Dealer Quotes $1500 to fix THIS?? (Ford Focus No A/C) 

We need more good Mechanics like you Ivan.

I love that Ivan has no ulterior motive to sell you stuff you don't need as opposed to dealerships (parts canon). I learn a lot of information on this channel. He is also easy to listen to without a lot of preaching. You are doing the community a big service. Thank you.

Great thought process and diagnostic, Ivan! The dealer must have been grinding his teeth while refunding, but he did the right thing. Meanwhile, you are really building a reputation - one of these days you will have to get a bigger shop 🙂 Love these happy endings 🙂

I have been doing Automotive A/C for over 20 years now and I have seen some crooked establishnents stealing peoples money on minor repairs. It is not a missed diagnostic, it is outright thievery. Thank you PHAD. Great video.

Pep Boys??? I wouldn't trust them with my lawn mower....

Unfortunately....Most days at dealerships, techs see the low paycheck light on 1st .... Good CATCH 🤦‍♂😶😊

So the woman takes her car to a Ford Dealership to diagnose a problem and they fail to tell her there is an unrelated safety recall on the door latches of her car that can cause them to open unexpectedly. That's really horrifying.

I had a friend whose air con was cutting in and out. He went to 2 mechanics, both wanted $1500aud for new compressor to fix. I told him I will have a look at it. The compressor clutch was slipping, so I took one of the shims out. That was 5 years ago and still working perfectly. Only took a few minutes to fix.

You are definitely a diagnostic master for sure man, looks like everyone, but the dealership had a win.

You're the Metzger Wickersham of diagnostic technicians. The dealer saw your name and they said pay her. Fantastic ending, and great job Ivan.

Let’s give credit where it is due…Props to the dealer for refunding the mis-diagnosis. After all, EVERYONE makes a mistake every now and then and the dealer owned their mistake. Most people these days are way too quick to point their fingers and lay blame yet those same folks rarely ever give a compliment when it is due. Great job Ivan!

Off topic Ivan, but I look forward to the day you can build yourself a workshop on the property with a vehicle hoist. Your back will say thanks when you hit your fifties, trust me! You have saved countless people from the clutches of incompetent dealerships and for that you deserve praise. The people of State College area are lucky to have a tech of your caliber.

Ivan, you are just awesome! The problem with the dealerships are that they are too fast and don’t take their time on the car. Get it in and out as fast as you can!

Hi Ivan, your rep on RU-vid has the dealers quaking in their boots. Well done to you and your customer for having the guts to ask for the refund. Many thanks from Nr Liverpool UK.

Great work as always, Ivan. I hate to assume this, but had she okayed the repairs at the dealer, they would've thrown the $1,500 parts cannon at it, realized the A/C still wasn't working, and then finally they would be lead to the coolant sensor AFTER all the new components were installed. The dealer would've charged her for the coolant sensor as well, but would've probably made it seem unrelated to the A/C system. So there she is, dropping $1,500+ because of a faulty $50 sensor, and yet the dealership still seems like the hero because ultimately they got her A/C working again. Like I said, I hate to assume that, but it wouldn't surprise me one bit. Happens all the time.

Apparently the Ford CEO talks all about the customer “experience “ being most important…yeah / nah ..looks like their dealers are having trouble living up to the CEOs dreams…well done Ivan !..once again being professional shows honestly and diplomacy = excellent customer experience 🎉!👍

Forget the AC it’s a minor miracle this thing still has an operational transmission!

You are a good guy, Ivan... Your customers are lucky to have you...

Awesome video, Ivan! So happy the customer got her money back. I'm glad to see your attention to detail gets the respect it deserves! :)

Man Ivan, a 2012 Ford Focus with a double dry clutch transmission and 94,000 miles... Tell this poor lady she is about to have much bigger problems than her A/C

Ivan if ford dealership still hasn’t banned you by your next video I’ll be amazed, you put them all to shame! Great work as always👍

I like that you took a quick look for anything obvious re: the vacuum leak. It made sense to ultimately set that aside as a separate diagnosis, but I have no doubt if you found a PCV hose laying loose on top of the intake or something, you'd have plugged it back in and called it a day. Well done sir. And ATTABOY FORD DEALER!!!

