BURLINGTON, N.C. — Brianna Crespo is a single mom raising three young kids. Money is tight so when she was able to save up enough to purchase a gently used van last year it was a big deal.
The 2006 KIA Sedona only had 74,000 miles on it and had one previous owner. The van was in really good shape considering it was 14 years old.
Crespo did have to replace the alternator a short time after buying the van but other than that it was running well until she noticed a small oil leak. Crespo took it to a repair shop and a mechanic fixed the leak and replaced some spark plugs as well.
“I saw (the shop) had a good rating and thought they’d do a good job,” Crespo said.
After paying about $800 for the repairs Crespo noticed the check engine light was still on after picking up the car. She was told not to worry and it would go away, but the light stayed on for a couple of days.
Crespo took it back to the repair shop and was told it was a transmission leak and she should find a transmission expert to look at it. A mechanic at the transmission shop inspected the van and determined it was an oil leak and the transmission was fine.
“I was frustrated since I had to go back to the original shop,” Crespo said.
A mechanic inspected the van and determined a sensor was not properly plugged in causing the check engine light to come on. The light went off, but the van started to smell.
“It was like a bad burning smell, really bad,” Crespo said. “I decided to email you, my mom was like, call News 2 they want to know,” Crespo said.
We reached out to the repair shop that Crespo again took the van to for a more thorough inspection. A manager told us he would look into the issue and make sure everything was taken care of in the process.
Upon inspecting the van the mechanic discovered the gasket had cracked and needed to be replaced. The shop did the repairs at no cost and contacted Crespo a couple of days later to pick it.
“I just want to thank you and News 2,” Crespo said.
The van has been working well and has not had any major issues since picking it up.
