Automotive News Canada - April 2019 - F33

FIXED OPS JOURNAL

UP FOR DEBATE

"I had the impression that without intervention by the service
manager, some of the dealership's customers go away frustrated."

VETOING THE ADVISER

Reporter Richard Truett, in his "Hands On"
column in the December issue of Fixed Ops Journal, raised the question: What happens when a
self-pay customer knows more than a dealership
service adviser about how to repair his or her vehicle? We invited your responses. Dean Merrifield of Medina, Ohio, a former engineer with
Ford Motor Co., shares his experience:



'm a retired automotive engineer
with 30 years at a major automaker, a
chunk of that time in product development. I'm ASE-certified and a do-ityourselfer with six cars, ranging from a
1929 Ford Model A pickup to a 2014
Ford Mustang Shelby GT500. I dread dealing
with dealership service departments.
I own a 2016 luxury car and have it serviced
at a dealership, but only because it's under
warranty. I change the oil and rotate the tires
to reduce the potential for dealership mishaps.
The temperature gauge was fluctuating below
the normal operating temperature after the car
warmed up. I bought the original equipment
shop manuals (eight 200-page volumes) and
read the sections on cooling systems. I connected a diagnostic tool to the OBD-II port and
monitored coolant temperature data.
There were several potential causes:
 Instrument cluster malfunction.
 Engine coolant temperature sensor malfunction.

 An intermittent ground issue in the cooling

system circuit.
 Thermostat malfunction.
 Cooling fan malfunction.
To make matters worse, the problem appeared to be intermittent. I spent about an
hour driving the car on different occasions,
comparing OBD-II coolant data to the temperature gauge cluster reading. The coolant
level was fine.
The OBD-II data and gauge fluctuation
matched and the temperature changes were
smooth, not erratic. I ruled out the cluster
malfunction and ground issue.
The car never overheated. That ruled out the
cooling fan.
The gauge did not fluctuate at idle or with
the engine under load, as during freeway driving. That ruled out the temperature sensor.
I noticed gauge fluctuation only at part
throttle, with vehicle speeds up to 45 mph.
That led me to believe the thermostat was partially open. My hypotheses was that under
light engine load, coolant was constantly
flowing through the radiator, causing enough
heat rejection to prevent a normal operating
temperature from being attained.
Armed with this information, I went to the
dealership, explained the temperature gauge
fluctuation and allowed the service department to diagnose it. The response: "We can't
repeat the condition. Operation is normal."

I shared a video of the coolant gauge fluctuation with the service adviser. The response
was the same: "That's normal operation."
I pointed out that none of the six loaner vehicles of the same brand that I've driven when
my car was being serviced exhibited this condition. I asked: "How is this normal?" The response: "Tech says it's normal."
The service writer should have immediately
gone to the service manager for counsel on
how to handle this issue. Instead, I searched
out the manager and shared the video. I explained the construction of the thermostat, its
relationship to the overall cooling system and
my hypothesis.
His, response: "Well, that doesn't look normal.
We'll have a field service engineer look at it."
Ultimately, the dealership's lead service technician looked at the video, and gave direction to
replace the thermostat. Problem solved.
I feel fortunate that the car was repaired. I
had the impression that without intervention
by the service manager, some of the dealership's customers go away frustrated.
In other industries, some customers are
identified as "super users." These customers
have earned the trust of the service provider,
and interaction is handled further up the
chain.
I would have been satisfied just to talk directly to the technician. I think he and I would
have agreed. 

APRIL 2019

PAGE 33

Automotive News Canada - April 2019

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