Having problem after taking car to dealer for routine maintenance...

[RedHot35thGT]

First of all, I want to thank anyone who might be able to help me in advance. I searched the forums but I think my problem is somewhat unique.

I took my car to the dealer for an oil change today. I usually change the oil every 3000 miles (if not sooner) but this time it had been closer to 4000. Probably not that big of a deal, my parents always say you should wait 5000 miles but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Anyway, once I pulled off the lot after the oil change, I suddenly noticed my clutch pedal vibrating. I drove around a few different roads to see if it would go back to normal but it didn't. The clutch pedal vibrates at most rpm's (doesnt seem to be worse at higher or lower ones) and it really vibrates when I take my foot off the gas.

I went right back into the dealership and talked to the service manager. I described the problem and he told me that it sounded like something was wrong with the clutch but that wouldn't have had anything to do with the oil change. I agreed and said that it didn't make sense to me either, but that I drive my car a lot every day and know exactly how it feels. It has NEVER done anything like this before. He pretty much told me to come back another time if I want them to look at the clutch but that they wouldnt have done anything to it today during the oil change.

One thing that I do remember was that they had parked my car without using the parking brake (It was in 1st gear) when they were done servicing it. I don't know if this would have messed with the clutch since it was on a little bit of an incline?

Needless to say, I'm pretty upset. I'm a huge Mustang enthusiast and I love my car, but I don't know a whole lot about technical stuff.

Any ideas on what could be wrong? I really appreciate any insight.

 

[GREENBIOCH]

Thats a tough one, could be a number of things. could be the clutch, or tires, front end alignment, etc. You say its just the pedal itself thats vibrating??

could be the Driveshaft too, the donut on them sometimes comes loose and makes all kinds of raquet.

 

[Black_02_GT]

but the thing is it was fine when you took it in to them yet when they return your car to you it's making some horrible noise? that's wrong and they shoulda looked at that.

 

[twogts4us]

Never put it past the dealership to screw with your ride...
It sounds like the clutch cable has become stretched. How did this happen while it was getting the oil changed? It doesn't. Period. What they did while your car was in there is anyone's guess. How many miles do you have? Was it the stock cable? I wouldn't be surprised if they raided your cable for Joe Mechanic's car...
If you have a firewall adjuster, you can dial the slack out of the cable and eliminate the pedal vibration. Otherwise, with stock parts, try adjusting the pedal by using your toe to lift the pedal until it pops, then depress the pedal, start the car and see if that helped. (Ck your owners manual for this procedure...it's actually in there)
When I bought my Mach 1 a couple months ago, I saw it out in front of the dealership as it was being traded in. It was absolutely mint, spotless. Nonetheless, the dealership 'had to' charge me a vehicle prep fee (I knocked it down from $250 to $100, but that was still a ripoff) - the only thing that I see that they did was remove the Bosch Icon Wiper blades (the $40 a pair good ones!) and replaced em with Motorcraft ones...wich are ok, but they aren't like the Icon's (we have those on the Pathfinder and they are the ****it of wiper blades!)
Now I'd bet I can find Joe Mechanic's car out back and find my wiper blades on his car...and I had to pay dearly for this?!?!? Only go to the dealership for warranty work...

 

[02nightmaregt]

Yea dude i work for a dealership and i'll bet they took your car out for a bit of a joy ride. What i would do is go back and tell them that it wasn't messed up when you dropped it aff and now it is. If they don't fix what they screwed up your gonna sue their azz. Thats b.s that the service manager told you that. That dude pretty much insulted you and said you don't know what you're talking about.

 

[RedHot35thGT]

First off, thanks to everyone for the replies.

The pedal vibrates...it sort of shakes. The brake and gas don't do that at all. The thing is that if I press the clutch in just a tad (just a LITTLE) the vibrating stops. But it resumes once I take my foot off.

Any chance the way he parked it did something? I don't think it was a joyride but who knows. And yeah, I was upset that he didn't offer to at least take a look at it. When he was giving me all the paperwork (before I got back in my car) he was complaining to me about how they had done 30 oil changes today and he was ready to go home.

Turns out this isn't the first time its happened at the dealership either. My parents took our Windstar in a few months back for an oil change and the next day their parking brake light started going crazy and staying on even when the brake was off.

 

[RedHot35thGT]

And btw...my car has about 74k miles, I bought it used 3 years ago at about 60k miles. I believe it is the stock clutch cable. The car has been great, no issues at all except for the IAC a year or two ago which is normal. The guy who owned it previously did all the work himself and his dad had a shop...so it was like new when I got it.

 

[Green&GoldGT]

I've worked at 2 dealerships for my summer jobs and +1 on the joyride causing the problem

 

[darkside03gt]

those mofos went joy riding in your stang. my clutch did the same exact thing after i smoked it trying to do a break stand, the clutch slipped and the pedal vibrated untill i replaced the cable when i had a new clutch installed.

I would go back there and raise hell. I would demand some kind of compenstation. they should give you a new cable and new clutch for free after that crap because i guarentee you that your cable is stretched and they took some seriouse road miles off your clutch. this is exactly the reason why i seldome leave my car anywhere and i always watch them work on it so they dont end doing exactly what they did to you. I even stopped some a***ole kid from "Test driving" my car after a oil change once. he tried to tell me he had too drive it. I told him to get the F*** out of my car, took the keys and told his manager what he was trying to do. never found out what happened to the guy because i never went back after that bs.

