Diagnostics not covered under warranty?

I would start looking for another dealer to get the car serviced at. If its still under warranty, its still under warranty!!!! They have a lot of nerve to try to charge you ANYTHING for a warranty issue!!!

Good Luck de Pat KK6PD

 

unless you can prove your car does not need a diagnosis, like for example you know specifically what is wrong with the car, the warranty, even the platinum extended warranty does not cover diagnostic fees.

and those diagnostic fees are your responsibility.


period


start calling other dealers and see if you can find one with a lower diagnostic fee

 

i dont think thats a good enough diagnosis. i think your going to have to pay the $105

make sure you tell them that you have the warranty
and you have been following the maintenance schedules, and tell them your are
not authorizing any repairs above (insert amount here) without your permission
and you should be fine

ps the basic warranty will cover towing to the nearest dealership for a covered part should you need it but not roadside stuff, thats extra

hope that it knocks in front of one of the employees, a lot of times people will go to the dealer and all of a sudden the problem does not manifest themselves and it never gets repaired

 

Most service department will charge you diagnosis fee. However, if the cause is found and you agree to have it fixed there (under warranty or not), that diagnosis fee is usually waived.
The fee exists just in case that they tell you the cause and you decide not to fix it. Their effort needs to be paid by someone.

 

when bringing the car in, bring all your maintenance related receipts, like all the store stamps you got in your little maintenance book to prove you have been having the oil changed, etc

 

'
yeah thats a good point. the fee might be waived, call around

 

this is exactly how both of the VW dealers I occassionally use work.
$90 for just the diagnostic.
Then they find out what's wrong with it (example $40 part + 1 hour labor) = might as well let them instal it because then they wont charge me for the diagnostic fee)

 

where are you getting this info? I have never paid for diagnostic fees for warranty work and never paid anything but the deductible on the highlander. I have taken my prius and my highlander that I bought from
carmax and have their extended warranty. This just doesn't seem right.

 

Or you can figure that it is being caused by something that can be cured by chemicals. I had a miss in my engine at around 40,000 miles with my o4 Prius. Adding some Lucas (trade name for a fuel injection cleaner) cleared up the problem. My daughter had the same problem a little latter with her 05 Prius and that stuff cleared up her trouble. It should not hurt to clean the injectors and may take care of your problem.

 

i got it from my platinum extended warranty contract, and then posted it

"Coverage under this Agreement will not apply to any diagnostic charges made in connection with a covered repair."

 

My 2001 and 2004 both exhibited slight pinging when the engine is under load, I think this is normal. The Prius engine has a knock sensor to retard ignition timing to some extent when pinging occurs, but this does not totally suppress ping, probably for the sake of engine efficiency. If a serious problem existed, a DTC would be logged and the check engine light would come on.

Regarding the diagnostic charge, this is normal to make sure the customer is serious about the problem and to compensate the service dept for the tech's labor in the event that there is no-trouble-found (as apparently was the case here, per post #10) or the problem is not covered under warranty.

 

I got done two TSB repairs, one under original warranty and the other under extended warranty, but I never had to pay for diagnostics. I don't know whether the dealer was waiving the diagnostics fee or the diagnostics fee was being covered by the warranty, but it seems only fair that the customer doesn't pay anything for warranty work.

I would look for other dealers that don't charge you for the diagnostics for warranty work.

 

if you have a tsb, then why would you need to pay a diagnosis fee for a tsb? in that
situation im sure no one would have to pay for one

 

Before they determine that it's a TSB-related work, they do need to diagnose the issue being reported. Once the diagnosis indicates that it's TSB-related, the warranty kicks in. Whether the issue is TSB-related or not, a warranty work should not cost the customer a diagnostic fee. At least that's my take.

 

yeah from what i understand
my car has a problem, we found a tsb = diagnostic fee
i have a tsb, i want a new ground loop isolater = no diagnostic fee

 

That's not how it works at my dealer. My dealer doesn't take my diagnosis as a basis for opening a warranty case or to begin repair work. They run their diagnosis and do the repair work based on their findings.

I had a TSB work done related to the HID auto-leveling issue and I mentioned the TSB number to the service manager when I brought my car in. They arrived at the same conclusion after running a series of diagnostics, and I didn't have to pay for the diagnostics fee. The other occassion was when I didn't know that there was a TSB on it (see this thread: http://priuschat.com/forums/care-ma...g/45550-ignition-coil-getting-burned-out.html). I brought my car in and described the symptoms. They spent a lot of time looking into it and finally said it was a warranty work (they didn't say it was TSB-related). I didn't have to pay for the diagnostic fee in this instance, either.

 

3 year 36k bumper to bumper should cover everything from BUMPER TO BUMPER!

If I have a problem with a car under a b to b warrantee and some dealer is trying to charge me for a diagnosis, the first thing I'm doing is driving away. The second thing is I am going to call the state's AG office, the next is a call to the dealer service dept, followed by a call to Corporate. All followed up by letters!

As I have always stated is that car dealers have perfected the art of picking their customers pocket. They make money at EVERY turn of EVERY transaction! How do you think they support these huge dealerships with the fancy tile and expensive (wasteful!) 24/7 lighting?

Want proof? Figure out who the principals are in you dealer. (finding out through corporate records may be needed). Then find where they live. I think you will find that they live in the best neighbourhoods, in the fanciest houses, but they don't always advertise their presence.

One GM dealer near me has a house that must be 15,000 sq ft, with 800' paved driveway, and at least 3 acres of groomed lawn in front. (The gas meter on the road is bigger than any EVER installed on ANY commercial site). A local Caddy dealer has a full sized marble Caddy as his head stone!

If you don't think there is money in the car biz, present recession not with standing) your crazy!

I have bought 1 new car in my life, the 07 Prius. (56 yo) I have NEVER spend a nickel in the service dept of a dealer, except for the rippoff 30k service I had done at the dealer. Never before, never again!