Odd Visit to the mechanic

[radagasttb]

Greetings all I am new to the forums here.  I just had the oddest experience and wanted to post it here to see if I should be concerned.

 

I brought my 2011 Subaru outback in for an oil change, and to have the low beam bulbs replaced.  

 

Upon completion my outback was driven around front and I got into it, only to notice the following.

 

• The check engine light was on
• The indicator showing you had lost traction was on
• the cruise control indicator was on and flashing

I went back inside and  asked why the check engine light was on, and was told, "it was on when you brought it in."  it took a frown for the manager to step in and say, "we will check it out."

 

a tech came out hooked up a code reader, and pressed a couple of buttons.  The check engine light turned off as well as the cruise control indicator.  The traction control light stayed on.

I asked about that, and he said turn off the engine and turn it back on,

 

I turned the engine off then back on,  only this time the starter cranked for a good 10 seconds before it finally turned on...  I went home, and now it is turns on with no problem. 

 

Do I have anything to be concerned about?  

Edited June 12, 2015 by radagasttb

[Fairtax4me]

More than likely they unplugged something during the oil change or in the course of getting to the headlamp bulbs to change them.

They turned the key On to check bulb operation with the sensor still unplugged and it set a code, and turned the Check engine lamp On.

 

On the newer cars when the CEL is On the cruise is disabled, which is noted by the cruise light flashing, and the traction control system may also be disabled.

Its a feature designed so that if you're driving and there is a fault that causes the CEL to turn on, but there are no other signs of a problem, you'll still take the car to get it checked out. People red to ignore the CEL if it comes on but there is no trouble.

When the CEL turns on it's because there is a fault that will increase emissions output (which is the whole reason the EPA mandated that CEL in the first place) and can also cause damage to the catalytic converters (which are expensive) and ignoring the light can lead to expensive repairs, which results in an unhappy customer, and lots of unhappy tree-lovers because of that extra smog coming from the tail pipe. Despite that, most people don't care enough to get the codes read and find out why that one tiny yellow light is on. (Yellow light = Go Faster, right?)

 

But people notice and care ALOT if the cruise doesn't work! "Gotta have my cruise control!" they says! Something wrong with muh cruise I gotta get that fixed A-S-A-P! They take it in and fix it and the EPA is happy.

 

But enough of that, the only thing I would be concerned with is that they didn't have the decency to check the code and turn the light off before they gave the car back to you, and then basically blamed it on you. Kinda half-astery there IMO.

Its common for newer cars to have a somewhat longer starting time after clearing codes to turn the CEL off. I wouldn't worry about it too much unless it becomes a frequent problem, or the CEL comes back on. Id recommend finding a different shop for your next repairs.

[Stevo F]

As for the engine cranking a while before it started, that likely was due to the ECU reset they did to shut off the check engine light. Our 2005 Impreza was getting a Check Engine light for an evaporaitve hose leak and when i reeset it the car would crank 10- 15 seconds before it started, but that never reoccurred.

[radagasttb]

Cool, thanks everyone for the replies,  this is a big relief. Also, I will be looking for a new place to work on my car.  I just got done with a late night drive and could see to my left and right quite well but not in front of me. I am assuming either A the bulbs are not in correctly, or B  Subaru uses projector lenses and the bulbs are the wrong type.

[Fairtax4me]

Bulbs are not exactly interchangable so its hard to install and plug in the wrong type of bulb. But it is easy to misalign some bulbs in the bulb housing.

 

Some bulbs have a notch or a small hole that has to be lined up with a similar notch or pin in the lamp housing. With limited space to access the bulb on newer vehicles it is not always easy to get the bulb lined up perfectly. Misalignment will throw off the beam pattern and cause low visibility.