Great stuff Ivan! As I have never even saw You or anyone else except myself and CAT mechanics use this simple procedure when replacing coolant sensors and other coolant related components. Using whatever fittings from coolant pressure kits or smoke test kits or whatever, hook up a vacuum source to the coolant system up high anywhere and pull a vacuum on the system. If Your quick enough, You can use a hand vacuum pump, or use an electric pump and You won’t loose any coolant. It works great! 👍👍🇺🇸

"It's either a bad sensor or a bad connection". THIS is a sign of a quality mechanic! Had the same problem with my V10 Excursion, only it turned out to be the connection rather than the sensor- just needed a pig-tail. Since I don't have manifold gauges or anything for servicing A/C, I took it to the shop my neighbor owns, as he specializes in auto A/C (Former HVAC tech)...he thought it was the high pressure switch. I knew it wasn't that- he was just guessing. So I took it to the auto A/C place in the next county. They picked up the CHT sensor, said I could just replace it- but I was unsure, so for the first time in my life I went to the Ferd stealership for a diag. They got it right [Surprise!]. But it's sad how many shops just guess and want to do parts cannon, or just go off of what a code says without doing any further diag, like checking the connection. Love this channel; you are extremely competent, conscientious and honest!

Sounds to me like a typical dealership. They’re incompetent at best and thieves at worst. Most likely both. Being banned by dealerships in your case is a badge of honor. Keep up the good and honest work, Ivan!

Ive been following this channel for some time now. Ivan is an honest, reliable, diagnostic tech. Top Work as always Bud 🙂

Great job Ivan. I actually had a Ford dealership refund me when they couldn't program the remote part of the aftermarket key fobs I bought, but I could. I called them and the service manager admitted that they had trouble and gave up after two tries. I did it once and had no issues. However, their honesty had kept me coming to them for parts.

It is strange how many issues Fords have had for years that are all related to the temperature sensor. Even "no start" scenarios. You would think by now that would be the first thing they would check. Well done, sir!

5 years with a check engine light on but comes to a mechanic to get the A/C fixed. Shocker. There’s an outfit in my hometown that only does automotive A/C work and I’m starting to realize how brilliant that business model is.

Nice diagnosis Ivan! Didn't realize that ECT can effect the A/C! But cool to know. I've worked on bad sensors when customer has hard start but when warm, i scanned it on my scanner (think pro) i knew in my mind that that coolant has gone wonky. Scanner proved me right -40 deg. I checked for resistance, showed OL. Replaced it, the car started fine now. Haha! You could have smoked the intake just for fun on video lol. See if anything is obvious lol. Overall great job and video, Ivan.

It seems like a trite statement, but honesty is really the best policy. If you can't give a pretty definitive diag, then just admit so, instead of shooting from the hip and quoting an expensive (non)repair. Thanks Ivan!

5:30 and I can already feel the classic no or few parts required fix that we all know and love.

It was very satisfying to see you find the real problem. Sometimes I wonder if it's the dealer's incompetency or dishonesty. For the amount of money they charge you'd hope they'd be more conscientious. Kudos for using your critical thinking to save the customer a lot of money.

Your understanding of the systems and their interconnectedness never ceases to amaze me. I'm happy everything worked out so well for your customer. We know who will be getting her family's future business. The Crazy Russian strikes again. :)

I owned one of these for about six years. Surprisingly she didn’t say she had transmission issues also. They were never able to fix mine, so I manual swapped it and that made it drive able. Got rid of it for a manual Honda Fit and have driven it for 4 years and not a single problem. Your videos have really helped me change my way of thinking about diagnosing troubles with anything not just automotive repairs. Great channel and thanks Ivan.

Wow, diagnosis refund from the dealer, time to buy a lottery ticket. Good thing the lady got second opinion from you, that would have hurt. Way to find the door latch recall too. Yep, don't say this often but agree, kudos to the dealer. Winner, winner, chicken dinner. Nice work Ivan.

I gotta say, I missed my first guess. I was thinking the fan control circuit might have been preventing the fan from running. Without that, the A/C isn't going to get the airflow it needs to work properly when slow or stopped.

CEL on with 5 codes and no codes present. What is wrong with the dealer service departments. They should just inform the customer that their muffler bearings need to be replaced. That way everyone will understand that the diagnosis is a joke. 1.2 hours for a coolant sensor and 5 hours to install a new short block. Where do these flat rate figures come from.

A mechanic is an honest guy. Stands up for the customer 👍👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

That's I work on my own car. Like you when I saw the coolant temp going crazy. I was "there's your problem lady!" Great diagnostic my friend.

I love that we always get bonus footage!

You are a true master of your craft! You are a rare breed of a diagnostic specialist!

Enjoy the praise , you definitely deserve it. Thank you for your videos.

Good job Ivan. Glad you showed the ohm readings for the bad sensor and the good sensor. Nice to see you thinking outside the box on how to replace that sensor without tearing the whole car apart. Thanks for Sharing!

You're so professional and knowledgeable. I keep learning so much watching you diagnose. Thank you so much. It seems like these dealership parts changers just hurry through the diagnosis and if the computer doesn't tell them what part to replace they fire the parts cannon.

Enjoyed the ending of the customer case. Your business ethics and diagnosis processes are becoming a great benchmark & reference to my clients.

