So, I recently had my mechanic replace the rear main seal in my 97 Accord LX A/T I4 w/ 244,000 miles. It had started to develop a slow leak, maybe half a qt. a week, but the leak wasn't affecting performance at all and the car shifted very well. The mechanic called me last night to tell me that the job had been done, but that on the test drive, the car would shift into neutral once warm and the tranny was nonfunctional until it cooled down. They followed up by reminding me that the transmission had a lot of miles on it and that transmission failure wasn't uncommon with such high mileage. They left it at that they would do some "tests" Friday morning and let me know what my "options" were in terms of repair/replacement. My question is what responsibility does my mechanic have in terms of addressing this issue? Now on one hand, I sympathize with the fact that it is a high mileage transmission and they are not meant to last forever. But, on the other hand, it was shifting perfectly before I brought it into be serviced and I assume there is some responsibility to return it to me in the same condition it was brought in. I was just wondering what I should expect in terms of "compensation" or assistance from them for this issue. I have dealt with this mechanic for the past four years and they have done many different jobs on this vehicle, all with no problems at all. I appreciate any opinions.

Jim

 

Sounds like u have a pretty solid mechanic, and it is impressive for that tranny to go 244k especially an auto. i would get a few opinions from people on here first to see what could have caused this issue after the repair. since u have been goin to him for four yrs im sure u guys could work out a fair deal. usually mechanics that are legit and know ur car and want u to come back will meet half way on a fair deal. good luck

 

Accidents happen when other people drive your car man, sometimes its just as simple as not knowing the quarks of a vehicle. I say give your man the benefit of the doubt and throw a new one in.

 

Since you trust your mechanic, I doubt he would have damaged your vehicle in order to make money off of you. (Mechanics who don't know you will sometimes do it; they'll know what the issue is and how to fix it once you come back to them.)

The transmission doesn't need to be touched in order to work on the main seal. On my accord, when they worked on the main seal, they ended up putting in the camshafts wrong so the car drove crappy. That's the only issue I would have guessed.

Did you note how many miles the car had when you brought it in? I'm just curious as to how they found out this issue. It would imply that they drove the vehicle after the repair, but I don't think that would be needed since you only brought the car in to replace a leaking seal. Maybe one of the other guys (other than the guy you trust) was assigned to test drive the vehicle to check for leaks, and ended up breaking something.

Unfortunately, you most likely won't be able to obtain compensation for this. It would require the shop acknowledging that they actually caused it (no shop would give out free money to appease a customer). Unless you can prove that they damaged it, or that the vehicle was in a better condition than after they touched it, you're out of luck.

If anything, I would probably try and see if the shop will be willing to look into what is causing the issue (is there a problem with the gears, is there metal shavings in the fluid, etc). A free diagnosis might be compensation enough, and you might find that you might have a cheaper option.

If you do decide to take your vehicle back, I'd get a second opinion before having the transmission serviced. This is just in case the shop had messed something up.

 

Auto trannies have a lot of very small passages that can be clogged easily and that would make it not work properly. It is possible that during removal and reintallation, it was bumped. Not hard enough to damage the tranny, but enough to dislodge a chunk of build up that made its way to a spot where it makes the tranny not work well.
I would say it's time to replace it.

 

Friday morning the shop called and said that they were dropping out the tranny and either repairing it or replacing it for no cost. Should have it back Wednesday. I'm anxious to see what they diagnosed the original problem as and what they chose to do. I am very impressed with their decision to "make good" and give them major brownie points. Definitely encouraged loyalty with that move. I'll let you guys know how it turns out.


Jim

 

That's a quality shop right there. @ 240+k, anything can go at any time. I would return the favor and recommend that shop to anyone in your area.