AAMCO Transmissions and Total Car Care

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below I found the email re: ID [redacted] Thank youThe reason I chose to get a second opinion was Aamco charge was so expensive I did not have the funds up front and had to get it financed through a loanI could not afford to go back and spend more money for reflashing (re-programming)I understand it is never done free, even though Mr [redacted] told me it would have been done free of chargeAlso, Mr [redacted] states that they do reflashing every day He also told me, when I brought in the repair work [redacted] from [redacted] (Yes, I did show him the ***) to show him, that he would not make any adjustment on my [redacted] - only that he would pay for ***'s repair My question is, if they knew transmissions need reflashing after certain repairs, why did they not check it out at the time - they had my car for week[redacted] diagnostic revealed and fixed the problem - so reflashing was neededI had explained to Aamco at the first that my car would present the problem stated, intermittently - off and onSo they were aware of it.Thank you for your attention to this matter.*** ***

Ms [redacted] took the vehicle to another shop without returning to my shop or letting us know she was at another shop Our warranty clearly says that the customer must return to AAMCO for warranty issues Ms [redacted] should have given me the courtesy of trying to address her problem before paying another shop to do something to her car to address what she perceived to be a problem associated with AAMCO's work That is the way every warranty on the planet works Having said that, she never brought the car back, so I have no idea what the other shop did or didn't do, or why And yes, we stand by our diagnostic and the work we did Reflashing is a common task that is sometimes necessary after you do transmission work In a sense, it is re-learning the shift points of the transmission We do it every day I don't know why she would not have come back to AAMCO and have us do that at no charge if indeed reflashing was called forThanks [redacted]

While Ms*** has my sympathy, the reason we did not reset the shift points (flash the computer) when it was here is because the vehicle drove fine after we made the repair. In other words, the test drive went fine. The test drive was fine because we fixed the problem. After that, I have no idea what happened because Ms*** never brought the vehicle back to me. If the customer doesn't bring me a vehicle, I can't help them. I guess that the other shop did reprogram the shift points (i don't know) and the problem went away. The reason the reprogramming worked is because WE REPAIRED THE BAD SWITCH. If we had not replaced the bad switch, the reprogramming would not have worked.It is common for vehicles to need flashing after work is done on the transmission. All the customer has to do is let me know and schedule a FREE appointmentWe back up our work 100%What we don't do is pay the bill when someone goes somewhere else and doesn't give us a chance to do our job.Thanks*** ***

Ms. [redacted] took the vehicle to another shop without returning to my shop or letting us know she was at another shop.  Our warranty clearly says that the customer must return to AAMCO for warranty issues.  Ms. [redacted] should have given me the courtesy of trying to address her problem before...

paying another shop to do something to her car to address what she perceived to be a problem associated with AAMCO's work.   That is the way every warranty on the planet works.  Having said that, she never brought the car back, so I have no idea what the other shop did or didn't do, or why.  And yes, we stand by our diagnostic and the work we did.  Reflashing is a common task that is sometimes necessary after you do transmission work.  In a sense, it is re-learning the shift points of the transmission.  We do it every day.  I don't know why she would not have come back to AAMCO and have us do that at no charge if indeed reflashing was called for. Thanks[redacted]

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
I got a transmission code #P1818 from Mr. [redacted]. In looking up this code number it referred me to a bulletin which explains what needs to be done for this Chevy HHR problem. If Mr. [redacted] and his technician had followed through on this they would have known exactly what to do and saved me a lot of money.  I respectfully submit this information for your review and request appropriate adjustment in fairness to me.  Thank you.[redacted]

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
I found the email re: ID [redacted].  Thank you. The reason I chose to get a second opinion was Aamco charge was so expensive I did not have the funds up front and had to get it financed through a loan. I could not afford to go back and spend more money for reflashing (re-programming). I understand it is never done free, even though Mr. [redacted] told me it would have been done free of charge. Also, Mr. [redacted] states that they do reflashing every day.  He also told me, when I brought in the repair work [redacted] from [redacted] (Yes, I did show him the [redacted]) to show him, that he would not make any adjustment on my [redacted] - only that he would pay for [redacted]'s repair.  My question is, if they knew transmissions need reflashing after certain repairs, why did they not check it out at the time - they had my car for 1 week.[redacted] diagnostic revealed and fixed the problem - so reflashing was needed. I had explained to Aamco at the first that my car would present the problem stated, intermittently - off and on. So they were aware of it.Thank you for your attention to this matter.[redacted]

