Experience @ El Monte Longo

[06ShadoWboX]

ill try to make this as short as possible. About 15k miles ago i went to Long Scion in El Monte and complained about a squeaking noise coming from the passenger side of the engine bay. I dropped my car off for 2 days, they replaced the alternator belt and still had a squeak so they replaced the power steering belt. I picked up my car and it was all scratched up and looked like someone keyed the entire left side. They investigated the damage and decided to repaint the left side and detail the rest of my car a week later. Another week passes, my car is ready for pickup. I go to pick it up they painted the left side of my car, replaced the left rear side window for painting purposes, and detailed the right side of the car. EVERYTHING in between went untouched! front bumper, hood, roof, tailgate and rear bumper, DIRTY! I complained about the shotty workmanship and they agreed to detail the entire car again after the service advisor said they did the best they could. 3 days later, i picked up my car, looks brand spanking new.....

Present time, the squeak is back. I returned to Longo since they performed the work before and had all my info on record, on top of things my warranty is already up, but since it was a pre-existing problem it was covered. The shop foreman came to look at my car, walked away, came back with a canon SLR, took multiple pictures of my amps, sub, engine compartment, and belts. On top of things, didnt explain a single thing to me.
This is how the shop Foreman Billy, inspected my car and determined that my audio system upgrades has caused my alternator to overwork and in turn cause the belts to squeak, in which they did not fix the squeak.


Sorry for the long post, needed to vent. FYI the squeak is still present and its getting louder. Help?

[Gcat]

He took pictures of your cars interior without your consent? I could understand something like that at a show but not at the dealership. I would have gone to his superior and demanded the pictures deleted (and I would have deleted them myself), the problem fixed AND the shop guy reprimanded. He needs a property release form to even think about taking pictures of your car.

As for getting the problem fixed I would go to the dealerships GM and have a talk with that guy. Try some trouble shooting before though. Take it back to the place that did the radio install and ask them if what Billy said was true. Try disconnecting the audio and see if the squeak persists. If the audio isn't on it shouldn't be drawing any power therefore if it squeaks the audio is most likely not the issue.

Also does it sound like a cricket? By chance does it increase when you rev? Does it go away when the clutch (if it's a manual) is engaged? It might not be a belt at all and could be the tuning fork or throwout bearing.

-Good luck

[moonray]

Interesting. I was under the impression that Longo was one of the "better" dealers in socal. Have you spoken to the "scion rep" there? Hope you get the problem fixed soon.

[06ShadoWboX]

(06-03-2009 01:13 AM)Gcat Wrote:  He took pictures of your cars interior without your consent? I could understand something like that at a show but not at the dealership. I would have gone to his superior and demanded the pictures deleted (and I would have deleted them myself), the problem fixed AND the shop guy reprimanded. He needs a property release form to even think about taking pictures of your car.

As for getting the problem fixed I would go to the dealerships GM and have a talk with that guy. Try some trouble shooting before though. Take it back to the place that did the radio install and ask them if what Billy said was true. Try disconnecting the audio and see if the squeak persists. If the audio isn't on it shouldn't be drawing any power therefore if it squeaks the audio is most likely not the issue.

Also does it sound like a cricket? By chance does it increase when you rev? Does it go away when the clutch (if it's a manual) is engaged? It might not be a belt at all and could be the tuning fork or throwout bearing.

-Good luck

yea he didnt ask if he could take pictures, just asked how many amps i had and where they were at. I never saw the pictures. I did the audio install. Still running the factory radio with a 4ch and 2 ch amp with a 10" sub 6.5" components in the front. It does sound like a constant cricket, and it is a 5 speed, and when i rev the squeak goes away.

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(06-03-2009 09:58 AM)moonray Wrote:  Interesting. I was under the impression that Longo was one of the "better" dealers in socal. Have you spoken to the "scion rep" there? Hope you get the problem fixed soon.

Longo is supposed to be the "better" dealer in socal. Their complaints arent as overwhelming as their positive feedback. I called Corporate Scion and they said they have to agree with the dealership because they arent mechanics. I need to call Customer Relations at longo again. Im just sick and tired of their shit i dont want to bother with it anymore.

[SWARTZAUTOMAN]

keep us posted

[Gcat]

My car had the same sound roughly. Rev the engine and it would go faster, louder and then be gone. Put the clutch in and it would stop.

1st shop said belts and since it was my local oil change shop that treated me right I had no reason to not believe em. $200+ later new belts, oil change and full check up I was on my way. Till I got home and the sound was still there. Took it back and the shop manager took one listen and said throw out bearing. Took it to the dealership and was good to go via warranty. New throw out bearing. 1 month later the sound came back... took back to dealership and yet another mechanic said clutch fork. SO... new throwout bearing and new clutch fork and finally no more frikin cricket. This happened back in Nov of 08.

