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Old 08-23-2012, 07:54 AM
 
Location: North Texas
24,561 posts, read 40,271,907 times
Reputation: 28559

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I know this is probably going to sound stupid, but....

I took my 2007 Hyundai Sonata to my local lube shop on Saturday morning for an oil change. The ticket says that they changed the oil and the "internal filter" which they explained was the filter under the hood, not the cabin filter. When I brought my car to the place, it was (as far as I know) in perfect working order.

I get it back and 2 things are broken: the alarm no longer arms, and the windshield washer no longer works.

The only way I know how to arm my car's alarm is by double-clicking the 'lock' button on the key fob. I know that the battery in the key fob is fine because it performs all the other functions it is supposed to perform; it unlocks the trunk, locks and unlocks the doors. It just won't set the alarm. I read on another site that sometimes the rubber bumpers on the hood/trunk can sometimes get knocked out of alignment and the car will refuse to arm the alarm because it thinks one or both of those are open. I opened my hood and trunk and tried to arm the alarm...no dice.

When I tried to clean my windshield in traffic the other day, I pulled the right-hand wand on the steering column towards me like I always do; nothing. The wipers go back and forth but no liquid came out. I figured I must be out of wiper fluid, so I refilled it this morning and to my surprise it was almost full already. Tried it again...no dice.

It seems really weird to me that those two things worked on Saturday morning before the oil change and now, after it, no longer do. The guys at the lube place swear up and down that they couldn't have done that damage, but it seems far too coincidental to me.

Thoughts?
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Old 08-23-2012, 08:04 AM
 
Location: NH
4,206 posts, read 3,756,686 times
Reputation: 6750
Cant speak for the alarm but for the windshield washer fluid maybe they accidentally knocked off the electrical connector to the pump when they were filling the fluid. Check the pump near the resevoir to make sure it is connected. It could be as simple as puttling the male connector back into the female.
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Old 08-23-2012, 08:14 AM
 
Location: North Texas
24,561 posts, read 40,271,907 times
Reputation: 28559
Quote:
Originally Posted by mustangman66 View Post
Cant speak for the alarm but for the windshield washer fluid maybe they accidentally knocked off the electrical connector to the pump when they were filling the fluid. Check the pump near the resevoir to make sure it is connected. It could be as simple as puttling the male connector back into the female.
If I can find it, I'll sure do that. I'm exceptionally ignorant when it comes to cars.
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Old 08-23-2012, 08:20 AM
 
Location: NW Indiana
44,348 posts, read 20,051,946 times
Reputation: 115281
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigDGeek View Post
I know this is probably going to sound stupid, but....

I took my 2007 Hyundai Sonata to my local lube shop on Saturday morning for an oil change. The ticket says that they changed the oil and the "internal filter" which they explained was the filter under the hood, not the cabin filter. When I brought my car to the place, it was (as far as I know) in perfect working order.

I get it back and 2 things are broken: the alarm no longer arms, and the windshield washer no longer works.

The only way I know how to arm my car's alarm is by double-clicking the 'lock' button on the key fob. I know that the battery in the key fob is fine because it performs all the other functions it is supposed to perform; it unlocks the trunk, locks and unlocks the doors. It just won't set the alarm. I read on another site that sometimes the rubber bumpers on the hood/trunk can sometimes get knocked out of alignment and the car will refuse to arm the alarm because it thinks one or both of those are open. I opened my hood and trunk and tried to arm the alarm...no dice.

When I tried to clean my windshield in traffic the other day, I pulled the right-hand wand on the steering column towards me like I always do; nothing. The wipers go back and forth but no liquid came out. I figured I must be out of wiper fluid, so I refilled it this morning and to my surprise it was almost full already. Tried it again...no dice.

It seems really weird to me that those two things worked on Saturday morning before the oil change and now, after it, no longer do. The guys at the lube place swear up and down that they couldn't have done that damage, but it seems far too coincidental to me.

