Bbasso

So I was kinda nervous about leaving my caR at the dealer for 5 days to get the tranny and some other small thing taken care of, But overall happy that I was going to have a new/rebuilt tranny at the end of the week...

So I drop it off at 7:30 am at the dealer and the take the notes on whats wrong and with my info. "you will get a call from us by the end of the day regarding your 4 items and a loaner car", Ok cool...

I get a call and the guy sis now telling me that my tranny is not going to be covered by the warranty because I have an aftermarket clutch (ACT) in it and the Comptech FW might have caused the bearings to go bad. Yeah what do you think happened next? I ****** flipped out and said to the guy what are you F.... kidding me? what kinda BS is that? he states that the clutch and fw are not balanced. This causing the damage to the bearings inside the tranny. I asked him where did you get that info from ??? "its in the text book" I asked him to speak with the manager but the guy had left for the day but will be available tomorrow to speak with.

So now here is the problem. He told me it would take 1300 to take down and open the tranny to diagnose then the parts and labor will cost additional.

I told the guy (btw his name is mike) I don't have that kinda money and the car is within the warranty get it covered.
"well we will have to see, I'll have to make some phone calls and then go from there"
While this conversation was taking place I was driving and I had to pull over cause I thought my head was going to explode from all the instant stress.
I got out of my work van and punched the side of it many times to relive the stress.

If you could only see me on the side of queens blvd and 39th st you would have called the nut house to take me away, and thats no joke!

SO what the F... do I do now? who should I talk to about getting this cvd under warranty? and then How do I sink the dealer for the bs?

Please give me your best Ideas- LimeRock is not that far away!

Cliffnotes:
brought car to dealer for warranty
Dealer claims my clutch caused the tranny damage
dealer wants mad cash
Me no have cash
Me very irate!
mE READY TO RIP SOMEONES HEAD OFF
me going to smoke a cig to calm down while you give me advise.

Big Phat R

who put in your clutch and FW?

B2FiNiTY

iTrader: (2)

Are there any other dealers in the area? Perhaps try another one.

Bbasso

I did, why?

Bbasso

I would... but would the dealer make a notice of this for other dealers to see?

Tommy_Gunns

How many miles on the aftermarket FW/clutch before this happened?

Bbasso

between 5 and 7k miles. what ya thinking?

twuelfing

How do they know its unbalanced?

There is no way they can tell its unbalanced at thier shop. They do not have the equipment to check it out. and i promise you they didnt take it anywhere to check it out. Have them explain how they know its unbalanced

how i would do it:

tell them to proove its unbalanced. And tell them you want to watch the test at whatever machine shop checks it out.

then when it isnt unbalanced tell them they are lucky you dont charge them for your time


Modified by twuelfing at 12:47 AM 10/21/2003

B2FiNiTY

iTrader: (2)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bbasso &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I would... but would the dealer make a notice of this for other dealers to see?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Probably not.

Tommy_Gunns

You should ask the dealer how does an unbalanced clutch/fw ruin a tranny. Answer a question with a question

I would have thought an unbalanced clutch/fw would ruin crank bearings before it will affect the tranny.

Bbasso

Now you got me thinking...

twuelfing

they probably dont want to do the repair because they know they cant do it properly and it will just be back again and again.

RTW DC2R

call ACT and comptech and let them know that their clutches and flywheels are unbalanced See what they have to say about that. Have them contact the dealer if they feel up for it. I assume its possible but see what they have to say.

wouldnt you notice if something like that was unbalanced? I would think you would be able to feel it vibrate, no?

D

send it to me, i'll charge you $100 plus parts.

D

ppihctyper

FYI Check your Owner's Manual on what is covered on your transmission. You will be surprised to find out that many things you thought were covered are indeed not.

About the Flywheel and the clutch not being OEM, that is just a smokescreen to get you to pay money. If it is an Acura dealer, you probably signed a piece of paper authorizing work. If so, check and see what you agreed to. IF you thought it was covered under warranty and they told you it was, then it should say that - in writing. IF so you are not obligated to pay tear-down charges. However, they may legally charge you for re-building the tranny.

Many dealers and independants pull this scam everyday. Don't be a victim.
Also, you may not want to punch any more dents in the work van.....

Take care- hope this helps.

johnzm

look in your warranty book
a loca dealership tried to charge me 800 bux for tearing down a trasn that was bad, and then found out it wasnt covered under warranty. i FOLLOWED THE STEPS outlined in the front of your warranty book. and that is your salvation

Rdriver

$1300+parts and labor sounds like BS....
Most Acura dealers sell Comptech parts, so how can they claim that voided the warranty. The last time I had issues with Honda as to warranty work, they paid for labor and I had to pay for parts, which wasn't that bad. Good luck.

Dan GSR

Rob you keep forgeting that i know how to do this

i can do the work for a lot less than they want

Bbasso

"FOLLOWED THE STEPS outlined in the front of your warranty book"

Could someone post up the book/ pages, I can't find mine anywhere

Bbasso

anyone ? have a spare warranty booklet or know where to get one?
I spoke with the Manager of the service dept today in person and he said he had and will be calling the regional manager to see what they can do for me...

Any way I wish I had some better news

B2FiNiTY

iTrader: (2)

I've never seen a warranty booklet. It can be found at the dealer yes?

uNF$@#!

If they outright deny warranty work, my suggestion would be:

Ask for an official written explanation written on letterhead from the service manager why they are denying the claim under warranty. (i.e. aftermarket stuff make the bearings go bad b/c they are unbalanced)

After you get a written document from ACT and Comptech that their new items come balanced/etc, take your documents and present them to the regional manager. If he deny's work, get an official written explanation from the regional rep.

Next step, file small claims. Once Acura receives word you are suing them for the cost of the vehicle (breach of contract, car purchase) I'm sure they will be singing a different tune. Filing small claims is very low cost (I think $16 dollars per incident in NY/NJ/CT), and does not mean you will ever see court. (I think you will need to file against Acura Corporate, not the dealership).

If this thing gets to the point of going to court, simply represent yourself, your facts of findings and most judges do think with their "common sense" caps on.

In the meanwhile, go to another dealership for a 2nd opinion/diagnosis.

my 2 pesos.

Tweakmeister

you're going to have to go to Acura (regionally)

but I'll tell you they have every reason to not cover it...the clutch and flywheel are integral parts of the transmission operation, and they are not to factory spec (even though they exceed factory spec). the warranty is a by-the-book thing - it's meant to apply to the system as it rides from the factory.

the other point of it is they can't help but factor in you're driving a PY ITR. Despite every person's best abilities...the car screams you've beat on it (even if you haven't)

uNF$@#!

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tweakmeister &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">...the car screams you've beat on it (even if you haven't) </TD></TR></TABLE>

lol tweakmeister....only if you knew BBASSO in person

anyhow, to rob: even if you dont feel like pursuing it as far as i mentioned earlier, it would still be worth your while to get things in writing, official writing. There are also other venues to get this thing taken care of outside of the courtroom. (BAD PR, etc)

00MRSi

Sorry to hear about this Rob. Tom gave some good steps to follow.
Take a week off of work and have Jack/P1 fix your tranny, or drive down to FL and have D do it. I guarantee that they will do a better job and charge less money than the Stealership..