Serra Volkswagen - Service Center

Serra Volkswagen responded

Hi bksdelta, We know how frustrating it can be to have a vehicle that needs repairs and how being without a vehicle can be a hassle. I did check the service advisors notes for myself to see what had and had not been done to try to correct the issue. It seems as if our service advisor and technicians did a lot of diagnosis on your vehicle and even made a suggestion for repairs, however it was refused. Here are the notes from the Repair Order on your vehicle: "Mrs. B came in on 6-6-24 while traveling and her check engine light was on. When the technician ran diagnostic tests on it, he found cylinders 4, 5, and 6 had misfire codes stored, but it was not actively misfiring. I spoke with Mr. P and he informed me that they had been having the misfire issue for a few weeks and that he himself had replaced the spark plugs and ignition coils. Mr P also informed me that 2 spark plugs were aftermarket, which coincided with what my technician had found, and that it would start misfiring approximately 50-60 miles after he "cleaned" the spark plugs and reset the check engine light with his own scanner. With the 50-60 mile information, I had the vehicle driven approximately 50 miles, on top of what my technician initially drove it, with no misfire or check engine light returning. We then returned the vehicle back to Mrs. B on 6-10. She made it approximately 30 miles away from the dealership and called me stating that it was shaking again and the check engine light had come back on. I advised her to bring the vehicle back to the dealership if she felt she could do so. She returned and the vehicle was actively misfiring. Same technician inspected and found that there was a possibility that he had not fully seated the ignition coils, because when he pressed down on them to make sure they were fully seated, the engine quit misfiring. With Mr. P and Mrs. B's permission, I then drove the vehicle home on the night of 6-10 to see if it would misfire or the check engine light would come back on. Neither happened. Then on 6-11, I contacted Mr. P and let him know that while I was driving the vehicle, none of the concerns returned. We suggested that they replace all of their spark plugs and coils, however Mr. P only approved us replacing the 2 aftermarket spark plugs and told me he was going to drive down to Birmingham from Atlanta and that he and Mrs. B would drive the vehicle around Birmingham to see if it would misfire again. Later afternoon on 6-11, they returned with the vehicle actively misfiring. I then had the master technician inspect it to see if he could find the issue. Nothing obvious stood out and the only trouble codes that had returned were for misfires on cylinders 4, 5, and 6. Mr. P and Mrs. B returned to Atlanta the evening of 6-11. On 6-12, the master technician swapped the positions of the ignition coils and spark plugs. I then had the vehicle driven for approximately 29 miles with no misfire or check engine light reoccurring. On 6-13, I had the vehicle driven again for approximately another 50 miles, during which the engine started misfiring and the check engine light came back on. By the time the technician was able to return to the dealership, the vehicle had quit misfiring. Again, the misfires were detected on cylinders 4, 5, and 6. At this time, I contacted Mr. P and asked if he wanted us to keep the vehicle and open a VTA case or take the vehicle back to Atlanta. He advised me that he had already made arrangements to have the vehicle towed back to Atlanta and have it inspected and repaired there. On 6-17, the vehicle was picked up and towed away from the dealership." As anyone can see, we did put a great deal of effort into diagnosing this vehicle. Our suggestion that may have corrected the issue was refused. Our offer to open a case with Volkswagen was also refused. We don't know what else we could have done to satisfy this vehicle owner.

Serra Volkswagen responded

Thank you for your input on DealerRater. I would like to look into the matter, but cannot find a Stevenson that has recently had a vehicle in our service dept. If you would send more details, either publicly or privately, I would be glad to look into the matter and see what I can do to make a better experience for yourself and our other customers.

Serra Volkswagen responded

Hi Daniel, We know that car diagnosis and repairs can be frustrating. However, not all repairs can be diagnosed and repaired in the same day. I am not sure if you purchased your vehicle here with us, but we do try to offer service loaners to customers who purchased with us when they are available. It would seem like a dealership would have an endless supply of service loaners, but that is not the case unfortunately. You may want to check with your warranty or insurance carrier, as some policies have rental car provisions. Also, if you have AAA, their services usually offer rental car discounts and may possibly provide one for repairs. You would just need to check out all of your options. When you are ready, give us a call for an appt and we will do all that we can to diagnose your issue and repair the vehicle.