The car saga
So, for those who haven't been getting kept up to speed ;) the car saga continues.
It started out with my car suddenly seeming to lose power every so often, and it was idling a bit rough. I thought it seemed about right for one of the four cylinders not firing (about that much power and the idle sounded about that much off), but it only happened intermittently so I didn't worry about it too much. I figured I might try and change the spark plugs or something. Then the check engine light came on, and I thought maybe I should go ahead and get that checked out. So I took it in, and they said cylinder 2 was misfiring, and they recommended replacing the spark plugs, wires, and ignition coil pack. It seems that Subaru ignition coil packs are a bit expensive, so they said I could just do the first two, but they thought that my car was more likely to have a problem with the coil pack, so they suggested doing it all at once since they were all in the same place.
So I went ahead and did that, and they said they thought it was much better, so I paid them some $$$, but on my way home from the post office (about 3 blocks away) the check engine light came back on again. So I stopped, and they said it looked like the coil pack wasn't working correctly and they'd replace it. They did, and didn't charge me, but it was soon acting the same way. The check engine light wasn't coming on, so I didn't take it in.
A few days later it was acting so bad that it actually seemed dangerous to drive, much worse than before, feeling like it had much less than half as much power. So I took it back in, and they got a preemptive (or preventative?) code saying that the air intake control system was reporting much too high air intake (and the engine was running far too lean), so they determined that there must be some problem with the AIC solenoid valve, and they ordered that (apparently very expensive) part directly from Subaru and had it hand delivered in a couple of hours (after also checking with two other nearby mechanics who both agreed that it seemed like the correct fix to the problem). Once they replaced it, the engine was back to "normal" and by that I mean it was intermittently losing 25% or so of the power.
I needed the car for the weekend, so I took it home, but it was definitely doing it a lot, to the point where it actually was idling so rough that it died while I was stopped at a red light. So I brought it back in on monday, and they looked at it, but they couldn't get it to do it again, so at the end of the day they just sent it back home with me. On the way home from the post office (that's my regular routine), the check engine light came on again! It was already closing time there, but I called them and they said to go ahead and bring it back in when its convenient. That was about 12 hours ago.
So the place I'm taking it hasn't charged me since the first day, but its been a couple weeks now, and 4 all-day visits (not including the one I may shortly make). The car is still acting the exact same way it was when I took it in the first time, and the check engine light is still on.
I'm thinking I'll try and take it to another garage, because although I don't want to have to pay someone else to get the problem fixed, I would actually like the problem fixed, and these guys, despite their best effort and free service, just don't seem to be getting it done. :( I mean, this isn't normal, is it?
It started out with my car suddenly seeming to lose power every so often, and it was idling a bit rough. I thought it seemed about right for one of the four cylinders not firing (about that much power and the idle sounded about that much off), but it only happened intermittently so I didn't worry about it too much. I figured I might try and change the spark plugs or something. Then the check engine light came on, and I thought maybe I should go ahead and get that checked out. So I took it in, and they said cylinder 2 was misfiring, and they recommended replacing the spark plugs, wires, and ignition coil pack. It seems that Subaru ignition coil packs are a bit expensive, so they said I could just do the first two, but they thought that my car was more likely to have a problem with the coil pack, so they suggested doing it all at once since they were all in the same place.
So I went ahead and did that, and they said they thought it was much better, so I paid them some $$$, but on my way home from the post office (about 3 blocks away) the check engine light came back on again. So I stopped, and they said it looked like the coil pack wasn't working correctly and they'd replace it. They did, and didn't charge me, but it was soon acting the same way. The check engine light wasn't coming on, so I didn't take it in.
A few days later it was acting so bad that it actually seemed dangerous to drive, much worse than before, feeling like it had much less than half as much power. So I took it back in, and they got a preemptive (or preventative?) code saying that the air intake control system was reporting much too high air intake (and the engine was running far too lean), so they determined that there must be some problem with the AIC solenoid valve, and they ordered that (apparently very expensive) part directly from Subaru and had it hand delivered in a couple of hours (after also checking with two other nearby mechanics who both agreed that it seemed like the correct fix to the problem). Once they replaced it, the engine was back to "normal" and by that I mean it was intermittently losing 25% or so of the power.
I needed the car for the weekend, so I took it home, but it was definitely doing it a lot, to the point where it actually was idling so rough that it died while I was stopped at a red light. So I brought it back in on monday, and they looked at it, but they couldn't get it to do it again, so at the end of the day they just sent it back home with me. On the way home from the post office (that's my regular routine), the check engine light came on again! It was already closing time there, but I called them and they said to go ahead and bring it back in when its convenient. That was about 12 hours ago.
So the place I'm taking it hasn't charged me since the first day, but its been a couple weeks now, and 4 all-day visits (not including the one I may shortly make). The car is still acting the exact same way it was when I took it in the first time, and the check engine light is still on.
I'm thinking I'll try and take it to another garage, because although I don't want to have to pay someone else to get the problem fixed, I would actually like the problem fixed, and these guys, despite their best effort and free service, just don't seem to be getting it done. :( I mean, this isn't normal, is it?