Tuffy Auto Service Centers ripoffdishonestautorepair Ankeny Iowa

It has been over six years and the report continues to haunt my business.

Fact: All automotive air conditioning systems leak refrigerant. Over a period of a few years, the refrigerant level needs to be refilled to assure maximum cooling level on hot summer days. There are several components in an automotive air conditiining systems that can become worn or damaged causing the refrigerant to leak more quickly. 

Fact: Automotive refrigerant is an oderless, colorless gas. When refrigerant leaks from the a vehicle there is no drip, stain or residue to determine where the air conditioning system is leaking. There is a leak trace dye that can be added to the air conditioning system when servicing that will aid a technician in determining where the system may be leaking. This dye mixes with the air conditioner's internal lubricant and is circulated throughout the system. This dye remains in the air conditioning system until there is a major failure and the air conditioning compressor requires replacement.

Before this complaint in May 2005, Tuffy Auto Service Center, Ankeny, Iowa offered the leak trace dye as an additional service costing $9.95. Since May 2005, we have included the leak trace dye in the Air Conditioning Service we offer to our customers. Following air conditioning service, we invite every customer to return to our service center a few days after service for a free leak check.  

Our customers are not charged labor to check or recharge a serviced air conditioning systems during 90 days following our service date. We do charge for refrigerant that may have leaked from the system and subsequent repairs (parts & labor) to seal the air conditiong system. There are instances when a vehicle may need to be refilled more than once before the leak can be discovered. There are instances when the air conditioning system has multiple leaking locations making this process longer and more labor intensive.

I apologize to this customer for the any inconvenience we may have caused.

Thank you!

Ken Moomey, owner, Tuffy Auto Service Center, Ankeny, Iowa  

Thank you for giving type of car...

I'll tell you what to expect. Your evaporator is probably shot but they cannot really see if it is. This is why dye is great...the drain tube will show up a bright green as will the seams in the airbox. On every Cavalier made since they changed from the box style to the bullet style, the condensor and compressor are real issues. GM even sent out "white letters" to the dealerships telling them NOT to bother flushing them out(condensors), but rather replace them. The factory condensors have places for trash(from the compressor) to collect and then cause problems when the trash dislodges itself all at once. Flushing them will not clean them of debris because of this design flaw. They also have ungodly bad compressors(make alot of noise and tend to leak at front seal and center case joint). Be prepared for Tuffy to recommend a compressor, evaporator(inside the car under the dash), and if they don't catch it, YOU tell them to replace the condensor at the same time. They will also be required to replace the accumulator and orifice tube along with flushing out the system. Also, be prepared for somewhere near a $1500 bill for basically replacing the entire system. Good luck.

Hello Mike and Robert,

I'll just say this first, women are usually the one's who get taken advantage of with car repairs. That has been going around for a long time. I have taken my car (which is a Caviler) back to the Tuffy's (today) in Ankeny and they are trying really hard to find the problem and fix my car...and they are going to do a follow up on Monday. I have not asked what the charge will be. They were upset that I spoke to the world and not them first which is understandable...I just want to be treated fairly and they are working on that.

Now,if I sound stressed, it is because I am. My daughter has had two near fatal hospital stays in ICU at two different hospitals, one ambulance ride to another city. She is in pain all the time. The doctors have saved her life twice but haven't a clue what is going on. She is about to give birth this month and may have to have an emergency life saving operation during the delivery. So I don't expect you to understand or even be compassionate. I can't take her pain away but I wanted her to feel as comfortable as possibe in my car and cool air would have helped since she is very hot all the time. Her birthday is tomorrow and she will be 20yrs old.

Thanks,

I doubt any shop will refund you any money, but do go and seek assistance from an independent shop. They can look for the dye stain and find the leak. Be prepared for a fat bill for repair though. The average repair for A/C is about $1000, higher in more expensive cost-of-living areas. Since the freon is leaking out at such a fast rate, I doubt it's a simple o-ring replacement.

You didn't say what kind of car it is(for some reason, noone ever does), but if it's a Chrysler product, get ready for some big $$ on an evaporator. Chevy's have bad compressors, and Fords have a combination of both.

Imports are no better. As Mike asked, when you told them to "fix it", if they did and zapped you with a $1000 bill, would you be happy about the cold air or complaining about the price to get it? No, I do not own a Tuffy.

I own a NAPA Autocare Center and do know alot(not everything yet) so getting fired up at people that offer advice is not going to help you.

If they said they fixed the leak yet it leaked out again, apparently they didn't. Try once more to see what Tuffy will do for you, mostly because they already have your money. If they look for the dye this time they ought to tell you which part is leaking. However if it is an expensive part you might want a second opinion. At the least they should be willing to refill it again for free (which is pointless since it will just leak out again). May be best to demand your money back for at least the second visit and go somewhere else. Since it's been running with dye in it for a while now any qualified shop should be able to identify the leak on the first visit. But be forewarned that most parts of the A/C system cost a lot more than $14.95.

I don't work for Tuffy or anywhere else in the auto business.

If they said they fixed the leak yet it leaked out again, apparently they didn't. Try once more to see what Tuffy will do for you, mostly because they already have your money. If they look for the dye this time they ought to tell you which part is leaking. However if it is an expensive part you might want a second opinion. At the least they should be willing to refill it again for free (which is pointless since it will just leak out again). May be best to demand your money back for at least the second visit and go somewhere else. Since it's been running with dye in it for a while now any qualified shop should be able to identify the leak on the first visit. But be forewarned that most parts of the A/C system cost a lot more than $14.95.

