QuestionDear Kevin,
WAS REBUILDING THE TRANSMISSION NECESSARY? HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED.
TUESDAY, 07/31/07
On 7/31 my 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan started jolting at the 30 mph automatic downshift. It was not doing it at any point as I accellerated up through all the automatic points of upshifting. Whether I was decellerating or braking it at 45mph, as soon as the speedometer would hit the 30 mph marks there would be a harsh klunk in the transmission.
WEDNESDAY, 08/01/07
The next day I went to Charlie's Transmissions on St. Pete Beach where the man in charge said that the transmission man, John was on vacation and would be back in a week. He drove the car and also agreed about the harsh downshifting taking place at the 30 mph point. He suggested I bring the car back when John is there and he will do a computer scan on the transmission. On my way home I thought I would stop by at Low Cost Transmissions on 34th Street and see what they have to say. They had a BBB sign in their window and I figured that they were reputable and would fix this problem for me. Rick Greenman, the manager, had the car put in the garage to be worked on. After a while he come over and said that there was small metal parts in the transmission pan and he would have to take the transmission apart to know what really is wrong with the transmission. I told him the auto has only 25,000 miles on it and what could be seriously wrong at such an early stage. He said that this particular car had problems with transmissions. Against my better judgement, he talked me into leaving my van there and he gave me a ride home.
THURSDAY, 08/02/07
The next day he called me and said the transmission had extensive damage and needed to be completely rebuilt. The estimated cost he said is $2,200.00 ... I nearly went through the roof. If I didn't have it done, there was still a $289 charge for the dismantling of the transmission and inspecting it. Again, he talked about how a woman paid $4000 somewhere else with the type of transmission I have and I reluctantly agreed.
FRIDAY, 08/10/07
On 8/10/2007 the car was ready. I went over still upset about an auto with low mileage having this problem and the high cost of having it fixed. I paid him the $2,221.00 with my Discover card. I drove home from there, it's about 3 miles and the car drove fine. The next day, Saturday, I didn't go anywhere. On Sunday I was on my way to my mother's house, which is around 4 miles away, and the transmission started to klunk again as it downshifted past 30 mph ... my heart sunk.
MONDAY, 08/13/07
Monday I called Rick Greenman and told him what happened and that I was furious. After relying on his words and paying a huge sum of money the car was still doing the same thing I brought it to him for. His answer to me was that now the car also needs a special computer that works in conjunction with the transmission and that would cost me an additional $400.00 + . I asked him why didn't he do that in the first place and not go into the major rebuilding job?? I didn't get a satisfactory answer, just a bunch of dribble. I became very angry and hung up.
WEDNESDAY, 08/15/07
On 8/15/07 after making an appointment the prior day, I went to see John Altman at Charlie's Transmissions and wanted to get to the bottom of this. When I told him what happened to me and what I paid he just shook his head. He said he has heard some horror stories about that place. We went for a ride and he also confirmed the harsh klunk as the car downshifted at 30 mph. He told me he will do a computer scan on the transmission and to be back in 30 minutes. When I got back, John told me the car is ready. We went for a test drive and it drove smoothly. All he had to do is a "quick learn" on the transmission computer with an electronic apparatus specially used for that purpose. He handed me a bill for $29.95!
I have been driving the car extensively for 4 days now and it is riding like a charm.
FRIDAY, 08/18/07
Rick Greenman called me on the phone and resumed with his story that he had done nothing wrong and that the rebuilding of the transmission was justified. He reiterrated that when the transmission pan was removed he found metal scraps and that he showed me the pieces of metal. Fact is he didn't. He also told me that he did the computer scan and the "quick learn" on the transmission computer in the beginning. I don't believe that - if he did do it, why didn't he go on the test drive right after with me - as did John Altman?
Answerthe first guy is full of crap. If u have docs to back up your story threaten to take him to small clams court. Talk to a local lawyer for some advice on how to handle this so it does not get kicked out off a small detail. A quick learn is what I would have done as well. All that doe s is reset the CVI and force the computer to relearn where the clutches are.
