what did MIDAS do to my car? see inside....

Ok, this story has taken a rather interesting turn. This has all been done at MIDAS.

-Dropped the car off Friday night(10/14) to have them grind the new brake rotors back down..for the second time.
-They called 10am saturday(10/15) to tell me it was done. I told them i was out of town for the weekend, and i will come by monday morning.

....this is where everything goes downhill.....

-Monday morning i am at MIDAS to get my car. They tell me their garage is broke, and they cant get my car out. "Sorry, it sucks i know" That is what they tell me. WTF. So luckily I have a motorcycle, and i take that into work.

-Later Monday, they tell me their garage is fixed and i can get my car. Well i was late to work, so now i will be there till after 6pm ( when MIDAS closes). I tell em to lock the keys in the car and i will just use the keypad to get in.

-Monday night I get into my car, put the key in the ignition, and turn. This is what happens: Lights Flash, Computer console tells me the electronics are failing, traction control failure, check systems. I hear a loud clicking like the starter is going at it, but i dont hear anything firing. Headlights are full brightness, so i doubt it's the battery. I turn all of the lights off, and it still clicked loudly.




So what the f*ck did MIDAS do to my car? I believed the garage door was broke, but now i think they broke my car and were just buying time....

RE: what did MIDAS do to my car? see inside....

dead battery. might be time for a new one. Not something i'd pin on midas. Charge it up and see if it happens again. Carry jumper cables.

RE: what did MIDAS do to my car? see inside....

Headlights are full brightness


If the headlights are on full and its clicking, wouldn't the starter be one place to look, or starter solenoid?


EDIT: I just realized...I am not nearly as qualified as many of the others on here about the mechanics of this car....this is just a comment I am offering. I'm sure someone else will chime in...,but thats what I would think.

Carlo

RE: what did MIDAS do to my car? see inside....

Funky batteries can do all sorts of weird things to modern vehicles. I once had a a two door car with a warning panel that said my left rear door was open! Problem was the battery. Give the battery a charge and see whhat happens, you may have to replace it if the problem comes back after a while.

RE: what did MIDAS do to my car? see inside....

Check ground connections also

RE: what did MIDAS do to my car? see inside....

Your starter will pull alot more amps than your lights so besure to have a fully charged battery. Don't forget it also has to run your fuel pump and alot of electrical systems on these cars,and besure your battery connections are solid as Dave mentioned.

RE: what did MIDAS do to my car? see inside....

Ok Final result, and this hurts a lot.

Timing chain tensioner is weakened/broke/destroyed


$4500 repair.

i owe $6000 on the car still...


wtf...


Ford engineering....yum...

i have no idea what to do.....

RE: what did MIDAS do to my car? see inside....

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Ok Final result, and this hurts a lot.Timing chain tensioner is weakened/broke/destroyed$4500 repair.i owe $6000 on the car still...wtf...Ford engineering....yum...i have no idea what to do.....
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First time I heard of that, something still dont sound right about all this.

RE: what did MIDAS do to my car? see inside....

A new engine can be had for $500 plus some labor ($1500+). You're getting screwed. Then again you owe 6k on a 98mk8? No money down?

RE: what did MIDAS do to my car? see inside....

i think it is less than 6k, but regardless.

it's broke.


is an engine swap really only 1500? My guess is it is higher than that.

RE: what did MIDAS do to my car? see inside....

Read my post. I said $500 for an engine you can get off a local junk yard. $1500 for labor (that makes a reasonable $2000 if you shop around). You can pay an independent shop to swap the engine in. Add in about $300 in towing to that particular shop and you're still at around $2300, far less than that ridiculous $4500. You might as well sell the car for 2k not running, since it is probably not worth more than 6 running anyways.

RE: what did MIDAS do to my car? see inside....

Local shop here quoted roughly 1100 dollars for the labor to Remove and Install a mark 8 engine.

Give or take a few hours labor the estimates given above seen right on track.

No way it'd cost 4500.00 unless you towed the broken car to the shop and then had "THEM" get you an engine, in which case.. 4500.00 would be about right.

I found mark 8 engines from 300-750 dollars with 40-75,000 miles

RE: what did MIDAS do to my car? see inside....

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So what the f*ck did MIDAS do to my car?[/div]

I'd be taking a close look at the rear fender wells on the car.
Look for rubber particles stuck in there "signs of joyriding".

did you take down your mileage when you dropped off the car, OR did midas write down the mileage on your car when it was delivered?

It wouldn't take many miles 5-12 of abusive joyriding to blow the motor if they were bouncing it off the rev limiter doing burnouts and such.

However that is probably unlikely because I've bounced mine off the rev limiter quite a few times, and when it was dyno'd the operator had a great time bouncing it off the rev limiter {WITH MY PERMISSION}.

The second gen Mark 8 motors have the updated and improved tensioner, I find it very unlikley that it "just broke".. under normal circumstances.

Did you take down your miles on your odometer when you dropped it off?
If so, how many miles did your car get put on it while it was "stuck in the broken garage?"
Hopefully you did your homework before showing up to class!