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katesmailbox

My car was stalling repeatedly at idle. The autoelectrician in Christchurch scanned it and found no codes stored. However he replaced the idle speed motor and charged me $729.27. Since then the motor surges repeatedly as I drive. I went back to him twice in the first month and he said it was ok and would settle down. After that I left Christchurch and drove to Waiheke Island where I now live and work.
Now six months have elapsed and thousands of kms driven. I have had 2 other auto electricians check it and they cannot find the fault but agree that the idle motor should not have been replaced when no codes were stored on the scan. I am now taking it to Nissan which will involve more cost. ($100 just for the ferry!).
It seems that the Christchurch autoelectrician saw me coming.( "A woman! we will replace an expensive part which will bring us lots of money! She'll never know") I am planning to write and ask for my money back. What do you think? Do I have any right to do this and what should I say about following it up if they ignore me or refuse? With thanks...

Anon

It is possible the idle control was faulty and needed replacing. The car no longer cuts-out and instead surges (cutting out is fixed) which could be as a result of an cooling system air lock which possibly might be fixed by simply bleeding the coolant system. Some idle control valves work by using a hot-wax element which, when heated up by the coolant, blocks off an air passage to allow the car to idle at the correct rpm. If an air lock is present at the idle control valve, the engine rpm can fluctuate when the car is at operating temperature.

It is best to take the vehicle to a Nissan dealer as they should have better knowledge of the vehicles systems and hopefully they can solve this problem for you.