Advice?

[PETE'S BROTHER]

from my tranny guy (shut up)

1st, go elsewhere, then fight for pay/sue

2nd, the lurching could be low fluid or a bad trans. mount

3rd, the shift thru gears to park could just need cable adjusted

4th, the nostart could be crank sensor in bellhousing or the linkage gets bent up sometimes when they put it on the lift/jack

5th, 3-5 shift cycles is all the comp needs to "learn" the trans

[sadaist]

I have a van (shut up)....

Funny how you knew exactly what everyone would say just from those first 4 words.

[sadaist]

Your best recourse is all of the return receipts you have. Take the vehicle to another shop & explain the entire situation & have them give you a quote. Then you take the quote back to the original shop & say.......this is what another shop says. You got 1 more shot to fix this. otherwise take them to small claims court to pay everything. The costs already out of pocket, the costs to have it repaired correctly, and maybe add in some lost work time, etc. Small claims you can't get personal damages, but you can get everything else. You can't take a lawyer in but neither can they. I think most states have caps at $10k so you should be fine. With all of your records (hopefully) it should be open/shut case for the judge.

Hopefully just taking in the new quote estimate & threatening them will fix the entire thing.

Such a pain in the ass though. All the extra hours totally wasted over some bullshit. Good luck man, hope it works out for you.



*You may even pay a lawyer like $100 to write up some type of demand letter or threat letter without actually paying for the attorneys services. just a 1 time letter to let the shop know you are serious.

[sadaist]

2nd, the lurching could be low fluid or a bad trans. mount

Could also be the giant barrel of candy he keeps in the back of the van as bait is not centered correctly on the rear axle?

[qikgts]

Did you happen to pay any portion of the bill with a credit card? If so you may be able to dispute the charge.

[DONNIEP]

I'd almost bet beer that it's throwing a shift solenoid code.

[bueno bob]

Do you have an AAMCO Transmissions near where you live? I might give them a try if I were you. They specialize in transmissions, so chances are they would come closer to fixing the problem than Meineke.

Funny story, I actually went to AAMCO first, figured they'd be the best place to start, BUT...frankly, the guy working the counter was a complete asshole from jump street. Literally walked in the place and he looked at me and said "WHAT?". I explained my situation, he cut me off in the middle of talking and said he basically wasn't interested in taking me on as a new customer because he was "Too busy" (this being the door greeter, not the actual technician).

I asked if he could at least give me an estimate or something and he got all huffy and had the tech do it (at first, he wasn't going to, but I'd basically already decided I wasn't going to do anything with those people, regardless). During the test, he yelled at a customer over the phone, got huffy with a woman who came in with her daughter who couldn't have been more than four years old, and basically ignored me otherwise.

The mechanic got back from the drive, conferred with Mr. Wonderful and then he proceeds to tell me "Guess what dude? You need a new transmission. Big surprise, hunh?", just really being a prick.

I got in and drove back to Meineke.

[bueno bob]

Did you happen to pay any portion of the bill with a credit card? If so you may be able to dispute the charge.

Oh, I thought ahead. I paid all of it with a card.

[VAiN]

Oh, I thought ahead. I paid all of it with a card.

Dispute that shit immediately.

[twonabomber]

ever been on the allpar.com forums?

http://www.allpar.com/forums/forum/16-minivans-%C2%B7-pacifica/

http://www.allpar.com/forums/forum/33-general-technical-support-help/

AutoZone will probably read the code for free but may not clear it. i have a $70 scanner i bought at Harbor Freight and that thing has paid for itself many times over.

[PETE'S BROTHER]

OK...saga time...

[DONNIEP]

This popped up on Pandora the other day and it had been years since I'd heard it. Damn good song! And I can't think of one other hit that they had

[twonabomber]

The Flyer?

[bueno bob]

I think they're somewhat surprised I haven't been throwing engine blocks through the windows yet...all in all, I'm not super concerned as of yet, just kinda put off about the whole thing...guess I'm getting mellow in my old age, lol...it's not so much the money, honestly, I've got money, it's just that I'm inconvenienced...I rented a vehicle, which promptly got us a speeding ticket (those new Chevys are NICE, lmao), but it's not exactly a recipe for success, you know...

[motherchicken]

Contact the bureau of automotive repair before you spend another penny anywhere. They'll check out your van and if it's the shops fault it's acting up they'll make them fix it.