Review: I called AAMCO on 05/09, made an appointment for my car for 05/10 at 8a. I spoke to [redacted] who seemed very knowledgeable and genuine about my issues and concerns. Took my car here friday, received a phone call back that the engine was very strong, transmission fluid not burnt, the 2 codes that were pulled were the same that [redacted] had pulled for free. I paid the 47.50 diagnostic fee, was told to bring it back for a more comprehensive review which would cost 285.00 a level 3 diagnostic, and my transmission pan would be pulled off and the transmission inspected and the exact parts would be seen which needed to be replaced. I took the car back, they worked on it again on 05/13, called me that evening. Told me the transmission fluid was burnt now, and a rebuilt transmission needed because of the torque clutch converter, (which was the same code originally pulled and what I found out from [redacted]). I asked if transmission was pulled apart and pan looked at for shavings like I was told it would be. No, this was not performed, my boyfriend paid the fee before he spoke to me about this. I called and complained and was told the reciept would show everything performed. The receipt shows, the car was driven, codes pulled and the transmission fluid checked again. I wasnt told any other information and was offered to speak to a technician to be told what was done, and said yes, but never was given the techinician on the phone. I have contacted [redacted] 3 times since, was offered a few oil changes since I was not happy, no I would not trust this company with my car now. So what I am requesting is even a partial refund, I am willing to pay the company for some of their time, but not for a level 3 diagnostic, since I was misquoted work to be performed that was not done, and have since taken my car somewhere else and the issue is fixable without needing the transmission replaced or rebuilt.Desired Settlement: I would at least like a partial refund and am even willing to pay for another 47.50 diagnostic from 05/13 since they did review my car again this day even though they did the same thing on 05/10. I was misquoted what was needed to fix my vehicle, and was told certain diagnostics would be performed that were not. I paid 285.00 for nothing, and am now getting my car fixed without the money used to pay for this and am completely out this money for no reason.

Business

Response:

Re: Review: [redacted] It is important to keep in mind that the reason we did the level 3 diagnostics is because there was notenough evidence on the initial diagnostic to condemn the transmission. The vehicle drove beautifullyand the fluid did not have a burnt odor to it. There were two transmission related codes. Code PO742torque converter clutch problem and a follow on code (POo1811) which is her computer saying that thetransmission is not shifting correctly. We CANNOT condemn a transmission that is running perfectly onthe test drive and has good fluid. We MUST determine if the cause of the codes is an internal failure orsimply an electronic fault on the torque converter clutch circuit. In other words, is there a short? I explained this to Mr. [redacted]. I told her that we needed to do a "Level 3" diagnostic. This buys up tothree hours of my "A" tech's time to find the short. And we hope to avoid replacing the transmission.This was diagnostic time, not repair time. lt turns out that the problem with the vehicle was amechanical failure either because of or in addition to electrical failure. In other words, she needs atransmission. The reason we did not give her a parts list is that there are no parts that can fix hertransmission without removing the entire transmission and overhauling it. I gave Ms. [redacted] themultiple page diagnostic flow chart that we used to determine what the problem was. I also explainedto her that two technicians were involved in driving the vehicle with the scan tool. One drives thevehicle and the other reads the computer. That obviously doubles the labor cost, which is covered bythe level 3 diagnostics. Ms. [redacted] is also concerned that we simply told her what she got for free from [redacted]. She is underthe false impression that a vehicle code tells us exactly what parts are defective. This is not true. Avehicle code says that there is a fault on the ClRCUlT. The fault could be with a solenoid, a break in awire, a bad computer , a bad battery, a poor connection or whatever. Lf you do not do a properdiagnostic, you are just throwing parts at a problem. Once we determined that there was indeed a mechanical failure, we offered to repair the transmissioninternally. This is the step where we remove the transmission and give the customer a list of the wornand damaged internal parts that need to be replaced in order to get the vehicle running correctly again,Ms, [redacted] refused this service and took her car. We credited her $47.50 for the initial diagnostic, andcharged her for the technician's time, which we call a level 3 diagnostic. There are alot of transmissions being replaced out there that do not need to be replaced. We need tobe sure that a transmission has failed before we try to sell the customer a new transmission.

