RoShamBo

iTrader: (1)

Wifes Zafira went in for a service & for them to check a very bad hesitancy when warmed up and when cold, a stalling lack of revs/jerkiness that makes it un-drivable until its warmed up.

Got a call saying they are not really sure what the problem is but would change the coil pack to see if this sorts things and if it didn't they would not charge me.

Go get the car, they say its fixed, drive it home, it isn't - its exactly the same as before. I go back and have to re-book it in for next week and confim that because it wasn't the coil pack that I would get my money back.

"oh but the coil pack was faulty sir" they say - so offer no refund.

So one guy says "if its faulty" and another says "it was faulty" - how would they know it was faulty if changing it had no effect on the car?

Not even sure what a coil pack is exactly - but I am going to ask for the old one and get it checked for a fault - if its possible to do that?

Its £170 so a lot of money.

TopBanana

Threaten to take them to court, they'll soon back down. Main dealer perchance?

RoShamBo

iTrader: (1)

Yep, you guessed it!

Eddie1980

A coil pack is todays version of a distributor, it is responsible for the sending of a spark to the spark plug its just all electronic and does not have rotor arms and moving parts, this allows the ECU to fiddle with the process more then it can with a distributor.

Least thats my understanding.

brickboy

What Eddie said.

It hasn't fixed the problem, so they've billed you for an unnecessary part. Get them to put the old one back on and credit you for the new one ... if they can't do that, have the new one for free!

RoShamBo

iTrader: (1)

Agreed - thanks guys.

RoShamBo

iTrader: (1)

Agreed - thanks guys.

Shark Man

Out of interest, was teh the spark plugs and leads (if the engine has plug leads) changed as well?


If not I WOULD complain. As more often than not, coil pack issues are often cured by replacing the spark plugs and/or leads (if the engine has plug leads). As these are far more prone to leaking spark energy and causing a slight missfire (one that might log a fault code in the ECU memory - but you or your wife may never notice, apart from it maybe a touch lumpy now and again).

It should be done in this order: Spark plugs, then leads (if the engine has plug-leads), then coilpack(s) if the previous two haven't cured the issue.

Bear in mind, the garage may have reacted to faults logged in the ECU's memeory, and acted upon them. Whilst the hesitancy fault that you complain of maybe totally unrealted (this is the big issue of letting a feejit read ECU fault codes and taking them as gospel - for example a partially blocked or sticky fuel injector can show a fault code saying there is a misfire realting to an ignition fault, where the real cause is nothing to do with the ignition system).

Either way, your right to complain.

If its proven not to be a ignition fault (that inlcudes leads and plugs ) and its a recent Zafira with electronic throttle and its been used in alot of local/town/short jornerys, I take a guess as it maybe a problem with the throttle unit. These throttle body units have small air passage-ways which can foul up causing bad running. Often a good clean out with carb cleaner will sort it.

BOB.T

Zafiras don't have plug leads, the coil pack fits directly onto all four plugs

dunx

iTrader: (3)

Lack of good old fashioned knowledge..... plugs first !

DunxC

P.S. Mine six years old soon, plug leads still fine, unlike non-Subaru's I've owned....