beware of midas.

**02transamce** · 03-01-2009, 05:55 PM

f-ing crooks.about 2 years ago the pass.side converter on the t/a started rattling,the wife and i were on vacation in panama city,florida,we took it by the local pontiac dealer and were told it would cost $1200 for the pipe and converter plus labor and they couldn't get the part for a couple of days,so we left and saw a midas down the road.they quoted us $250 to replace the converter,so i gave them the go ahead to do the work.well,yesterday i installed long-tube headers and ory pipe,because the service engine soon light refused to go off,code p0430(going to get a tune tuesday to edit the rear o2s)and found that midas installed a HOLLOW converter housing!!! we shined a freakin flashlight through the pipe just to make sure.so beware of midas if you take your car to them you are probably going to get

.

**Hi-Po** · 03-01-2009, 05:58 PM

Huh, I never would have thought Midas would do shotty work. I take my car there for everything from oil changes to cam swaps.

**cammed goat** · 03-01-2009, 05:58 PM

High flow cats are the ONLY way to go with LTs IMO.

**Nhra Firebird** · 03-01-2009, 06:02 PM

Originally Posted by Hi-Po

Huh, I never would have thought Midas would do shotty work. I take my car there for everything from oil changes to cam swaps.

**02transamce** · 03-01-2009, 06:04 PM

Originally Posted by Hi-Po

Huh, I never would have thought Midas would do shotty work. I take my car there for everything from oil changes to cam swaps.

maybe it was just that location that is shady,maybe there are good ones elsewhere,but i will not give a midas any more of my money.

**cammed goat** · 03-01-2009, 06:08 PM

The Midas touch...we cure your rattling converter problems by hollowing out your cat and STILL charge you for it!!!

**Packy** · 03-01-2009, 06:12 PM

Holy shit! In PCB to say the least...

**SiggyZ** · 03-01-2009, 06:14 PM

That's not really news to me. I'd throw the mighty Jiffy Lube into this discussion too.

**cammed goat** · 03-01-2009, 06:26 PM

Originally Posted by SiggyZ

That's not really news to me. I'd throw the mighty Jiffy Lube into this discussion too.

LOL. Back when I used to work at Sears Auto Center, and Sears used to rent space to JL, I used to see the guys drive the cars onto their lifts...AND THEY MISSED and had the tires of one side on the lift and the other side would be in the gap in the middle of the lift. We would have to run over with floorjacks to lift the stuck side onto the lift. There were a few instances where vehicles would be towed back because the guys left the drain plug loose and they would either leak/fall out of the vehicle and the motor seized. Man, I can still hear the voices of disgruntled customers. I thank God I never worked for Jiffy Lube. But, then again, I am meticulous with the cars I work on.

**chuckie669** · 03-01-2009, 07:30 PM

That's some bs... Sorry you got taken.

I took my car to the dealer with 72k miles for a rattle in my cat and they replaced them both for free voluntarily saying there's an emissions warranty.

**SouthernBornThriller** · 03-01-2009, 07:56 PM

Originally Posted by cammed goat

LOL. Back when I used to work at Sears Auto Center, and Sears used to rent space to JL, I used to see the guys drive the cars onto their lifts...AND THEY MISSED and had the tires of one side on the lift and the other side would be in the gap in the middle of the lift. We would have to run over with floorjacks to lift the stuck side onto the lift. There were a few instances where vehicles would be towed back because the guys left the drain plug loose and they would either leak/fall out of the vehicle and the motor seized. Man, I can still hear the voices of disgruntled customers. I thank God I never worked for Jiffy Lube. But, then again, I am meticulous with the cars I work on.

Omg I would be in jail if they told me they forgot to screw in my drain plug and seized my engine!

I'm paranoid anyway about anybody working on my car without me there (even though I've met 17 yr old girls who know more about cars than me

)

Gah, I just wish I had money/space for a lift, and instant knowledge of every aspect of every car...and the time to do shit myself.

**thearborbarber** · 03-01-2009, 09:23 PM

Midas; we do it right because we do it twice (at your expense)

**02transamce** · 03-02-2009, 02:15 AM

Originally Posted by chuckie669

That's some bs... Sorry you got taken.

I took my car to the dealer with 72k miles for a rattle in my cat and they replaced them both for free voluntarily saying there's an emissions warranty.

yeah,pontiac sent us a letter about the cat rattle in december of that year,the "midas incident"took place in july. a little salt in the wound,perhaps,we were over the allowed miles for free replacement/reimbursment from gm.

**Too Fast** · 03-02-2009, 02:58 AM

Originally Posted by 02transamce

f-ing crooks.about 2 years ago the pass.side converter on the t/a started rattling,the wife and i were on vacation in panama city,florida,we took it by the local pontiac dealer and were told it would cost $1200 for the pipe and converter plus labor and they couldn't get the part for a couple of days,so we left and saw a midas down the road.they quoted us $250 to replace the converter,so i gave them the go ahead to do the work.well,yesterday i installed long-tube headers and ory pipe,because the service engine soon light refused to go off,code p0430(going to get a tune tuesday to edit the rear o2s)and found that midas installed a HOLLOW converter housing!!! we shined a freakin flashlight through the pipe just to make sure.so beware of midas if you take your car to them you are probably going to get

.

I guess I'm confused. The light was always on even after the replacement 2 years ago?

**mogs01gt** · 03-02-2009, 06:23 AM

hmm, how did the light not come on with the hollow cat?? Interesting.

**ARM5280** · 03-02-2009, 08:46 AM

If your car is less than 8 years old and less than 80,000 miles the dealership should have replaced it for free, per federal regulation. Not a regulation however dealerships want you to be aware of. I had mine on my 1999 Dodge dakota R/T 3 times FREE.

**02transamce** · 03-02-2009, 02:24 PM

Originally Posted by Too Fast

I guess I'm confused. The light was always on even after the replacement 2 years ago?

the light has been on for over a year now,it didn't come on for about 6 mnts after the midas incident,after i replaced bank one and bank 2 o2s,i said screw it,and started saving for long tubes,but work was slow and bills come first,so i just got around to doing the exhaust.is it possible that the material inside the converter cound have burnt out causing the conveter to be hollow inside?if so where did it go?

**Too Fast** · 03-02-2009, 02:48 PM

Yes it's possible it could have loosened and gone thru the exhaust. The reason I asked about the light is because if they really did install a hollow shell of a convertor, the light would have come back on within 100 miles or less.

The catalyst efficiency code will not come on unless the PCM has first determined that the O2 sensors are all in working order.

**02transamce** · 03-02-2009, 04:06 PM

seems odd though,the left side converter is factory installed and looked very good,and a new replacement converter fails that dramtically after 6 months of service?in any case i still don't trust midas,they tried to sell me a whole bunch of crap i didn't need back in 95 when the brakes were grinding on my old thunderbird.f-ing crooks.

**2000LS1Bird** · 03-02-2009, 05:52 PM

Midas is short for "Mid-Ass," because thats how far they'll stick you if you are dumb enough to walk into one of their shops.

Seriously, I took a bath with them when I was younger, and I'd rather ride a freakin' skateboard uphill for the rest of my life in hell rather than pay them to work on another of my vehicles.