Ok, so I had a problem the other day. Wife went to go on an errand and the car would start, choke and immediately die. Error codes made no sense whatsoever. After a lot of head scratching I opened the hood and found the air intake box was loose. I mean, almost coming off entirely. Since the engine has just recently been swapped I called AAA and they towed the car to the mechanic. I gave him all the info I had and he fixed it in about an hour. He had zero idea how it came loose. Throwing it out there as another thing to check under similar conditions.

 

When they swapped my engine, they didn't replace the oil filter. They filled with fresh oil, but didn't replace the dirty filter that came with the replacement engine. It's easy to miss since the filter cartridge is hidden within a cover. And I suspected they missed it because a new filter wasn't on the invoice. So I replaced it myself and it was ugly.

When you're rushing to get a big job finished, it's easy to neglect something. Ask me how I know ...

 

Also, ensure the one way valve on the bottom of the airbox is still there and functioning. As to why it moved, it's likely they did not seat it properly and line up the arrows to the pipe?

 

I don't really blame the mechanic, they are very thorough and did not charge me a dime to fix the issue. The invoice also listed a new oil filter.

He even told me that if I never want to see him again I should buy a Lexus.

 

It's not terrible advice. Toyota's are easier to fix and maintain in general. Problem is, the resale value is high and that mileage for that used car resale value is high.

 

There's always a da**ed catch, isn't there. The whole game is rigged!