Printer Friendly Forum Posts - Will Best Buy reimberse me?

So I had the Best Buy "certified technicians" install my new stereo/cd player that i bought from best buy in my 2003 taurus SES. Everything appears good for a week or so. Then, I go to start my car on sunday morning, and the check engine and transaxle light(blinking) go on. Then I notice the trans is shifting very hard. But I find out from the owners manual that this is a trans restriction because of the transaxle light being on. The car is still under factory warranty so I take it to the dealership. So I get the call today from the transmission guy at the dealership saying that the engine codes are comming up as electrical problems, and its due to someone tapping into some wiring harness. This has to be related to the radio install. Since this wont be covered under warranty(problem caused by aftermarket modifications) my question is will Best Buy pay for this? It is their fault. Also, will they cover my rental car? The ford warranty doesnt cover transportation. Thanks for any input.

get the dealership to state the problem is the radio install, and go to the best buy and talk to the manager they should do something for you (most staes require that in order to get a lisence to work on cars)

Best Buy will not reimburse but do somethint to fix it.

Take the car back and explain it to the managers jut like archmedes is saying.

If this did not occur before, and now is taking place because of the fact that there was a change in the cars electric. Then yes take it to best buy and have them resolve it.

I'm not sure what you are talking about htis part????????

"Then, I go to start my car on sunday morning, and the check engine and transaxle light(blinking) go on. Then I notice the trans is shifting very hard. But I find out from the owners manual that this is a trans restriction because of the transaxle light being on."

In my opinion the dealership is feeding you bullsh*t. It is possible, but extremly and highly unlikely that replacing the radio would cause this. Dealerships try to blame aftermarket for anything and everything to make more money.

-------------
Certified Security Specialist
Always check info with a digital multimeter.
I promise to be good.
Tell Darwin I sent you.

I've been sick lately, sorry I won't be on much.

I agree with auex. I think that this is a load of sh*t. I ahve had dealerships try to blame sh*t like that on me before thinking they are dealing with some dumb kid. Then I prove to them that they are wrong and they look like an idiot and I look like a damn saint to the customer. As far as I can remember there is not wiring in behind the deck of a 2003 taurus that even has to do with the computer and sures the hell doesnt have anything to do with the trans axil. In my case, if something ever did go wrong in my shop, we would fully reimburse the customer for his repairs and his transportation, within reason. (If you drive a taurus I am not paying for your H2 rental). This is all pending on the fact that it was actually our fault and in your case I say the Dealership is shoveling you sh*t as fast as you can eat it.

-------------
double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer

Do this bro, take it to a mechanicSSSSS, ask them if this will cause and MAJOR problems in the future, and is it CRITICAL that it should be immediately fixed.

If not then dont worry about it bro.

But dont ignore the change in your motor! Ask best buy to take a look as well. Get feedback from each mechanic.

have Best Buy pull out the radio and return to the dealership and see if the problem still exist. my guess is it will. dealerships are great for mechanical problems but when it comes to electrical problems they seem lost. remember a dealership can't revoke your warranty without proof that the radio is the cause of the problem.

could probably be the dealer shoveling you some crap. I've had one tell a customer that her alarm was the cause for her windshield wipers to stop working. After she went to another dealer they immediately fixed the problem. Of course that was her last trip to the other dealer which was nicely cussed out. Their excuse was "usually when there's something wrong with something electrical in a vehicle it's always an alarm or something aftermarket installed."

Actually a manufacturer can't deny you a warranty without proving that the aftermarket unit caused the problem...and then I still don't think they can deny it. I can't remember what it is called, but there is some law on the books stating that. I want to say it is the Magnunson something something act. I would look into that and see where you stand if they don't take care of it.

https://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/warranty.htm#Magnuson-Moss

Here is a link to it. It is called the Magnuson-Moss Act.

I highly doubt the radio has anything to do with this problem. I have installed hundreds of taurus radios and i do not see how installing a radio could do this.

-------------
Best Buy Installer

Are you sure it wasn't the curb you hopped your car over the nite before?

-------------
(owner/installer)
Chase's Accessories
Ridgecrest, CA
in business since 92

I once had a mechanic tell one of my customers that because of two front speakers i installed, her transmission failed. BULLSH*T they do this stuff all the time. you should get the radio pulled, then bring it to a different dealership and have them look at it as well.

