ComplaintsforSMI Automotive Repair
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Complaint Details
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Initial Complaint
11/16/2023
- Complaint Type:
- Product Issues
- Status:
- Answered
Car was running hot I had the car towed to SMI and they performed work of coolant system which did not correct the problem. Guaranteed the work for 12,000 miles or 1 year. Immediately the car started smoking and the now they said the car needs a motor. They did not see thus until after I spent 3500.00 and now that want 12 to 39 thousand to put a motor in it. You can’t tell me they didn’t see this on the initial visit. pathetic.Business response
11/16/2023
The vehicle had been over heated and had to be towed in. When we originally inspected the vehicle it had a major leak from a broken coolant pipe and could not hold coolant. We had to address the gushing leak and replace the thermostat as step one. When the engine is over heated the thermostat is damaged and we cannot determine any issues until it will hold coolant. We also replaced 2 tires as the steel belts were showing through and it was unsafe to drive. After fixing the gushing leak we pressure tested the engine and it held pressure. We test drove the vehicle and it did not over heat and did not show any other external leaks. Customer returned 9 weeks later with a complaint of white smoke from the right side tail pipe and a restricted performance message on the instrument cluster. Upon further inspection we determined that the head gasket was blown on the right side of the engine. This did not show up on the first visit and it was not until the car had been driven for several weeks and 397 miles that this problem showed up. I have no doubt that this was caused by the earlier over heating issue, however, this does not make it our responsibility to cover the cost of the repairs or to refund the initial repair cost. When an engine is over heated to that extent there is always a chance of other damage that may not show up immediately but will over the next several months. It is unfortunate that this happened but it does not make our repair wrong or incomplete. We had to stop the major leak which we did, then internal leak in the engine would not detectable for several weeks when it started experiencing symptoms and there is no way for us to predict this and no way we could have prevented it. I am sorry the customer has an expensive repair ahead of them but no one can tell if a head gasket is damaged without engine disassembly until it is showing symptoms and when we had the vehicle on the first visit it had no symptoms.
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Contact Information
280 North Hubbards Lane
Louisville, KY 40207
Business hours
Today,7:30 AM - 5:30 PM
MMonday | 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM |
---|---|
TTuesday | 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM |
WWednesday | 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM |
ThThursday | 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM |
FFriday | 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM |
SaSaturday | Closed |
SuSunday | Closed |
Customer Complaints Summary
1 total complaints in the last 3 years.
1 complaints closed in the last 12 months.