That customer who argued with me about his check engine light for 20 minutes

Had a guy come in last Tuesday with a 2015 Ford Focus. Light was on and I ran the code, it was a P0420 - catalytic converter efficiency. Told him it probably needed a new cat. He spent 20 minutes insisting it was just a bad oxygen sensor because his buddy on Facebook told him so. Even argued with my scan tool readout. Some people just don't want to hear the truth from someone who does this for a living. Any of you ever had a customer straight up refuse to believe a diagnostic code?

2 comments

2 Comments

iris_green8416d agoTop Commenter

and honestly, the Facebook friend thing gets me every time. I had a guy last month with a check engine light that was blinking, which is a whole different level of urgency. Told him it was a misfire and he needed to stop driving it. He said his cousin's neighbor said it was just bad gas and he could drive another 500 miles. Three days later he called me from the side of the highway with a dead cat and a cooked coil pack. People act like a scan tool is just guessing, but like, those codes come straight from the car's computer. It's not a horoscope. Your mileage may vary but I've learned to just show them the freeze frame data and let them stare at the numbers. Sometimes that helps, sometimes they still think the car is lying to them.

ruby_grant16d ago

Hang on @iris_green84, you gotta tell me - did you actually pull up that freeze frame data and walk him through it? I swear some people think the car's computer is just making stuff up for fun. I had a guy argue with me once that his oxygen sensor code was "just a glitch" because he read online that they fail all the time anyway. Like buddy, the car doesn't know you read that forum post. What's the weirdest excuse you've gotten after showing someone the actual numbers?