ComplaintsforAAMCO of Newport, Oregon

• Initial Complaint

  12/27/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  The service manager at the Newport, Ore. location (AAMCO Central Coast Transmission, Inc.) could not resolve the issue and got hostile enough that I felt uncomfortable and left. The main repair order I am referencing is *******. The service adviser is Richard H******. The technician is Brandon T******. After 30-40 miles at highway speed, my truck would jump in and out of overdrive. AAMCO supposedly tested it and said nothing was wrong. I drove it for 30-40 miles at highway speed and it broke down again. They drove it again and said they couldn't find anything wrong with it, but quoted me a full transmission rebuild based on my description of the problem. They did not perform a highway road test under the conditions I described to confirm my problem. After they rebuilt the transmission for $3,622.30, I picked the vehicle up and it broke down under the original conditions the following day: After 30-40 miles on the highway, it started jumping in and out of overdrive.  I had it towed back a third time and had to ask the technicians to more extensively test it to confirm my problem. The technicians had not road tested the vehicle under the conditions to confirm my problem. This time the technician confirmed my problem with a road test and I was told the actual problem was a shift location sensor located outside of the transmission and that did not require the transmission to be removed or replaced. They replaced the sensor, but when I picked the vehicle up, the shifter was loose and the plastic end of was broken off. They replaced the plastic end, but the shifter itself is too broken for the vehicle to operate safely. It won't start unless you hold the shifter all the way up and it won't stay in gear unless you hold the shifter in place the entire time you are driving. Additionally, my 4WD no longer works because of this repair job. See included letter that was sent to AAMCO on 11/17/21, giving them 30 days to respond to my complaint, for a full list of damages.

  Customer response

  01/07/2022

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  1.) The shift lever WAS NOT loose in any way shape or form before the technician replaced the shift sensor unit. It WAS NOT loose in any way, shape or form when the technician rebuilt the transmission. It was only loose after the technician replaced the shift sensor unit. Logic dictates that the technician made the shift lever loose when replacing the shift sensor unit.

  2.) The shift lever plastic handle was hanging on by a shred of plastic when I tried to shift it and the manager, standing in the door to the truck and looking in directly at the shift lever, observed it fall off with a tiny amount of handling which is why within seconds, literally seconds, he offered to replace it for free. That alone speaks volumes as to who the service manager felt was responsible for breaking the plastic off— his technician. The shift lever plastic was in good repair before AAMCO rebuilt the transmission.

  3.) The breakdown I suffered was identical to before AAMCO rebuilt my transmission, which means the rebuilt transmission DID NOT solve the problem. Let me reiterate, THE REBUILT TRANSMISSION DID NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM. THE SERVICE MANAGER ADMITS THIS IN HIS RESPONSE TO MY INITIAL BBB CLAIM WHEN HE EXPLAINS THAT HE FIXED THE TRUE PROBLEM — THE SHIFT SENSOR UNIT — FOR FREE. If the shift sensor unit was unrelated to the breakdown reason the vehicle came into the shop, he would have charged me to fix it just like he tried to charge me to fix the shift lever problems his technician caused. The breakdown I experienced after the rebuilt transmission was the same as the breakdown that caused the vehicle to be brought into the shop in the first place. The reason AAMCO decided to replace the shift sensor unit is because they messed up and sold me on a repair I didn't need and were hoping I'd simply not say anything when they fixed the much less expensive actual problem. 
  

  4.) Also, as an addendum and a new issue AAMCO caused, I got charged a four-wheel drive fee and now the four-wheel drive does not engage at all. It worked flawlessly before AAMCO rebuilt the transmission and replaced the shift lever. If you charge someone to remove and replace parts, will you back up that removal and replacing if it's done incorrectly?

  5.) Saying a vehicle is old isn't a way to compensate for incorrect repairs being recommended and negligent technicians breaking parts. If you can't adequately work on older vehicles, you shouldn't offer to repair them. That's a failure on the shop, not the customer. I am absolutely flabbergasted that AAMCO won't take responsibility for the actions of its technicians and that the service manager chooses to blame the customer on all fronts. The service manager should be trying to make things right by the customer by assisting and serving them to the best of their ability. I trusted AAMCO and gave them a lot of money and now I have nothing to show for it but a broken vehicle.

  6.) At no point did the technicians adequately road test the vehicle because a service writer told me the technician didn't drive it very far. The first time they tested it, they said it was fine after "driving it around town," and presumably not at highway speeds like in my initial complaint or they would have said as much, and gave it back to me with no recommendations. It wasn't until after the vehicle was towed back after the transmission was rebuilt when it broke down with the initial problem was I informed that the vehicle was road tested on the way to Depot Bay at highway speeds and the breakdown was confirmed. If the technicians had road tested my vehicle on the way to Depot Bay at highway speeds before rebuilding the transmission, they would have verified the breakdown and replaced only the shift sensor unit— obviously the real cause of the problem, again because the service manager had it replaced as quickly and quietly as possible hoping I wouldn't figure it out. Rebuilding it based on fluid color and smell is not justification enough. Perfectly good transmissions can simply need a routine service based on color and smell and be fine for many miles after. The technician should have verified the customer complaint by road testing the vehicle to Depot Bay and back at highway speeds the first time. It is absolutely irresponsible to suggest repairs without verifying the customer's breakdown complaint.

   

  Sincerely,
  

  
  ******* *****

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