Code appearing and disapearing ? possible?

Hi Aveo community,

I just wanted to share a bad experience:

I had the flex pipe repair on my 2008 aveo in a Midas shop in Baltimore. It was all loose and the car was making a loud noise. They cut the old one and installed a new one.

3 days later, I had an engine light...

A friend of mine has the code reader so he plugged it to the car and read the code: P2096: Post catalyst fuel trim system too lean.

I looked online and usually you have this code when you have an exhaust leak. I assumed it was because of the repair. I never had this code before.

an hour later after I checked the code, I went to the Midas shop (the same who did the repair) and asked him to check the code: he come back to me and tell me there was no code in the system so he erased the engine light. He tells me that it sometimes happen that the engine light turn on without a code.

I told him that I just read the code and it was 2096. he said stuff and conclude that I can say a bunch of numbers as long as he can't read it on the machine and can't do anything. I was pretty upset. I asked him to look at the weld at least, he put the car on the rack, had a technician looked at it 5 sec, clean it with a rag and give me the car back.

Do you think the code P2096 is related to my exhaust flex pipe repair?
I asked my friend not to dump the code since I was going to the shop. When I left I still had the engine light on. Can it happen that the code disappeared after I checked it, but the light was still on?

I don't like judging people too fast but the fact looked very obvious too me, however, I appreciate the second opinion.

If the car still has the problem I hope that the engine light will turn on again so I can go back to the shop (and I will still be under warranty).
What are my option if it appears that the guy is lying and I deserve to have my car fixed for free? I believe at this point if he lied he will try everything not to fix it for free (which is stupid, were are only talking about 180$).
Can I go to another Midas with the engine light on and show the repair they did?

Worst case, if the engine light turn on again with the same code, and this shop don't want to do anything, do you recommend that I ask another shop to replace again the pipe?

Thanks,

Ben

codes can go away. IF the resulting code was from the heat/gas/spatter of the welding, and it has since burned off. and is now normal.. the code could go away. It takes 3 cycles usually to get a light out ofter fixing a problem. (one to turn a light on in some cases).

The thing i see here really is they were trying to save you money by welding in a new flex pipe instead of replacing the entire down pipe. And now there is an "issue" that you are unhappy with.. maybe your car needs to adjust since exhaust might have been escaping through the flex section, maybe now that the exhaust is fixed you actually have an issue. etc. Maybe the shop screwed up and the pipe has a hole in it. Maybe they damaged the o2 sensor welding next to it.. etc.

Thanks petrified.rabbit.

By chance (or not) the code reappeared today. I plan to go to shop. I will not check the code now. I will ask them to not delete the code and show it to me or give me the number and then I will check it at home.

I think I will tell them that I never had this code before, and it appeared litterally 1 day after the repair, and this code is related to the exhaust. I doubt they will do anything since it is very probable that they lied the first time.

Do you guys have any suggestions? I plan to have a diagnostic from another shop and file a complaint a BBB if it happens that they screwed up the repair.

Ben

Hello,

here are some updates to my topic,

I wrote to the BBB but they declined to reinspect it.
I tried to write to MIDAS but, either I wrote to the wrong address or they just did not care.

Imay change the 02 sensors, but which one? but it may not fix my problem.

Ben