From my personal story: I get handed a repair order for a 2006ish Malibu for three recalls; one to replace the shifter cable, one to replace the electric power steering assist angle sensor, and the last to apply dielectric grease to the BCM connector and ziptie the harness in place. I go out, start the car and it has a horrific rod knock. Immediately shut the car off and go in and tell the service writer. He calls the customer and says "You know the engine is junk in this, right?" and the customer replies "Well, I was hoping one of those recalls would fix that." Uhhhhhh, no, not likely. We explain that the car has severe internal engine problems and none of the recalls are related, and ask if he he wants an estimate on engine replacement as well as performing the recall. Customer responds "No, just do the recalls and see if they fix the engine noise, and if they don't then I'm going to scrap the car."
