IMO, this trim must cover steering column and firewall junction. Sorry no picture from me, I've an older Ody.

 

The tech is an idiot.

 

The tech is an idiot.

The mind boggling part is that, being the dealer, the tech has other Odys on the lot to review how that boot "should" be installed since it's obvious that he/she forgot how it should be, after disassembling it.

 

Thank you, John!

 

Duplicated .....disregard

 

No! I read your post before it was edited and greatly appreciated the detail!!

 

AJ15,
Please report back when fixed. I’ll be interested in finding out if they pull the steering column and reinsert it correctly or cut the boot thru the side and pull it around…… 5 minute fix.

 

I would point out to the idiot tech that the misplaced piece could have easily slipped down and prevented the brake pedal from making a full excursion. Remember the multi-million dollar law suit against Toyota, where the floor mat became unstable and bunched up under the brake pedal? The woman was killed. I suspect that's why all the new mats have retainer clips. The opposite is true too. If you need rapid acceleration to avoid an accident, you may not get it with that piece jamming the gas pedal.

I'd be pissed at that tech and dealership! Hats off to your dear lady for catching that. The outcome could have been much worse.

 

The opposite is true too. If you need rapid acceleration to avoid an accident, you may not get it with that piece jamming the gas pedal.

Exactly! With it wedged in there how it was, it felt like there was a 2x4 between my foot and the pedal. I could only get about 1/2 throttle without pressing really hard. I've avoided a handful of accidents (often people coming up from the rear) by quickly accelerating out of the way. What if the plastic had snapped out of the way and with the extra force you had to press on the accelerator you foot FLOORED the van when you weren't expecting it?

The Toyota mat lawsuit was the first thing that came to my mind, too!

They also left the steering column wiring harness unattached from the firewall (the new clip is just zipped to the wire loom but not attached to the firewall slot) - eh, minor. They also left the footwell trim piece popped out - I fixed that, minor - wouldn't have complained at all.

Jamming something under the accelerator is just so careless and could have been catastrophic. My wife went to pick up the kids after the dealership. I was livid when I found it later that night.

 

Even outside of dealer work, I feel like pedal clearance is often forgotten about even in things like DIY work where people are running wires down there in the footwell for addons without considering the impact it has on the pedals. Good reminder for everyone, and even better that we get it without anyone getting hurt in the process.

 

I cannot believe that a technician would forget to insure that the steering column had passed through the insulation rubber boot. I would demand not only free repair, but a personal apology from the technician that did the work. When they drove it from the work bay they was in and parked it for pick-up, they should had felt the resistance on the accelerator pedal and investigated it right away! Not to mention a lawsuit that could have incurred when accelerator could have been caught in a full acceleration stroke when you or your wife drove it.

 

Bring up lawsuit and they'll fix it straight away and likely make up for it somehow. Bring all pictures you took. You can even ask the shop for a tow truck because it's potentially unsafe to drive.

 

I'd think twice before mentioning lawsuit at a dealership.

I was waiting in line to pick up my vehicle, and the guy in front of me was screaming bloody murder at the service advisor. Once it was my turn (and he regained his composure) I asked what happened.

He said the customer threatened to sue them due to a repair. If a customer does this, it is their policy to immediately get their vehicle and have it removed from their premises. It doesn't matter if it is complete or drivable. All the parts are thrown in, and the customer has to tow it away at their expense..

 

@Hodna
One of the most important things that my mentors that I had told me "No matter what you do, always look at what you have worked on after completion of the task, then test drive it." In doing a hydraulic lifter replacement and head valve job, I had removed the engine hood for ease of access to the heads. Completing this and getting assistance putting the hood back on, I never tightened the 4 engine hood bolts, I just spun the bolts in by fingers snug while aligning the hood. One of my closer friends at the dealership that helped me put the hood back watched me from his job seeing that I never wrenched the hood bolts at all, saw me get into the vehicle to take it out for a test spin and when I returned he had not said anything to me and opened the hood and smiled. This fine teacher (friend) knew that I would tear the top end of the vehicle apart to find what problem I left or did wrong. Thinking through my head, I thought OK... let me take the hood off and see what I was missing. I started to rachet the hood bolts and found them loose. With egg on my face I thanked him to my chagrin, and learned another valuable lesson. Yes, we all make mistakes, but when we do it is generally from being in a hurry or not having your mind on the task at hand.

When a customer finds problems that the mechanic (service technician has created) it tells me his/her head was not in the job. At the Honda dealer I use here in Omaha, the service technician pulls the vehicle into a reserved parking area, and when you come to pick it up, service team personnel pulls the car into the building and briefly looks over the vehicle. When you originally take the vehicle in they take pictures of the body with their tablets. Which tells me right away body damage has been done by their people or customers are making false claim of body damage. One of the recalls on the ODY I had taken, asked them to repair a slow leak in a tire when they completed the recall. The in-bay technician had saw from his tablet of my request, and told me they would repair the tire right the. So I waited and about an hour passed. They had repaired the tire and rotated the tires and washed the ODY, with no charge for any of the work. I thanked them and was happy when leaving the dealer for a change.

 

Excellent story, DJVAN. I've had similar experiences in life. We sometimes miss the easy or obvious stuff. You did a masterful job on the valves and engine but missed something a first year student would catch. You had the wisdom to log that event in your head so that for the balance of your career, you wouldn't make the same mistake ever again. Thanks for sharing 😀.

 

So what is the outcome with the repair?