Hi all,

First time poster, long time reader. So thanks to all contributors for the resource.

So, two weeks ago I brought my '02 CR-V into the shop for a clutch replacement. It was the original clutch with 255,000 miles on it, and it had totally failed - nonetheless I can't complain about that kind of longevity. They also resurfaced the flywheel while replacing the clutch.

Anyways, after a couple days of having the car back I noticed some oil in the driveway. I took a look and saw that it was leaking both transmission fluid and engine oil. The tranny was leaking because the shop put too large of a washer on the drain plug AND over tightened/deformed the washer. I wiped off the oil pan and over a day traced the leak to either the pan gasket or the rear main seal. I brought it back into the shop and they replaced the tranny drain plug washer and said the following:

"The engine oil is coming from the rear main seal, we should have offered to replace it when we put the new clutch in. You'll have to call back on Monday when the manager is here to see if he's willing to replace that under warranty."

Now, today I called in and the manager said:

"Well, we can't fix everything that happens after we do a job." To which I replied, "It isn't uncommon for the RMS to start leaking after this kind of work and it certainly wasn't leaking before. From what I've gathered it's pretty routine to replace the RMS when you've got the tranny out for a clutch job." He said "no, that's not true." And I reminded him that his own mechanic said they should've at least offered to replace it. He basically said "I've gotta talk to my mechanic and I will call you back." That was 5 hours ago and still no word.

Moving on - what I want to know is this. I've never had any oil leaking in the past, what are the chances that the RMS leaking is a direct result of the work performed vs. random coincidence?

I'm pretty annoyed about this and my annoyance is compounded greatly by the issue with the drain plug washer. Who the hell do they have working in there that is making that kind of mistake? It's unimaginable to me. If he doesn't do the work on warranty I'm considering small claims court just to prove a point. But I'd like to hear any thoughts you all have on the issue.

Thanks in advance...

tc

 

The RMS leak, if that is what it is, could easily be either totally coincidental partially or totally due to the clutch install, there is no way of knowing which it is, it may have started leaking before they pulled the transmission, just not enough to drip the the ground, although you would think the mechanic would have picked up on that.

If your car showed up at our shop, we would have done the RMS without even asking you if we could not get a hold of you, considering the mileage.

The RMS is so easy to do when everything is apart, we would have done it while the flywheel was out being resurfaced, if it was a problem for you we would just have eaten the cost of the seal, [about $5], less of a problem then you coming back and complaining about a leak and possibly having to pull the transmission.

You will not get far in small claims, if the RMS was not on the work order, a shop is only obligated to do what is on the work order, on the other hand they should have at least called you and asked, with those miles, I am surprised they did not recommend it right from the get-go.

I am pretty sure the only way your going to get anything is to see if you can make a deal you can live with, if not there is always the good old embarrass them into it, make up a sign for the car that points out your problem with the shop and show it to the "manager" and tell him if he is not prepared to do something you will display the sign on your car untill he does, maybe even park it in front of his shop.

If this is a Honda dealership, show the the letter you will fire off as an email to Honda corporate, that tends to put a fire under most dealerships.

Good luck. 94

 

Thanks for a very well thought out reply.

They got back to me today and offered to "split the cost" with me. Which would be $320 - about 7 hours of labor at $90/hour. Which is ridiculous, but it is a Japanese import shop in Portland, OR so comparative to the market the price is decent. I was quoted between $750 - $1100 from other shops in town for the same job.

It still burns me though to have to eat another $320 for what I believe was their mistake. If it wasn't for the fact that whoever was working on the car can't even put the right sized gasket on a drain plug I wouldn't be so sure that they caused the RMS leak.

Oh well, good lesson. I'll probably just take the time off work and do the next big job myself.

Thanks again