You won't believe this one. Tell me I am sane.
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You won't believe this one. Tell me I am sane.
I've had some stories with my dealer before; that's why I did my oil change yesterday for the first time. Today I decided to look at the air filter. Another thing I didn't do before (on this car).
Now take a look at that attached picture. Do you notice anything? Anyone?
Now take a look at that attached picture. Do you notice anything? Anyone?
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From: San Francisco Bay Area
Yes, there's this little thing .. part of a wrench set. Pardon me, English is not my first language. Anyway. The important part, not to be concluded from the photo, is:
This is not my tool!
I just opened the hood, look for where the air filter is and find that handy 10 mm thing there. Thank you to the dealer for that one. They must have left it there when they replaced the air filter last time (3000 miles ago, roughly 3 months).
I have two such toolsets, and that piece definitely belongs in neither one.
Is it really possible to drive around for 3 months and that thing stays in place???
I've taken the car to speeds over 100 during this time (probably not a big issue) and done some hard cornering as the tire wear can attest :D
I'm puzzled. I don't even want to know what other tools were left in there but I cannot see them at this point since they disappeared into something..
--> another explanation for some people's clonk noise when they start the car
This is not my tool!
I just opened the hood, look for where the air filter is and find that handy 10 mm thing there. Thank you to the dealer for that one. They must have left it there when they replaced the air filter last time (3000 miles ago, roughly 3 months).
I have two such toolsets, and that piece definitely belongs in neither one.
Is it really possible to drive around for 3 months and that thing stays in place???
I've taken the car to speeds over 100 during this time (probably not a big issue) and done some hard cornering as the tire wear can attest :D
I'm puzzled. I don't even want to know what other tools were left in there but I cannot see them at this point since they disappeared into something..
--> another explanation for some people's clonk noise when they start the car
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From: San Francisco Bay Area
Originally Posted by TheDosDog
Is that a socket on the ECU cover? I know the first thing my dealer mechanic does when there is an engine issue is to look for a CZ. But he doesn't donate his tools. 
I really start to think I need to complain somewhere about this dealer. Anyway, at least I didn't have to search for my 10mm one, it's usually a mess in my tools' corner.
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Originally Posted by rotayking
Hey thats pretty trippy. Now the dealer doesnt look so good now. Try to get something free from them.
About the other poster mentioning the CZ unit. I doubt that my dealer has heard about it.
Those Einsteins work at MARINA MOTOR COMPANY in Capitola, by the way.
Don't DO that!
Jeeze, don't scare me like that - I thought that was an 'anti-tamper' bolt, so you couldn't take the lid off the ECU! 
10mm....yes, i see it now.
I need a beer.....
S
10mm....yes, i see it now.
I need a beer.....
S
Recovered Modaholic
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From: Napa, Ca.
I had the accelerator pedal replaced on my Ford Super Duty a few year back. As I was leaving the dealership I pressed the brake to stop and the brake pedal didn't move. I slammed the emergency brake in a panic and squealed to a stop luckily without hitting anything. When I released the pedal a flashlight with the mechanics name etched in it fell out. It got me 1 free service.
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From: Navarre, FL
In 1994 I bought a 1981 Ford Escort, color champagne. That car was such a POS. When driving in the rain, the passenger side footwell would get an inch of standing water...Anyway:
After a few months the fog lights went buggy, so I got under the hood to play around with the speaker wire used to hook them up (the car CAME like that). I found under the fan, resting perfectly on the lower radiator support beam (or whatever) a rusted, half-open pocket knife! This was after months of driving on curvy English country roads and powersliding into my neighborhood.
After a few months the fog lights went buggy, so I got under the hood to play around with the speaker wire used to hook them up (the car CAME like that). I found under the fan, resting perfectly on the lower radiator support beam (or whatever) a rusted, half-open pocket knife! This was after months of driving on curvy English country roads and powersliding into my neighborhood.
