To complain about the AA man

[TeaAndBrie]

So my car is having issues, I spilt a drink in the passenger footwell a week ago. The car was still working fine and I was advised it was safe to keep driving when I Took it to a garage yesterday, they couldn’t sort it but recommended someone else. He can look at it but not for a couple of weeks.
Today it wouldn’t start at all.
i contacted the AA and 6 hours later the AA arrived. Not an issue because I was at home but still a long time.
I felt like I was being told off by my dad. He kept asking if I understood that it was serious. It was an accident and he made me feel so stupid. He told me that cars can’t function if the electrics don’t work and that water conducts electricity 🙄
he told me that the garage only said it was fine to get rid of me and that no one will want to touch it.
I understand what I’ve done but it wasn’t on purpose and as a paying customer I don’t need to be told off.
currently researching RAC membership instead…

It sounds like he was just doing his job to me

How does spilling a drink in your car stop it working ?

Complain.

I'm sorry, wtf kind of car can't handle a spilled drink in the foot well? Was it literally on the floor? Where wet feet go?

Yes. Thats extraordinary. Surely the electrics are in the engine, not the bit under the footwell.

I've had a 5litre bottle burst on my car floor- all you get is wet carpet

It seems likely that some liquid got into some of the electrics and has triggered the immobiliser.
It was throwing up a warning about airbag pretensioners but nothing else.

I’m struggling to understand how a drink in the footwell would cause this problem. I had a leak in my last car through the sunroof and the footwells were full of water which I had to bail out and it took an age to dry out but the car started fine.

Apparently not, there’s electrics everywhere. That’s what I was told

That's insane.

I'd take it to a garage and not tell them about the drink spillage. See what they say then!

This isn't true

its a Citreon.
it was a drink in the cup holder in the middle console. the lid wasn’t on properly on a macdonalds cup.
it was probably about half the cup

Quick google search only talks about cleaning it and drying off. No mention of any risk. What car is it?

Sounds like a load of old rollocks to me if you only spilt it in the footwell.

Oh. Maybe in that bit it's near the gear stick. Maybe there are electrics in there - newer cars.

it wouldn’t start and the AA man wouldn’t even try and look at it. He said it needs to be an electric specialist or back to Citreon.

its 10 years old. Citreon ds3 Some went on the gear area and handbrake

If the electrics are fucked because they are soaked in liquid the AA man is right in telling you not to drive it. Most parts of modern cars rely on electrics.

He cannot magically dry it all out for you.

Yeah he’s talking shit. The electrics in your car don’t run under the footwell. Your engine electrics are in the front of the car where the engine is inside the engine housing, also, they’re waterproof. Where they run outside the housing they are highly insulated to protect them from road damage and weather. They are designed to survive your car driving through a big puddle.

hes being a dick. Complain and find an auto-electrician. You may have some water that has caused a short or blown fuse that’s causing your issues, but I’d bet dollars to doughnuts that it’s not cause of water in the footwell. The kind of electrics inside the cabin are things like: the A/C, the radio, the seatbelt detector, the power seats etc. The immobiliser is generally located inside the dash, not in or under the footwell.

doesnt make sense. Unless you actually spilt it on the gear stick area.

therevare no electrics in the footwell. You’d be stamping on them / electrocuting yourself!

It’s been driving fine for a week since it happened.
i don’t expect him to magically do anything but I would have liked him to treat me with a bit more respect. I know he wouldn’t have spoken to my husband the same way and that’s what makes me cross

So what did he actually suggest you do then?

Find an auto electronic specialist or contact Citreon to deal with it

That’s a good point!
sone went on the gear stick I suspect that was the issue.

He’s right- this is the answer. That said, French vehicles are renown for two features: great engines and shite electrics. I had a c4 grand Picasso and it was forever failing electrically. It’s why I switched to oriental cars. Can’t afford German engineering, can’t tolerate French.