How could they break my car heater while changing my oil?

[AreaCode707]

Any help here? I took my car in for an oil change. When they finished, they also presented me with an estimated $800 of maintenance work I need to do on my car. (It's legitimate maintenance, and it's about time to do it anyhow - Zenmervolt double checked for me).

When I drove the car in, the heater fan was working fine. When I drove it out, it wasn't. They wouldn't commit to me to fix it at no cost, but they broke it! They'll take a closer look if I bring it back tomorrow. (They looked at it briefly today but they were about to close.

2000 Pontiac Grand Prix. Anybody know what they could have done to break my heater? I'm supposed to take a co-worker on a business trip in this car on Tuesday.

 

[arcenite]

What do you mean doesn't work? Doesn't blow air at all? Also, what kind of maintenance

 

[FoBoT]

so it is just the fan? not necessarily the heater, just the fan no blow? check the fuse

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: aRCeNiTe
What do you mean doesn't work? Doesn't blow air at all? Also, what kind of maintenance

Doesn't blow air. They checked the fuse and said it was fine.

Maintenance like a coolant flush, front brakes, changing out the transmission and brake fluid, etc. It's about time to do it anyhow. But you can be sure I'm re-considering about having them do it!

 

[Orsorum]

/me waves to Paige

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: Orsorum
/me waves to Paige

today. If I didn't have a business trip coming up, this wouldn't suck so much.

 

[arcenite]

Originally posted by: HotChic

Originally posted by: aRCeNiTe
What do you mean doesn't work? Doesn't blow air at all? Also, what kind of maintenance

Doesn't blow air. They checked the fuse and said it was fine.

Maintenance like a coolant flush, front brakes, changing out the transmission and brake fluid, etc. It's about time to do it anyhow. But you can be sure I'm re-considering about having them do it!

If it doesn't blow any air at all then there is an electrical problem. If it's not the fuse, then something doesn't make sense. If they only did what you said they did, this should not have happened. You may need a blower motor or the connection to the motor may have been loosened.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: HotChic

Originally posted by: aRCeNiTe
What do you mean doesn't work? Doesn't blow air at all? Also, what kind of maintenance

Doesn't blow air. They checked the fuse and said it was fine.

Maintenance like a coolant flush, front brakes, changing out the transmission and brake fluid, etc. It's about time to do it anyhow. But you can be sure I'm re-considering about having them do it!

Sounds like:

A) Not enough coolant
B) Air in your coolant system

EDIT Assuming that the fan is blowing. If the fan isn't blowing, it could anything electrical, and thats all mumbo-jumbo to me.

 

[lobadobadingdong]

coolant flush

it's possible some twit re-routed (or blocked) your hoses and bypassed your heater core.

 

[Orsorum]

I'm so sorry that happened! I wish I could say I was more knowledgeable about cars... but I'm not. Good luck getting everything fixed.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

I'd go to another mechanic or two, hopefully one of them doesn't BS you

 

[arcenite]

Those of you mentioning the coolant, she said there is no air at all.

 

[Ornery]

When I drove the car in, the heater fan was working fine. When I drove it out, it wasn't. They wouldn't commit to me to fix it at no cost, but they broke it!

You KNOW they broke it, how? I certainly wouldn't bet on that.

It could be the switch in the dash, or the motor itself. Either way, there actually isn't anything they touched for an oil change that would effect it. It would have to be sabotage, and I hope you're taking it to somebody you can trust more than that!

Edit: Forgot, there may also be a relay involved in there, which would be easy to access, and cheap, so cross your fingers on that.

Heater Switch $17.99

Heater Fan $24.99

 

[iamwiz82]

Does it work on any of the settings?

 

[AreaCode707]

Does it work on any of the settings?

Nope.

If it doesn't blow any air at all then there is an electrical problem. If it's not the fuse, then something doesn't make sense. If they only did what you said they did, this should not have happened. You may need a blower motor or the connection to the motor may have been loosened.

Good to know, thank you.

Sounds like:

A) Not enough coolant
B) Air in your coolant system

EDIT Assuming that the fan is blowing. If the fan isn't blowing, it could anything electrical, and thats all mumbo-jumbo to me.