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From: Fort Myers, FL
HA
I've got one. One time I took my car to get an alignment. After standing there for about 45 minutes watching the guy add and remove air from my tires (they were checked by me before going-TRULY) I was informed that they could not complete the job there and I would have to take it to their main garage about 10 miles away. Two days later I took the car there by appt and they removed the wheels and balanced them. When they told me that the car was ready I asked about the work done. They told me that they completed the job orf balancing my front tires??? and wanted $22. When I refused to pay he threw my car keys at me and told me to go get my own car. I went to the stall where the tech and the car were (on the ground) and the tech guided me out. As I pulled out and turned the steering wheel the front left wheel fell off! They all started screaming hold it! Hold it! and rolled a jack out quickly. I was beyond mad. Nothing was said and I drove off after checking my fender, etc.
Oh, there are other stories too. I once was standing in a parking lot and the back window exploded out of a Toyota Corolla from heat! No one was around the car at all.
I've got one. One time I took my car to get an alignment. After standing there for about 45 minutes watching the guy add and remove air from my tires (they were checked by me before going-TRULY) I was informed that they could not complete the job there and I would have to take it to their main garage about 10 miles away. Two days later I took the car there by appt and they removed the wheels and balanced them. When they told me that the car was ready I asked about the work done. They told me that they completed the job orf balancing my front tires??? and wanted $22. When I refused to pay he threw my car keys at me and told me to go get my own car. I went to the stall where the tech and the car were (on the ground) and the tech guided me out. As I pulled out and turned the steering wheel the front left wheel fell off! They all started screaming hold it! Hold it! and rolled a jack out quickly. I was beyond mad. Nothing was said and I drove off after checking my fender, etc.
Oh, there are other stories too. I once was standing in a parking lot and the back window exploded out of a Toyota Corolla from heat! No one was around the car at all.
Last edited by RodsterinFL; Sep 6, 2004 at 10:38 PM.
Shifty Bastard.
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From: Melbourne, Australia.
I found a telescopic magnetic pick-up under the cam cover of my ZX-10 Kawasaki when I was checking the shim clearances once! Must have been left there by the previous owners mechanic. When I think of the damage it could have done.......
Gomez.
Gomez.
Sideways, No not me sir
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From: St. Louis
yep, I agree with getting the free snap on tools. I got a 3/8 drive ratchet and 10 inch extension during my first oil change. They were laying on the plastic cover for the windshield wipers when I went to get in my car so I carefully placed them in the passenger seat so they would not fly off, then I left.
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From: Tulsa
My wife complains that whenever I work on the cars I have parts left over and tools missing. j/k
In college I worked in a service station and I once found a 7/16 combination wrench in the oil pan of a chevy V8. I think it came from the factory that way since the car was only about 5 years old at the time and I doubt that anyone else had the oil pan off before.
I also had a collection of bent up tools that I had found embeded in tires. The collection included a 3/8 combination wrench, X-Acto knife and several screw drivers however the oddest thing I ever found in a tire was a spark plug with the cermaic intact.
j/kIn college I worked in a service station and I once found a 7/16 combination wrench in the oil pan of a chevy V8. I think it came from the factory that way since the car was only about 5 years old at the time and I doubt that anyone else had the oil pan off before.
I also had a collection of bent up tools that I had found embeded in tires. The collection included a 3/8 combination wrench, X-Acto knife and several screw drivers however the oddest thing I ever found in a tire was a spark plug with the cermaic intact.
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From: Austin Texas
Originally Posted by Z00M RX8
My wife complains that whenever I work on the cars I have parts left over and tools missing. j/k
In college I worked in a service station and I once found a 7/16 combination wrench in the oil pan of a chevy V8. I think it came from the factory that way since the car was only about 5 years old at the time and I doubt that anyone else had the oil pan off before.
