Paid for a Service, which did little?

[thescreensavers]

So I did Tail of the Dragons got the Fluid pretty hot and went to the dealer for a Trans flush. I paid 250 for 11 quarts which is better than a 4-5 quart drain and fill. Which is my reason to doing the flushes, it pretty much is just a fluid exchange they dont use solvents or anything. Anyhow I also got a sample which was pitch black sent it to blackstone labs and it came out good.

I installed an Aux Cooler a week later and the fluid that came out of the lines was still very dark. I thought well there was still old fluid in the TQ Converter so I thought the new fluid just picked it up.

I just installed a shift kit and needed to put in 8 quarts of fluid. After two weeks now the dipstick and lines are still pretty red and good looking.


This has been bothering me for the past week, that I paid 250 for basically nothing.

Should I forget about it? Or should I try calling Consumer Afairs to see if I could get some $ back, I cannot really afford $250 for nothing right now. I feel cheated by the dealer.

 

[JCH13]

Sounds like they did a drain and fill instead of a flush. Maybe an honest mistake? I would ask about it.

 

[onza]

I think that the drain/refill is a better procedure than a flush.

 

[HarryLui]

You need to schedule your parts add on and your maintenance better. If you did, you wouldn't need that $250 service in the first place.

ATF can vary in color, I'm guessing you don't have a simple of Before, After Service, After Transcooler, and After Shift-kit. If you don't, i don't see how you have ground to stand on.

 

[thescreensavers]

Sounds like they did a drain and fill instead of a flush. Maybe an honest mistake? I would ask about it.

Even then 5 quarts should of made the fluid look much less black, also On my receipt it said 8 quarts and they changed it to say 11 after I complained(Capacity is about 11 quarts).

You need to schedule your parts add on and your maintenance better. If you did, you wouldn't need that $250 service in the first place.

ATF can vary in color, I'm guessing you don't have a simple of Before, After Service, After Transcooler, and After Shift-kit. If you don't, i don't see how you have ground to stand on.

Yea I know, The kit was a spontaneous buy, I am aware I did not need to do the 250 service but at the time It was not planned to install the kit.

Fresh Matic-S is bright red and clear, I have fluid pre-cooler install, which was a week after the flush which is still very dark. I have a picture of the sample sent to blackstone which is similar to what I drained, And I also have access to any fluid after the Kit install to show.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

In my experience you have to watch all dealers and shops like a hawk. I would guess 50% of the time they somehow take a shortcut or skimp on something, and that's even when they know I'm super OCD about checking everything.

Even performance shops etc... It's sad, really, that no matter how much you're willing to spend / hr you still have to watch for this crap.

 

[lokiju]

I sat and watched them do a full flush on my Subaru at a Valvoline place. I insisted on it. Also checked it after and the color was the proper reddish color it should of been.

 

[thescreensavers]

In my experience you have to watch all dealers and shops like a hawk. I would guess 50% of the time they somehow take a shortcut or skimp on something, and that's even when they know I'm super OCD about checking everything.

Even performance shops etc... It's sad, really, that no matter how much you're willing to spend / hr you still have to watch for this crap.

I wanted to do this but it was on the other side the the garage, its something like a football field long indoor facility. I asked and they said I was not allowed inside due to insurance..etc

But I think I will be giving Infiniti of NA a call to see what they can do

 

[SpatiallyAware]

I wanted to do this but it was on the other side the the garage, its something like a football field long indoor facility. I asked and they said I was not allowed inside due to insurance..etc

But I think I will be giving Infiniti of NA a call to see what they can do

It's really tough with something like this because you simply don't know for sure. It may be one of those things where you could chalk it up to a learning experience.

 

[thescreensavers]

If the money is gone what ever, I am already with that mindset I just want to see if I can get anything back. I

If they did do the work, They did it incorrectly.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

If the money is gone what ever, I am already with that mindset I just want to see if I can get anything back. I

If they did do the work, They did it incorrectly.

