Check Engine Light on - $80 to run code???
 

Just called my local Ford dealer because my Check Engine light has been coming on and off for the past few months... they told me it would be $80 just to hook it up and run the code, plus whatever work has to be done! Does $80 seem reasonable just to run the code?

There's more to it than just running codes. $80 seems high.
Our dealer charges $55, including diagnosing the cause of the code.

I'm pretty sure Advance Auto will pull the codes for you for free. Them just bring the codes back here and people more knowledgeable than myself will tell you what they mean.

$80 is a rip off

Go to auto zone they pull it for free.

Bet it's an O2 sensor, heh

Since you're in Broward Co. you can't run to the local Autozone and have them do it for free. Somebody filed a stop order, so you can run up to WPB or down to MIA and have it done.

Or you could pull it yourself with an OBDII scanner/software. JC Whitney, Harbor Frieght, and any number of places have them starting at 49.95 to buy . Even if you spent $100-200 for the right software or scanner, you could pull the info on your truck anytime you wanted, gratis. Of course you could make a couple of $$ on the side pulling codes for your friends.

Hmmm, Good excuse to buy the Superchips Tuner :D


I would'nt give them a FRICKIN DIME just to pull a code!!
That is puuuuuuuuuure gravy money!

I think AutoZone will do this for you for a minimal fee, if not, for free. If you have one locally, go in and talk with them. You may be able to buy the parts there and install yourself.

From experience, Yes Auto Zone will Pull the code.but they Will Tell ya its the 02 sensors.either bank one or two.now my suggestion..is to go to said store........have them pull the codes and you look at the scanner with your own eyes......even have the "tech" or kid ....read off the code to ya...memorize it and bring the code to the site.........and your code will be explained in detail...........i paid well over 200 bucks for all 4 02 sensors and all it was were the clamps on my K+N intake......after 10 minutes of tightining the clamps and checking a few other components.the light went out.after re-setting "disconnecting" the battery also.........no problems for about 2000 miles.....and i got my 200 bucks back........

Auto Zone is in it for the money.
Just because you get a code it does not mean the sensor is bad.
We have customers come in all the time, where Auto Zone sold them parts and the concern was never corrected.

You guys that think pulling codes is gravy, wait 'till you get an EVAP system code and everything shows good.:banana:

I think I saw the Actron Ford specific scanner at Sear Hardware for less then the $ 80.00 ( I think it was 39.95 ).
The Actron web site has it for 43.99. This is the Ford specific scanner, the multi use ones are 199.99 online, but it works on all car makes. It also does the read and clear, where I think the 39.95 is read only ( need to do the battery trick to clear a code ).

Spend the money on a decient scanner, so you have it for later.

If nothing esle, you can get the scanner from Pep Boys or AutoZone and read it yourself.

As offered earlier, post the code number here ( don't buy the O2 sensors :D ), and we'll all do our best to help a fellow F150online brother.

This still makes no sence to me. If I go to ford with a problem, you're saying that, not only are they gonna charge to fix the problem, but they want to charge me for diagnosing the problem too??

I could see if you went in and got a diagnosis and then didnt want the repairs done there, but if you are having them do the repair work wtf? Double payments?

~ I guess its a good thing I'll never own a ford that isnt under warranty...

It's a double dip
 

I know from experience that Ford Service Dept will charge you the $80 for diagnosis and then also charge to install the diagnosed part.

I hate it when they go on expensive fishing expeditions though, know what I mean?

Make sure you have them keep the old parts for you. If they put stuff on that doesn't fix it then they can put the old OK part back on if you want them too. Otherwise they will say they threw the old parts away, heh. then you're stuck.

That's why I got my own OBD2 scanner. I use to go to Auto Zone, but all they could give were generic codes and they always tried to sell you a part. Now with my own that reads enhanced codes, I get better info and then do some research on the net to see what problems may cause the given code then I fix it. I only wish that mine gave me ABS and air bag codes.

