What a joke... I just had an educational day. The Ford dealer told me they had to reset the "CHECK ENGINE" light with their computer after they change out the "Mas Air Flow Sensor" and the "O2 Sensor". The Mas Air Flow Sensor fits between the air filter and throttle body and the O2 sensor is located in or near the exhaust manifold. No hard task!!! This is on my 1995 Mercury Mystique. I have a 1990 F250 351 4x4 with the "CHECK ENGINE" light on also. I had to buy the Mas Air Flow Sensor from the Ford dealer. I got the O2 Sensor at "Parts Plus" after calling around for about 10 minutes. Also when getting the O2 Sensor, get it with the plug at the other end. Any added connectors can add resistance and give false readings. I learned with the car, all you have to do is disconnect the battery before you start to switch out the parts, reconnect the battery, and you are on your way. The Ford service dept. wanted to charge me 3 hours @ $62.00/hr of labor to do this. It took me 15 minutes and I took my sweet time. I will attack the truck next.
Hope this helps....
So to all "Ford owners" Beware the Ford Service Dept....

 

Isnt the 3 hrs labor the charge for changing the the Maf & O2 Sensors ? More than likely the scan tool was used to erase the trouble codes from the Ecu , I understand disconnecting the battry accomplishes the same thing , but it also erases things like radio presets & causes the Ecu to go thru a brief relearning process .

 

Paul,
It only took me 15 minutes to do the whole thing. Disconnect the battery, replace the parts and reconnect the battery. I think the Service dept. wanted to make some easy $$$$$
LT

 

very easy money for the service dept as for the resetting of the radio thats easy enough and if someone cant reset their radio stations then they deserve to be ripped off by the dealership the relearning of the ecu takes about 3 miles of normal driving not to hard to do so lets add things up 3 miles and about 3 minutes to reset radio compared to 60+ dollars if you choose the 60 bucks your probally allready an idiot and deserve it

 

No one was trying to rip you off . The labor giude specifies 3 hrs to replace those parts & reset the Ecu . I can guarnatee the mechanic that would have done the work wouldnt even have made a fraction of that $62/hr . If you did it all in 15 mins then you ought to think about an auto repair career , youd do pretty well , You would have been paid for 3hrs work that only took you 15 mins . Not bad .

 

Dealer techs work on the flat rate system. The labor guide allows 1.0 hrs for diagnosis, 1.3 hours for MAF sensor replacement, and .7 hours for O2 sensor replacement. Included in the above are the pinpoint tests necessary to condemn the suspect components, a PCM reset and a road test as well as a re-test of the EEC-IV system to verify the repair. I doubt you did all of this in 15 minutes. More likely you are a backyard hack who disconnected the battery cable and replaced the parts that the dealership told you were bad. Did you PAY for diagnosis, or was it free? Did you re-check for trouble codes once you had completed the repair and thoroughly road tested the vehicle?


A dealership is a business. Businesses exist to earn a profit. Surely the company you work for strives to earn a profit! Why do you begrudge the Ford dealer in his attempt to earn a profit?

Authorized Ford Dealers are required to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment and training. Much of this equipment sits on a shelf unused, yet the dealer must buy it anyway, just in case a customer should show up & need his car repaired w/ this special service tool. The dealership is required to train its technicians when new models and/or systems are introduced. The dealership must also maintain a respectable looking building, buy service manuals ($1100-2000 per model year, depending on format), pay for TSB subscriptions, maintain computerized information systems, etc. This enormous overhead must be covered by someone. Guess who that someone is??? The service customer!!!

Bottom line:

The dealership is probably the most expensive place to have your car repaired. It is also most likely to have the tools & training necessary to repair it correctly the first time.

If you are capable of doing your own repairs and maintenance, that's great! But don't be p*ssed because the dealership marks up the parts cost and charges you book time for labor. They have huge expenses to cover and they're in business to make a profit.

 

overhead and profit margins are fine. Dealerships make thier money in the garage anyway, not selling cars. They have thier time and place like all things.

on the other hand, I've yet to take any car or truck I've owned into a dealership and have it come out without some problem it didn't go in with. Warranty work or not. Ditto for 80% of the mechanics I've dealt with. Dishonest business practices are what pisses people off about dealerships and other auto mechanics, not just the cost of going to them.

So I learned to do the work myself, first to save money and second to save aggrevation.

 

Back in Florida I did find, by luck, a very honest mechanic. He was looking to make a living, not get rich.

On several occasions he even recommended that I NOT have something done that I requested. He would tell me that it wouldn't really help, and explain why. Or he would suggest a cheaper alternative, and the pros and cons of each decision.

He has since retired. I sure miss him.