Consumer

Response:

This response still doesnt tell me why I was lied to and was told they would drop the transmission pan and look for metal and debris. So I am assuming they drove the car for an hour and a half to pay two techs 150.00 each. This is absolutely ridiculous, and yes I still only know what auto zone told me for free because correct me if I am wrong you diagnosed me torque clutch converter and you still told me you wouldnt know what hard parts would be needed until it was tore apart. This company is a complete scam and unfortunately untrustworthy. My complaint for some type of refund was not addressed, if he were willing to give me free oil changes which I declined then give me money back for those oil changes you were going to compensate me for! And to be honest, would you want someone to treat your wife, mother, daughter this way. Absolutely ridiculous and of course this company did no wrong. Regards, [redacted]

Business

Response:

I do regret that the customer is unsatisfied. We did our best to diagnose the problem in such as way as to avoid having to overhaul the transmission. My techs did spend in excess of three man hours on the vehicle. I told the customer what we would charge before we did the work, and then I charged her that amount. The techs were able to determine the problem without dropping the transmission pan, so they did not drop it. As I wrote earlier, we simply have to spend some time with vehicles before we condemn the transmission. We are trying to SAVE the customer money whenever possible.

DO NOT GO HERE!!! I am a [redacted] student and brought my car in for a brake light repair. It was going to cost me $120 which seemed a little high but I said okay. After 3 days I finally got my car back with a bill for $800. The owner [redacted] added a whole bunch of additional work that I did not ask for. Not cool...when I argued the owner said he had not rung up my bill yet. Never again, NEVER AGAIN.

The story —

Dropped off my car Thursday after hours.

Friday rolls around, did not get a call until 4:57; that's three minutes before the parts stores close. The man on the phone, the owner named [redacted], was pressuring me to accept his $1100+ fix for my car and wanted to order the parts then.

I said I would need more than three minutes to weigh my options on my older vehicle. So I told him I would let him know Monday morning. I went in Monday morning, like I said I would, and paid the diagnostic fee of $60. I informed him that I was going to take my car to my normal mechanic later that day, after hours.

[redacted] did not like what I said and threatened me, in front of four other customers, saying that if I did not remove my vehicle right then, he would have it impounded.

So much for respect, service and proper treatment of your customers.

He was extremely rude and hostile.

I'll never go there again and will tell others as well.

Review: August 5, 2014

On Saturday, May 10, 2014, as my wife and I were driving to [redacted] in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia from our home in [redacted] the Automatic Transmission (AT) light came on in our 2008 Mazda 6 automobile. Within a few miles of first noticing the light, the car would not switch into gear and we called [redacted] for a tow. As it was a weekend and no repair shops were open, the car was towed to our [redacted] unit and arrangements were made to transport the car to the AAMCO store in [redacted], on Monday, May 12.

On that day, the car was transported to the AAMCO store. The owner, [redacted], and his lead mechanic, [redacted], were there and stated they would check out the cause of the problem. We explained to them that we had an extended warranty plan through [redacted] that should cover the repair, minus a $300 deductible we would pay out of pocket. We informed them both that we very much needed our car by Friday as we had to check out of the [redacted] and head home to [redacted] on Saturday morning and they stated they would be able to have it done by then. We rented a car through [redacted] and booked it until 12:00 p.m. on Friday.

On Wednesday, May 14, [redacted] called and said that his mechanic had discovered the problem with the transmission and that he had spoken to our warranty company about our contract. [redacted] stated to [redacted] that they would supply a used transmission with 85,000 miles on it which would fulfill their obligations under the warranty. [redacted] told my wife and I that he didn’t think it was a good idea for us to get the used transmission as we would have only a limited warranty and there was no guarantee the transmission would last very long. He also informed us that he would have to order the used transmission and that it might not show up until the following week and he didn’t want our car tying up one of their lifts. After crunching numbers, he told us he could rebuild our transmission and cover it with a 50,000 mile warranty for $1,278.93, a total almost $1000 more than what the used transmission would cost. As we needed our car and it was promised to us on Friday, we decided to pay the extra money and have them rebuild our transmission.

