Recall fix calls for replacement of computer module in center instrument panel.
My service dealer says they have to plug vehicle into diagnostic computer to identify the specific part for “my” vehicle. I say it’s all the same part or identified by VIN. What do you say?
The software in the center instrument panel for certain vehicles can cause the heating, air-conditioning, defrosting and radio controls (as well as panel illumination) to stop working. This can be especially dangerous if the defrosting system fails since the drivers sight can be obscured. Why don’t you want your vehicle to be plugged into a diagnostic computer?
The computer module that’s being replaced probably has more than one part/model number because they can change as they are upgraded even in the same model year. I really don’t see your concern at all. Others may have a more definitive answer for your curiosity.
I made an appt. a week in advance to get this recall fix…20 minutes in and out the dealer said…they had it a whole morning, then, said they didn’t have the replacement part by virtue of the diagnostic. Now they say they have obtained the part and it takes 90 minutes to install. I wasted a whole morning and now I have to take it back in again. My curiosity is why they didn’t know ahead of time based on VIN.
Dealeships have four or five different departments: 1) new car sales; 2) used car sales; 3) service; 4) parts; 5) sometimes body shop. The departments are separte. It would have been great had the service department in your case checked with the parts department, but they probably didn’t.
I recently purchased a 2011 Toyota Sienna. As part of the deal, the sales department threw in a new set of floormats for my wife’s 2003 Toyota 4Runner. The salesman went back to the parts department and had them ordered. A couple of weeks went by and we never received a call. I finally called the salesperson. The floormats had been in for more than a week. He had simply forgotten to call us. It really was no big deal–in my old age I forget things also.
Sometimes the departments do co-operate. I had a 1965 Rambler Classic and a 1968 AMC Javelin. Both had vacuum wiper motors. The motor failed on the Rambler during a week-end. I took the car the following Monday to the dealer and had the motor replaced. The following Wednesday, the vacuum wiper motor failed on the Javelin. When I called for an appointment Thursday, I was told by the service manager “You bought the last vacuum motor in stock last Monday. I’ll have to call you when our next parts shipment arrives”. The next day I received a call and they had the wiper motor.
It might be easier and quicker for them to scan the computer than look up a part number by VIN. Once they scan the computer, they know exactly what it is. I’d just let them do it their way.
Not every vehicle of the same year, make, and model use the same parts and ECMs are no different.
The dealers have no say-so in what is installed in the car, production line changes, etc.
Subaru made a mid year change one time in their manual transmissions (reverse gear set) and the factory told NO one.
That not only includes every Subaru dealer but also their distributor, Subaru of America, the people who furnish the cars to the dealers and provide all parts, sales, and service support to the dealers.
Randy, Please Provide The Model-Year Of This Chevrolet Equinox. I Was Going To Look At The Specifics Of The Recall Bulletin And Dealer Procedures, But I Can’t Without Knowing What Vehicle You’ve Got.
CSA
The VIN won’t tell you what software revision the computer module has. The only real way to tell is to hook up the car to the diagnostic computer at the dealership. The dealership is correct.