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Comments
Do you think it is the motor or the switch?
Going in next week but just curious as to opinions
-mike
It's an easy fix.
Having NO clue, I contacted the local installation of Big Transmission Repair Chain, who offered me a free tow to their station. To cut to the chase, they wound up doing a rebuild on the tranny, including solenoid and clutch fan replacement.
Parts and labor = just under $3K. Out of curiosity, I contacted a local Honda dealer and learned the same service there would have cost around $5K.
Returned from short vacation the day before yesterday, picked up my car in the afternoon. It shifted just fine, and I ran a few errands close to home.
Saturday morning: First day on a new job... I got in the car to go to work, and discovered the original problem had returned. Plus when I shifted, the orange shift markers were no longer in line with the gears.
My boyfriend followed me in his car, while I managed to drive back to Big Tranny Chain shop. There was one mechanic on duty, who just happened to be the guy who did the work. When my boyfriend began asking questions, the mechanic stammered excuses about some OTHER part of the tranny that might be malfunctioning (air sensor?)
Like I'm going to pay MORE money to this place to keep replacing parts until they find the cause of the original problem by process of elimination??
Was this rebuild even necessary, if the problem does indeed stem from a bad sensor?
Since there was no charge to recheck the repair, we left the car there until the shop reopens on Monday.
So what are my options here? Do I put a hold on my credit card for the repair charge? If they want to replace anything else, can I make them do so at their expense?
Any advice would be appreciated...thanks in advance!
First, let me start by saying that I have never trusted the big tranny chains as I have read too many stories about them selling unneeded work. Here is just one site - http://www.geocities.com/aamco_ripoff/page02.html
Call the credit card company and tell them your story and ask them what to do. I have had them tell me they were going to dispute the charges in such a case, granted for much less bucks than a tranny rebuild. If you go the stop payment route, be careful what you tell the shop, especially while they have your car. If you tell them the credit card company stopped payment they may lock your car in the shop untill they get paid in cash.
Above all I think you should act like this is going to court. I therefore strongly suggest you document EVERYTHING from here on out. All the calls, who was talked to, what was said/promised etc. This type of detail also helps the credit card company determine whether the merchant should or should not be paid.
I would call several other tranny shops and ask them what they charge for a rebuild and what you get for the quoted price. I would make it a point to do that for a couple of the locations of the chain that did your work. Armed with this information it will be harder for the dealer to bluff you as to what is, or should have been included in his work. For example, if he comes back with "well maam it will be an extra xxx$ to fix the (fill in the blank)", you might have discovered that the original job should have already included this "extra" work.
I would also call another nearby location, or two, of the same chain and see what they might be able to do for you. Sometimes the other locations are independently owned and operated and will tell you to drop dead. Other times they might be able to fix the first place's mistakes and honor the warranty.
A trip to the dealer to document the present problems may also be necessary for you to prove the chain shop was incompetent.
Lastly I suggest you keep focused on the big picture. Namely, you told them the symptoms (NOT what work had to be done to fix the problems). They told you their repair work would fix your problems. You spent a ton of money. Their work didn't cure the ORIGINAL problems and even caused some other ones. Therefore it is still up to them to fix the original problems and your wallet is now closed.
Just my $.02 and attempt at helpful suggestions. Remember, only you know all the circumstances and can truly judge the next steps to take. Good luck.
My specific advise to get the current problem resolved is to get the local media involved IF you think that the shop is ripping you off. Most local TV stations have a consumer assistance person and they might be interesrted in your case. Transmission shops are notorious for rip offs. I had a problem with a rip off in Dallas, Tx (not car repairs) and found out I was not the only one. I contacted the TV station and sure enought they had had many more similar complaints and did a story on it. I got the problems resolved very quickly by the company involved
As to the tranny issue above, well, a rebuild can easilty cost 3-5 K. Was it needed, may never know now. Hindsight says a second opinion beforehand (guess I should get one on the fan motor too).
http://club.vmag.com/ubb/Forum7/HTML/000057.html
"We had a trans. problem last yr. which turned out to be a bad voltage regulator in the alternator. A new alternator had it shifting like a dream. It cost us $120 for diagnosis by former Isuzu dealer who still had equip. Not sure this will help but it's our $.02. 93 trooper w/212k."
All they did was write up a "diagnosis", eat a box of doughnuts and steal her $300. I bet they didn't even move the car!
If the motor was shorted out, it wouldn't work at all. I also expect that the fuse would have blown before any damage occured to the fan motor. If I recall correctly, you stated that it worked in position 4.
The way I see it, only the resistor pack required replacement. Down here they are about $30 a piece, plus labour.
Just looking at the last couple of threads, it is really sickening to see how readily these shops rip people off. There is just no conscience in existence with these operators!
