ComplaintsforCottman Transmission

• Initial Complaint

  04/15/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  3/24/23 I had a transmission rebuilt at the *********** shop. 3/14/24 the transmission completely failed after driving 300 miles in a snowstorm. I was told by the manager that a valve had failed. It was then implied that it failed due to abuse on my part. I asked What could I have done to cause this I was told Getting it stuck in snow I have dash cam footage for 300miles that proves nothing whatsoever happened other than a (HOT OIL) indicator on my dash. I immediately pulled over, checked the ************* fluid was black. I checked the fluid before leaving & it was full with good color. I towed the vehicle to the ********** shop on 3/18/24. I still have 16,000ml & one year left on my ************ was told the warranty is now voided due to abuse on my part. Ive essentially been called a liar by the manager. I can prove beyond any doubt that I wasnt to blame. I kindly asked the manager IF it wasnt abused, why or how can this happen? Can a transmission fail due to a valve alone being bad or is it automatically the customer that abused it? The manager said every part was burned up inside the ****** & this was not normal. If I can show that I didnt abuse ******* vehicle gave me no sign of an issue until failure, how could I have prevented this? I have absolutely no desire to take legal action. I would just like to have been treated with respect & still have my vehicle warranty honored. I would love to have an explanation as to why this happened if I can show it wasnt due to abuse. Thanks for listening. By the waythe repair order # below is from the original rebuild back in March of 2023. I have asked for a new invoice indicating exactly what was done on 3/18/24 with understandably no response. FYI...just in case the apparently unacceptable word (Transmission) is redacted in this post again, this was a rebuild of everything inside the housing that shifts the vehicle. Invoice # 2-4429890

  Business response

  04/16/2024

  To Whom it may concern,

  ********************* had a transmission rebuilt at our *********** location, initially on 03/24/2023.  A year later to the date ***** reported that he had a catastrophic transmission failure during a very heavy snow storm while traveling on I-70 through the mountains while roads were being shut down.

  ***** brought his jeep to our *********** location to inspect the transmission for failure, after our initial diagnosis we concluded that the transmission had overheated and fluid and clutches were burnt. We decided to go further by removing and opening the transmission to determine the cause of failure. After opening the transmission we found that every clutch, steel plate, torque converter, and rubber molded pistons were damaged or burnt by excessive heat and slippage.  This by no means was a normal or typical failure, this happened from abuse.

  On line 4 of our details of limited warranty it explains that "any unauthorized service, damage caused by mud, snow, accident, abuse or water, or damaged caused by any component not part of the transmission or torque converter shall void the warranty." The damage that was caused by this failure was undoubtedly caused by abuse. Under our warranty we could have chosen to deny any repairs, however we chose to fix the transmission and end the warranty.  Also, we went above and beyond by installing a thermal bypass valve into the vehicle's transmission cooler lines. 

  On line 6 under our details of limited warranty it explains that "the total liability under this warranty is limited to the cost of the original repair. This center reserves the right to refund you the original repair price in lieu of warranty service to the vehicle." ***** requested a list of the parts that were replaced original and on the warranty repair, we provided both. The warranty repair was actually more costly then the original repair. At this point, the warranty has been completely exhausted. There is no more warranty available for this vehicle. Please see attached warranty details, right hand side.

   

• Initial Complaint

  10/31/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have been dealing with this company and want a refund instead of them not taking responsability for the transmission issue which they have been unable to repair after I have had to take my truck back over 12 times. I am disabled and don't have a lot of money to throw away with todays economy. This truck has been taken to both shops in ****** and they can't get it right. On my last visit which was in March I was told it was gonna cost me over ********* to get my truck running correctly. This was the general manager that refused to fix my truck until I had a misfire fixed and my engine worked on. He told me that was the issue with my transmission going out. Granted I don't know much about cars but found out that was a big story when I told other mechanics to get it fixed. I had to finally find a mobile mechanic to repair the missfire since my truck wont move at all It cost me ****** to get a AAA membership so I could get it there. He refused any kind of tow. When I got it there he called me in 30 minutes and informed me that the misfire that my engine has was cause of my transmission issue. I was then told I had a day to take it off the lot or he would start charging me storage fees. Really instead of just fixing it. He knows my situation with my health and my finances. How am I sexpected to get it worked on when it wont even run. After a ******* repair it should run great. That also Includes the ****** that I paid the shop on Broadway to change my spark plugs. The manager at that shop said he had a employee who did side work on the weekends so I asked him how much to change my spark plugs he said ****** so I paid him cash and thought he had taken care of it . They were never changed. **** also told me this would be the last time any kind of repair would be done on my transmission. i an still paying on the loan I took for the repair work and I still have no transportation. Cottmans slogan is "100% Guaranteed. At Cottman we back up our work with a 100% guarantee. We treat your car like it was our own." What happened to this statement? what happened to my truck.I doubt I have even put **** miles since my transmission was worked on by this company. Save yourself the stress , money and time by taking your automobile to a company that knows what they are doing. I took it here because I likes the wonderful reviews they have online. 5 star service. Thats all I expected and not to mention I never was given any paperwork on what was done to my truck. I asked **** the first time I met him and was told that **** wasn't very good about doing the paper work. By law I think I am *********** that paper work and I had just changed the oil in my truck a week before I took iit back to him I have never had a oil leak and still dont. I just want my truck back but that will never happen if it stays for repair at Cottman. I no longer trust them and it was suppose to be taken care of when I took it back.

  Business response

  11/14/2023

  To Whom it may ********************************** brought his truck to us earlier this year after the replacement Transmission we installed failed due to engine performance issues. He had the vehicle towed into our shop. Upon inspection I found that the truck was severely misfiring and had ran. The truck had several misfire codes and there was no oil on the engine dipstick. The engine in his **** truck requires the oil level to be full in order for the Variable Valve Timing system to operate correctly. If it is not full the truck can misfire, run at a lower RPM and it is also possible for the engine to jump timing. If the engine is not running correctly the Transmission Fluid Pump cannot generate enough line pressure to keep the clutch packs engaged, this result in burnt clutches and Transmission failure.

  I sent ****** information about this the last time he made a complaint on the BBB website. I specifically told him that the engine needs to be fixed before I do anymore type of repair work on the transmission or we would be right back in the same spot in a very short period of time. ****** had his truck towed from our shop and I have not heard from him since. 

  As of 10/29/23 the warranty on our work is expired. 

  Customer response

  11/17/2023

   
  Complaint: 20807973
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

  Customer response

  11/21/2023

  The transmission is not gonna fail with a misfire especially in a two week period. Every time it was taken in for repair it never ran for more then a few days before the transmission failure light would come on. The truck had been taken in for a oil change after the last repair. These excuses are just being added by the mechanic so they don't have to repair my truck as they were paid in full and its their responsibility to repair my truck in a correct manner. After being in their shop over 8 times for this issue **** or **** had never even mentioned the misfire the truck had as a matter of fact they were paid to fix that problem with the spark plug change that I paid for and was never done by the shop on Broadway

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