I hate dealerships. They generally make my life into a frigin circus. Why cant they just own up to there problems and do things right by the customer.

-------------
double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer

I am a supervisor at BestBuy and here's what you can do. You must have proof from the dealer, a shop manager and the mechanic that worked on the vehicles name at the dealer. You can turn it into BestBuy and fill out a claim. They investigate and then decide if there is enough probabl cause that it was BestBuys fault.

However, unless the installer was a complete idiot, there are harneses that plug into factory wireing that have nothing to do with the car other then the radio. Another harness runs all the way to the trunk and to the tuner on the drivers rear wheel well. Best advice like others said. Pull the radio out, and take it to another dealer, and you should be fine, then when fixed have the radio put back in.

I can almost promise you BestBuy isn't going to pay you though. My favorite saying is "Anythings possible, but thats impossible.

Unfortunately that doesn't apply here. If Best Buy did damage that causes the car to behave improperly, it is NOT the dealers job to repair it. They CAN deny repairs to the problem or related problems until the damage is repaired (unless customer is paying). They can't however deny all warranty work, they just aren't required to repair damage caused by abuse (poor install).

You would be AMAZED how many bad stereo and bad alarm installs i see over the course of a week. An inexperienced person with wire cutters can do a lit of damage on a modern vehicle. And at least 1/2 the time someone has to explain to the customer that they got buggered at circuit city etc and we aren't repairing it for free.

I can still honestly say that out of everything that has ever been pinned on my shop only one was actually our fault and everyother time we were able to prove it to be related to the manufactur of the car, not us. The one time it was our fault was actually when someone used a screw driver to pry the sill plate off and dented the metal door jam, that was a dumb move, come to think of it I was checking a hood pin on a windstar and when I closed the hood the headlight lens fell off. I bit the 250$ bullet on that one too because even though I felt It wasnt any thing I did ( I never slam hoods I set them down than push on the center) I couldnt really tell the customer that it "just fell off" so we paid for that too. I guess there were two times in total.

-------------
double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer

heres one for you guys.

01 olds alero. put in a remote start and alarm. we used a 555l to interface with passlock. now the car doesn't start with the key or with the starter. we took a look at the car and pulled the remote stater completely reconnecting the passlock wires. the car still doesn't start. we talked to a couple dealerships and they told us that there have been many times where the factory passlock device goes bad and this happens, so we sent the customer to one of those dealerships. the dealership then denies ever saying that and says its our fault. I HATE THEM ALL

Well in your case, it is your fault. If it came in working and then it wouldn't start after you worked on the vehicle there is nothing you can do to deny it. Also it is probably your inexperience that is causing the problem, I have never heard of anyone blowing any passlock module up when the bypass is properly installed. I have however seen many times that the code is lost or the computer locks the passlock up and it won't start.

-------------
Certified Security Specialist
Always check info with a digital multimeter.
I promise to be good.
Tell Darwin I sent you.

I've been sick lately, sorry I won't be on much.

Well, I got my car back from the dealership. According to the mechanic that fixed the car someone tapped into a wiring harness that fed into the engine and trans, and installed some type of fuse adapter for an "aftermarket accessory"(the radio) and used the wrong ampage fuse, which was causing the circut to short, and the engine lights to go off.

My cost: $111.82

Should i go to best buy with the bill? I have what the mechanic said in writing.

If there was a fuse of the wrong amperage, higher or lower, then it still would have blown if there was a short. The dealership lied to you. What exactly does the repair bill state, what work was done and what was the exact diagnosis?

-------------
Certified Security Specialist
Always check info with a digital multimeter.
I promise to be good.
Tell Darwin I sent you.

I've been sick lately, sorry I won't be on much.

that sounds like a dealership explaination to me..... :) about a year and a half ago i wuz installing an amp in a 2003 RSX and misjudged a location on the firewall, i ended up drilling a hole through the brake master cylinder........nice work, cost me $2500...... i'm pretty f**king careful on firewalls now to say the least..... just a dumb mistake, but that sh*t happens

-------------

Ya that sounds like BS. I would get the Mechanic to SHOW you exactly what he did and where he did it so you can show Best Buy. Thats gonna clear everything up. If he wont show you then tell him he smells like bullsh*t and demand your money back or go to small claims court since he is obviously hiding something

-------------
double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer

auex - it wan't our fault. the cust took it to a mechanic and verified the FACTORY passlock unit was defective. as for my "inexperience" I am a MECP first class certified installer and have been doing this for years. I know what I am doing and haven't had any issued that couldn't be resolved like this one.

