Change of shock absorber plates done at the dealership. After the repair, a new noise is heard when I turn the steering wheel. Return to the dealership. The mechanic and a senior technician examine the car. For them it cannot be the plates since they have just been changed yesterday.

Diagnosis: Faulty column universal joint. So an appointment to check the universal joint of the column is made.

Not having agreed on this coincidence which would have caused the column universal joint to be in question, I made a stop at my independent mechanic. His diagnosis (done in 20 seconds): faulty left shock absorber plate.

Return to the dealership. I inform them that I made a stop at my independent mechanic and that the left shock plate has a problem. I demonstrate to them as the mechanic showed it to me. Answer: Oh yes. This is not the column universal joint.

In psychology and medicine, this phenomenon is called “confirmation bias”. We find what we want to find. In this case it cannot be the shock absorber plates since they have just been replaced. We eliminate in advance this possibility which would mean that the work has not been done well or that a new part is defective. We set aside what contradicts our hypothesis. In medicine it can kill a patient. At the dealership it wastes your time and money.