Advantage Transmission Service, Inc.

All of the parts that Mr*** was billed for were installed in the initial repair. Individual transmission parts are not serial numbered and the parts that were reused on the second repair were perfectly good, serviceable parts with only cosmetic imperfectionsThe tack welds are an industry recognized procedure to prevent an oil weir from moving out of place. The transmission in this truck is completely computer controlled and can malfunction at no fault of the transmissionWhen a malfunction occurs the computer almost always sets a diagnostic trouble code and lets you know what happened. In the few instances where a code is not set, the problem has to be reproduced while monitoring with a data recording scanner in order to be tracked down. This can be a lengthy and painstaking process but it is the nature of the beastIt requires patience on the part of the diagnostician and the customerI followed proper diagnostic procedures when attempting to diagnose his no-code complaint and the transmission never malfunctioned. In such a case, Ford diagnostic procedure says to return the vehicle to the customerI informed him that the root cause may not actually be in the transmission itself, but we won't know until we find it and that could take some time He is running non-factory-authorized control programming in his truck and I suggested that he visit a local Ford aftermarket programming specialist to see if that may be at fault. He did not. His transmission was in service for months and miles without setting a trouble code or discoloring the fluid. Instead of letting us go through the necessary steps to accurately diagnose the problem, Mr*** elected to take the truck to a competing shop that does not specialize in these new computer controlled transmissionsThe competing shop effectively "road tested" it to destruction then removed and disassembled the transmission, thus voiding the warrantyOur written *** warranty states that "Failure to receive the warrantor's authorization prior to any repair work will invalidate the warranty" In spite of that fact, I offered to repair the transmission at no charge and, after initially refusing, Mr*** took me up on my offer to repair the transmission. When Mr*** picked up the transmission, it had been returned to working condition and I gave Mr*** a list of instructions that must be followed for me to reinstate the remainder of his warranty, which he signed but did not follow Had he simply installed the transmission instead of having his friend take it back apart again, he would have been driving the truck again the next day at no expense to him(I don't know if his original problem would be gone because it was never completely diagnosedThe next person who repairs and installs the transmission may still have to deal with that.) As I stated in my first responseI have gone over and above what is required of me to try and remedy this situation but, as the saying goes, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink" I am a member of *** and have agreed to abide by their warranty requirementsIf Mr*** still feels slighted, I suggest that, short of filing suit, Mr*** may want to contact *** regarding this matter My member number is ***. Perhaps they can explain it better than I

My shop is in Woodstock Illinois not North Carolina and I have no one here by the Name of *** and no record of this customerTell us why here

The work on the 2008 F250 in question was completed on 3/24/16 at 102506 on the odometer. Over the next 10 months, Mr. [redacted] called a couple times saying he was having transmission problems. When he brought it in, there were never any trouble codes present and the problem never occurred when we...

test drove it. We speculated that the problem may be outside of the transmission or it may not be a transmission problem he was experiencing at all as this transmission is monitored and controlled by an external computer and if the transmission actually malfunctions, it will virtually always set a trouble code.  His fluid was always full and red and smelled fresh, which is a sign of a healthy transmission.  When Mr. [redacted] brought the truck back and dropped it off for me to check out in January 2017, I kept if for several days and ran it from cold to hot and through complete diagnostic drive cycles with no problems. My next step was to put it up on the rack and service the transmission to see if there was any indication of an internal problem hiding in there. I could not put the truck up right away because I only have one rack that will accommodate a jacked up customized truck like this one.  Mr [redacted] elected to pick the truck up instead of waiting and we agreed that he would drive it and bring it by if it malfunctioned so I could experience what it was doing.  Again, the truck was functioning perfectly, the fluid was full, clean and red and it had no stored trouble codes.  Three days later I was told that he brought the truck to my competition, who "diagnosed" it until it burned up then removed and disassembled the transmission. I went to inspect the transmission and found the fluid to be black and burnt and it had clutches burned out that would most certainly been evident in the driveability and would have set codes.  At this point, Mr. [redacted] had voided his warranty, but I still offered to repair the truck at no charge. He refused. A week later he came into the shop very apologetically and asked if I would still fix the transmission. I said I would. He brought the transmission over and I rebuilt it again and replaced $700 worth of solenoids that may have been damaged by overheating the transmission. He picked up the transmission to have it installed and, instead of installing it, had his mechanic friend take it back apart again. They brought parts back to me telling me that they were the wrong ones and installed incorrectly, etc. At this point I will spend no more time or money on his vehicle.  I stand behind my work but I can not be responsible for someone else's I never refused to honor my warranty and went over and above what is required by me in light of having someone else damage and disassemble my work.  I have consulted with my attorney and my insurance company and have been told if Mr. [redacted] thinks he is owed something still that he will have to deal with State Farm on it. There is also a question of who actually owns this truck. It is registered to [redacted] Landscaping and the work was paid for by [redacted] Cartage.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:Advantage Transmission did not address any of the problems I stated in my complaint. I was given a basic run down of events with no explanation to anything I had stated. Fact; the day I picked up my truck, after they had just finished rebuilding the transmission, I was having trouble before even pulling out of their parking lot. I went immediately back in and was told to take the truck and call if problem continues. The problem continued and I continued to go back forth with phone calls, dropping by in person and giving them the truck to look at. [redacted] at advantage continued to tell me it was not the transmission and it had to be electrical. He told me to take it to the ford Dealership to have them look at the electrical/computer components of the truck. [redacted] at advantage stated I took it to a friend; in fact, I did not and took my truck to another place of business that does transmissions. After spending more money, it turned out that it was not an electrical problem and was definitely a transmission problem. The transmission was removed by the other transmission shop. Due to Advantage not rebuilding the transmission correctly more damage had occurred. [redacted] at advantage came to look at the transmission and said that although he felt I voided out the warranty he would still take the transmission back and repair it  Fact; when I picked up the transmission from advantage transmission, to put it back in my truck, I still saw things that didn't seem right. I took it back to the other transmission shop and they took it apart. In the end, [redacted] at advantage did not rebuild the transmission on the second attempt. He just put the old parts back in, sanded/grinded off the pitting on the sun gear and welded the sun gear drum. I have several photos showing that parts I paid for that were not put on the transmission, first or second time. Plus advantage used the wrong parts when rebuilding the transmission.  I have photos showing serial number of Ford stock parts that were to be replaced and were not, again I was billed and paid for new parts. I have photos showing instead of replacing parts, advantage used a grinder to modify the old parts; sun gear and photo showing the old welded piece of the sun gear drum.  I really would like to stress the fact that I was charged for parts that never made it on my truck. This is not an insurance issue on my end, this is clearly negligence, poor quality of service, poor workmanship, and as far as I see it fraud. At present my truck is at the other transmission shop, still down and waiting to repair the damage done by advantage transmission. In the end advantage’s lack of rectifying the situation or admitting any wrong doing had left me with no choice.  I stand by my demands; I want the $3800.00 returned plus the additional $1700.00 to repair the transmission at another facility. Sincerely, [redacted].
Sincerely,
[redacted]