On Friday, May 16, we drove the rental car back to [redacted] and dropped off the car and received a ride from them to AAMCO. When we arrived, [redacted] and [redacted] told us the car would not be ready until closer to 2:00 p.m. My wife and I went to eat some lunch and returned by 2:00, at which [redacted]e, we were told the car wouldn’t be ready until at least 3:00 p.m. The car was taken out for a test drive before 3:00, which we took as a good sign, but when it returned we were told we would not be able to take the car that day as they had discovered another problem. We were quite upset, but realizing we needed to get another rental car so we could go home the next morning, we called [redacted] again to arrange a one-way rental. We picked up the car late that afternoon and paid $131.84 for what would be all of an 18-hour rental as the store in [redacted] closed by 12:00 on Saturday.

The Mazda was finally completed in the middle of the following week and my wife and I took the day off from work on Thursday, May 22, so that we could get the car as they wouldn’t be open for us to pick it up on a weekend. The car seemed to drive well and as a few weeks passed, we were beginning to think that even with all of the problems to that point; we were finally able to get back to normal. However, on Friday, June 13, as I was returning from work, the AT light came on and the car jerked forward, causing me to pull over into a gas station and call [redacted] for a tow to the local AAMCO store in [redacted], located at [redacted]. As it was a Friday night, I knew they would not be able to look at it for a few days.

On Monday, June 16, I called the [redacted] AAMCO store and notified them of what had occurred the past Friday, along with the work that had been done previously in [redacted] and stated that I had a warranty on the transmission. The floor manager, [redacted], told me he would take a look at the issue and let me know what was wrong. Having not heard anything from him by Tuesday afternoon, I called and asked if they had looked at it, to which he replied they had found a bad relay and had repaired that and that I could pick up the car that night. Again, I allowed myself to think that the worst might be over and again, I was wrong.

On Friday, June 27, while on my way to work in southern Maryland, the AT light came on again. Thank God, I was able to make it to work before the car stopped shifting gears. I worked the entire day and called [redacted] to tow me to the AAMCO store in [redacted] again, a distance of 55 miles one way. It being another weekend, the car was not looked at until Monday. This [redacted] stated that the valve body on the transmission was the problem and after repairs were completed, I picked up the car on Wednesday, July 2, after regular closing hours. I was somewhat paranoid that with three issues with the same transmission in six weeks, that something was bound to happen again. This [redacted] I was correct.

On Saturday, July 12, once again returning from work, the AT light came on, again. I was able to make it to the [redacted] AAMCO store before it stopped switching gears. The store was filled with other vehicles that they didn’t even take a look at the car until Tuesday, July 22, ten days after received the car. I also called the [redacted] AAMCO store on Friday, July 18, and spoke with [redacted], expressing my displeasure with the whole situation and asking him to talk to the owner, [redacted], whom was on vacation that week. More than two weeks has gone by and I still have not received any calls from the [redacted] store.

I finally received my vehicle on Monday, July 28. They had to replace not one item, but five more items they had found wrong with the vehicle that should have been addressed in the initial rebuild. I had it back for all of three hours, forty minutes, and had put on all of 14 miles before the AT light came back on and once again had to have it towed to the [redacted] AAMCO store. I did receive it back again on Thursday, July 31, and was assured that the problem was corrected. I didn’t drive it at all for four days and drove it to southern Maryland last night, Monday, August 4. For 73 miles, the car drove great and then as I was nearing my destination, the AT light came back on. As I was once again more than 50 miles away from my house, I once again called [redacted] for a tow to the AAMCO store in [redacted]. After speaking with [redacted], he informed me that he would get to it as soon as he could, but that it would probably be next week before they even looked at it.

