Hi, Took my Fabia to the local garage as the back door lock was stuck closed and the front door lock only opened intermittently (central locking passenger side). They could not get the back door open and changed the internal motor and lock (charged me £240 which I am about to pay). The car has come back and the front lock is still intermittent. They are now telling me that it is a more complex job on the front - it might need a new motor or it might need reprogramming which would cost a lot of money - they do not want to fix this and have told me to go to the main dealer. I am a little confused and miffed - I took it in to get the doors fixed and I still have a problem. I am thinking that the back door was a major job and they do not want to fix the front door now OR is there something more involved with the front door? Thank you for your assistance.

Not sure what the system is like but my dad has a similar problem on his T4. It is apparently the control module in the drivers door which contorls all the other locks. Is the back door now working?

£240 seems a lot as a motor is quite cheap.

Is there a breakdown of the bill , most garages charge around £48 an hour these days, and most dealers price match so independent not always the best, were you recommended to go to this garage ,as JRW says seems steep, and also did they not tell you before hand how much it was going to be, I thought it was law,(or good practice), I always get the price upfront, then the garage rings to authorise any change

The price for the rear door lock was about right as my cheap one off ebay cost £87 and my total bill was £233 incl the lock and I would trust my garage with anything.

Hi, I do not have a problem with the price of replacing the back door parts (cost £240 of which part was £110). I need to find out about the front door lock. Do they know something I don't or are they just avoiding doing this. I took the car in to have the locks fixed which included the sticking lock on the front as well as the stuck lock on the back. They originally quoted £50 plus parts but I appreciate that they spent a lot of time with it and am happy to pay for the extra time. However, I still have a problem at the front. As far as I am concerned they have not finished the job. Why cant they take the door panel off (before it gets permanently locked like the back one did) and see if something is sticking, etc??? Thanks

Hi, I do not have a problem with the price of replacing the back door parts (cost £240 of which part was £110). I need to find out about the front door lock. Do they know something I don't or are they just avoiding doing this. I took the car in to have the locks fixed which included the sticking lock on the front as well as the stuck lock on the back. They originally quoted £50 plus parts but I appreciate that they spent a lot of time with it and am happy to pay for the extra time. However, I still have a problem at the front. As far as I am concerned they have not finished the job. Why cant they take the door panel off (before it gets permanently locked like the back one did) and see if something is sticking, etc??? Thanks

Engine? Year? Trim level?

(The 3 character engine code is on the options label in the service log book and under the boot carpet)

Does it have power windows on the back doors?

If answer these questions, then I can probably narrow it down for you.

It could be a faulty lock, a faulty window motor/module, the wiring loom where it passes through the 'A' pillar or if it only has front power windows, it could also be the interconnecting wires or even the driver side window/module.

It could also be corroded electrical connectors in the door - that often scares some garages off

Hi, just to clarify - it is the passenger front door lock that does not always pop up.

Engine=1.4 16v 100BHP

Year = 03

Trim = Elegance

It only has electric windows on the front.

Thanks

UPDATE: Have spoken to the main dealer today who seems to think the problem is a straightforward mechanical lock problem - the car is now going to have to go to them to sort this. I originally took the car to my local garage to FIX THE LOCKS - the back one stuck down which they have fixed and the front lock intermittent which they have not fixed - they have not completed the job!! They are waiting for me to pay them £240 which is probably fair for the back lock. However, I am a bit miffed about this and am not sure what to say to them.

Well, I'd reckon on 1 hour per door plus parts. Try a written offer to them of £160 in "full and final settlement for parts supplied and works completed". (assumes all values quoted include VAT)

Well, I'd reckon on 1 hour per door plus parts. Try a written offer to them of £160 in "full and final settlement for parts supplied and works completed". (assumes all values quoted include VAT)

1 hour for the back door would only be reasonable if it was possible to open it without taking the door card off from inside the car, then the regulator and then chiselling the old lock off. I was quite happy to pay for 2.5 hours labour for the job.

I don't think the garage feels they are competent to do the front door with the complication of the electronics. At least they are saying that and not starting the job, getting nowhere and charging you for the privilege.

that was my thought, at least they are honest enough to say they arent confident in rectifying the problem without replacing parts here there and everywhere, they are correct as the latch is £110 and i'd imagine getting the door open wouldnt have been an easy job

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I made it quite clear that BOTH doors needed sorting and they accepted the work. However, they did spend a lot of time on the back door and I am going to pay them later today. Should have known better - I was just trying to support a local business - next time I will go straight to the experts. I guess it could have been worst - there could have been a problem with the brakes - fix the left wheel but cannot fix the right wheel - I might have got a car back that you could only drive in circles!!! Thanks again for the all the info.

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I made it quite clear that BOTH doors needed sorting and they accepted the work. However, they did spend a lot of time on the back door and I am going to pay them later today. Should have known better - I was just trying to support a local business - next time I will go straight to the experts. I guess it could have been worst - there could have been a problem with the brakes - fix the left wheel but cannot fix the right wheel - I might have got a car back that you could only drive in circles!!! Thanks again for the all the info.

