AUTO MECHANIC PROBLEMS (AGAIN)

[Izzybel]

So while we're at it...

2008 Impala with 29k miles (not a misprint) and vehicle weight certified by a weigh station, running rough or misfiring both at idle and while running.  Seems to be worse when its warmed up.  No check engine light and no codes showing up on scanner.

A quick internet search doesn't narrow anything down for me.

Hi, I’m new to posting here and I hope I did the reply thing correctly. This was exactly the situation with my beloved but difficult VW van. It would "normal" at first but got worse as it warmed up and after it was warm the idle could get so choppy it would stall on me at a stop or starting back up after a brief stop. My son told me to change the fuel filter before looking into the more expensive/involved other suspects like the mass air flow sensor. It sounded odd but didn’t cost much to try that so I asked the mechanic to do that and sure enough it solved the issue. Might be worth a try especially if you can do it yourself.

[My 2 cents]

”So while we're at it…”

Perhaps we can take a lesson from the first 2 pages of this thread and try to supply more complete and accurate information from the start.

29,000 miles….nice!  Now, was that 50 miles per week for 16 years, or 500 miles per week for a year and then parked for 15?

Did the problem develop quickly or gradually over time?

Beyond the scanning, what other diagnostics have been done either by you or by others?  Parts changes?

Has it been wrecked?

Any other info that you can think of that might be helpful?

[Durian Fiend]

The connector is available on EBAY and can easily be spliced on.

Rebuilt alternators are about $400.00 to $600.00 so the mechanics charge sounds fair.

The New Genuine Alternator Connector Pigtail For 2012-2019 Honda CR-V
OEM PIGTAILS

US $13.99

I have a hypothetical question:
You take your car to your mechanic and he "repairs" it and you pay him and go home.  The next day, the car is barely running so you take it back and he "repairs" it again.  The next day the car won't even make it down the street, so you call him again and he says "Bring it back on Monday".  If, after the 3rd try, he still can't fix the car, does he just get to keep the money?  What would you do?  Thank you for any opinions, beside the fact that we will be searching for a new mechanic when this is over.

I think it's a question that's open for negotiation.  Did he concur with Lex Brodie's, that the wrong alternator had been installed, and if so did he exchange it for the correct one?  
Also, what did he say about the broken plug? Taking the old alternator in to Oreilly's to have it checked would determine if you actually needed a new one.  
Depending upon the answers to above questions, the mechanic could be entitled to payment for replacing the alternator if he makes it right! 

He can't figure out what else is wrong with it: Yes, it seems likely the poor running problem is not related to the alternator. Okay then, time to find someone else.

[Obie]

sistersue

When the battery went bad did she have the car jump started ?
It sounds to me like it was jumped and one of the computers was damaged.

[sistersue]

sistersue

When the battery went bad did she have the car jump started ?
It sounds to me like it was jumped and one of the computers was damaged.

No, it wasn't jumped.  She just called a nephew and he brought her a new battery to where she was stuck.  The car is now sitting in the Honda dealer lot and they say it needs a new wire harness and an alternator, which leads me to believe that the alternator our mechanic installed was the wrong one for the car.  Everything is up in the air until Monday when she goes to Honda and talks to them. Thank you for caring, Obie.  I'll let you know what happens.

[Obie]

I would really like to hear the outcome.

FYI Here is the price for a new Denso alternator from Honda.

Alternator Assembly (CSP47) (Denso) - Honda (31100-5X6-J01)
2015-2019 Honda CR-V - 311005x6j01

MSRP: $1,999.04
Discount: $499.76 (25% off)
Sale Price: $1,499.28

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terracore,

Is your car a V8 or V6.

Makes a big difference in troubleshooting.

[Durian Fiend]

I would really like to hear the outcome.

FYI Here is the price for a new Denso alternator from Honda.

Alternator Assembly (CSP47) (Denso) - Honda (31100-5X6-J01)
2015-2019 Honda CR-V - 311005x6j01

MSRP: $1,999.04
Discount: $499.76 (25% off)
Sale Price: $1,499.28    

---

Yikes. 

 Honda's diagnosis matches Brodie's.  Sounds like Sue's original guy screwed the pooch.

[sistersue]

I would really like to hear the outcome.

FYI Here is the price for a new Denso alternator from Honda.

Alternator Assembly (CSP47) (Denso) - Honda (31100-5X6-J01)
2015-2019 Honda CR-V - 311005x6j01

MSRP: $1,999.04
Discount: $499.76 (25% off)
Sale Price: $1,499.28    

---

Yikes. 

 Honda's diagnosis matches Brodie's.  Sounds like Sue's original guy screwed the pooch.

Hi, this is Sistersue -
I'm going to call our "mechanic" today and tell him he needs to buy back the junk alternator he put in her car plus pay her back for installing it.  If he doesn't want to do that then I'll tell him we'll have to go to court.  What do you think?   Honda says the alternator he installed is not the best one for the car and that it's defective and the wires are loose.

[MyManao]

If he doesn't want to do that then I'll tell him we'll have to go to court..

I'd be way shy of saying anything about court if the motive is to get them to cooperate. The threat could get them to do what you want, but I'd wager it's more likely they'll react negatively. So, until you're convinced all the other options are exhausted be careful.

[terracore]

To answer the questions above about the Impala, I don't know how it was previously driven because it was owned by the US Government. Usually their GSA auction cars are super high mileage (usually law enforcement) or they are gently driven by bureaucrats and have few miles. The information about average MPH etc could be extracted from the computer if it wasn't reset, but I forgot to do that when I got it so any data on it would be after I drove it for 9 months and added 50% more to the mileage.

It's a 6 cylinder vehicle but switches to 3 cylinders when the computer says it gets better gas mileage that way. The problem happens when its running on 6 cylinders, I haven't tested to see if it also happens at 3 (basically highway speeds). It's also an E85 so engineered to take a very wide range of octanes and fuel mixtures. I'm running it on regular unleaded (E10). I did try adding some PRI-G to the fuel, because the problem started after I fueled at Safeway for the first time in many years (and first time ever with this vehicle) and the problems were reminiscent of when I was driving through the Yukon and our Ford Explorer started stuttering similarly, and it was fixed by adding a can of STP to the tank. Every time I refueled it did the same thing, so I was scrambling to find STP in the middle of nowhere and all the fuel additive shelves were bare. The problem disappeared when I got to Alaska. They just had really bad gas in the Yukon Territory back then. But I also realize that fueling at Safeway was probably just a coincidence and the PRI-G didn't help. I've had good luck treating old/bad gas with small engines with PRI-G.