This is a completely unacceptable way to run a business. This inability to complete the work promised has forced me to rent cars for a much longer period than I should have had to, as I need to have a way to get to and from my two jobs, each of which is more than 50 miles one way from my house. I put the majority of the blame on the [redacted] store as they had promised us a completely rebuilt transmission and they did not fulfill their promise, resulting in, I believe, a breach of contract. Our total costs to this date are well over $2000. This includes the extra $978.93 we paid for a “rebuilt” transmission over the used unit; the $131.84 that we paid for the one-way rental car from Friday, May 16 until Saturday, May 17 after [redacted] was unable to fulfill their promise of a Friday repair; $540.21 for a rental car used from Monday, July 14, until Monday, July 28; $77.62 for a rental car from Tuesday, July 29 until Thursday, July 31; $199.53 for a rental car from this morning, Tuesday, August 5 until Monday, August 11, which is the very earliest day that I will get my vehicle back; and $78 in tolls I am forced to pay out of pocket because I am not able to put my [redacted] unit in a rental car. This is more than $2000 more than we would have paid had we not been badgered into buying a rebuilt unit. All I can do at this time is to wait for our car to be repaired correctly and hope against hope that there will be no further problems with the transmission. I can say I doubt that will be the case.

Of the 85 days since our car first went into the repair shop in [redacted], I have had the vehicle for only 45 of those days; 40 days since May my car has been in one of the two AAMCO stores.

[redacted]Desired Settlement: I am, at this point, asking for reimbursement of the $2,006.13 (not counting the $300 we would have paid for the used transmission) we have spent since first going to your branch store in [redacted]. I look forward to resolving this situation in an expedient manner.

Business

Response:

I very much regret the terrible experience Mr. [redacted] has had. He is correct in all respects.

The initial problem and the reason we missed the first delivery date was due to a defective torque converter (internal part of the transmission). We have better than 98% quality with our torque converters, unfortunately this one was bad. Because it was a Friday we cold not get the replacement in until the following Monday.

Since then, the vehicle has been back in Northern Virginia. AAMCO's shop in [redacted] has been handling the problems, of which there have been many. I am personally working with AAMCO tech at our home office, and with the manager and transmission rebuilder in [redacted] to try to understand why we keep having these problems. Once in a great while we run into problems after the rebuild that are very difficult to resolve. This is one of those times.

Mr. [redacted] has asked for $2,000 reimbursement for a number of expenses. I understand that those costs are real for him and his family. However, our warranty is very clear that while we are 100% responsible for the parts and workmanship of our rebuilt transmissions, we are not responsible for add on expenses such as rental cars, etc....

Again, I do wish to apologize to Mr. and Mrs. [redacted] for this terrible experience.

Sincerely,

Owner/Operator

AAMCO of [redacted].

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

I reject Mr. [redacted] response as not being satisfactory in any way, shape or form. Although Mr. [redacted]

admits that everything I attested to in my initial email was "correct in all respects," all he offers to us are

insincere apologies. Mr. [redacted] freely admits that he missed the first delivery date due to a defective

torque converter, a unit that in less than 2% of the cases is bad. I of course was one of the lucky 2%.

Mr [redacted] also goes on to state that he is working with the [redacted] AAMCO shop which I have

been using since my first problem with the Automatic Transmission because of the "many problems"

that have occurred since my vehicle left his store, another issue that only occurs "once in a great while."

Mr [redacted] concludes his email by stating that although he understands that our costs are "real to me

and my family," he further states that the warranty was very clear that they stand 100% behind their

parts and workmanship, they are "not responsible for add on expenses such as rental cars, etc..."

Pardon me for asking, how are you standing behind your parts and workmanship? You sold us a "rebuilt

transmission" for $1000 more than a used unit would have cost. You did not deliver on your promise of

a rebuilt transmission; when a vehicle goes in to a repair shop five times after the vehicle was

"repaired", the evidence is clear. The workmanship and parts were inferior and have resulted in me

having to rent a variety of vehicles in order to get to my two jobs that I hold. You state your warranty is

clear that you do not reimburse "add-on expenses," yet you also state that my vehicle's situation is

extremely unusual in that I first was given a defective torque converter and then numerous problems

that occur only "once in a great while." If you were truly as customer oriented as you claim, you would

recognize the fact that this is a situation that does not occur often and in those cases, a good owner

would try to do something to resolve the customer's complaint to both sides' satisfaction. I see no offer,

no good faith gesture from this owner which would lead me to believe he values my wife and I as

customers. Words mean nothing; actions speak much louder. Your words are empty and I do not accept

them. The only thing in which I agree with Mr. [redacted] is that this indeed has been a terrible experience

in every way.

