Are you sure? I accidentally left mine unplugged one time but I'm pretty sure it did not cause a CEL, it just really hit a wall at around 7k rpm.

 

Could you clarify "...help with oil distribution"? Are you saying oil wasn't being distributed properly to the rocker shafts when VTEC engaged with the old solenoid?

 

My betis dealer recommended changing valve for no real reason other than profit, as dealers are known to do.

While ripping off owner, they also broke something else, as dealers are known to do.

Then they tried to claim what they broke is 'normal', as dealers are known to do.

Next they will try to make owner pay to fix whatever they broke while 'fixing' something expensive that was totally unnecessary, as...yeah.

Dealership service dept number 1 goal = make you think your car is a pos so you buy a new one.

So upselling, doing poor repairs that don't last or cause other issues, par for course. If they can't get you to buy new car, atleast they can rip you off on service costs.

Dealer = avoid

 

Not always. Wire was broken on the oil switch on mine, No vtec, no cel either. Repinned the connector and fixed it.

To add it "should" set a code based upon the description of the code itself (1259). All I was able to gather on the code when I had that happen was that if the code shows up below 4000 RPM, it is likely due to faulty oil switch wiring. So that tells me it should have triggered a code. But ... it did not!

 

Are they all that bad? I thought it was only Rusty Wallace Honda in Knoxville TN that pulled crap like this. They're straight up criminals.

 

Called stealership for a reason

 

My dad is a mechanic and has owned his own biz my whole life. And, he knows some good techs at dealerships so they are not all bad. But he also gets a lot of work from people whose cars were already screwed up by a dealership. So it is a mixed bag. This may piss some people off, but that ASE patch in no way, shape or form means you are a good tech That is a fact. Niether does being a "Master tech". I know of a case where a "Master tech" at a dealer told a customer her electrical issues were due to her running a slightly larger battery (higher CCA) and it was ... and I quote... "pushing too much voltage through her system". The electrical engineer in me was pissed off as bad as the person in me that grew up learning from my dad at his shop lol. And this goes for all fields. In my field, I do not even care about certifications people have. I have known as many certified people that cannot do the job as people who have never had training class

 

People don't understand electricity.

Agree about certifications and diplomas.

Even if a dealership has several great Tech's, they might not be the ones to work on your car. Or they do, but then a lesser task goes to lesser tech, and they screw things up.

Many, not all but many independent shops will own up to mistakes and make it right. A dealership will never do that, unless you make it your lifes mission to force them to. Or maybe if you've bought many cars feom them and likely to buy more. In other words, they already raped you enough times.

Independent shops rarely have a high school dropout with no automotive skills or experience working on cars. Sadly that is common at dealer service depts.

 

Private shops also tend to do more real troubleshooting before throwing parts at it. If you just use the parts cannon and get lucky, that may be cheaper sometimes, but if you get it wrong once you tend to spend much more than the labor required to fully troubleshoot. Definitely some good dealer techs out there as we have said, but its like a box of chocolates Same goes for a private shop too though when trying to find a new one.

Electrical seems like magic to some, but anyone capable of troubleshooting a car should be able to understand basic ohms law. You can handle 99% of any automotive electrical troubleshooting with that much electrical knowledge. I always recommend people read and learn that. Super simple formula but actually is a huge help in understanding most basic electrical troubleshooting.

 

Really, it comes to experience. Those mechanics that have worked on S2000s over the years have a better idea where to start the diagnosis. And what logical path to follow.

Very hard to find them, these days.