I drove into an AutoZone parking lot and then towed out with a possible $1000-$2000 repair bill that I really can't afford over the holidays (or any days). Will anybody familiar with Volvo C30s, ECMs, or AutoZone "courtesy" services please read my story (or share with those who may know)? Would love thoughts/opinions:


I have a 2011 Volvo C30, It has 109,000 miles but is meticulously cared for with it’s regularly scheduled maintenance done completely and on time. The weirdest thing happened and I can’t find a comparable story anywhere:

• On Dec 18 my Check Engine light comes on.

•On Dec 19 I drive to the Greenbelt, MD AutoZone for a free engine light diagnostic. I ask for the diagnostic and the AutoZone employee proceeds to my car with his handheld device.

•Exactly when he plugs the device below my dash my “Anti Skid” warning light comes on. He proceeds to tell me the device told him there were 24 codes meaning 24 things are wrong with my engine. I tell him that is highly unlikely and a new warning just came on my dash when he plugged it in. He’s not a big talker and just sort of looks at me. I follow him back into store and he prints me out a bunch of little receipts as to what all these codes technically mean for Kias, Subararus, and domestic cars. I ask him, “that’s it? You give me these, you don’t explain, elaborate more?” He succinctly says, “no.”

•So i’m off to the dealership, or at least I think. My car turns on but won’t shift out of park. Apparently, with the break warnings and all my other warnings, the car is in self preservation mode thinking these warnings are in fact real failures. I’m stuck in the AutoZone parking lot.

•I re-enter the store to ask this employee if this has happened after one of his tests before. He just chuckles and say, “no.”

•So the car I drove to AutoZone is being towed to a nearby garage. The garage manager says he’s never seen anything like this before. He hypothesizes that maybe a bad pin on the AutoZone diagnostic device shorted out my ECM (the very expensive car computer). He says he wants one of his tech experts to look Monday the 21st to see if there is something else causing the issue but he warns me I may be out A LOT of money for a new ECM if it in fact got screwed up by AutoZone

•Is that it? A new ECM? It can’t be reprogrammed or repaired? If anybody has had a similar experience with an ECM going haywire or an AutoZone experience that disables your car please email me here.

Thank You!


Volvo C30

Thanks!

 

How's the battery? What codes are stored?