. Even OEM parts, though usually the best bet, can be garbage.
I went out of my way to bring better parts than what they would have supplied
Not likely. Mechanics don't use unreliable parts. They do everything they can to avoid "come-backs" because it costs them tons of money.
@imperator well, they source from O'rielys so...
Mechanics typically have contracts with large part wholesalers (who also don't like returned items). Parts that cause problems simply wouldn't sell, so they don't carry them. According to my research, Oreilly auto does do B2B sales and I've only heard good things about them. But the bottom line is, when the mechanic has a business relationship with the part vendor, it's works better for the customer. Either way, the part cost to should end up around the same. Unless you're buying the cheapest junk you can find online, in which case you're shooting yourself in the foot.
This is the video of the noise at idle:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DLVwtLmO5qXK136E_Kt2ac4npMvUIGlu7vG8Us0/
This is the video of the rattle noise on a bumpy road:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DLVxbkLO8hUlxIDM0gT9hSiypUPeanObGYiQg80/
here are new links to the videos on youtube
https://youtube.com/shorts/q9xXkGUCwew
https://youtube.com/shorts/sYeZzB1qsX4