Kia Repair
- Thread starter cdkid
- Start date
Oz
You're all F'in Mad...
Do you really want some untrained worker plugging into your car's computer? Sounds like a really bad idea to me... They can only tell you a code. Once you have the code, there are diagnostic tests to run to see if the part indicated by the code is faulty. They ~can't~ do that for you... They may be able to turn the light off, and then you can see if it comes back on. Still I'm not sure I want some untrained dude that worked at Subway 5 minutes ago to even wash my car... You decide...
Kia and Hyundai are the same company so you might try Ken Dixon. Otherwise, I'd try someone locally with a good reputation. Search the forums for recommendations. Cheseldine, Marks, Martins come to mind, but you're not in Lexington Park.
The gas cap is a good suggestion. Not clicking your cap several times probably causes more unnecessary service visits than anything else.
JimW711
Driving the Z
It's my undersatnding that Ron Bortnick Ford, located at the Rte. 301 & Pennsylvania Ave. interchange in Upper Marlboro now has a Kia franchise.
I think their phone # is (301) 627-5700
cdkid
Member
I heard they left. Are they still there?
Oz
You're all F'in Mad...
If it's not under warranty just take it to a reputable shop near your home or work.
$120 for diagnostics is fair, considering the varying amount of time involved in testing once they connect the scan tool to your car. That's only the beginning of the process. If it takes them half the day you came out way ahead. Far better than paying them the $95 per hour or more which most dealers charge.
VduvUMarie
New Member
Definately go to Advance or AutoZone to hookup the OBDII- it's free. Don't rush out to a stealership just yet. Some stores can even print out the code for you and a short description. Then with some detective work on car forums you can find out some possible easy fixes or where to start. Some codes are pretty basic such as one I had last summer. I can't remember the exact code off the top off my head, but we had it scanned and it was the O2 Sensor closest to my catalytic converter. So off we went to buy the part, look up instructions on how to change it out ourselves on vwvortex.com and voila! All it cost us was about 75 bucks for the sensor. If we would have gone straight to the stealership it would have been automatic 125 bucks just to tell me the exact code, then charge me almost triple the price for the sensor not including labor.
VduvUMarie
New Member
Actually they CAN run a few diagnostics, just a few. They helped me out tremendously and saved me a s-load of money a few days before New Years. I was almost to work when all the indicator lights on my dash started freaking out and my car started losing power; I barely had enough time to pull off the road into a parking lot before it died completely. I figured it was my alternator but I wasn't sure.
I was freaking out a bit because I was by myself and I was going to be late for work, but thankfully I had broken down near an Advanced Auto. I walked across the street and one of the guys came over and after about 35 minutes took out my alt. for me and carried it back over to the store where he ran a diagnostic to tell me for sure if I had a fault alt. (which I did). Since the car wouldn't start it was obvious the battery had finally drained completely, so they charged my battery to full capacity- took about 1.5 hours and put it back in the car and I was able to drive the 30 minutes back home with my alt. and without having to pay for a tow (my car died as soon as I pulled into the driveway).