Car unsafe 10 minutes after MOT

abovethewater

Hi all.. first post, so please go easy!

I have a Rover 75 that I took in for MOT at the local Kwik Fit at the beginning of the month.
When I took it in the ABS light was on, so I guessed it would fail on that, which it did.
I got them to hook it up to the computer which reported 3 failed ABS sensors (Again, having read up on it I figured one may well have gone - common problem, but was surprised to need 3).
Kwik Fit quoted £450 for this, which I thought was a bit steep, so I took the car away to get some other quotes.
Turns out that most of the fixed price quotes I could get were around the same ball park (if not more) as there is a tendency for the sensors to be a real pain to get out.
So I took the car back to Kwik Fit as they offered a full guarantee on work done etc.
In the end it took them the best part of the day to do as they had to completely dismantle both rear brakes.
So I got the car back as the garage was closing (having waited around for hours..), MOT in hand and ABS light off.
I pulled out from the garage, but before I even got to the end of the road there a was a horribly grinding followed by a clunk and the ABS light came back on.
I stopped to see if there was anything obviously wrong, but couldn't see anything; by this time the garage was closed.
I limped the car around for a bit, but it seemed to drive fine, so I drove it the 7 or so miles to home.
I rang Kwik Fit the next morning to inform them of the problem, and they said bring it in, which I did the next day to work commitments.
They put it up on the ramp, and discovered that the handbrake shoes(?) had come off inside the drum.

I needed the car back, but they couldn't get the part to fix it, so they removed the handbrake shoes completely.

They are claiming that the plate that the shoes fits to has corroded to such a point that they cannot reattach the shoes.

So I asked them for a quote for the plate, which has taken them 2 weeks to come up with, during which time I have been driving a car around without a handbrake at all, which is downright dangerous. (They haven't returned a single call, though I've been calling most days).

The quote they have come back with is around £700 - when pushed on this it covers replacing pads shoes etc front and back, which apparently all need doing, and it is "company policy" that they cannot just do part of a brake repair. I haven't been able to get a quote for just the plate that is needed, or even a part number so I can get other quotes.

I have also queried them about the ABS light which is still on, but apparently this is down to moisture (leak in the boot) causing the sensor to come on.

So.. where do I stand with all of this?
The rear brakes were completely dismantled to do the sensors, after which the handbrake pads "fell off".
The work for the sensors was apparently guaranteed, but the sensor light is still on.
Kwik Fit now want £700 to fix this, and won't just fix the handbrake.

Sorry it's a long one, any pointers appreciated.

Premier_2

abovethewater wrote: »

Hi all.. first post, so please go easy!

I have a Rover 75 that I took in for MOT at the local Kwik Fit at the beginning of the month.
When I took it in the ABS light was on, so I guessed it would fail on that, which it did.
I got them to hook it up to the computer which reported 3 failed ABS sensors (Again, having read up on it I figured one may well have gone - common problem, but was surprised to need 3).
Kwik Fit quoted £450 for this, which I thought was a bit steep, so I took the car away to get some other quotes.
Turns out that most of the fixed price quotes I could get were around the same ball park (if not more) as there is a tendency for the sensors to be a real pain to get out.
So I took the car back to Kwik Fit as they offered a full guarantee on work done etc.
In the end it took them the best part of the day to do as they had to completely dismantle both rear brakes.
So I got the car back as the garage was closing (having waited around for hours..), MOT in hand and ABS light off.
I pulled out from the garage, but before I even got to the end of the road there a was a horribly grinding followed by a clunk and the ABS light came back on.
I stopped to see if there was anything obviously wrong, but couldn't see anything; by this time the garage was closed.
I limped the car around for a bit, but it seemed to drive fine, so I drove it the 7 or so miles to home.
I rang Kwik Fit the next morning to inform them of the problem, and they said bring it in, which I did the next day to work commitments.
They put it up on the ramp, and discovered that the handbrake shoes(?) had come off inside the drum.

I needed the car back, but they couldn't get the part to fix it, so they removed the handbrake shoes completely.

They are claiming that the plate that the shoes fits to has corroded to such a point that they cannot reattach the shoes.

So I asked them for a quote for the plate, which has taken them 2 weeks to come up with, during which time I have been driving a car around without a handbrake at all, which is downright dangerous. (They haven't returned a single call, though I've been calling most days).

The quote they have come back with is around £700 - when pushed on this it covers replacing pads shoes etc front and back, which apparently all need doing, and it is "company policy" that they cannot just do part of a brake repair. I haven't been able to get a quote for just the plate that is needed, or even a part number so I can get other quotes.

I have also queried them about the ABS light which is still on, but apparently this is down to moisture (leak in the boot) causing the sensor to come on.

