Hi Guys,
I have an 05 LR3 4.4l.
Went in for emissions test here in Canada. Engine light was on, getting P0171 etc codes... lean bank 1 I believe. Asked them about O2 sensors or MAF, mechanic said no. I needed the truck so I left, went home and cleaned the MAF (Properly), no change to light so I brought it back in a day later. Got a call saying my car was ready, service guy says mechanic "cleaned the mass air flow, there was a ton of crap in there, its all better now, come drive it for some Kms and we can retest,".

I was happy, except, I had just cleaned it, it was spotless, dry and as far as I could tell, working. I asked about it when I picked up the car, the mechanic said, it was dirty, i called him on it, he then said the intake hose wasn't attached, which was BS, because again, the car was running perfectly fine.
I drove away, off to put my km's on it, and 400m down the road, the check engine light now flashed and the car was misfiring like hell. WTF, I brought it in running well, now it was a **** show. My first thought was that they had played around and broken something and were now in bull**** mode.

Back it went immediately, they played with it, said it was the intake manifold gasket...so thats changed, nothing. Then it was all the spark pl;uds as the are getting codes now for that.... so I have changed all those, and some coils to boot. Cars is tip top, come get it, drive it, we can do the test.... go 20 kms, bang, light on. A few more, bang, flashing light, and all the while there was still a slight misfire that there is no way they didnt notice, even though they said it was fine. Now were back to a lot of shake while idling, and big problems with any significant pressure on the accelerator. Car is ****ed, and it was fine when I went in.... what can I do?
I am thinking maybe a catalytic issue, but how can thei magically appear after bringing it in??
I want to tow it to the Land Rover dealer in Oakville, and have them look, but now I am afreaid I am going to get a whole new load of crap. Am I getting jerked around here? Is there a little trick these guys are playing to milk me for small repairs for a while??

Anyone? I'm losing my mind.

 

Does the shop specialize in Land Rovers?

I would get the codes read by a third party and post up here.

 

Also I would venture to say they are more incompetent than shady, but that's my trusting nature.

Get record of all that has been done, then compare with current codes. Did they change plug and coil on let's say cylinder #6 but you have a misfire there?

We run shop and I stand by my diagnostics. Of course if your plugs had not ben done in the service schedule interval, and the current issue is let's say a fuel injector, I would have let you know in advance that more might be needed after eliminating plugs/coil.

Get as informed as possible then speak to them. Always best to work with them in a diplomatic way before going straight to "you are screwing me", especially as you are already in bed with them.

 

agree with Abran's advice.

Given the chain of events, I wonder if they (unintentionally) F'd up the MAF when cleaning it. Symptoms sound like it could be a trashed MAF

 

**Update**

I bit the bullet and had the Beast towed to the Local Land Rover Shop in Oakville Ontario. Truck was picked up by the tow truck at 2pm, 45 min drive to Oakville, got a call from my Service contact there at 5:30. Truck Diagnosed and fixed.
The original mechanic put in an after market part that didn't work. Simple.
So you'd think I would be less angry but no, this is just another on a long list of screw ups that I cannot understand.
1. Oil change that leaked out all over my Driveway, didn't put the Plug back in properly.
2. Tire rotation, drive away with from left tire wobbling, didn't tighten wheel nuts
3. Unable to diagnose simple Coil, 5 weeks, multiple times telling me it was fixed.
4. Putting in ****ty parts ( i wasn't asked if I wanted real or authentic parts... I assumed so I guess my fault a bit there)

Lesson learned here, I know Dealers can be vicious. $180 per issue diagnosed, very expensive. But the reality is, my experience at the dealer was like a dream. Service consultant didn't try to sell me a damn thing, or run me around, checked in 2 times a day both days they have had the truck, and the tech was super prompt, to the point and actually test drives the truck. $500 to diagnose and then fix a bum coil is a bit much, but hey, I got my truck coming back in a day or 2, with no engine light, E-tested, and ready to rock. God damn.

So unless anything unforseen jumps up today......... hahaha I wait

 

I'm not sure they wouldn't do that, however apperantly not, I may just switch that out myself quickly anyhow when I get the truck back.... ya never know, it looks pretty old as is, so it won't hurt to get in front of that.

 

For the diagnostics charged thus far you could have bought a GAP tool, put that on the shopping list.

 

Yup, Gap tool is a must have mine has saved me 5 times what it cost me by now if not more.

 

[QUOTE=
Lesson learned here, I know Dealers can be vicious. $180 per issue diagnosed, very expensive. But the reality is, my experience at the dealer was like a dream..[/QUOTE]

I think for dealers its unfortunately very hit and miss. For myself I have found my 'local' (nearly 2 hours drive) dealer to be inept at best. The last time I took the truck to them for an alignment they said the rear adjusters were seized and it would be up to $1800 in parts and labour to just fix that before the alignment could be done. I asked for my keys back and walked out. I took the truck to my local tire shop and they did everything (yes even tight tolerance mode etc). When i ask was there any problem, their response was the adjusters were a bit tough, but some heat soon sorted them out and not a single issue with uneven tire wear since.

 

Update.

They fixed what they said was a bad Coil that Canadian Tire had installed, saying that 3rd party coils often fail. I got there, got in car, there was still a slight misfire and the engine light came on. They brought it back in (how did it leave like that) and reset the ECU saying maybe it was residual fuel in the catalytic. Siad i could drive and see if it burned off.

It seemed to, a bit, ut then at KM 111 last night, the engine light started flashing, power in truck dropped, pronounced misfire.
So, either the other Coils that Canadian tire put in also failed, or maybe the Ignition control module??

Either way, I would rather die than pay to have anything more done by people who don't seem to care. Is changing a coil a hard job to do in my driveway??