They didn't touch the coolant this time in, so nothing would have changed there, I don't think...

it's possible some twit re-routed (or blocked) your hoses and bypassed your heater core.

Good to know, thank you.

You KNOW they broke it, how? I certainly wouldn't bet on that.

The heater was on when I turned the car off and parked it. It would not function at all 1.5 hours later, when I picked the car up. The only thing that could have altered the functioning of the heater was something that happened during that 1.5 hours while they worked on it.

It could be the switch in the dash, or the motor itself. Either way, there actually isn't anything they touched for an oil change that would effect it. It would have to be sabotage, and I hope you're taking it to somebody you can trust more than that!

Edit: Forgot, there may also be a relay involved in there, which would be easy to access, and cheap, so cross your fingers on that.

Good to know, thank you.

 

[raanemaan]

They probably unplugged the wire that connects to the heater fan. Look at the fan that is on the passenger side of the firewall. It should be a single male prong sticking out if the wire is disconnected. Find the wire and plug it in. Hope this helps

 

[dman]

Originally posted by: raanemaan
They probably unplugged the wire that connects to the heater fan. Look at the fan that is on the passenger side of the firewall. It should be a single male prong sticking out if the wire is disconnected. Find the wire and plug it in. Hope this helps

That was my guess, bumped a connection. Had that happen at a dealer, with my windshield wiper motor. Didn't realize for a few days (since no rain) and then it didn't work... was quite po'd. Ended up checking under the hood and saw the disconnected wire and plugged it back in, worked fine.

Could have been a mistake, or not, I don't know. Good luck to you.

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: raanemaan
They probably unplugged the wire that connects to the heater fan. Look at the fan that is on the passenger side of the firewall. It should be a single male prong sticking out if the wire is disconnected. Find the wire and plug it in. Hope this helps

Thank you. Gonna have to look at in daylight with somebody who knows a little more than me.

 

[virtueixi]

Originally posted by: raanemaan
They probably unplugged the wire that connects to the heater fan. Look at the fan that is on the passenger side of the firewall. It should be a single male prong sticking out if the wire is disconnected. Find the wire and plug it in. Hope this helps

That is what I'm thinkin, the blower is prolly disconnected.

 

[Ornery]

Gawd, I WISH I could get connectors to come loose that easily. Hope for your sake that's what it is, but I know it couldn't happen with the connectors on my car. The latching tabs require three hands to bust loose!

 

[AreaCode707]

Daytime bump.

 

[ActuaryTm]

Given enough time, and the right tools, men can break anything. Unfortunately, does not aid matters that you are a woman, as they will attempt to prey on that stereotype (not that said stereotype is true, mind you).

Be firm, and continue to insist that it was functional when the vehicle was left. Do not back down. In the end, it may not be their fault (bizarre things do occassionally happen), but they should do their utmost to determine such is the case.

Good luck.

 

[Wingznut]

<-- ASE Mechanic of 10+ years, in my previous career...

Forget what everyone is saying about coolant, hoses and the like. Those things won't cause fan problems.

Can you hear the fan running, even though you don't feel air? If so, then there's probably a vacuum line disconnected, causing your vent doors not to move.

If you can't hear the fan running, then it's definitely electrical. As Ornery stated, it's either something disconnected, a switch, a relay, or the fan motor itself. There's also a resistor inline, but (usually) when those go out, the fan will still work on high.


All that being said... It's hard to imagine (but not impossible) that a typical oil change could've caused this. It is VERY possible that whatever broke, just happened to do it in that timeframe. I'm not defending the shop, since I obviously don't know exactly what's wrong. I'm just saying that this has happened to me, and every other mechanic out there, at one point or another.

 

[SuperSix]

Nothing they neededto access to do theoil change is near any HVAC components - I vote for vacuum leak as wingznuts notes above, they may have bumped a vacuum line off.

Doesthe car run the same? Is it a 3100 V6 or the 3800?

 

[AreaCode707]

Well, the official verdict is that the blower is broken and they're going to replace it at cost to me.