FWIW, I've put in trans fluid, driven 100 miles, and when it drained it was fairly dark. Not black or anything, still red, but you couldn't see through it at all.

Did you save any? Put some in a water bottle and ask them WTF is up..

 

[thescreensavers]

FWIW, I've put in trans fluid, driven 100 miles, and when it drained it was fairly dark. Not black or anything, still red, but you couldn't see through it at all.

Did you save any? Put some in a water bottle and ask them WTF is up..

Yep

Here is what you see, drained from the same place, Cooler lines

- Dealer 12 quart flush (http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/tt193/tsslaporte/IMG_20120620_124753.jpg6/20)(Sample Taken 6/30)
- My 8 Quart Shift Kit install (8/4)(Sample taken 8/20)
- Fresh New Fluid (Sample taken 8/20)

Can you Pair them?

I called Consumer Affairs today and I have a case#, I should receive a call in a day or two from a specialist.

 

[T2urtle]

Doesn't look like they did anything. But I think its too late to do much. Bring it up if u feel the need to but don't expect much. If u paid with a credit card, u can dispute it within 90days.

I did my drain and fill at 35k and it was close to your middle cup. Matic j out and matic j in. 4 QTS. I took a look at the dipstick and I'm at 68k and its about the same middle cup color.

I'm considering using a mix of castol import atf and my last two bottles of matic j.

 

[Gibson486]

You know how to install an aux cooler (and you did), but you did not even bother doing the flush yourself?

 

[thescreensavers]

^ A drain and fill is easy as pie, but its only 4-5 quarts. The "flush" is 11+ quarts and uses a machine to automate it. I could do it without a machine but it would not exactly be easy(Fill hole cannot keep up with the pump)

Also I wanted it to be listed in the service history.

 

[Gibson486]

^ A drain and fill is easy as pie, but its only 4-5 quarts. The "flush" is 11+ quarts and uses a machine to automate it. I could do it without a machine but it would not exactly be easy(Fill hole cannot keep up with the pump)

Also I wanted it to be listed in the service history.

If you do it yourself, you are supposed to pump it out, stop, then fill the amount that came out....When you shut off the car, the pump stops and nothing comes out. You stop and go about 3 or 4 times.

if you wanted to keep the service history though, I cannot argue with that.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

If you do it yourself, you are supposed to pump it out, stop, then fill the amount that came out....When you shut off the car, the pump stops and nothing comes out. You stop and go about 3 or 4 times.

if you wanted to keep the service history though, I cannot argue with that.

I've always read that you completely disconnect the trans cooler... put the output line in a bucket, and intake line in ~15qts of fluid. Put car on jackstands, manually shift through gears (yes this is dangerous and not recommended to run car on jackstands) until ~13qts is pulled through.

I have never done it this way, I just pay a shop to do it.

 

[jagec]

Even then 5 quarts should of made the fluid look much less black, also On my receipt it said 8 quarts and they changed it to say 11 after I complained(Capacity is about 11 quarts).

Wait, they just changed the number right in front of you? Uhh...

If they charged you for a flush, they should have done a flush, and the fluid shouldn't have been that dark afterwards. Especially since the stuff you did afterwards clearly demonstrated that your vehicle wasn't just especially hard on fluid.

 

[thescreensavers]

Wait, they just changed the number right in front of you? Uhh...

If they charged you for a flush, they should have done a flush, and the fluid shouldn't have been that dark afterwards. Especially since the stuff you did afterwards clearly demonstrated that your vehicle wasn't just especially hard on fluid.

heh Surprised no one caught it earlier. I was explained that the Machine has a main tank which was filled up using only 8 quarts since there was left over, so they changed the receipt to the capacity of the transmission. Anything else I could do about it? No, I was pissed about that and yea it did not instill confidence in me.

Main reason why I became suspicious and held onto the sample.