You understand how things work , so your mind goes to what could be wrong . See so many techs not fully understanding how things work and not trying to fully understanding .they still try to fix people's stuff though . Not shy about taking money for their crappy work . I love when you take apart modules , switches ,motors ,and fix for no parts recquired !

I really enjoyed this video, fun to see good troubleshooting in action. Was also cool to get to meet you at the reception back in May. Looking forward to more of these videos and learning more about auto diagnostics!

This was the 2nd video of yours. wish I lived near you. You're on the ball and get to the root of the problem and don't just change out parts hoping to get it right.. BRAVO..

Great work! That’s what keeps us coming to watch your channel…knowledge, honesty and professionalism. 👍👍

ivan you are getting such a great reputation that dealers are afraid of you , love your approach to fixing problems

Thanks for sharing… I have so much respect for that dealership stepping up to the plate and owning the mistake.

Great video Ivan, initially when I saw that sensor reading open, yea that equals sensor telling engine its winter time, therefore CPU cutting off A/C compressor. I was surprised at the overall effect the bad sensor had on those other CPUs. Keep up the great work really enjoy your videos !!

Super job Ivan! Another fix 👍and the Dealer helped! The cameras these days are so powerful. Stay safe Have a great day!

Ivan, you are so very modest....and that's a FANTASTIC thing!

It's hard to believe that the dealer mechanics are unable to apply simple logic! If the A/C works and blows cold, has proper charge and pressures, then stops because the clutch is not engaging why would it need a new compressor? I love the way you apply scientific principles and logic to finding the problem.

It's worth it to them to give her a refund and get a 'kudos' from you rather than telling her to take a hike and then get roasted in your video. You have the power of getting the honest truth out there and it can force people to do the right thing.

Never would have suspected a temp sender would that. That was a great diagnostic lesson. Thanks.

I did a prepurchase inspection on a Mustang. Found rust under the sill plates. Told her looks like car did some diving. She went back to the dealer saying Don told me you are trying to sell me a flood car. This didn't go over too well. I told future customers to use more tact when declining purchases.

I work at a Ford dealer and am honestly a little embarrassed that that dealer missed that. First day on the job or what. And I laughed when you said the door latch went out. I’ve replaced hundreds of them here. They suck!! And the icing on the cake is they pay about 1.5hrs for all 4 latches! Good diagnosis. I probably would have reset KAM maybe the coolant temp readings threw off the trims? Although knowing you you probably did that already haha.

Great find Ivan! I have taken a few of your quotes and passed them on to my Auto Tech students. "Be 110% sure of the problem before firing the parts Cannon."

I always look forward to your diagnostics, I am amazed at your skill and logic .

The dealership learned a lot from you. you should get a check for $500.00. Keep up the good work.

Your diagnostic skills are way beyond anything you get at a Ford dealership. Or any dealership.

Ivan keeping other shops in check 😂 great job as usual! Keep it up!

👍👍👍👍👍You are far better than car dealers man, your videos helped me diagnostic and repair my 99 CRV, there were a couple of problems: bad ground, valves adjustment, exaust and intake, fuel injectors filter which i myself creat, by removing the good OEM filter and replace it with aftermarket that has smaller hole than the OEM, the OEM hole filter was bigger almost twice than the hole of the after market filter, i didnt pay attention when i imstalled it, first the car start but it was shaking like missfire, and after few second the computer compensate for that and the car idle almost right but the car went to LIMP mode which i lermed from you, the car dosent allow speed more than 35 mile an hour, in addition to bad, hard and delayed shifting, rough engine idling at drive, but i had no idea what going on exactelly till i learned from you what a LIMP mode, and what can cause it.

Amazing! I would never have thought a coolant temp sensor could cause ac system to shut down. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. God bless you

Pretty mind boggling the dealer missed that diagnosis. Not sure how they were saying "no codes stored" when the check engine light was on? Didn't they check for codes in the PCM? As for the customer, they should mind the big "Don't Ignore Me - See the light, check it out" sign that Eric O. has up in his shop. Big issue with driving around with a warning light on for years is that you don't know when something new has gone wrong.

Ivan. Congratulations. Your diagnostic skills are now broad based. They cure cars and dealership behavior as well… no parts required!!! 🤣🤷🏻‍♂️🤦🏻😎🔥🤞👍

Fantastic work! Just another example of a dealer looking out for their pocket and not the true interest of the customer!

Great case study / tutorial ! And great story ! Better than watching a movie !!

I’m surprised the car didn’t run like crap. Nice find Ivan!

thk you for operating out honesty, integrity, you make are profesion look good

Awesome diagnosis and repair on he original complaint/issue,- the A/C. Bonus that you found the recall (that the dealership didn't explore) and kudos that she got her money back and latches replaced. - Great going..

