First let me say Joseph Amspoker has no business working in any automotive service facility. This mouthy little boy knows very little about cars, and absolutely nothing about automotive electrical systems. That being said, I shall continue with the report.
The vehicle is a 1991 Honda Civic DX, 1.5L 4-cylinder with 5-speed manual. After extensive tune-up, valve cover gasket replacement and tube seal replacement at another shop, car still exhibited occasional mis-firing and would not pass DEQ. Car definitely ran much smoother than before this work, though. The car has NEVER exibited a hard-starting issue, and also did not after these repairs.
Then took it to Beaverton Honda for further diagnosis and they said it also needed a new catalytic converter, an engine valve adjustment, fuel system flush, and engine decarb to pass DEQ. I decided to get it all done except the catalytic converter because they wanted like $600 for it (I ended up doing the catalytic converter later at Meineke and passed DEQ after doing so, but this is not related to the problem at hand).
So on April 8, Beaverton Honda performed a valve adjustment, fuel system flush, and engine de-carb service. After picking up the car, it seemed to run slightly smoother, but not very noticeable difference. The next morning, the car would not start. This takes some explanation. When the key was turned to the on position, the fuel pump could be heard priming. When turned to start, the starter had plenty of power, then engine turned over easily, there was spark, but it seemed as though the fuel delivery was dying out after 1 second or so. I finally got the car started by holding the gas pedal half-way to the floor while starting the engine.in doing so, the engine got the fuel it needed to start running on its own. It was tricky to get it just right so the car would start.
This became an intermittent issue that the car never had before. My wife even missed a job interview with a Chiropractor's office due to this new issue. All the while, the over-paid service children at the shop said it was the main relay. I know a bit about vehicles, especially electrical systems (i am a professional engineer), and this does not exhibit symptoms of a faulty main relay.
Further, in this car, the main relay is an issue because over time the soldered connections on the circuit crack and split, and when it gets very warm, you can loose electrical continuity in the circuit (usually happens when you turn off and restart the vehicle in a short time period, like at the gas pump). This results in not getting electricity to the fuel pump. Look it up if you don't believe me. I know this wasn't the issue because it would happen when it was 40 degrees outside, after the car had sat all night, and the fuel pump always had power!
When I explained this to the guys at the dealer, they became very stand-offish and condescending, consistently restating that they need to replace the main relay before they would consider any other possibilities (I would, of course, be charged for this, even if it didn't solve the problem). I asked if we could just remove and test the relay, and they claimed they had no way to do that. I briefly described to them how easy it was with a DVM, and I hung up.
It was very suspicious to me and my co-worker (he has a master's degree in automotive engineering, by the way) that this electrical component would fail RIGHT AFTER this service, and that it would exhibit symptoms of a fuel-delivery issue when that is the area of the vehicle they worked on. It took several visits to finally recreate it at Beaverton Honda, and when we did, their technician (Gary Davis) even told me, man to man, to my face, it did not look like a main relay issue. He said it was possible that the fuel system clean could have fouled the secondary injector, or that the valve adjustment may need to be re-done, and this made a lot more sense to me than what tweedle-dum was telling me from behind his little computer.
So at this point I had a little more faith in the mechanic, and I decided I would let them diagnose it. If it was one of these issues, I shouldn't get charged, right? They called me the next day and claimed they removed and tested the main relay and found it to be faulty (I thought they couldn't do this...?). So they replaced the main relay and that supposedly solved the issue, and I was charged another $75 for a $25 main relay. I knew I was being lied to but when I picked up the car I told myself, when the problem comes back, I will get a lawyer. I honestly didn't expect it to take this long, but the problem is coming back again.
What I think happened is the following: Either the fuel system clean or the valve adjustment didn't go as planned and it caused a weird issue (according to my co-worker, either scenario is possible). They pinned it on the main relay so that I would not think they messed something up and try for a refund.
Further, by saying it was the main relay, they can get even more money out of me when I bring it back in. So then I bring it in, they correct the fuel-system issue (re-adjust valves, clean secondary injector, who knows) and they slap in a new main relay just for ass-covering (this part seriously takes 3 minutes to replace). Then 4 months later, here I am with this issue coming back.
So now I don't really know what to do. If I go back, they will say it is the main relay again, replace it again, and charge me again (the last repairs are just a couple weeks out of warranty), but I know that is not the real issue, it is just the only way they have to get more money out of me instead of fixing their mistakes for free like they should.
So all I can say is avoid this dealership at all costs, for two reasons:
1) They have condescending and unqualified staff like Joe Amspoker that know less about your vehicle than you do, and don't believe a word you say.
2) They do shoddy repairs, then they lie to you about it to weasle out of taking a loss on their bad work. All they care about is your money, not you as a customer. "The customer is always right" is one motto Beaverton Honda ditched long ago.
Seriously, don't let these swindlers work on your car. Find a friend or relative that knows someone you can trust to work on your vehicle. Usually a smaller shop with well-trained staff and good customer service. These places are hard to find. I wish I knew of one in Beaverton so I could stop messing with all these dishonest scammers! Good luck to you all in your automotive-repairing endeavors!
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