Warranty Question Regarding CEL: Dealership wants $49 to investigate
 

I dropped my car off today for its scheduled oil change. When I got to work I recall the other day having a CEL. So I call my service rep and ask if they can pull the code and let me know what it is. He says it will cost $49.99 to investigate the potential issue. The customer service rep said IF there is a problem then there will be no charge. But if they can not find a problem then they have to charge me $49.99. I have been using this dealership for approximately 2.5 years and they have never charged me to investigate a CEL.

I asked the service rep if he can have the tech check for the CEL code and let me know what it means before I authorize the $49.99 investigation fee. He said he would. IMO I should not have to pay this and will speak with the service manager.

Anyone else get charged an investigation fee while under warranty?

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Update

The blinking/disappearing CEL turned into a persistent CEL a week or so after leaving the dealership. I took the car back on Monday and they looked into the problem now because the CEL was on so no need to charge me $49.

Turns out to be a miss fire on the second rotor and they replaced all four coils and plugs under warranty. Good thing too because the bill would have been $1130.

Anyone know if the extended powertrain warranty covers coils and plugs? If not then it was covered under the extend coverage I received with purchasing a certified preowned Mazda.

sounds like :icon_bs: to me... if you are still under the b-b warranty they should not charge for that. maybe the techs need the $50 to buy beer for the weekend...:beer05:

Nope. Never had a false CEL either. Had it pop up for a bad seal on the gas cap and had a headlight alignment sensor light which they first blew off but ultimately fixed under a TSB under warranty anyway. CELs don't pop up without a reason in these cars. AFAIK.

I do not know what b_b warranty is but I purchased a certified pre owned and they said it extends the factory warranty 1 year. As of May this year, I have been on the extended warranty.

AutoZone - CEL check for free.

I realize that. But since the dealership has my car now I wanted them to look into it at no charge to me :)

There is a difference between bumper to bumper and extended warranty coverage service.

ahh bumper to bumper. Well they told me certified preowned extends the existing bumper to bumper warranty. I guess I will find out if they lied to me.

NONE of the extended warranty extends the basic warranty. there will be stuff thats not covered in the extended warranty, you should always check it before u get it.

oh Also, go pull the code at Autozone - Free

Thanks. I will confirm my paper work and with the dealership. If it is not fully warranted then they 100% lied to me (imagine that). They said the certified preowned means the cars gets 1 additional year of full coverage. The service rep never mentioned my warranty and only acknowledge that it is under warranty.

Note: I did NOT buy an extended warranty. There is no 3rd party company involved. The additional year of coverage is from purchasing a Mazda Certified preowned vehicle.

Do you always phrase your request the way you described: "Pull the code and tell me what it is"? Seems like if the car is under warranty, you should say "The CEL is on. Please fix it."

Ken

Yeah must have needed beer money for the weekend...damn drunks..........well i'm off to grab a beer.....

Update

The blinking/disappearing CEL turned into a persistent CEL a week or so after leaving the dealership. I took the car back on Monday and they looked into the problem now because the CEL was on so no need to charge me $49.

Turns out to be a miss fire on the second rotor and they replaced all four coils and plugs under warranty. Good thing too because the bill would have been $1130.

Anyone know if the extended powertrain warranty covers coils and plugs? If not then it was covered under the extend coverage I received with purchasing a certified preowned Mazda.

I wish it was 50 bucks...

I called up a couple weeks ago to get a CEL check done...
$109.99!!!
JUST to check!
(Canada by the way...yes, under warrenty)

Went to a GM dealer to get the codes read... no charge

Do you have Auto Zone by you? If so then they can pull the error code for you.

For that kind of money you can buy a basic scanner. Not a bad thing to have.

I bought a Harrison scanner, with the RX-8 special package, for about $160, shortly after I bought my 8. It was worth its weight in gold in peace of mind when I got a CEL one evening, and I was able to read it myself. Just the gas cap code. Saved me from killing the next morning with a trip to the dealer.

Ken