I brought the car in because my heater didn't work, and for a general inspection to better understand if it's worth putting money into my 20 year old car. I was told that mechanically the car is in good shape. I was told that the heater was working and they didn't see anything wrong. They were clear that it could be a blend door going out on the vehicle, but confirmed that everything worked fine. Thinking I had bought some time I spent $800 dollars on brakes and to fix a window regulator. When I picked up the car, immediately upon starting the car I heard a loud knocking in the dash which stopped quickly but which I had never heard before. When I tried to move from heat to air the knocking occurred again and now I don't get any cold air. They've refused any accountability. I brought my car in for a specific problem, and on a budget of $1000 or less. Because they told me the problem I brought the car in for was fine, I spent the money to fix other issues, and received the car back with the same problem I brought it in for. Now they've quoted me $800 just for the labor to look into the original problem further. This was a lazy misdiagnosis. I understand I made the decision to proceed with other repairs. If I got the car back and the blend door broke a week or month later that's entirely on me. It was returned to me just as broken but I was lead to believe it was fine, which is why the decision was made to spend the money elsewhere. The whole process feels very dishonest or at the very least, they were not thorough in diagnosing the problem from the beginning.
Edit: a 5 minute YouTube search on how to run a diagnostic for EATC issues in this vehicle, and error codes 024 and 025 were returned, which are for the blend door. The difference here is in saying you guys you tested it and everything worked, and it "could be" a blend door. Within 10 minutes of getting the vehicle home, I had confirmation that it was in fact the issue which was clearly diagnosed very easily at home. The first conversation was filled with what it could be, when a clear answer was available because the problem was never resolved, and the mechanic I trusted to provide an accurate diagnosis didn't do that correctly. This is why the initial diagnosis was either lazy or dishonest.
Saying it works but it could be an issue down the road is one thing, and I'd happily accept all responsibility for that decision to authorize other repairs. Returning the car with the exact issue it was brought in with while a diagnostic would have easily confirmed the issue was present is either lazy or dishonest.
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