- Dae

So you're saying I should not get paid to diagnose your problem?
What about my knowledge, tools, certifications and schooling that I have to pay for?

Not all codes are cut and dry.
guess we all could take a SWAG { scientific wild @ss guess} at what's wrong with these cars.:thumbsup:

Hey, thats why the dealership charges so much hourly labor. Thats why the dealership costs so much more than 'Joes Garage'. Before the diagnostic port, a mechanic would figure out what was wrong with your car, let you know and then you would pay for the parts and labor to repair the problem NOT for him telling you what is wrong.

Heck, Technicians have a great tool in the diagnostic equipment, it is supposed to make it easier to track a problem, so why do they want to charge a rediculous amount JUST to tell me what the problem is?

As I said, If they diagnose and then I want to take the car elsewhere, I would expect to pay for their time and effort, but if I have them do the repairs, I dont wanna take it in the front AND rear.

I'm with Home Skillet on this one, you take your car to joe's garage for an EVAP code and see what happens. ?What if Joe isn't able to repair something because he doesnt have the training or Ford books to help him fix it. Sure you can goto AutoZone and get codes pulled for free, 9 out of 10 times they say its an O2 code, I see this daily and rarely is it an O2 code. Yes you pay us the dealer to diagnose,but at most dealers the diagnostic time is applied to the labor included in the repair, unless it is a very unusual diagnosis. Believe me, I watch my techs use expensive diag tools all day long, sometimes it takes more than running the diag, pulling a code and hanging a part to fix a car.
This being said, the independant shops will become more obsolete in the future.

Why would you say that ?
Most decent independant shop have scan equipment ( NGS or WDS machines ) and trained mechanics.
My friend is a mechanic at a gas station ( yes they still have a full service island there ) , he still goes to regular mechanic classes for mfgr specific things.
Oddly enough 3 months ago he just got back from Ford F-150 update school.

Maybe a more correct term is the independant mechanic that trys to fix a P0401 code by smacking the PCM with a 1-1/8" box end wrench is going to become obsolete in the future.

I think the point is that the ford mechanic who is working on modular engines all day long is going to be more proficient than the corner mechanic who's also working on rice.

Yeah, i take auto mech at highschool (counting the days!!!). A few kids happen to work at the local the local garages, and my teacher is a master tech. They all say they would overclock as it is pretty much standard practice.

I also had some bad experiences with autoshops (first car, sweet 88 oldsmobile). First I got a massive hole in the muffler. It sounded lots like a big block, but sadly had the junker look. Anyways, took it to pepboys. "new muffler" fixed it up. Not soon after, the thing refused to start. At the time I didn't know too much about auto mechanics, much i told the mechanic, "Uh... I think it's the starter". Well, they told me i was wrong:rolleyes: I needed a new alternator. It decided to break down near a napa, and refused to start. Turns out, I needed a new starter! and the muffler was my old one with a patch. MOFO'S! Luckily I was due for my truck and the salvation army was happy to take my hunk of junk off my property.

My local chevron tune-up/gas-up place is also the most crooked mechanics in existence. Twice a chinese coworker took his car up there. His geo storm (tihnk it's 91ish. peeling/sunburnt paint. cost him a few hundred bucks. get the pic?) broke down and they said he needed all this stuff like alternator/plugs/distributor and such. After 330 bucks of work, same thing happens a day later and is then correctly identified as bad plug wires. next time, his coolant looked like rusty mud. their "newest technology" coolant flusher cost 150 bucks to work it's magic. Get it back, and his coolant was still mucky. Better, but definatley no good, and his hood prop was missing! WTF? This part makes me furious because I went up with him.

Cuts of what I said: "Yes, I used the hood prop about an hour ago, I know one was there." "Yes, I know the coolant was dirty, but that's why he used your "High Tech" system that costs $180!" "Yes, I know you can pressure clean the plastic the resevoir, thats why you normally flush the system." "OK, give me his phone number and I'll call when he gets here."

