Friend's Starting Problems

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Brentbba

Former Golfer
Joined
Mar 27, 2003
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Location
OC, CA
Posting up a question for all you diagnosticians. Friend has a '99. She's a soccer mom with three lovely girls. Recently she's had problems with it starting. Dealer can't reproduce the problem as usual. Engine turns over just fine with the starter so starter is good and battery is strong - it just won't fire up. She states the problem is becoming more and more frequent and she's obviously afraid of really being stranded somewhere. I don't know what the dealer has checked or if there are any codes they've read off. It happened when I was with her Saturday so I was able to listen to what was 'not' happening. No clicking from the starter. It turns the engine just fine.

She's so frustrated, she's ready to trade it in. Don't know how many miles is on it.

Any thoughts I can pass along to she and her husband?

TIA
 
Tune-up?

Hard to really say without service history and mileage. Vehicles do need periodic maintenance for optimum performance.

Even better, give her a good deal and upgrade:)
 
Does it sometimes try to start up, then stutter and die? That would indicate a fuel problem. I had a problem on my mini whereby I'd have to crank it long on hot, dry days. My theory was that the air mass was reduced in those conditions, so it would take the AFM extra long to close the relay. Once the AFM relay closes, then the fuel pump is connected to ground and can start up. I got around this problem by jumping a fuel pump check plug (in the FSM) so the fuel pump starts up once the key is in the "ignition" position. Anyways, I thought I might suggest that something w/ the fuel supply might be the culprit (and/or maybe the ultimate cause). The tacos have had problems with their AFM's (some kind of wire) getting gummed up from the oil if you run a K&N filter.
 
Immobolizer key problem 1/ it is loosing the memory of that key. 2/ cross ferquency of a Mobil speed pass ..or a newer ford key on the same ring ,,,,,,, will set a minor code back in the body opperating systems log.
 
Just got a call from my friend. Dealer had it for 2 weeks and couldn't dup the problem......until it came time for them to pull it out for her. hehehe

Ended up being a 2nd alarm system a PO had installed that was in conflict with the OE alarm system and coded key. My friend had asked that the 2nd alarm be removed b4 purchase. Obviously it hadn't been done. Don't know if dealer has reimbursed her for the rental car and new coded keys she's bought trying to fix the problem. Dealer doing work is same one she purchased it from. Should she ask for any $$.
 
Since she bought it from them and asked before purchase that the 2nd alarm be removed (assuming they agreed to do it since she stated this to you), then hell yeah, she should DEMAND reimbursement for rental car, extra keys, pain and suffering...well maybe not the pain part, but I'm sure she sufferred some mental anguish...

I don't know that she'd get anything from them, but it's wouldn't help to bring all this up and see what they'd be willing to do. Best to take it up with management -- both sales and service since they're both involved.
 
NorCalDoug said:
Since she bought it from them and asked before purchase that the 2nd alarm be removed (assuming they agreed to do it since she stated this to you), then hell yeah, she should DEMAND reimbursement for rental car, extra keys, pain and suffering...well maybe not the pain part, but I'm sure she sufferred some mental anguish...

I don't know that she'd get anything from them, but it's wouldn't help to bring all this up and see what they'd be willing to do. Best to take it up with management -- both sales and service since they're both involved.

OR... Take it as an honest mistake and move on in life......

I say this because..yes, people @ dealerships dont always communicate very well between departments, and if a "sales" rep says (or promises) one thing, it may or may not ever be brought to the attention of the service dept who is responsible for the action or repair...(BTW.. ALWAYS GET EVERY SINGLE DETAIL OF THE PURCHASE CONDITIONS IN WRITING!!) The blame, IMO, is more than likely the individual salesperson who said it would get handled (whether or not it was on purpose, who knows)....

But to scream an injustice or worse yet, bring up "pain and suffering" (which is more like what a lawyer would use to get perhaps more than somebody actually deserves) can put a negative mark on the customer (who, in this case may have few choices where to take their vehicle next time) and may be a hinderance in the future....

Yes, it sounds like she got the short end of the stick (if this was an agreement prior to purchase) and she may deserve an apology and reimbursement... however, SHE must choose if this is a big enough deal to go back and demand repayment or otherwise...and it would be unfounded to claim mental anguish over something like this...

But... if she wants to pursue this, she should try to resolve this with the individual salesperson first (maybe he honestly did forget to handle the request and will pull the cash out of his own pocket for the misunderstanding, although unlikely, it happens more often than you think)...But dont start blaming everyone @ the dealer or every dept for the error.....
 
Last edited:
SINCITY100 said:
OR... Take it as an honest mistake and move on in life......
...with family, friends, possibly a good neighbor? Sure...move on with life...

With a dealership? Never. They were asked prior to a sale to remove the 2nd alarm. They neglected to do so. It turns out that the 2nd alarm was the cause of her expenditure -- they're responsible.
 
Glad the problem was solved. Nice tech work fj55-100!!! You called it.

As far as reimbursement it certainly sounds like it was an inconvenience considering she had to provide her own rental car. I would assume from the fact that she had to provide her own alternate transportation that it is more than likely not a Lexus dealership. If it is a Mr. T dealership I would request a credit that I could use down the road for service. If it is a not Lexus or Toyota I would just ask to be reimbursed with cash.

Had it been a legitimate failure of a part I would feel she should eat the cost but if they SPECIFICALLY requested this be removed as part of a prepurchase agreement then there is no reason that she shouldn't get taken care of. Perhaps if it were more minor I'd let it slide but that doesn't sound like a small amount of money for 2 coded keys and a rental car for a few days.
 

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