Regards,

[redacted]

Business

Response:

We will have to agree to disagree.

Respectfully,

AAMCO [redacted]

Business

Response:

First, let me reassure Mr. [redacted] that we did a full rebuild on his transmission. We replaced all the seals and gaskets and clutches (soft parts overhaul kit). We replaced the worn and damaged hard parts and we did the updates to the valve body as recommended by AAMCO tech. And we replaced the torque converter. That is the very definition of a rebuilt transmission.

It is true that the transmission was not right the first time, and that it was not right several times thereafter. In defense of my shop in [redacted] Mr. [redacted] lives in northern Virginia, which is a couple hours away from me. He has been dealing with our sister company in [redacted]. They have done their best in a timely fashion to resolve the problems with Mr. [redacted]'s transmission. As I wrote earlier, once in a while we get a difficult challenge. When this happens, we bring to bear our home office technical staff as well as the experienced staff at both our shops to resolve the problem as quickly as possible. As of this writing, the shop in [redacted] is reporting to me that Mr. [redacted]'s vehicle is correctly repaired and running well.

Mr. [redacted] is unhappy and inconvenienced. He has had to spend his money for alternate transportation and for tolls, etc... I do regret that as does [redacted], the manager at the [redacted] AAMCO. He has asked for substantial money damages from me. However, as I have explained previously, our warranty expressly excludes cost of tolls, hotels, rental cars, etc... We are responsible for our parts and labor. Our warranty is in place to protect the consumer, but also to protect AAMCO. Financially, I can plan for a limited warranty. I can't plan for things beyond that, so we don't offer warranties that cover hotels, tolls, rental cars etc...

I can offer my sincere apology for the bad experience. I can work with the other AAMCO and the home office to get this quality problem fixed as quickly as possible. But I can't pay for anything else.

Sincerelyl, [redacted]

AAMCO [redacted].

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

The [redacted] owner does not offer any action that would resolve my complaint. He claims that he rebuilt the transmission entirely, yet why is it that almost every part that his shop "fixed" and many parts that he did not have had to be replaced by the [redacted] shop, not once or twice, but SIX TIMES? And in regards to his statement that he had spoken with the [redacted] shop and was assured that my car was working fine, he was correct...for all of one day and 164 miles. The AT light once again came on in my car just as I arrived to work this morning, 8/27/14. As I have already used all of my covered tolls under my [redacted] policy and as my car is currently 45 miles away from the AAMCO shop in [redacted], I will be forced to pay $180 more dollars to have it towed back to AAMCO. This whole scenario has been a nightmare and as the [redacted] owner is unwilling to do ANYTHING to satisfy our complaint, I will be seeking other avenues of redress.

Regards,

[redacted]

Business

Response:

I do understand that Mr. [redacted] is very unhappy and correctly so. I offer my sincere apologies and regrets. The shop in [redacted] is working diligently to resolve the issue(s) and is sparing no expense.

Sincerely, [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

The owner of the [redacted] store is correct that I am unhappy. [redacted] has been working hard to correct the issues that [redacted] failed to correct, leaving me to continue to pay more and more money out of pocket for a problem that should have been corrected at the start.

Regards,

[redacted]

Review: I took 2006 Chevy HHR for repair for brakes clicking, gears hard shifting, and check engine light on, on 1-23-15. Their diagnosis was a bad pressure switch in transmission. GSG Inc. had it for 1 week, finally working on it 1-29-15. Cost $1242.26, plus interest through [redacted] company.After 1 1/2 weeks, car resumed same problem. I called GSG, complained, did not return to GSG. [redacted] and [redacted] in [redacted], diagnosed problem as computer reflash; fixed. Cost $195.00. GSG did not know there was a bulletin on the code about this - did not look far enough. I strongly question that the pressure switch was faulty. I contacted AAMCO Corporate Hdqtrs. mediator [redacted], who spoke several times with [redacted], GSG owner/operator. [redacted] refuses to acknowledge his technician's diagnosis was wrong. He has offered to pay my bill for [redacted]. Desired Settlement: Resolution: Although GSG did not know to fix problem, I am willing to pay GSG Inc. one-half their cost as they changed transmission fluid, filter, and gasket although the fluid was clean per [redacted]. He refuses to concede to this.