 

[Zivic]

from reading the thread, I don't see a mention of the maintenance history, or the mileage of the fluid in the car. You had this done the dealer and have you discussed it with them before calling consumer affairs?

fwiw...
I recently did this service on my wife's van... honda odyssey. They don't recommend a flush, rather a 3x drain, fill, drive procedure. essentially changing 80-some odd percentage of the fluid. which is something any that can do an oil change at home can do... and my fluid never looked that dark from the start. I have seen the vids online about doing the "home flush". problem is, without driving the car, the tq converter doesn't engage, thus leaving old fluid in it.

 

[thescreensavers]

from reading the thread, I don't see a mention of the maintenance history, or the mileage of the fluid in the car. You had this done the dealer and have you discussed it with them before calling consumer affairs?

fwiw...
I recently did this service on my wife's van... honda odyssey. They don't recommend a flush, rather a 3x drain, fill, drive procedure. essentially changing 80-some odd percentage of the fluid. which is something any that can do an oil change at home can do... and my fluid never looked that dark from the start. I have seen the vids online about doing the "home flush". problem is, without driving the car, the tq converter doesn't engage, thus leaving old fluid in it.

In respect to the Trans, Car is at 82k, First fluid flush at the same dealer at 40k, The Service in question was done at 80k I have not talked to them as it would be a waste of time, Id rather talk to consumer affairs which will talk to the manager of the dealer if anything. Me talking to a service writer will not get me far imo, Id have to go in person to get anywhere and I dont have time for that right now.

 

[sontakke]

I would now question even the first 40K service. It seems as if the 1st sample picture shown has more than 40K on it. There is no question that *nothing* was done at 80K. Even a single drain and fill should have gotten you better color than what is being shown after 2K of driving.

So not only they did not do a full flush, they probably did not even do a single drain and fill on your transmission. I would be livid.

- Vikas

 

[mvbighead]

from reading the thread, I don't see a mention of the maintenance history, or the mileage of the fluid in the car. You had this done the dealer and have you discussed it with them before calling consumer affairs?

fwiw...
I recently did this service on my wife's van... honda odyssey. They don't recommend a flush, rather a 3x drain, fill, drive procedure. essentially changing 80-some odd percentage of the fluid. which is something any that can do an oil change at home can do... and my fluid never looked that dark from the start. I have seen the vids online about doing the "home flush". problem is, without driving the car, the tq converter doesn't engage, thus leaving old fluid in it.

That isn't what I've read on the subject.

Basically, if you disconnect the trans cooler line and connect it to a hose which then feeds to a waste bucket/pan, fire up the car and immediately shut it down when fluid stops feeding from the hose. Refill, repeat, refill, repeat. You do this until the fluid comes out clean (red). This process uses the trans pump to drain all of the fluid. So if your transmission's dry capacity is 11 quarts, you'll need roughly 12-13 to get through the procedure.

Granted, I dunno that it really qualifies as a "flush", as there is more to that process. It is simply more of a complete drain and fill. With this process, you should have 95+% new fluid in your transmission. I'd guess 99%, as you never completely drain the pan on each step of the process, but you are diluting the oil fluid every step of the way, and pushing fluid through the torque converter. All you have to do is run the engine in park.


In any case, what the OP described, sounds like no more than a drain and fill with new filter(maybe). Actually though, with that mileage, I would think it should be a lot less dark. My truck's fluid looks like that, and that's with 180k on it. No idea when the fluid was last changed though.

 

[thescreensavers]

Got a Call back from Consumer Affairs and the service guy at the dealer.

So My service guy called to ask what happened, and for my explanation. After that he said oh, I see ill have to ask my service manager what we can do for you and ill let you know.

I got a call today from My Consumer Affairs agent and she says the service manager told her that there is nothing they can do for me, my agent suggested that I should walk into the dealer and show the photo evidence that I have if I do not receive a call from the dealer soon.

I will now be filing a BBB complaint as well.


Edit: 8/25 Don't think this needs a bump, well I went to the dealer today with my pictures receipts..etc. The Manager was not there today, and my service guy got very defensive once we started talking to him about it. Left an Email for the Service Manager for an in person meeting and to contact me back.

BBB also delivered the report to the GM of the dealer on Friday.


So now just some time....