I also had a collection of bent up tools that I had found embeded in tires. The collection included a 3/8 combination wrench, X-Acto knife and several screw drivers however the oddest thing I ever found in a tire was a spark plug with the cermaic intact.
j/kIn college I worked in a service station and I once found a 7/16 combination wrench in the oil pan of a chevy V8. I think it came from the factory that way since the car was only about 5 years old at the time and I doubt that anyone else had the oil pan off before.
I also had a collection of bent up tools that I had found embeded in tires. The collection included a 3/8 combination wrench, X-Acto knife and several screw drivers however the oddest thing I ever found in a tire was a spark plug with the cermaic intact.
Goh Mifune
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From: Green Oaks, IL
This post reminded me that NASA had found a wrench inside the Apollo 1 spacecraft or one of the other test vehicles in the mid-1960s, right after the Apollo 1 fire that killed astronauts Grissom, White and Chaffeeon on the launch pad. When I did a Google search I came across a recent post by a NASA employee from another message board. He was apparently working at Cape Canaveral the day of the fire. It just goes to show that it's not just the Mazda techs that can't keep track of their tools:
"After each accident, NASA big wheels spent hours trying to find something that would take the heat off of them. Anything to get them off the hook, particulary if they could find someone to blame.
I know one such incident where I was the center of attention during the Apollo 1 Fire investigation.
I don't know if any of you recall that NASA published the report that someone left a wrench in the spacecraft, that this wrench caused the fire and they were looking for him.
They were pretty sure they had the culpret identified. His initials were S/C.
The day they found the wrench, really a 7/32th socket, it was hot news, and NASA was playing it for all it was worth.
Late that evening, I was approached by an investigator and my boss asking to see my tools. They had the socket, they were looking for a match. My initials were S/C and I did work on the spacecraft.
It just so happened that I had sockets, but they were identified with electro etching. The culpret socket was marked with a vibrator tool.
As it turned out the socket came from the Spacecraft tool box and anyone could left it inside.
Incidently, they later determined that the location of the socket was such that it had absolutely no part in the fire, contrary to published news reports issued by NASA shortly after the fire.
Just one more incident where NASA screwed up."
I know one such incident where I was the center of attention during the Apollo 1 Fire investigation.
I don't know if any of you recall that NASA published the report that someone left a wrench in the spacecraft, that this wrench caused the fire and they were looking for him.
They were pretty sure they had the culpret identified. His initials were S/C.
The day they found the wrench, really a 7/32th socket, it was hot news, and NASA was playing it for all it was worth.
Late that evening, I was approached by an investigator and my boss asking to see my tools. They had the socket, they were looking for a match. My initials were S/C and I did work on the spacecraft.
It just so happened that I had sockets, but they were identified with electro etching. The culpret socket was marked with a vibrator tool.
As it turned out the socket came from the Spacecraft tool box and anyone could left it inside.
Incidently, they later determined that the location of the socket was such that it had absolutely no part in the fire, contrary to published news reports issued by NASA shortly after the fire.
Just one more incident where NASA screwed up."
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From: NJ-USA
Years ago I was driving my parents car which had recently been in for service. Suddenly smoke was pouring out from under the hood. I pulled in to my friends driveway, he jumped out and grabbed a fire extinguisher, I popped open the hood, and he blasted a burning work glove, that the mechanic had left in the engine, out on to the driveway.
MR
MR
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From: Chesapeake Virginia
I can actually understand how that socket stayed on...maybe just a bit of a wedge on the head of the bolt.
A few years ago I placed a bicycle water bottle on the rear bumper of my van and forgot it was there. Drove the van down this twisty road onto base (Scott AFB IL), went to the base exchange shopping, then drove it back up the twisty road to my house. Yep...water bottle still there - freaky.
A few years ago I placed a bicycle water bottle on the rear bumper of my van and forgot it was there. Drove the van down this twisty road onto base (Scott AFB IL), went to the base exchange shopping, then drove it back up the twisty road to my house. Yep...water bottle still there - freaky.
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