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So recently my hubby's check engine light came on. He had code read which told him it was likely spark plug related. He replaced a spark plug but then he noticed when the car was at 2000 rpm or lower (or when idling) the car shakes). Mechanic said it could be build up in the fuel injector. So he had my hubby buy 3 cans of some fuel injector cleaner. He emptied a can into the gas tank before filling up. Well he did that 3 times and nothing changed. Went back to the mechanic. Now mechanic says there is a loss of compression in cylinder 1. Mechanic wants to replace a gasket (or something, I honestly don't know). Anyways, I told my hubby to get a second opinion which he'll be doing today. The mechanic he already saw quoted him $1800! Does that sound about right? Fair price? We have a 2010 Ford Escape....
Loss of compression in a 5 year old car???
You might want to get a second and maybe third opinion.
But yes, anything related to loss of compression is going to be very costly.
a blown head gasket is probably the issue here, and depending on what engine you have, it should run around $700 or so depending on where you go. i would find an independent shop to do the work as they are usually about half what the dealer wants for similar jobs.
One of the common problems with the Ford Escape is burnt valves causing low compression, this can be an expensive fix. The symptoms of this are, rough idle or missing, low compression in one or more cylinders. This will require the head to be removed and a valve job done, so in a sense you will have the head gasket replaced along with other repairs. Shop around and make sure that the shop that is doing the repairs is really qualified to repair your vehicle.
Loss of compression in a 5 year old car???
You might want to get a second and maybe third opinion.
But yes, anything related to loss of compression is going to be very costly.
If there truly is loss of compression, would u bother fixing it or get a new car? When I had a Honda Civic I never had ANY issues aside from routine maintenance... And tbh I know nothing about cars.. I know the compression has to do with the engine which to me seems crazy to replace, prob better off to get a new car?
One of the common problems with the Ford Escape is burnt valves causing low compression, this can be an expensive fix. The symptoms of this are, rough idle or missing, low compression in one or more cylinders. This will require the head to be removed and a valve job done, so in a sense you will have the head gasket replaced along with other repairs. Shop around and make sure that the shop that is doing the repairs is really qualified to repair your vehicle.
Those are the exact "symptoms" of what is happening! What do you look for in a shop before having work done? We recently moved here and don't have a mechanic we trust. Especially considering I feel like the mechanic my hubby brought it to (per the recommendation of a colleague) told us to do the fuel injector cleaning thing, when now that I'm googling it that doesn't even seem like a possible reason for what was going on. Wish I had asked you guys about this a week or two ago.
a blown head gasket is probably the issue here, and depending on what engine you have, it should run around $700 or so depending on where you go. i would find an independent shop to do the work as they are usually about half what the dealer wants for similar jobs.
He tried one shop ( based on the recommendations of a colleague) and he's currently bringing the car to another shop as we speak for a second opinion . I am so leery of mechanics, having seen people get ripped off in the past. Any recommendations on how to determine if a mechanic is decent or if the shop does good work? We are new to the area ... I feel like yelp reviews don't paint the whole picture considering anyone can make a profile and post a positive review
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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it could also be worse than a head gasket. We had an Explorer with the same symptoms, and it turned out to be a cracked head, a $2,600 repair. There is no way to tell for sure without pulling the head, so just the actual diagnosis will cost a couple of hundred. I would try another mechanic, this one may just be throwing parts at it. Pulling and inspecting the spark plug on cylinder 1 can give some good clues, and a good mechanic will have a high resolution video camera with lit small flexible shaft that can be inserted into the spark plug hold to see the valves on most engines.
I'm going to assume the mechanic threw a compression tester on it and found it low. Possible causes are burst head gaskets, burnt valves, and cracked heads. Which it is is hard to tell until you get that head off.
it could also be worse than a head gasket. We had an Explorer with the same symptoms, and it turned out to be a cracked head, a $2,600 repair. There is no way to tell for sure without pulling the head, so just the actual diagnosis will cost a couple of hundred. I would try another mechanic, this one may just be throwing parts at it. Pulling and inspecting the spark plug on cylinder 1 can give some good clues, and a good mechanic will have a high resolution video camera with lit small flexible shaft that can be inserted into the spark plug hold to see the valves on most engines.
Lordy! Ugh. My worst fear. Well in your opinion is it worth paying that much money to fix a 5 year old car? It has over 100k miles.
Also- it was transported from MA to CA. Do you think all this could've happened as a result of being transported?? What I don't understand is that back home we had the car taken in for a very thorough check up and tuneup prior to us shipping the car. Initially my husband was going to drive a U-Haul with the car towed onto the back. Then he thought about driving the car. But plans changed. So either our mechanic back home was a moron who didn't catch these things or somehow our car went from being perfectly fine to having these issues after being transported
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Does that sound about right? Fair price? We have a 2010 Ford Escape....