You may not be getting my point. If the vehicle came in WORKING and after you worked on the vehicle it stopped working, then something YOU did caused the passlock to fail. If passlock failed then no kidding it was FACTORY passlock unit. IMO there is no way in hell that a factory defect just happened to show itself when you where installing a device that integrated into that specific system, if you where installing a radio then there is no way it would have been your fault. As for experience, you didn't state how long ago this happened and how long you have been installing security systems and remote starts ( which would hopefully meant that you would know how to completely bypass passlock so the customer could have atleast drive the vehicle home). Also as far as being certified first class, if you are experienced then you know these certificates mean nothing. Hell mobile dynamics grad's can come out first class certified without a single day of experience( I don't care that they only get there certificate after a year). Not trying to flame, just way to coincidental.

-------------
Certified Security Specialist
Always check info with a digital multimeter.
I promise to be good.
Tell Darwin I sent you.

I've been sick lately, sorry I won't be on much.

legaly if something goes bad on a vehicle while you work on it,even if it is just a coincedence you are responsible (I'm a certified mechanic and it says that on my license)

depends on state or provincial laws.

-------------
double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer

I know US law requires itI don't know Canada, but any honest shop will do what it takes to make a customer happy and comming back

i wish i would have gotten to this forum a little earlier, but I'm a fellow installer that put a radio in an 03 cavalier, a week later the rear left turn signal burnt out, and took it to the dealer to get loooked, at...sure as sh*t they 'traced'it back to the radio. they should just stick to the basic oil changes..

I even had a BS dealership story happen to me personally.......I installed a radio in my mom's truck.....2 month later she starts hearing this loud knock........took it to the dealership because the check engine light was on and the dumb F*ck mechanic said the radio was causing the knock and that it might be a loose dash panel.......then I called them up and B*tched them out..........later we found out that the transmission was bad.

For the original topic.......why was there a wire tapped into something......in a 03 taurus there is no wiring done behind the radio........all the wires are ran back to the trunk and just plug into the harness......the only thing back behind the radio is the hvac controls and power,ign,ground......which you just plug in.......either the guy a Best buy is a complete moron, or the dealership is trying to make a cheap buck.......if this was my case I would talk directly to the mechanic and have him tell me exactly how this is possible.

I've been doing this for about 9 yrs and I've seen some bad things from dealerships.

-------------
First Class MECP Installer

Don't we all just love dealerships!

-------------
Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.

Generally when I challenge a dealer claim, I do it in person and directly to the mechanic with both the shop foreman and service manager present. I once had the general manager yelling at both the shop foreman and service manager at the top of his lungs in the shop because they had a vehicle for a week with 3 blown modules/computers. He was yelling because the mechanic that was working on the vehicle had put over 40 hours into the vehicle only to find out he was wrong with his diagnosis of the problem, and that it only took me 15 minutes to find this out for them. The proceded to blaim my company for blowing the modules because we tied into the speed sense wire. It turned out we tied into a power amplifier wire and there was nothing wrong.

-------------
Certified Security Specialist
Always check info with a digital multimeter.
I promise to be good.
Tell Darwin I sent you.

I've been sick lately, sorry I won't be on much.

I used to be a supervisor for Best Buy and had a gentlemen come in with a 96 Toyota Camry that I had put a Pioneer deh-1500 into. This car is obviosly a no brainer for radio install. He took the car to the dealership and complained of his headlight not working. They looked around the car and noticed that the radio was installed in there and proceded to tell him that I must of hooked up the illumination wire wrong and blew his headlight(only one headlight mind you the other still worked). So I said okay Mr. Customer would you mind stepping to the front of your vehicle please. He does so. I proceed to take out his bulb and show him that its burnt out. LMAO. I even told the customer to return to them and have them check it over again without the bulb in there to see if they could figure it out. He apologized like 100 times for the mechanic being a complete lazy piece of cattle feces.

anti-trust laws will aply here. Either the dealership will prove that afertermarket equipment caused the failure or they will have to reimburse you. If it is Best Buy error that caused they failure then they would be liable. They dealership has the burdon of proof here because they are trying to void their warranty.

-------------
shocker