I'm no where near a mechanic but I have a sneaky suspicion its not a belt problem.

[Peej]

I'd suspect he's taking pictures to cover thier ass on a warranty problem. Since you have let them work on it and have brought it back I'd say he's entitled to snap some pics.
What i'd ask him is how did he make his determination? Did they do an amp draw test to find out if the alt is really being overdrawn? If not, ask the foreman if he's guessing or using the force. You cannot reasonably make a determination without some kind of hard facts. You might want to take it to an audio shop and let them tell you if you need a bigger amp.
As Goat stated, if the squeak disappears or the noise changes when you put the clutch in, TOB is suspect.

[06ShadoWboX]

(06-03-2009 06:22 PM)Gcat Wrote:  My car had the same sound roughly. Rev the engine and it would go faster, louder and then be gone. Put the clutch in and it would stop.

1st shop said belts and since it was my local oil change shop that treated me right I had no reason to not believe em. $200+ later new belts, oil change and full check up I was on my way. Till I got home and the sound was still there. Took it back and the shop manager took one listen and said throw out bearing. Took it to the dealership and was good to go via warranty. New throw out bearing. 1 month later the sound came back... took back to dealership and yet another mechanic said clutch fork. SO... new throwout bearing and new clutch fork and finally no more frikin cricket. This happened back in Nov of 08.

I'm no where near a mechanic but I have a sneaky suspicion its not a belt problem.

The noise is still present when i depress the clutch.

(06-04-2009 04:51 AM)Peej Wrote:  I'd suspect he's taking pictures to cover thier ass on a warranty problem. Since you have let them work on it and have brought it back I'd say he's entitled to snap some pics.
What i'd ask him is how did he make his determination? Did they do an amp draw test to find out if the alt is really being overdrawn? If not, ask the foreman if he's guessing or using the force. You cannot reasonably make a determination without some kind of hard facts. You might want to take it to an audio shop and let them tell you if you need a bigger amp.
As Goat stated, if the squeak disappears or the noise changes when you put the clutch in, TOB is suspect.

i dont mind the picture taking, i figured it was for warranty purposes. However i never got to speak with the shop foreman, he didnt explain to me how he determined that my alternator was being overworked. I did ask the service advisor what tests he ran to determine this and he couldnt answer me. I need to get a second opinion. Ill probably be going to Glendora Scion sometime next week. My friend who attends UTI said it looks like my alternator bearing thingamajig was loose.

[mrmcnuggett]

my belt squeaks a little when i turn on the AC

[Peej]

(06-13-2009 12:55 PM)mrmcnuggett Wrote:  my belt squeaks a little when i turn on the AC

Fix it!

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(06-11-2009 08:07 PM)06ShadoWboX Wrote:  

(06-04-2009 04:51 AM)Peej Wrote:  I'd suspect he's taking pictures to cover thier ass on a warranty problem. Since you have let them work on it and have brought it back I'd say he's entitled to snap some pics.
What i'd ask him is how did he make his determination? Did they do an amp draw test to find out if the alt is really being overdrawn? If not, ask the foreman if he's guessing or using the force. You cannot reasonably make a determination without some kind of hard facts. You might want to take it to an audio shop and let them tell you if you need a bigger amp.
As Goat stated, if the squeak disappears or the noise changes when you put the clutch in, TOB is suspect.

i dont mind the picture taking, i figured it was for warranty purposes. However i never got to speak with the shop foreman, he didnt explain to me how he determined that my alternator was being overworked. I did ask the service advisor what tests he ran to determine this and he couldnt answer me. I need to get a second opinion. Ill probably be going to Glendora Scion sometime next week. My friend who attends UTI said it looks like my alternator bearing thingamajig was loose.

Thats just bad customer service. They should be telling you exactly what they've done to make their determination. I'm lucky in that respect as the dealership that I go to tell you everything and treat you like your somebody.

[mrmcnuggett]

I just don't use the AC, i like to roll down the winders...and let the wind blow through my no hair. But yeah i should fix it before the belt breaks or something of that nature.

[phocis850]

Here's what I would have them do.

1. Take the belt off the alternator.
2. Listen for squeal.
3. If squeal is still present, have them take the belt off the water pump.
4. Listen for squeal.
5. Replace water pump.

That's my conclusion. Your water pump is bad. Mine did the exact same thing as yours and the bearings went out in my water pump. Have them replace the water pump because it's a mother to do yourself. I had to drop the engine in order to get that Son of a gun out.