Question
Recently brought in to get oil change, day after when driving home transmission went into "limp home" mode brought back to repair shop to get checked out. they said it came up with code p0700. They changed input and output sensors, cost around cad400. After picking up car again, when driving home, same thing happened with it going into "limp home" mode, drove back to repair shop, now they are saying it has code p0732, and they now want to replace the transmission. Just wondering if they added the wrong transmission fluid during the oil change if this would cause the errors ,if replacing the transmission would be the right thing to do, or if there is another thing they could do, or if I should go elsewhere(I really don't trust these guys anymore)
Car has about 145,000 kms
Thanx
AnswerHi Jason,
Does the receipt for the oil change indicated that they added transmission fluid and if so how much fluid? Does it say what type of transmission fluid they added? If not, I would return to the shop and inquire what fluid they added, and if they say Chrysler type 7176 then ask them to show you that they have it or the equivaltent fluid in stock. You need to be aware that Dexron III is NOT RECOMMENDED for use in the transmission in your Cirrus and if that is what they used it may, depending upon the amount that they used and the pre-existing condition of the trans, have caused the problem you are now having with slippage in 2nd gear which, in the absence of other codes indicating for example a problem with the hydraulic pressure handling solenoids, leaves the only resolution being that of opening the transmission and finding out the condition of the clutches that are used for 2nd gear (underdrive and 2/4 clutch).
on the other hand, at 145K km you are entering the distance range where the trans of this type begin to show clutch problems, so it is not impossible that it was not the problem of using the wrong fluid, if the amount used of the wrong fluid was very minimal (have you had to routinely add fluid to the trans in the past and how much per elapsed distance driven?).
So I would try to determine to you satisfaction that they didn't use Dexron III and if any was used it was a very small amount (much less than 1 quart) compared to the 10 quart capacity of the trans.
If the cost of rebuilding were not so great this would not be such a crucial issue. So I would certainly look at the service receipt to see what volume of trans fluid they charged you for and what type was used. You may need to seek justice thru whatever system is extant in Canada for restitution for errors caused by auto repair shops. So I wish you the best of luck in getting the facts and satisfying yourself as to whether to pursue them for a faulty use of transmission fluid of the wrong type.
Roland
