It wass that time of year in Vegas when outside temperatures soar over 100 degrees. It just so happens that the heat seems to make people quite irritable. So, when the AC in someone’s car goes out they tend to be difficult to deal with. I try to understand where these people are coming from, but the way they act is totally unreasonable.
One lady brought her Expedition in because the air wasn’t blowing out cold enough. We measured it at 40 degrees. She said that sure it was cold in the morning, but when she got out of work at four it was hot although eventually it did get cold if she drove long enough.
She has a black truck, parked outside in the sun for eight hours in 110 degree heat and has no tint on her windows. REALLY?! It’s hot outside! That means it can be over 130 degrees in your car. The air is going to blow out hot. My mom has a spankin new car and after sitting in the sun all day it blows out hot air. It sometimes takes a few minutes for the air to get chilly.
She was still unhappy with how her AC worked. She brought it back and we measured the air at the vent at 42 degrees. Now it’s a week later, five degrees hotter outside, and this woman is distressed about how long it takes for her air to get cold.
She said it doesn’t get cold by the time she gets home from work now. I asked how far her house was from her job. 5 miles. We let it sit in the sun for a few hours and still got the same result after about 6 minutes at idle outside of the shop.
She picked it up the next day and I can’t say I was sad to see her go. Here’s a person who doesn’t even have a problem and is upset about something outside of the control of man.
I understand that anytime someone comes into the shop to get repairs they feel they have a valid problem. Again if we compare this to the medical field, there is a phrase they use for such people…”hypochondriac”. I propose we call this brand of people who have this problem with cars “hypocardriacs”.
There is also a brand of people who are on the opposite end of the spectrum. A man came in with an ‘89 Olds Cutlass. Says he can start the car, but the key won’t move back into the off position to turn it off, and now when it does run, it won’t idle for more than a few seconds befor it cuts out.
I asked him what he’s been doing to shut the car off.
Man: “Wel, I tried umplugging the battery, but the thing still ran. So I pulled off the first spark plug wire on the passenger side, then the first on on the driver side. Finally, I grabbed one of the wires that went to the rear of the engine and it cut off.”
Me: “You know you could just unplug the alternator right?”
Man: “I figure that the plugs would do the same thing.”
Me: “Well, it probably idles poorly not because even though you disconnect the plug, fuel is still being delivered to the cylinder, so it just builds up, fouls out the plug and keeps the car from running properly.”
He left his car, we changed the lock cylinder and the plugs and we blew the engine out. Still we had fluctuation in the RPMs and it would hesitate and dies sometimes.
I called this guy back to let him know what was up and see if he wanted to look into it further.
Man: “No, that’s always how it acts. I can deal with it stalling as long as it restarts. I’ll be there to pick it up in an hour.
Now for him, malfunction is the norm. Nothing will change that. There can be a million things wrong with the car, but he swears that makes the car even better.
Both of these people are extreme. Your car should work properly and you’re an ass if you expect better than what the manufacturer provides and an idiot if you settle for less.
