Why would a mechanic change a steering wheel

Neon_Lights

Slightly unrelated to Diy maintenance but am a bit puzzled, old man had the car in to get a few bits and bobs done for nct retest (rust repair, breaks on front right wheel arch needed redoing)

I sat in the car and noticed that the steering wheel was different. He doesn't mind but thought it was a bit odd. Old one was working perfectly, the car is an 06 focus (mk3 I think).

Is the mechanic screwing him for parts maybe?

aujopimur

Did you ask the mechanic?.

Neon_Lights

aujopimur wrote: »

Did you ask the mechanic?.

Oh I'm raging, the aul lads a bit proud, son of a pub pal repaired it.

Just seeing if anybody had any thoughts on it. I'd definitely be driving back there.

nelly17

Sometimes the rubber moulding can separate from the bar in the middle of it causing it to spin and eventually crack - but it would be real noticible if that were the case

punisher5112

Maybe he took out the airbags and you now have the anticipation of finding out what seat its fitted into.

biko

Moved out of DIY because you spelled brakes wrong


Nah, it's not a DIY question

beauf

Maybe the mechanic wanted the old wheel...

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

dieselbug

Neon_Lights wrote: »

Oh I'm raging, the aul lads a bit proud, son of a pub pal repaired it.

Just seeing if anybody had any thoughts on it. I'd definitely be driving back there.

Raging over what exactly, as the other poster said ask him.
How much was he charged and for what work.

bazz26

Seems very odd for a mechanic to remove a steering wheel, air bag, etc without telling the owner.

You certain it was actually changed?

ianobrien

nelly17 wrote: »

Sometimes the rubber moulding can separate from the bar in the middle of it causing it to spin and eventually crack - but it would be real noticible if that were the case

I have heard of cars failing the crock test because of that, so OP I would not discount it's something like that.

porsche boy

I had a similar situation recently. Customer came back demanding to know why we changed her light/indicator stalk. I asked how she knew we changed it and she said "lights off used to be at the top, now its at the bottom". After her showing me her issue on her car, i showed her 3 brand new models same car where the light switch worked the same way. No good, she then thought we had swapped the stalk with one off a new car.
Moral of the story; are you sure your not confused??

Del2005

Are you sure it's the same car you got back? Or else they could have accidentally set off the airbag when working on the car.

pm1977x

Any chance he just repositioned it and gave it a polish?

colm_mcm

What trim level focus is it?

Cee-Jay-Cee

Just go and ask him politely. Say that your curious and wondered if there was a problem with the original one. You don’t need to tell your dad.

StereoSound

Years ago a garage in Dublin took the airbag out of my dads Rover 600.... Came back after a service with that airbag light on. On futher inspection the airbag was missing. This was a garage myself and my dad used for years.... We never brought our cars back there again. This was circa 2004 this happened. Garage denied it flat out, but we had confirmed from another garage the bag was gone.

bazz26

Two are better than one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lES4Q5kLk6E

Trojan

My housemate brought his car to a small local indy mechanic. Very local - he was actually 2 doors down from where we were living at the time. Got an oil change.

A couple of weeks later he had some problems with it starting and brought it into his regular garage down the country.

They asked him why he'd taken out the good quality spark plugs they installed 6 months previously, and put in cheap replacements.

snorrie

I know from living abroad (Germany, Spain), if a mechanic changes anything in the car, light bulb, spark plugs, ANYthing, they always leave the old part in the car for you. I was puzzled the first time it happened and I asked why. They told me to show that they had changed it. So I suppose this isn't done in Ireland? Never owned a car there, so I don't know how it works. How are you supposed to know if they changed what they were meant to change/was broken? Guess? Take it to another mechanic to confirm?

PCeeeee

snorrie wrote: »

I know from living abroad (Germany, Spain), if a mechanic changes anything in the car, light bulb, spark plugs, ANYthing, they always leave the old part in the car for you. I was puzzled the first time it happened and I asked why. They told me to show that they had changed it. So I suppose this isn't done in Ireland? Never owned a car there, so I don't know how it works. How are you supposed to know if they changed what they were meant to change/was broken? Guess? Take it to another mechanic to confirm?

That very much depends on your mechanic/garage. I certainly have been shown worn parts.

tayto lover

Showing you worn and removed parts does not mean that they came from your car.

the_syco

Neon_Lights wrote: »

I sat in the car and noticed that the steering wheel was different. He doesn't mind but thought it was a bit odd. Old one was working perfectly, the car is an 06 focus (mk3 I think).

I'd be worried about the airbag, tbh. Someone mentioned about setting off the airbag, and replacing the wheel; don't think airbags are that cheap new, and you don't know if it's even been set off before.

Pete67

I find this quite worrying too, as I can think of no reason to change the steering wheel, other than to take the good airbag and swop it onto another car. Does the airbag warning light come on with the ignition, and then go out? If not there is a problem, possibly the warning lamp has been removed.

I'd definitely go back and ask for an explanation. Tell him you want the original steering wheel back, complete with it's airbag. Explain that if this does not happen you will take the car to an auto engineer for a full check of the steering and airbag systems, and if any issues found, will be contacting the Gardai and your solicitor and providing them with a detailed statement and copies of the engineers report.

Autochange

Mechanics are well known for this scam. Plumbers have a similar one where they swap out your toilet seat and electricians version is swapping out your light bulbs.

JohnBoy26

Autochange wrote: »

Mechanics are well known for this scam. Plumbers have a similar one where they swap out your toilet seat and electricians version is swapping out your light bulbs.

Apt username

Pete67

Autochange wrote:

Mechanics are well known for this scam. Plumbers have a similar one where they swap out your toilet seat and electricians version is swapping out your light bulbs.

I see you point but there is something underhand about changing the steering wheel and not mentioning it to the customer, or billing him for it. Best case is the airbag was accidently triggered, and the mechanic replaced it with a second hand unit and said nothing. Worst case is, there is now no airbag. Given the likely greatly increased risk of injury in an accident, this needs to be checked out.

Isambard

Maybe there was an air bag fault and switching the whole wheel might be easier than repairing the airbag?

Probaly though it's not changed at all, just your memory playing tricks on you. I recall coming back from holiday and one of our kids insisting the kitchen taps had been switched over, decades later we still refer to the plumbing work their Grandmother must have got up to whilst we were away. (we're easily amused)

Del2005

Isambard wrote: »

Maybe there was an air bag fault and switching the whole wheel might be easier than repairing the airbag?

Probaly though it's not changed at all, just your memory playing tricks on you. I recall coming back from holiday and one of our kids insisting the kitchen taps had been switched over, decades later we still refer to the plumbing work their Grandmother must have got up to whilst we were away. (we're easily amused)

The only way the airbag could have developed a fault was the mechanic messing up. They still should have informed the OP if they replaced it. Everyone makes the odd mistake it's covering it up that leads to trouble, as the OP now doubts the mechanic.

Autochange

Pete67 wrote: »

I see you point but there is something underhand about changing the steering wheel and not mentioning it to the customer, or billing him for it. Best case is the airbag was accidently triggered, and the mechanic replaced it with a second hand unit and said nothing. Worst case is, there is now no airbag. Given the likely greatly increased risk of injury in an accident, this needs to be checked out.

Seriously though there should be some explanation given. No parts should be swapped or changed without informing a customer or giving an explanation.

Riva10

Why ask the forum. Ask the bloody mechanic and put us all out of our misery.