I don't work for Tuffy or anywhere else in the auto business.

If they said they fixed the leak yet it leaked out again, apparently they didn't. Try once more to see what Tuffy will do for you, mostly because they already have your money. If they look for the dye this time they ought to tell you which part is leaking. However if it is an expensive part you might want a second opinion. At the least they should be willing to refill it again for free (which is pointless since it will just leak out again). May be best to demand your money back for at least the second visit and go somewhere else. Since it's been running with dye in it for a while now any qualified shop should be able to identify the leak on the first visit. But be forewarned that most parts of the A/C system cost a lot more than $14.95.

I don't work for Tuffy or anywhere else in the auto business.

Well, so what do you think now. My car does not have any freon again. I just had it put in Friday. Obviously you must be mechanics or someone who thinks you know everything. Yes I am getting a bad deal!! The Tuffy's I went to said they had fixed it. Ya right. I am so disappointed in them. So I am going to report it but not to Rip Off because I am not getting any help. Does anyone really read what I really say??? I did stress find the leak. You people are wearing me out. Oh ya, how long should a full tank of freon last? 3 days?????? Happened twice???? And now a third time????? Does that read incompedence on the mechanics part??? No other problems were found by Tuffy's mecahanics. They did not do the drive for a day to find the leak and the dye stayed yellow. Do you own a Tuffy's by any chance???? Your a mechanic???? The freon went out last fall, so I didn't need cool air until now. My car's year is a 2000.

Air conditioning repairs can get expensive. If you tell a shop to "do whatever it takes to make it cold," you might get a bill for several hundred dollars. Refrigerant (called "Freon"(tm) technically only if it was made by DuPont) is also expensive these days. Enough to completely refill the average car costs $20.00 to $30.00 wholesale, so it is not out of line to be charged $45.00 retail. If it leaks out for whatever reason, that is real money that the shop owner has to pay.

Overall I don't think you got a bad deal, except they are really supposed to find and repair leaks when recharging. Since it all leaked out in a few days, a cursory check with a "sniffer" type leak detector would have found it. But that would have meant additional labor on the first visit, and a lot of times they won't bother to do it unless there is a reason to suspect a major leak.

It sounds like you had been using the car for a while with the windows down, not needing the A/C until the issue with your daughter's health came up. If no freon had been added for several years, the first impression is that may be only a small leak that isn't really worth looking for. It would cost less to come back a couple years later (if the car is still running at that time) and recharge again.

In the future this kind of situation might be avoided if you insist that they "check for leaks" on the first visit. Then you may have some leverage to get free replacement refrigerant should it leak out right after they checked.

When checking for an A/C leak, there is only one way to do it. Dye is added to the freon charge and the vehicle is driven for at least 1 day. Then, under a blacklight and using yellow glasses, the dye shows up as bright green wherever the leak is. There are "sniffers" to detect leaks, but they also sound off for just about anything, and the leak has to be much larger than one found using dye. From what you have written, the shop did exactly what they should have mechanicaly, they just did not explain it properly to you prior to doing it. I hope this has helped you.

When checking for an A/C leak, there is only one way to do it. Dye is added to the freon charge and the vehicle is driven for at least 1 day. Then, under a blacklight and using yellow glasses, the dye shows up as bright green wherever the leak is. There are "sniffers" to detect leaks, but they also sound off for just about anything, and the leak has to be much larger than one found using dye. From what you have written, the shop did exactly what they should have mechanicaly, they just did not explain it properly to you prior to doing it. I hope this has helped you.

When checking for an A/C leak, there is only one way to do it. Dye is added to the freon charge and the vehicle is driven for at least 1 day. Then, under a blacklight and using yellow glasses, the dye shows up as bright green wherever the leak is. There are "sniffers" to detect leaks, but they also sound off for just about anything, and the leak has to be much larger than one found using dye. From what you have written, the shop did exactly what they should have mechanicaly, they just did not explain it properly to you prior to doing it. I hope this has helped you.

When checking for an A/C leak, there is only one way to do it. Dye is added to the freon charge and the vehicle is driven for at least 1 day. Then, under a blacklight and using yellow glasses, the dye shows up as bright green wherever the leak is. There are "sniffers" to detect leaks, but they also sound off for just about anything, and the leak has to be much larger than one found using dye. From what you have written, the shop did exactly what they should have mechanicaly, they just did not explain it properly to you prior to doing it. I hope this has helped you.

The freon leaked out before I could use it and I stressed the importance the first time of having an airconditioner that worked. I trusted the person who was working on my car and I still believe they should have done it correctly the first time. I paid my bill!!!!

You were charged for more freon because you used it. Why should the shop owner pay for the freon that you are using? He didn't charge you labor for the 2nd charge up because that is an expense he can let slide. The freon is pure loss if he gives it away. As for why the shop didn't put dye in the system the 1st time, I do not know. I put dye in all systems when I do anything to them. If the customer comes back and the leak is found, but there is nothing in the A/C system, the customer will be buying more freon. If they don't agree to it, I unhook the machine and close the hood. Nobody is going to give them $40-$100 worth of freon for nothing, so it's not like I'm losing a "customer". I'll be losing nothing if they don't come back or they tell their friends how mean I am. Birds of a feather...