Business

Response:

Ms. [redacted] took the vehicle to another shop without returning to my shop or letting us know she was at another shop. Our warranty clearly says that the customer must return to AAMCO for warranty issues. Ms. [redacted] should have given me the courtesy of trying to address her problem before paying another shop to do something to her car to address what she perceived to be a problem associated with AAMCO's work. That is the way every warranty on the planet works. Having said that, she never brought the car back, so I have no idea what the other shop did or didn't do, or why. And yes, we stand by our diagnostic and the work we did. Reflashing is a common task that is sometimes necessary after you do transmission work. In a sense, it is re-learning the shift points of the transmission. We do it every day. I don't know why she would not have come back to AAMCO and have us do that at no charge if indeed reflashing was called for. Thanks[redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

I found the email re: ID [redacted]. Thank you. The reason I chose to get a second opinion was Aamco charge was so expensive I did not have the funds up front and had to get it financed through a loan. I could not afford to go back and spend more money for reflashing (re-programming). I understand it is never done free, even though Mr. [redacted] told me it would have been done free of charge. Also, Mr. [redacted] states that they do reflashing every day. He also told me, when I brought in the repair work [redacted] from [redacted] (Yes, I did show him the [redacted]) to show him, that he would not make any adjustment on my [redacted] - only that he would pay for [redacted]'s repair. My question is, if they knew transmissions need reflashing after certain repairs, why did they not check it out at the time - they had my car for 1 week.[redacted] diagnostic revealed and fixed the problem - so reflashing was needed. I had explained to Aamco at the first that my car would present the problem stated, intermittently - off and on. So they were aware of it.Thank you for your attention to this matter.[redacted]

Business

Response:

While Ms. [redacted] has my sympathy, the reason we did not reset the shift points (flash the computer) when it was here is because the vehicle drove fine after we made the repair. In other words, the test drive went fine. The test drive was fine because we fixed the problem. After that, I have no idea what happened because Ms. [redacted] never brought the vehicle back to me. If the customer doesn't bring me a vehicle, I can't help them. I guess that the other shop did reprogram the shift points (i don't know) and the problem went away. The reason the reprogramming worked is because WE REPAIRED THE BAD SWITCH. If we had not replaced the bad switch, the reprogramming would not have worked.It is common for vehicles to need flashing after work is done on the transmission. All the customer has to do is let me know and schedule a FREE appointment. We back up our work 100%. What we don't do is pay the bill when someone goes somewhere else and doesn't give us a chance to do our job.Thanks[redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

I got a transmission code #P1818 from Mr. [redacted]. In looking up this code number it referred me to a bulletin which explains what needs to be done for this Chevy HHR problem. If Mr. [redacted] and his technician had followed through on this they would have known exactly what to do and saved me a lot of money. I respectfully submit this information for your review and request appropriate adjustment in fairness to me. Thank you.[redacted]