I personally think you are being a touch unfair to the garage. They did do the job they were competent to do and charged you reasonably for the work they did, you may find the hourly rate at the dealer a little different and they couldn't do the back door any quicker! I understand you are a bit miffed about a half done car but it may have saved you money.

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I made it quite clear that BOTH doors needed sorting and they accepted the work. However, they did spend a lot of time on the back door and I am going to pay them later today. Should have known better - I was just trying to support a local business - next time I will go straight to the experts. I guess it could have been worst - there could have been a problem with the brakes - fix the left wheel but cannot fix the right wheel - I might have got a car back that you could only drive in circles!!! Thanks again for the all the info.

Too many garages don't admit when they find themselves out of their depths. They just start replacing parts at your expense. These systems are not always easy to diagnose and there are a good number of variants which are not documented that well. What you have is a mini network with a central controller and the door controllers.

In your variant, the most likely causes are a bad power connection where the wire passes through the 'A' pillar or the 'A' pillar connector or a faulty lock module.

Fingers crossed for you that it's something simple.

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I made it quite clear that BOTH doors needed sorting and they accepted the work. However, they did spend a lot of time on the back door and I am going to pay them later today. Should have known better - I was just trying to support a local business - next time I will go straight to the experts. I guess it could have been worst - there could have been a problem with the brakes - fix the left wheel but cannot fix the right wheel - I might have got a car back that you could only drive in circles!!! Thanks again for the all the info.

At least they had the Balls to be honest and upfront with you, and the work they have done is slightly cheaper than the main dealer, no doubt just as good a job

but admitted they did not wish to go further with what could be a very complicated repair

Even main dealers now repair by replace and check, if they replaced the lock, you pay for it, if that did not work they replace the control panel, you pay for it, if that did not work

then they fault find the wiring at £60 per hour until it is fixed, ,

When they find a broken wire the do not remove all the replaced parts and just charge you the labour time for finding the break, No you pay it all

So your local guy seems pretty good to me Though I can understand your frustration

National

As said above, your take on the events seems a little silly to me personally.

The local garage you have gone to haven't ripped you off by not doing the front AND rear doors, and only doing the rear.

I'm sure if they had fixed the front but it had taken two or three hours to find you would have said they ripped you off, sometimes you just can't win.

Its a shame that some people don't seem to understand how much effort can go into finding a fault sometimes, especially an intermitant fault like your having. It's not a case of just plugging it in etc.. People are just too happy to slate people, even though they haven't really done anything wrong!

Edited 26 August, 201114 yr by Phil-J

Phil J,

The lady was not slating the garage off, she simply asked a question as to whether she was being ripped off, obviously the garage in question has only done half of the job that the car was booked in for.

Like someone has previously said, it's a bit like a garage saying they have only managed to sort the left hand brake problem out but cannot fix the right hand side.

We all know it takes oodles of time in tracking down a problem, it's a great shame she is now having to use another garage to complete the unfinished work, which no doubt that both the bills will probably end up as quite an expensive job.

I totally agree that a negotiated offer of £160 for the unfinished work should be offered, pointing out that it will now take two garage bills to complete the unfinshed work.

DB.

It's nothing like a garage saying they could only fix the left side brake and not the right. That's a poor comparison.

The garage isn't going to say it's fine pay us less money than what we have told you.

Also, it might now take two garage bills to sort the problem.. But a dealer would have spent similar time on the rear no doubt at a higher labour rate. So as someone has said, it most likely will have worked out better in the long run.

What would you say if the independent garage had just thrown any part at the front lock, just as a guess and it hadn't fixed the problem? I thinks it's amicable what the garage has done to be honest.

Edited 27 August, 201114 yr by Phil-J

whatever the case with the garages it seems like alot of money to spend on a 2003 Fabia. would simply buying a used front drivers side door from a breakers including door cards and eletrics for probably about £100 and asking your independant garage just to bolt the door on, i could see that costing more than £60 labour for that.

Edited 27 August, 201114 yr by Sonner

whatever the case with the garages it seems like alot of money to spend on a 2003 Fabia. would simply buying a used front drivers side door from a breakers including door cards and eletrics for probably about £100 and asking your independant garage just to bolt the door on, i could see that costing more than £60 labour for that.

And the guarantee that everything works is....... On top of that it's not just bolting the door on is it? Lock barrel, connect the electrics etc, etc.

Thanks to everyone for the advice and information.

And for the benefit of Phil-J...at no stage did I suggest the garage had ripped me off, in fact I think you will find I said they fully deserved the price they had charged. Neither too am I stupid - I fully appreciate the time and cost involved in fault finding. Consider me a dumb blonde but it was the garage that suggested they could quickly fix the front door whilst it was still possible to get it open, so in my simple world I find it rather annoying that they then decline to fix it.

Once again, many thanks for all the assistance.

buh?

What are you inferring with - BUH?

Kindly explain yourself.

Edited 2 September, 201114 yr by mogwye