Quick help please! PCV valve replacement???

[SomnoSpeed3]

Hi my MS3 is at the dealer right now. I took it there earlier today for the smoke at idle issue and a possible bad shock. I pulled my car in the bey and filled the joint with some nice, stinky white smoke. (stoned) I asked the guy who does the check in if he knew of any "PCV valve fix for the smoking turbo problem?" He played stupid saying that he has never heard of any smoking issues with MS3, MS6 or CX7. (cricket) Okaaaaaaaaaayyyy... I get a call two hours later saying my MS3 will be ready tomorrow to be picked up. He said "The PCV valve went bad and had to be replaced". I said "With a different type of PCV valve?" He said "No, there is only one kind and yours went bad, that's why the smoke".

Huh???

Is there any possible truth to this? I am being charged $100 for the warranty work. Is it even possible for this valve to "Go bad"? I am afraid to get ripped off, naturally, and I don't want to pay $100 for an oil change (often the first dealer solution to the smoke issue). Can I say "Show me what you did" or "Can I see the bad part?"

Also, he said that shocks are NOT covered by warranty. Is this true? They wanted $225 for one new shock installed. Is that the norm?

A ton of questions I know but I am in a jam since I have to know these answers by tomorrow afternoon. Please HELP!!! I will return the favor someday, I swear!!!

 

[mortimersnerd]

How many miles are on your car?

 

[SomnoSpeed3]

40k. It's got the extended totalcare warranty to 75k.

 

[MikeHTally]

A PCV valve is an emissions device. Should be covered fully, shouldn't it? 'Specially with only 40K.

 

[Wurf]

A lesson I learned long ago when taking my car to the shop, which I avoid whenever possible. Never suggest you think you know what is wrong specifically.
What happens many times is they'll fix what you think is wrong, even if it's not, or worst yet they will TELL you they fixed what you said you thought was wrong when they actually did something much simpler and less time consuming. That way you feel great about being right ( I'm so smart! ) and happily pay a big bill while they score a nice service charge for doing something really simple. Don't give them ideas man. Just play dumb and tell them what it's doing which in your case is pretty obvious.

 

[SomnoSpeed3]

A lesson I learned long ago when taking my car to the shop, which I avoid whenever possible. Never suggest you think you know what is wrong specifically.
What happens many times is they'll fix what you think is wrong, even if it's not, or worst yet they will TELL you they fixed what you said you thought was wrong when they actually did something much simpler and less time consuming. That way you feel great about being right ( I'm so smart! ) and happily pay a big bill while they score a nice service charge for doing something really simple. Don't give them ideas man. Just play dumb and tell them what it's doing which in your case is pretty obvious.

I know this is what they did. FML!!!(sad2) So what can I do about it? No way they actually took this thing apart.

 

[SomnoSpeed3]

I mean they can't hide the fact that my car will still smoke... So then what?!?

 

[Wurf]

If it still smokes, you take it back obviously. They trade time for money, plain and simple. You can try to negotiate and claim you paid them to fix the problem and they didn't, so now you're back. In the end if you don't like how they work, you'll have to look for another shop.

 

[8.5MS3]

why did you pay 100 bucks for warranty work???? that kinda defeats the whole meaning of the word "warranty"

 

[Sport6]

Suspension is only over under the 3yr/36,000.

Ask them to see the PCV valve, they should have it around, since its a warrantied part.

100 bucks was for a service? I see you said for an oil change, just want to straighten out the story a little. If its 100 for warranty stuff than that's a joke.

 

[Mz3Hatch]

If you have the extended warranty then you should not be charged at all. Past experience I had with an '04 MZ3, 2 PCV Valves went and it was covered under warranty. I didn't pay a dime. As for a different valve, as far as I know they will replace it with only OEM.

Correct me if im wrong but wasnt there a TSB for this issue??

 

[SomnoSpeed3]

If it still smokes, you take it back obviously. They trade time for money, plain and simple. You can try to negotiate and claim you paid them to fix the problem and they didn't, so now you're back. In the end if you don't like how they work, you'll have to look for another shop.

I am looking for another shop already. Guy told me my car does not smoke anymore BEFORE the problem was fixed. WTF? I asked how he knew that it didn't smoke if it was not done yet and he said "We diagnosed the problem, that's how."
They are ******* me and I guess I have to stay calm and realize it cost me $100 to learn the lesson of NEVER GO TO THIS DEALER AGAIN.

The car is under Extended warranty and has 40k miles. There is a $100 deductible for warranty work. I guess the shocks are not covered.

 

[SomnoSpeed3]

No I didn't get an oil change but I was saying that is usually the first step to try and get rid of the smoke. I wonder if they even took the car apart.

 

[CWPspeed3]

$100 deductible for warranty work? then its not a warranty its more like an extended insurance policy against service work... Something about your story doesnt make sense and it sounds to me like the dealer is just ******* with you. Last time i talked to my dealer they were still working on the pcv fix. The fix isnt just replace it with "a different type of pcv valve" they would have changed you to 5w-40 first off without replacing anything.

 

[SomnoSpeed3]

They said the PCV valve was "Bad, causing oil to leak into (can't remember where he said)." So they replaced the PCV valve with a new one, NOT a different type, same type just a new good one. He said they are unaware of any different PCV valve or any "Fix" from Mazda.
This service guy said he has not heard problems with MS3 or CX7 smoking.
I don't know how that could be.

I have the extended warranty and it says right on there $100 for service work. I probably got less than $35 worth of their time but there's no way I can prove that.

 

[8.5MS3]

well no matter what you shouldnt have to pay for anything. its an emissions item and mazda is required to repair/replace anything that can piss off the EPA for 8yrs/80k miles i believe

 

[SomnoSpeed3]

Well thanks for that info. I will bring it up but I have not gotten anywhere with this dealer so far so I don't expect much. I do, however, expect my car to still smoke and me to be pissed off.

 

[RUMBLEFISH]

Not only do the dealers have no clue how to fix the smoke but they are also going broke and are trying to get every buck they can.Do yourself a favor and get the ptp pill to cure the smoke problem. It worked for me and I was smoking bad for quite a while. I did the 5/40 full synthetic oil thing but the pill is what did the job and took all of 5 mins to install. Takes a few weeks to clean up the intake but now I dont smoke at all.

 

[SomnoSpeed3]

I plan on giving that a try but I thought I'd give the dealer a try first. Mistake.
Can you post where you got yours from? You can PM me if posting that info is not allowed.

 

[BrianFiebig]

I know this is a late reply buuuutttt....
I have run into this issue twice now. First time they pulled the entire assembly. took them a WEEK to get the damn part in. 10 months later, same code, same shop, same story. At this point I got pissed and took the car to a different shop. They actually did more then just pulling the code. They hooked the OBD II into some kind of uber-dashhawk and tested each component. Turns out that it was actually the flippen gasket on the fuel filler, had a tiny little crack in it that was causing a pressure drop in the evap system. Note that the part number for that thing has changed since the car was introduced so SOMETHING changed on it.
As for them charging you for warrentee work, before you get pissed, check the fine print on the extended warrentee, dont be shocked if you see something about a deductable.