Review: I have a problem with my steering; when my vehicle gets cold the steering gets rough and it makes a grinding sound. This problem still has not been fixed. I took my vehicle to [redacted] and they could not find a problem with my peer steering, or any parts connected to the steering. Next I tried AAMCO. They ran a diagnostics on my vehicle and concluded that there was a leak in my pressure line of my power steering which was causing the problem. I was unsure about this diagnostics because [redacted] specifically checked it for me. So I asked them, "Is the problem severe to the point where it has to be fixed immediately." They responded, "No, but later down the road it may cause problems." They continued to say, "However, if you want that grinding noise from the steering to go away, replacing the pressure line will definitely fix the problem." I am not a mechanic but as a consumer I have no choice to trust and believe in the mechanics diagnostics. I payed them nearly $300.00 to fix the problem, I think $296.00 to be exact. After they replaced the pressure line, the problem was still there and worst. Everyday it got worst. So at this point Im under the suspicion that maybe my power steering pressure line did not needed to be replaced. So I took my vehicle back to AAMCO, they said for me to give them a chance "to make things right." I took it back and they still did not fix the problem. I am unsatisfied with their service because they told me they can fix the problem and they did not. I demanded for my money back, and the manager ([redacted]) said he cannot give me my money back because they cannot experience any problems with the vehicle. I left my vehicle with them two more times and both times they mentioned that they could not experience the problem. So I drove the vehicle with [redacted] and I witnessed him experiencing the problem (the grinding of the steering wheel). At this point, [redacted] and his mechanic did their research on dodge charger forums and found out that the solution to the problem of my vehicle is a $20.00 bottle fluid. So I asked again for my refund, since they experienced the problem, but he said he still cannot give me my money back, which is ridiculous because he said he would if he experienced the problem. However he did say that he will get the $20.00 fluid for my vehicle. I have been ripped off, AAMCO ran a diagnostic on my car and concluded that a $300.00 repair would fix it but it did not. Then they buy the solution for my vehicle which is $20.00. This is a $280.00 difference and AAMCO took it from me. I am a college student at [redacted] University, I cannot afford to throw away $280.00. I even contacted AAMCOs national headquarters six times in the last week. Once I filed a report to them, to their customer service representative (Gregory), he never returned my calls. Also he have not answered or returned my last five calls. The Revdex.com is my last option and I really need y'all help. I have been ripped off. I paid $300.00 to get my car fix and they did nothing. Also I complained to [redacted] the manager and he responded that "that is how life goes, not everything goes your way." That is absurd, this is not a life lesson. It is supply and demands. I paid the cost but they did not provide the service. Please help.

Business

Response:

The customer had two complaints:

1) Gears switching slow. [redacted] said they noticed wetness at trans lines

2) Turning is not smooth as before. Hears and feels clicks when turning

We did not hear the turning noise, because the customer said it only happens when it is frigid cold, which it was that week. The transmission was fine, performed well and had no leaks.

We did see a leak from the power steering pressure line. Leaks cause a low fluid condition, which can cause the power steering pump to whine or generally perform badly.

The customer gave us permission to repair the leaky power steering pressure line. After repairing the leaking power steering pressure line, the customer said the noise was still there on cold mornings. We inspected and drove the car on several different days and finally heard a noise from the power steering system.

Every garage is going to fix a power steering pressure line leak first. It would be malpractice not to. AAMCO fixed a leak. This does not make AAMCO responsible for the rest of the power steering system.

As for the $20 friction modifier, should we have ignored an obvious leak and then started hunting around for an hour on a Dodge forum? No. Any mechanic would have said fix the leak first. A leak and corresponding low fluid condition is almost certainly the cause of the problem.

I am sorry it didn't fix the noise. I would do it exactly the same again given the same symptoms, however.

I think the customer misunderstood my comment about life: You fix the obvious problems first. Not everything is a conspiracy.

Thanks

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

I am not satisfied because their complaint is false. It is true that they replaced the power steering pressure line but after they ran their diagnostics, they were sure that replacing the power steering pressure line would solve the problem. However, it did not and they were false-not my fault. Their desk worker. ([redacted]) said himself, "it doesn't need to be replaced immediately, maybe down the road it may cause problems, but if you want to get rid of that noise then replacing it would definitely solve the problem." This tells me that my power steering pressure line doesn't need to be fixed now- it is not severely damaged or unusable. Also there may be a possibility that it wasn't damaged at all. After replacing the power steering pressure line the problem was still there, which help supports that the power steering pressure line was not bad. My vehicle was bought from a dealer, only be driving it for 6 months and I barely drive because I am in school. There is no way that my power steering pressure line should be in the condition to be replaced. However they are the mechanic and I hd no choice but to trust their diagnostic, but it was false. He also stated they every mechanic would have recommended to replace the power steering pressure line. Once again, he was wrong. I took my vehicle to other mechanics before him, including [redacted] like he mentioned. Neither one of them said that there was a problem with the power steering pressure line. It has a month or more days since I paid AAMCO $300.00 to fix my car and the problem still has not been fixed. If this is not bad service, I don't know what is. Also when I started to bring my car back to AAMCO due to the problem not being fixed, I noticed that other customers were complaining about their service. I basically gave AAMCO $300.00 without receiving the service I needed, and all the manager had to say about that is "that's life."

Regards,