When do burnt out bulbs suddenly come back to life? When you call Quirk VW out on it!

[MikeS_18]

So the passat when in to get the heater core replacement done. Separate thread but it's a defective part and VW only agreed to pay 80% of work (separate rant for that).

However, they also were tasked to do inspection while the car was there.

They called to say: "Both of the running lamps are out and they need to be working to pass inspection. We can replace them for $55."

"Really, I had no warning light on the dash and I replaced one only 3 weeks ago and they were both working. Wouldn't the dash indicate this?"

"It might not if they were intermittent and not totally burnt out. But let me check with the tech. I'll call back."

They called back: "It's all set. The tech said he wiggled something and they both came back on."

Hmm...what would he have wiggled to fix both lights that intermittently were out but not throwing a dash indication eventhough one bulb was only 3 weeks old. What a load of manure. Quirk being the same old Quirk...

 

[Jetter_Sprinta]

Do you sound female on the phone? I went to a random local place with my '07 Audi a couple years ago and the guy told me my plate light was out. I said "Really? I was just messing with it this morning when I was shopping for an LED replacement, and it worked then..." He came back and said he banged something and it came back on. BS.

On the other hand, there is a light that my regular sticker guy has to bang on every year on my Jetta. And he reminds me of it every time!

 

[Abacus]

Well, actually I just had this 2 days ago on my brother's B4. He said his headlight was blinking on and off, so he assumed it was the connection. When he removed the bulb cover it came back on so he left it off and then it went out again when driving. I checked the socket figuring I'd just replace it but it looked fine. If I wiggled the headlight bulb it would go off, so I put a new bulb in and it stayed lit. We tossed the old one in the trash.

LED's are known for doing this due to the very thin and crappy wires the use on the base to make the connection. I have had to mess with them more than once and adjust them so they stay on.

 

[MikeS_18]

Do you sound female on the phone?

Actually, it was Jonna on the phone - but talking to a female service advisor. I was the one hollering in the background...

Abacus, you're not defending them right? 2013 car, two intermittent bulbs, no dash indication, working when we drove in, but broken two hours later, and then surprisingly fixed again...seriously?

 

[Cooper]

Sounds like Summit VW in NJ.

They supposedly "replaced" the plugs in my wife's 1997 Passat GLX even though the service didn't call for it. Think it was 6 plugs for the VR6 at $22 each: $132.

The plugs were just replaced 10,000 miles before.

My wife called them on it. They then said the wrong plugs were in the car.

Really? So you pull plugs when not called for to see what plugs are in the car. The correct plugs were in the car, BTW.

My wife said they were the correct plug. They then said to come back in and they will re-install the old plugs.

Really? You saved the old plugs?

Summit VW in NJ: Complete rip off!

 

[Abacus]

Nope, not defending them at all. One bulb is a possibility, two is doubtful.

 

[MikeS_18]

Really? You saved the old plugs?

Yes, in my instance I was about to tell them I wanted to bulbs back but they miraculously were the self-healing bulbs.

 

[emerscape]

Yeah there is nothing about Quirk that I trust. I bought a jeep from them many years ago and inspected it the day I bought it. Three days later it rained and I discovered my new (used) jeep was covered in heavy scratches. Took it back to them and after fighting for hours they agreed to repaint the jeep.

 

[MikeS_18]

UPDATE: So in the review we mentioned this item and yesterday got a lengthy email from the service leader at VW Quirk. He dug into the situation - clearly he had because he had way more information than we provided in the review.

The tech admitted that his "jiggling something" was that he had left the ebrake on and saw and reported both lamps out and was embarrassed to tell the adviser that is what he did wrong and didn't admit his boneheaded-ness.

So it is true that the ebrake even at one click would turn off daytime lights. On an A4 I know it takes a couple of clicks to get the dash brake light to go on. I don't know about our passat, but I think this is plausible.

So do I believe them? I was a 0% before and now I'm at 60%. The service manager did take the time to dig into it, wrote a very appropriate email and they do get points for that. If he's still not telling the truth, he sure did spend a lot of time making up a story.

 

[Lug_Nut]

"Self healing" incandescent filaments are more common than you might think. The current flow through the previously separated ends as they are brought together by the shaking and vibration of banging on the lamp literally arc welds the ends together.
The weld seldom lasts long, and subsequent thumping on the glass is less and less effective at getting the loose ends to whip into contact to weld again, but this glass-knocking has been a practice since Edison.