basic car maintenance...

b-man1 · Post by **b-man1** » Sat Apr 13, 2013 12:19 pm

...gone wrong.

not me, but just read on a few forums about horror stories of people doing basic things that ended up being very costly. i was searching to verify the process for replacing my cabin filter (lexus is350). $15 filter and maybe 10 minutes of effort for someone never doing it before. i found multiple people that simply didn't take the time to learn the process, make a simple error, and then end up paying $700-$1400 (!!!!!) at a dealership to fix what they broke.

ends up if you don't put the ventilation into recirculation mode, the linkage to the servo that controls the vents remain in the way. the people breaking things force the vent door open, snapping the linkage. oops. requires the entire dash to come off to replace all the parts.

mackme

EvilHorace - have you seen this type of thing? i'm sure you have some good stories...

EvilHorace · Post by **EvilHorace** » Sat Apr 13, 2013 4:01 pm

Yeah, we see those. Rather than pressing the recirc switch, some clowns use a pry bar to force the door to open and break the linkage. Sometimes just the linkage arm can just be re-installed but the dash itself doesn't need to be removed either way.

But, as far as auto horror stories, all auto forums have them as not everyone is capable of fixing things correctly and some learn the hard way.

Err · Post by **Err** » Sat Apr 13, 2013 4:32 pm

If you have to force something open, you're probably doing it wrong. Since almost everyone has the internet, there's no reason not to look up what you're doing.

One of my favorite stories is a guy who installed his oil catch can on the brake booster line instead of the PCV lines. He didn't stop so good. I can understand how things get broken on modern cars. Even replacing a headlamp on may cars involves removing more than you'd think just to get to the damn thing.

b-man1 · Post by **b-man1** » Sat Apr 13, 2013 5:49 pm

EvilHorace wrote:Yeah, we see those. Rather than pressing the recirc switch, some clowns use a pry bar to force the door to open and break the linkage. Sometimes just the linkage arm can just be re-installed but the dash itself doesn't need to be removed either way.

But, as far as auto horror stories, all auto forums have them as not everyone is capable of fixing things correctly and some learn the hard way.

that's interesting. i wonder what would cost $1400 at that point, if the dash didn't have to come out. i was thinking labor time would be the greatest cost. either way, i did mine without the use of power tools or pry bars.

EvilHorace · Post by **EvilHorace** » Sat Apr 13, 2013 5:57 pm

Since almost everyone has the internet, there's no reason not to look up what you're doing.

So true with almost anything these days.

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Sat Apr 13, 2013 11:09 pm

Err wrote:If you have to force something open, you're probably doing it wrong.

So true, there are very few times where you should need to pry at something with more than average force in a vehicle unless you're working on the drive-train/suspension. It may not be obvious, but there's almost always a way to get that thing that is stuck out without pulling out the pry-bar/screwdriver.