Lesson: Unless your pockets are lined with platinum (diamond stiching!), do it yourself! Nothing too complex ofcourse, but that way you know it's done right, and it's done well. To these people, they know it's not their truck, so they don't sweat the small stuff we would sh*t!

it's just a mis-understanding
 

"Hey, thats why the dealership charges so much hourly labor. Thats why the dealership costs so much more than 'Joes Garage'. Before the diagnostic port, a mechanic would figure out what was wrong with your car, let you know and then you would pay for the parts and labor to repair the problem NOT for him telling you what is wrong.

Heck, Technicians have a great tool in the diagnostic equipment, it is supposed to make it easier to track a problem, so why do they want to charge a rediculous amount JUST to tell me what the problem is?

As I said, If they diagnose and then I want to take the car elsewhere, I would expect to pay for their time and effort, but if I have them do the repairs, I dont wanna take it in the front AND rear."

I used to be a tech so let me try to explain. A Flat-rate tech only gets paid for the hours he turns for the shop. So if you take your vehicle in for a "CEL" and a tech spends 3 hours trying to figure out why you are getting a code for "a bad 02 sensor" just to find out that a wire back behind your engine has rubbed the fire wall and caused an intermitent short thus causing the code. He can fix the wire in 30 minutes. Do you still think it's fair for him to only get paid $7(we'll say he makes $14 an hour flat rate) to fix your vehicle? Would you go work until lunch time for $7? I think a lot of people misunderstand the scan tools also. Yes, they can be very good, but you have to understand vehicles are so much more complex today then the days of a can of carb cleaner and a cresent wrench. Like anything, there are good honest techs/dealerships and there are "crooks" out there and that is the unfortunate thing. You can look at it this way also. Does a doctor tell you what is wrong with you for free? I'm not trying to be ignorant, I have just been on the the other side of the fence before.:thumbsup:

back to the original question
 

I can only assume that your dealship charges $80 an hour labor and is quoting you a 1 hour diagnostic fee or charges something like $54/ hr labor and is quoting you 1.5 hours diagnostic time. This is because unfortunately you probably spoke to some "service advisor" who probably has never seen a wrench in his/her life. What they should do is tell you "Mr. Joe, we will look at you truck, figure out why the check engine light is on and let you know from there what needs to be done. We charge $___ dollars an hour for diagnostics. It should take us approx 1 hour to diagnose your vehicle, but depending on the system at fault (EVAP) it could be longer or it may be less. If we can't find the problem in one hour do you want me to call you? Or, do you want us to keep running test for a certain amount of time?"

yes the Ford dealer will charge you money to hook it up but when i went in to try and run it thru the computer to try to target my pinging problem they told me that it would be 60 bucks just to plug it into the computer:eek: plus what ever parts i needed + labor So i gladly turned away and walked out the door.
if i ever pull a code im goin to Autozone--theyre free or at least very cheap. Ford will squeeze $ out of you any dam way they can.

The NGS & WDS are on their way out in the next 2 years. Ford will do just like Mercedes ,BMW and a few other manufacturers who keep secrets from the public. Codes will become harder to "interpret" or impossible if Ford keeps it under wraps.
It is going to be impossible for an independant shop to keep up with the training they will need to repair cars in the future.
My shop has 20 techs, half of them don't want to learn anything about the newer vehicles,this being said, they won't last too much longer in my shop.

To all the autozoners out there, hope you don't get bunred buying parts you don't need to repair your truck.

A standard markup is 3x the mechs hourly salary to pay for the overhead cost. If you are getting charged $60/hr for Bob Tech at the dealer, he should be making $20/hr. Any more of a mark up is gouging. The overhead at the dealer is going to more expensive than Joe Mechs garage. After all, the dealer has to pay for service advisers (that mostly wouldn't know their @ss from a hole in the ground) to sit there and write down your problems for Bob Tech to fix.