So.. where do I stand with all of this?
The rear brakes were completely dismantled to do the sensors, after which the handbrake pads "fell off".
The work for the sensors was apparently guaranteed, but the sensor light is still on.
Kwik Fit now want £700 to fix this, and won't just fix the handbrake.

Sorry it's a long one, any pointers appreciated.

When was the last time you had the car properly serviced? :huh:

An MOT is not a cost saving alternative to a full service. They don't even take the wheels off to carry out a MOT.

And there's enough posts on here warning about allowing a kwik fit grease monkey anywhere near your pride & joy, let alone something as safety critical as brakes :eek:

Find a good local garage and get a competitive quote to sort out your motor. It may be it's not even economical to do based on the make/model you have, so perhaps start looking for a new car, one that has been better maintained than your current one apparently has.

colino

You really need someone with a bit of savvy to look at this. The handbrake fiasco is enough for you to get the area manager involved (keep at them, full throttle) but accepting 3 abs sensors are simultaneously faulty should have set off the alarm for you. More likely the abs controller is at fault and the rest, well KW have enough bad coverage for you to run away.

McKneff

And Stop Driving it if there is no handbrake.

Apart from being dangerous, it is against the law.

iolanthe07

Judging by the publicity Kwik Fit have here and on other motoring sites, I'm surprised anyone uses them at all.

lostinthewoods

You have two issues here but can probably solve it in one step.

First. Although you haven't said so, it does seem as if a company has done some work on your ABS sensors which are near the brakes. After the company was finished there was a catastrophic failure of a related part. Were they responsible and should give you your money back and a little bit on top for your trouble? (There is also the issue of the 'water leak' causing the problem now - so did you get sold unnecessary work?)

Second. You want it fixed so you have a safe car. (You sound like a careful person in your post)

In Autotrader you will find Motor Vehicle Inspections. They are sometimes the same as small garages and are all qualified mechanics. So give three local ones a call and get a price for fixing it plus a report.

If it looks like they caused the damage then use the report to get all your money back.

pitkin2020

Premier wrote: »

When was the last time you had the car properly serviced? :huh:

An MOT is not a cost saving alternative to a full service. They don't even take the wheels off to carry out a MOT.

And there's enough posts on here warning about allowing a kwik fit grease monkey anywhere near your pride & joy, let alone something as safety critical as brakes :eek:

Find a good local garage and get a competitive quote to sort out your motor. It may be it's not even economical to do based on the make/model you have, so perhaps start looking for a new car, one that has been better maintained than your current one apparently has.

WOW I have no idea how you managed to come to the conclusion the OP doesn't service the car from his post. ABS sensors fail and the handbrake could have easily been caused by KF considering where they work.

lostinthewoods wrote: »

You have two issues here but can probably solve it in one step.

First. Although you haven't said so, it does seem as if a company has done some work on your ABS sensors which are near the brakes. After the company was finished there was a catastrophic failure of a related part. Were they responsible and should give you your money back and a little bit on top for your trouble? (There is also the issue of the 'water leak' causing the problem now - so did you get sold unnecessary work?)

Second. You want it fixed so you have a safe car. (You sound like a careful person in your post)

In Autotrader you will find Motor Vehicle Inspections. They are sometimes the same as small garages and are all qualified mechanics. So give three local ones a call and get a price for fixing it plus a report.

If it looks like they caused the damage then use the report to get all your money back.

This is the best advice.
I would personally not let Kwik Fit touch the car until you have received an independent report. Without an independent report its just going to be "you said, they said". If Kwik Fit are at fault then I would pursue them for the costs including obtaining the report and any out of pocket expenses.

waynedance

I have to defend the garage on this one about the handbrake shoes as they the friction material is known coming off.

The last service if you had one should or may have noted that.

Premier_2

pitkin2020 wrote: »

WOW I have no idea how you managed to come to the conclusion the OP doesn't service the car from his post. ABS sensors fail and the handbrake could have easily been caused by KF considering where they work. ....

Not necessarily an exhaustive list but...

Hint 1:

abovethewater wrote: »

...I have a Rover 75 that I took in for MOT at the local Kwik Fit at the beginning of the month.
When I took it in the ABS light was on, so I guessed it would fail on that, which it did....

Hint 2:

abovethewater wrote: »

...They put it up on the ramp, and discovered that the handbrake shoes(?) had come off inside the drum...

Hint 3:

abovethewater wrote: »

... the plate that the shoes fits to has corroded to such a point that they cannot reattach the shoes...

and Hint 4:

abovethewater wrote: »

... it covers replacing pads shoes etc front and back, which apparently all need doing, ....

Notmyrealname

Exactly. If you don't look after your car and think a MOT is a substitute for servicing, don't be surprised when stuff like this happens.

Gloomendoom

I'd recommend that the OP finds a Rover 75 specialist and gets them to look the car over.

Joining a R75 forum and asking for advice might be a good first step.

the75andztclub.co.uk