This is yet another example of why Ivan at P.H.A.D. is my go-to diagnostic channel. His capability, professionalism and honesty are all best-in-class. Thanks Ivan.

Communication and honesty .... sadly two things missing from many service industry providers these days. That is what differentiates the "good" ones. Like PHAD! Keep up the good work, Ivan. You are an inspiration to many!

Good job as always Ivan!

Cool mate you kicked a few goals today didn't ya!👏👏👏💥💯 Booyaa dealership mechanics! 1. Diagnose & repair fault 2. Find potential vacuum leak source 3. Saved customer cost of unnecessary replacement of a/c compressor. 4. Work done armed customer to successfully gain a refund for unsuccessful repairs by dealership mechanics. 5. Exposed the shortcomings of a non-sequential, non-pathsearching air conditioning fault procedure, as demonstrated by the received mechanical condition of the vehicle, as previously & unsuccessfully repaired by a dealership mechanic! Give that man a cigar, a beer, & large fries, & a high five! 👍👏👏!

And again, Ivan shows that one of the primary steps in diagnosing ANYTHING, car, lawnmower or your fridge, is that you NEED to know how it WORKS! #howdoesitwork

Nice work Ivan. I had the lady across the street ask me to look at her friend's Focus or Fusion (I forget which one it was) that had a door latching problem. The door would fly open when she was driving and she has a kid in a child safety seat next to it. She had already had one door fixed by an independent shop and she didn't want to have to spend another $400 getting another latch fixed. I looked online to see if there was some info on the door latches and how to fix them and found the NHTSA recall notice on these Fords. So I told the neighbor to tell her friend to go to Ford and get it fixed for free. I never heard back about the outcome but I'm sure she did OK. It always pays to investigate problems online before tearing into some unknown problem.😊 This is one of the reasons why I watch these mechanic's channels like you and Eric O. So much great info. I still want to see some final resolution on the 460 Ford F250. Make it happen! You're not done yet.

What does it feel like to be at the very top of your game Ivan? You're an acknowledged master of your profession now!

Great diagnosis/fix

My wife's 2005 toyota echo does this and I never even thought about the temp sensore , thanks for this .

Nice work Ivan! I love how the dealership pulled through and they respect Pine Hollow! 🇺🇸

Nice Job man. I use to get the GMs rolling in all the time p0128 temp gauge at full cold but message center says a/c off engine overheating. That's some genius engineering!

More overly The Dealer techs need to stop guessing and do what you do - you scanned it - you looked at the pids and and live data and found the problem Where these dealer techs don't trouble shoot enough. That tells me better problem solving and more thinking on there part needs to be done. It's almost like that they need you to be there being a teacher to them in teaching them the proper techniques in diagnoses ... I sure love your video's Ivan You do great work and You are a honest technician with a Golden Soul. Keep up the awesome work ...

You are a good person to help that lady out. Just shows you that the dealers hire mechanics that are not confident in themselfs. some dealers should hire the mechanics according to their grades from trade schools.

Great job Ivan, well done.

Great job as always Ivan 👍

From Australia, took my Great Wall x200 turbo diesel to the local dealer due to no vacuum at the brake booster (diesels have a vacuum pump due to no manifold vacuum) they diagnosed it as faulty vacuum booster, they replaced the booster and somehow damaged the master cylinder. The outcome was they paid for the new booster (2nd one) and new master cylinder and labour. I paid for the 1st booster only. Turns out the vacuum pump was faulty too; I had one and they installed it and all is fine. Dealership came through, took 3-4 weeks through.

As usual Ivan expert analysis and repair!!! 👍

I like the cut of your jib, sir. You're trustworthy. In today's society, that is so important. Love your videos, to the point, logical assessment of the fault, and you find the issue without due pain to your customer's wallet.

Great vid Ivan. I just had a car in today that needed front brakes and the customer was just in to a dealership last week for an oil change and air filter replacement. Well I checked the air filter just on a whim and it was completely black, so I gave the customer the filter and she's going back to the dealer to complain. So sad that some dealers just want a quick buck and not complete the work. Sad really. Thanks for sharing

Perfect job and diagnose Ivan 👏👏👏 You…Keith…Eric O and DiagnoseDan are the true experts 😎😎👏👏

Honesty and communication! Couldn’t agree more! These are hallmarks of good shops, and good business in general!

Thanks again for the update.

Ivan, great vid, loved the outcome. Ladies get a rough ride at garages, but thanks to your skills the lady is ok. You put the fear in dealerships.

Classic case of other shops not seeing the wood for the trees, if she let main dealer swap out controller, the problem would still be present. Excellent diagnosis and repair Ivan.

Ivan. A beacon in the pursuit of furthering competence and promoting accountability, integrity and honesty in the automotive repair field. 👍

Ivan with some next level customer service.