Actually, the high speed setting also died before I got it to the dealer. You may be correct about not needed the fan motor. After looking in the Haynes manual I could have done this myself, a lot of laying on the back under the glove compartment but could have done it. Should have looked at the manual first. They charged about 1 1/2 hours of labor.
I'm leasing a 99 Rodeo for five years and the warranty just ran out this year. I already had to fix the AC costing me almost $2000. I checked the dealer and they offer me 4 years for $1700 and $100 deductible. They claim that I can get back money that I don't use, about 30%. I have 18 months left on the lease and if something goes wrong the repairs can be very expensive.
I check the web and Warrantybynet.com offers 4 years, $0 deductible for $1,125. Warrantywizard.com offers 2 years $100 deductible for $1,074.
Does anybody has any suggestions about this companies or had any experience with any other?
I'll hate not to buy the warranty and something else goes wrong with the car.
Thanks
Investigate before buying.
There is also a problem with warranty companies going out of business. They sell a bunch of policies and then mysteriously go out of business as people start to turn in claims. If you do decide to get one, do your homework.
armtdm and breakor
Thanks
KCinMN
KC
KCinMN
The truck has 38k. The only thing I can think of is that this morning I had trouble with the clicker, I pushed the unlock button a few times, and nothing happened. Only to realize later that one door wasn't completely closed. Once I closed, the car started to make chirping noise.
I thought the light would go away after I got off of work, but it didn't.
Any hints?
Thanks
Trooper is 2002 Ltd.
-mike
http://isuzu-suvs.com
Today due to a different rattle I had to tighten up 4 other bolts, the ones I only checked for tight last time and did not thread lock. I think these help hold the lifting mechanism in place.
As a heads up, if you take off a door panel for any reason it is probably a good idea to tighten and thread lock the 2 silver nuts in the middle of the door and the 4 golden bolt heads towards the front. All have 10mm heads.
I am not sure but it seems like it loses vacuum or something? Maybe it is the manifold gasket thing? It could be an electrical short causing the fuel pump to act funny? However I can give it gas, it revs up, but as soon as I come off it, it stalls?
This is the second time...I am due for an oil change next month so I guess I will have to wait until then, unless it gets worse.
The dealership wants $80 to install the Anchor Bracket for the Child Seat, the part cost $15, I tried to install it myself, but the instructions came with the kit is very vague and it seems it requires drilling the holes too, which is not mentioned in the instructions.
Please let me know of similar experineces, suggested fixes,advice, recommendations etc. Isuzu dealership seems to be expensive. I called the Isuzu owner relations, but they were not of much help.
Also, is the Tether Anchor for the Child Seat is a must or just an added security. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks in advance
-mike
I traced an anoying rear end clunk that occured irregularily at stop start or turns to the rust removing any connection of the rear of the body to the frame. I went across a ditch and noticed the left rear wheel rubbing the wheel well, but the axle was not up to the stop. I looked at the other side and the frame was not attached to the body alowing the body tilt to rub the tire. On closer inspection I found that the frame originally was 3 sides with a welded fourth side to create a box frame, it was now back to only a three side frame.
Between the rust and living in the South without air conditioning I determined it might be a good idea to get another Trooper with air conditioning, my current 1995. It was sad to sell the old 1984. Someone bought it and continued driving it. I saw it around once in a while. It had 201K worry free miles on the little 1.9L engine that could. Only a few lifter adjustments and one water pump replaced in its life with me.
-mike
-mike
Brake warning light ("BRAKE" in red letters) came on yesterday. Noticed it 5 minutes into drive home. Pulled over, shut off and restarted truck a couple times, depressed brake pedal a couple times, operated parking brake a couple times. Light stayed on and I continued driving home, nervously. It went off a few minutes later and stayed off the rest of the trip (about 90 minutes). This morning, light was off when I started truck. Came on a few minutes into the trip, stayed on a few minutes, then went off for the rest of the trip.
Any ideas what the problem could be? 98 Trooper, 4-wheel discs and ABS, 71k miles. Original brakes, never any braking issues (squeaking, grinding, etc.). Tires rotated 1k miles ago, brakes inspected 2-3k miles ago and amazingly still 40-50% remaining pad life front and rear.
Now that I think about it, I thought I'd noticed slight ABS engagement or other grabby-ness occasionally when nearing a stop in the past few weeks. Didn't think much of it at the time.
I haven't checked the brake fluid level in the reservoir in a few weeks so I'll do that today. Not sure why I didn't check that first thing after arriving home yesterday.
If you haven't had brakes done, it may be time. You said they said 40-50% left so what I'd do it top off the fluid!
-mike
It's hard to believe there's actually 40-50% pad life left. Even though I'm a smart driver in terms of minimizing the starting and stopping the Troop does, more than half of its 71k miles are non-highway miles. I know the Trooper is well known to have long-lasting brakes, but 40-50% left would suggest replacement around 100k or so! That seems nuts.
Actually, 70k seems pretty crazy, but I'm not complaining.