Thoughts?
A couple of years ago my sister took her car in for a routine oil change. Although the car was several years old, it had fairly low mileage and worked perfectly well on the way in. It died on her way home from the oil change place and wouldn't restart. She had to have it towed. She called the oil change place and asked what they might have done which would cause the engine to die. They said it was just a coicidence that the car died when it did and that they couldn't have done anything to cause the problem with the engine.

My sis and her husband didn't pursue the matter further with the oil change place. Big mistake, as they later learned. Their mechanic's estimate to repair the engine was so high that they ended up buying another (used) car instead.

Several months ago there was an article in the newspaper about the same oil change place ruining several people's vehicles during routine oil changes. The business was shut down and several lawsuits are pending.

So, OP, I would continue to press the guys at your oil change place. You may have to have a mechanic diagnose the problems and trace them back to something that the oil change guys did. Don't let them get away with screwing up your vehicle!

.
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Old 08-23-2012, 09:18 AM
 
24,396 posts, read 23,050,809 times
Reputation: 14993
I can sympathize. I just had my oil changed and car washed at a local place that I've gone to for years without any problems. Once or twice they forgot to reset the oil change warning light. No big, I read the manual and did it myself. Then yesterday I notice that the valve stem caps on a tire was missing. I'm out a dollar to buy a package of four new ones. LOL, I'll let them slide for that little slip up.
Okay another time I had an oil change at a K Mart and my brake fluid cap went missing when I checked it at home. I retraced my route and couldn't find it along the road( thinking they let it sit on top of the engine and it fell off when I drove home) so I called them and asked them if they found one laying around. "Uhhhh.... No... huhuhuh." I got a used one at a junk yard for 5 dollars but had I not checked it immediately it would have contaminated the fluid I imagine.
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Old 08-23-2012, 09:22 AM
 
8,402 posts, read 24,220,377 times
Reputation: 6822
It's possible that your alarm was put into valet mode, either accidentally or on purpose. There is no reason for that to have been done, but based on what you say the key fob does do, that's what I'm thinking. Check your owners manual on how to get it out of valet mode.

Ditto on checking the pump connection at or near the washer fluid reservoir. Or possibly a fuse.

No, there's no good reason for this to happen, but sometimes it is just a crazy coincidence. Many years ago when I was doing mobile electronics installs I put a CD player in a new Peugeot. It wouldn't start when I was done. Fuel pump died. I wasn't near anything that cold have caused it. Of course the customer blamed me, until the dealer told him that it just happens sometimes.
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Old 08-23-2012, 09:22 AM
 
Location: Grosse Ile Michigan
30,708 posts, read 79,778,724 times
Reputation: 39453
It happens. The opil change technicians are not the cream of the crop employees usually. They do not care a lot and they make mistakes, especially at those cheap quick change places.

If they broke the alarm, they did you a favor. Those things are only useful to annoy your neighbors and run your battery down. Theives do not care about them. I had to pay to have the factory alarm disconnected in the last car we bought. IF they did it for free, be happy.

The windshield wiper probelm is probably either an easy fix, or it is not them. If they bumped a wire or hose lose, it is easy to unbump it. If a motor burned out, I cannot see how that is likely to be their fault.

If you go to an indpendant mechanic next time, it may cost you $8 more, but you have a better chance of avoiding these problems. I had a quickl lube guy forget tot tighten the oil drain plug back up - that is how I learned not to go to those places. It could have ruined the engine.
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Old 08-23-2012, 10:37 AM
 
1,977 posts, read 7,753,827 times
Reputation: 1168
or you can just do it yourself.
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Old 08-23-2012, 10:41 AM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
5,994 posts, read 20,075,440 times
Reputation: 4078
Quote:
Originally Posted by RobRiguez View Post
or you can just do it yourself.
Thank you so much for the useless advice!
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Old 08-23-2012, 11:02 AM
 
4,761 posts, read 14,283,224 times
Reputation: 7960
It is common to need to disconnect this or that to get to something around the engine. Sometimes people forget to reconnect these things.

Or just cramming your hands into an area to get to a part, you can cause something to disconnect.

If you signed an agreement, with small print at the bottom, might want to read that and see if they say they are not responsible for such things...
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