My friend took her 98 Accord to one of those quick lube places (she's poor and they're cheap) to have the timing belt replaced on the 5th and the other day (22nd) she was driving over to her bf's house and it started making a high pitched squeal. When she got to his house they said a bolt popped off when they had the hood up. This morning when they took it back to the quick lube they told her that a sprocket needs to be replaced. She actually had to fight when them to get them to take responsibility for the repair.

Obviously once the car is "repaired" she needs to take it somewhere else to be inspected. My vote is a certified dealer. What things need to be inspected? cam? timing belt? valves and cylinder head? It's my understanding that a failed timing belt can have dire consequences however the car still runs though it remains to be seen how well.

What sorts of questions need to be asked? What are her rights? If there is damage should she get it repaired and try to get the quick lube place to pay the bill or should she go another route?

Many thanks.

 

Doesnt sound like the timing belt failed, or at least not completely. As if it did the car would not run. I would bring it to the dealer, or at least a more reputable shop to take a look at it.

I did not even know places like that would do a timing belt, as its a pretty complicated job. I know at my place they can barely change the oil.

 

Are you absolutely sure it was a timing belt job? It would probably be well over $450 to do that job at the cheapest place. I think it may just be an accessory belt that got changed out at the quick lube...

 

The timing belt itself did not fail, the bolt holding the cam sprocket the timing belt rides on fell off. The car still ran, albeit with a high pitched squeal, and she was able to drive it to the mechanic after discovering the bolt.

Yes, she took it there specifically to have the timing belt changed along with the other components involved in that repair (e.g. water pump). I'm familiar with the repair and it's associated costs on a Honda, I've had it performed on several of my own through the years.

 

I would avoid dealerships. Try to find a Honda certified shop. I found one in Jackon MS that has several honda certified techs as well as a Master Tech. They were much cheaper than the dealership and I trust them with things I cannot (or won't take the time to) do on my own. I found them by whipping out the yellow pages and flipping through the car repair section.

However, I would not allow them to actually perform any work on it. Let them inspect it only. If they say there is a problem, you need to call the quick lube place and give them a chance to fix or see the problem first. If you repair it without giving them the chance to see what they did wrong or repair it themselves, you probably lost all chances of recovering anything from them unless you take them to court. Then in court you have to hope you have a judge that will be on your side.

Trust me - I handle commercial garagekeepers liability insurance claims. If someone reported a claim that one of our shops did something wrong to an engine, they have to let us look at it first before repairing it. If they went ahead and had the repairs done without letting us inspect it, they would likely not be able to recover anything. That is called "spoilation of evidence" in legal terms. The burden of proofrests onon you (or your friend)to prove that the quick lube place messed it up, itdoes not reston them to prove they did not mess it up. If you go ahead and repair it, you have destroyed any evidence you had.