Well I took the car in this morning to have the windshield washer fluid pump replaced....
The guy pulls off the fender lining and calls me into the shop.
Points to the washer fluid bottle and says give it a knock... Solid as my head. ICE.
He pulled the plug out and chipped a pice of slush out and actually tasted it.... Water, pure water.
Then he asked me if I put it in there.... Nope. (Thinking back to the last time I filled it.)
I can barely remmeber because I hardly drive, and when I do, the car gets run through the wash every week. so....
1.5 hours of labour later to thaw and flush sytem = 162.45.
Turns out the losers at Mr. Lube that changed my oil last month put water in my bottle.
So I fired off a nasty email explaining I will NEVER bring my cars there again.I too explained tpo them that I would have hoped that having an oil change done in November would have assured me that they would put winter wash in my bottle. I also explained that I expect some sort of compinsation for their stupidity.
I'll keep you all posted.
:angry:
Dumbest. s***. EVAR. I learned my lesson with Wal-Mart the only time I let them put "5W20" in the first Focus. Now, only the dealer touches anything I own, in or out of warranty.
Good luck bud.
wow water? they should have known, how stupid of them!
what's wrong with 5w20? focus' are supposed to use 5w20.
that's awful. sorry man.
alway better to DIY whenever possible
The more you guys post, the more i'm convinced.
Do your own oil changes.
i still have summer washer fluid in my car and its -35C out, you can all laugh at now.
naz,Dec 7 2007, 03:54 PM Wrote:alway better to DIY whenever possible
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Flofocus,Dec 7 2007, 03:55 PM Wrote:Do your own oil changes.
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Both quoted for the truth.
FocusGuy7476,Dec 7 2007, 04:08 PM Wrote:i still have summer washer fluid in my car and its -35C out, you can all laugh at now.
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I hope yours doesn't freeze up like mine has in the past with the truck. But my solution is a little easier and cost effective than Anthony's. The boy takes the truck to work, leaves it in the shop for a couple of hours to thaw out, drains it and replaces with winter fluid. Cost.........$1.99.
This has happened to me before Anthony, but it was from my own negligence. In the spring, you typically need fluid for the snow melt and salt on the roads. Spring is warm enough to put in summer fluid. Thru the summer, you need the summer fluid to help with the bug accumulation. But come fall, you forget about it and with a full bottle of summer fluid, it stays in there until you might need it in the winter, and then it's too late. I get my fluid drained now every fall.
But putting water in........WTF were they thinking. It's suppsed to be free washer fluid top ups. Not water the f***tards.
And from there website............
Free Fluid Top-ups
...with every oil change! If our 21-point courtesy check shows low levels of Engine Coolant (Antifreeze), Power Steering Fluid, Automatic Transmission Fluid, or Windshield Washer Fluid... we'll top them up, no charge! (some limits apply)
I'd say they are at fault. Sue the bastards!
^--- meford's got a point... sounds like you have a case in your favour.
guess I'm fortunate that my car sits in a toasty warm underground parking lot most of the time.
What do they put in at the factory? My black hatch is sitting outside parked and I don't know what's in it!
It's funny because I cut and pasted that EXACT line into my email message.
I also gave them my license and address so they can look me up in the computer. I've taken my car(s) there for years, NEVER had a problem. They're cheaper than the dealer, the drive thru service is great and they NEVER try to sell me extra crap. In the summer, I ALWAYS get compliments on how well my car has been taken care of. The guys in the pit have even come up to gawk at the cleanliness of the engine bay.
I feel duped.
No message back from them yet... I'll make a call Monday to the customer service dept.
I'm thinking of maybe asking ZTW Squared to help me draft up a proper letter.
I dunno... still kinda shell-shocked with the whole situation.
Oscar The Grouch,Dec 7 2007, 07:56 PM Wrote:What do they put in at the factory? My black hatch is sitting outside parked and I don't know what's in it!
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Probably summer fluid. Just take the hose off and drain it into an empty container so you can re-use it come summer. Then fill it with winter. It doesn't matter if you get it all out, just try your best.
do these oil change places even let you give them your own filter or will they force you to use whatever junk they have behind the counter?
ever since i went to a jiffy lube 4yr ago and they would not put the honda OE filter i brought in and insisted on using a FRAM i have always done my own changes
as for free fluid top offs.. is that supposed to be benefit? i spend lots of extra $$ to keep factory fill gear oil in my transmission and differentials and i go out of my way to get OE coolant (subes are picky) and i would be very very upset if someone put random crap into my gearbox or coolant reservoir tank
i would never let the monkeys that work at those oil change places touch my vehicle, i cant believe some of you guys are ok with it
meford4u,Dec 8 2007, 04:52 AM Wrote:Oscar The Grouch,Dec 7 2007, 07:56 PM Wrote:What do they put in at the factory? My black hatch is sitting outside parked and I don't know what's in it!
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Probably summer fluid. Just take the hose off and drain it into an empty container so you can re-use it come summer. Then fill it with winter. It doesn't matter if you get it all out, just try your best.
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Thanks will try that today.
I put the 5W20 in quotations because they obviously didn't put 5W20 in... it was f***ing sad. When you deal with the dealer, they won't f*** up because they don't need the bad PR. At least, that's the vibe I've gotten from a few good ones. And, that's why I keep dealing with Stockfish Ford... they treat me like a valued customer, not a paycheque - to my face anyways :P
Jiffy whatever places? That's the same thing as Wal-Mart... guys that wanted to be mechanics but ended up sweeping up AFTER the mechanics have gone home for the night.
go to ford , we only use -35c
Ouch...
Though they may have a weasel way out of it when they say "Windshield washer fluid" without defining what the fluid they use is
Technically water is a "windshield washer fluid" so even if they don't have you on the old "Well, it had fluid in it when it left here" excuse they still might have a way to weasel out (Be thankful it was only the washer fluid bottle.
I had a client suing these meatheads in Small Claims Court because they didn't torque the oil drain plug properly and the car lost oil, causing catastrophic engine damage within a kilometre of leaving the shop :ph34r:
NefCanuck
sounds like something similar that happened to me with a rental van I had from Enterprise, the freestar I had for a week in the winter was shooting out water that just froze up on the windshield.... I got reimburst for the washer fluid I bought for the van.
hopefully they will do something for you anthony.