 

[Stark77]

DEALERSHIPS WILL *F* WITH YOUR RIDE ALL DAY! I took mine in under warranty right when I got car for an exhaust issue and when I got it back my car was missing about 1/4 tank of gas. I guess they solved my exhaust issues by "listening" to my motor for a few hours.

 

[deftsound]

this is why i do all my own work, the only shop i bring my car to is my trusted performance shop that does all my tuning

 

[blkhorse]

I would not put it above them to not "joy ride" your car,I bought a 94 and took it in for warrenty work(clutch cable) and when I got it back it had seaseme(sp?) seeds all over the seat and I never eat in my cars. On the other hand when I put my 99 in on warrenty,I only did so at the end of the period,they replaced my entire top for one rub spot about 1/16 th of an inch,replaced my pads and rotors,upgraded my cup holder and a few other things I can't remember. I( and my car) was treated very well. point is you may want to try some where else and def. let them know of your issues

 

[Mustang5L5]

Did you record the miles you brought it in with on the paperwork? How many were on it when you got in?

 

[mr-mike]

dont trust them

when I had the famous leaking intake manifold on my 99 I called the main Ford phone number they were nice gave me a repair # & told contact the nearest dealer which I did they gave me a date to bring it in ...I did then they said it was past the date ... after a few calls & 2 different managers& 4 hours of BS they refused ! they had put the car on a lift & checked it told me $700 for the part & $90 a hour labor ! they also made out a work sheet saying I had mulitble leaks ! I drove it home did the job myself for $200 ..... the leaks on the invoice bothered me so I went back & asked one the workers he said they always do that to cover themselves in case something should go wrong , my stang is bone dry under it ? after that I will never trust them ...PS that dealer now has stacked on both sides of the fence & in the driveways & in the weeds outside ! getting parts there was always a hassle they treated you like S**T .... I never went there were someone wasnt getting close to fight over something , sadly is the only dealer close by ..... they should have treated customers better , now the place is like a funeral home !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DLFD911]

+1 on the unnecessary road test by the oil changer. Look for signs of burnouts on your rear quarters. Let the service manager try to explain that away. I always try to give the exact mileage to the service writer when I sign the repair order, so I can check it against what is shown when I pick it up.

 

[Will Smith]

DEALERSHIPS WILL *F* WITH YOUR RIDE ALL DAY! I took mine in under warranty right when I got car for an exhaust issue and when I got it back my car was missing about 1/4 tank of gas. I guess they solved my exhaust issues by "listening" to my motor for a few hours.

no offense buddy... i personally work as a tech at a ford dealership... being a dealership i know the many series of tests you have to do on some vehicles. some of which u don't even know bout or wouldn't even comprehend. dealerships pride themselves on FIRTFT (Fix it right the first time). now im not saying that ur dealership isnt a bad one or a good one.. but the stereotype is wrong... FORD has many diff tests that have to be done for warranty work b4 the dealership can even attempt to make a warranty claim... so slow ur roll...

 

[Stark77]

No personal offense to you - but for everyone good employee who follows the rules, there is at least one who doesn't. Same goes for dealers/dealerships. I don't lease cars - so the only way I'll ever take my car to a dealership is for warranty work. I would rather pay my trusted mechanic 50 dollars an hour - and know it's going into HIS/his shops pocket instead of paying 90 dollars an hour and knowing that only 20(maybe) is going into the mechanics pocket per hour.

 

[bdcardinal]

i dont know what your dealer is like, but at mine we wouldnt do a test drive on an oil change. i know all the techs, and none of them are into cars really. we have one service writer with a 03 cobra, the rest dont care. plus if they really wanted to take a car for a test drive they would do it on a GT500 or a Ford GT, and then get fired. without accurately recording your before and after mileage, you are screwed my friend.

 

[bdcardinal]

no offense buddy... i personally work as a tech at a ford dealership... being a dealership i know the many series of tests you have to do on some vehicles. some of which u don't even know bout or wouldn't even comprehend. dealerships pride themselves on FIRTFT (Fix it right the first time). now im not saying that ur dealership isnt a bad one or a good one.. but the stereotype is wrong... FORD has many diff tests that have to be done for warranty work b4 the dealership can even attempt to make a warranty claim... so slow ur roll...

bingo, i help out our dispatcher by typing in all the tech's stories. there are a ton of tests done, espeically on diesels. our FIRTFT is the highest priority.

 

[Will Smith]

No personal offense to you - but for everyone good employee who follows the rules, there is at least one who doesn't. Same goes for dealers/dealerships. I don't lease cars - so the only way I'll ever take my car to a dealership is for warranty work. I would rather pay my trusted mechanic 50 dollars an hour - and know it's going into HIS/his shops pocket instead of paying 90 dollars an hour and knowing that only 20(maybe) is going into the mechanics pocket per hour.

and thats your choice. but don't stereotype my dealership or myself into that... Im old fashioned and take pride in the work i do, and i take insult to what u say.... period....