Had some body work done on my car and when I got it back on the ride home I realized that I was going 0mph up I-95. As a result the odometer is not moving either. I am worried the shop may have taken my car out for joy rides and in order to not get caught they disconnected the speedometer. Will the ECU be able to calculate what the correct mileage on the car should be? or are those "dead" miles? Also, for my case against the shop, is the speedometer something that should normally be d/c? I would think from an ethics perspective that Acura would make it hard to do, or at least detectable after it had been done.

Any thoughts?

 

I would love to hear pro advice on this.
There is no reason why a body shop needs to touch that, that’s why they are called a body shop and not automotive electricians, my they played you

 

What work did the body shop do to the car? The speedo is electronic so it could be a wire was left loose.

 

Loose wire, or shorted something out. Something like that I'm sure. I really don't think they disconnected it on purpose. In fact they might not have even driven it since they gave it back that way. Could be they didn't see it wasn't working.

 

just look at it this way.. i think now that it's disconnected your miles wont go up haha..

 

On behalf of _________ the state of ___________ hereby summons ___________ to the state court of ______________ ... blah blah - insert proper names here.

 

I'm not currently driving the vehicle, but you are correct -- the miles right now are the same as they were the day it arrived at the shop. I drove it home from the body shop (which is when I noticed the problem) and it's been in the garage ever since. I have to take it back so they can fix a bunch of other stuff I am not happy with, but I'm going to have them flatbed tow it at their expense because I refuse to drive it.

 

lemme know if it doesnt record the miles so i can disconnect mine lol jk

 

a body shop did that to my to my old s14. they ran close to the entire bottle of nitrous through my car joyriding. but i don't think they would go through all that trouble disconnecting the speedo just to do that.

 

I should also mention that the RPM gauge works fine. Not sure if that gauge and the speedometer are closely related in any way, but I would have expected neither to work if it was a problem with connections behind the dash?

 

vtec dont work with no speedo

 

Where do you get that info? I'd like to see the proof of that.

The only thing I've heard of causing VTEC to cease to function is low oil.

 

It's true... no VTEC and you'll get a rev limiter at about 6k RPM. I've done this... I know...

 

if the speedo is dissconected vtec does not work! look it up. trust me, I have tried it!
jim

 

this is the case with every honda acura product i have witnessed including my 03 cls

 

That's really interesting because when I was driving I swore that there was no vtec change-over. But I thought it was just my imagination from not having driven the car in a long time. Also I had always heard it was RPM driven -- engaging at 4.8k.

Back on topic though, does anyone know if it's detectable that the speedometer has been disconnected? I do not want to be held liable if so, and need to get it documented from the body shop that they were the ones responsible.

 

What's the latest update Kevin?

 

No , i dont think so and i beleieve the speedometer like most electronic speedos or tripos has a in built memory chip and a battery that keeps track of the last reading. kinda like a cmos setting on a computer. As long as that battery is not deaD (USUALLY LAST 30 + YRS) THE last reading is always and could be retrieved all things been equal if no electrical fried parts or shorts in circuitry.

no default reset either ( just one way counters)

 

Car is back at the autobody.

Right now the big problem is they can't figure out how to get the A/C fixed because the navi screen won't power up. They claim the A/C runs through that. When I hit the "auto" button below the screen and put the temp at 60 (I assume this is just the same as "max" on other cars), the air blows hard for 4 seconds, then trickles for 4 seconds, and cycles back and forth. The air is at outside temp until I get on the gas, and then the compressor kicks in to blow cold air for a short while... then goes back to outside temp a short while later unless I've gotten back on it in before it goes warm.

Can anyone confirm that the navi screen needs to be operational for the A/C to work properly through "auto" and setting the temp?

 

What about all the overspray and the body panels not lined up properly?

 

This shop sounds like it was very derelict with it's responsibilites.

 

The overspray (or so I thought) was some residue left by whatever 3M stuff they spray onto the car to prevent paint from getting anywhere it's not supposed to be. It dries into this sheet that you can peel off afterwards. However after you remove the sheet you're supposed to buff the surfaces, and apparently that wasn't done.

They also used a "reconditioned" bumper which was not lining up very well with the hood and the fenders, so they ordered a new OEM one. Once that's painted and put in place, they will readjust the hood and fenders accordingly.

I'm unhappy they had the car for 57 days and I got it back with so many things wrong -- but they did agree to address every single nitpicky thing I documented. For example there was a small white scuff on the face of the stereo that I know was not there prior. I'm sure it was just "collateral damage" from taking apart the entire dash and console while troubleshooting the A/C and/or navi... but I'm still anal about it. As a result, they would/will order a new stereo for me ($800?) since you can't just get a new faceplate. I also complained about the new headlights and how there was a scratch somehow on the inside of the plastic front cover... also being returned for a new one.

All in all, I feel confident I will eventually get the car back the way I want it... even if it takes waiting longer or even taking it back several more times. I'm not the kind of person to settle and just say it's good enough, especially with how anal I have been about the appearance of this car (engine/mechanical is another story ). Right now I'm just worried about the A/C and navi getting properly fixed. If they let me pick the place to troubleshoot and fix the stock navi conversion, I wonder if they'd let me take it up to Ron or Dave at SE. With the right documentation and the insurance co. picking up the bill for parts and labor, I bet it would be fixed in no time

 

Need to bump this again for more feedback. Picking up the car tomorrow and everything body/exterior was corrected -- but the speedo and A/C still don't work and the shop is claiming that both are due to the navi screen not coming on. As such, they want the place that did the stock navi install to look at it again and check why it's not working before anything else.

Can anyone confirm for certain that the speedometer, outside temp gauge, and A/C compressor (along with climate control in general using "Auto"), would not work if the navi screen was not operational? I already called a few Acura dealers and none of them knew. Need an authority on this stuff... or someone who knows one.

Thanks!

 

If it were me, I'd insist (demand) that the body shop tow it to an Acura dealer and have them look at it. I wouldn't want the body shop screwing with my navi if you know what I mean.

Good luck and let us know what happens!!

 

That's not gonna happen. The dealership wants nothing to do with his navi system. His car didn't come with navi. He installed all the navi parts in a non-navi car.

 

Doesn't matter who ends up fixing it, as long as I don't have to pay for it. If the body shop considers their "part" done, then my insurance company will outsource the remaining issues to someone who can address it. Regardless, I want to know if the speedometer, outside temp gauge, and A/C are all completely dependent on the navi screen connections/power. The answer will give me the clout I need to deal with the body shop and the insurance company. I'm just looking out for #1 right now... which lately, is my wallet.

 

Ahh shoot, didn't realize it wasn't factory installed.

I know this sounds obvious but did they check ALL the fuses @ the fuse panel? I suppose it wouldn't hurt to pull each one and look (or test with an ohm meter) yourself if you're up to it.