An independent mechanic rebuilt my 2001 Honda Accord transmission for $ 1960.00.
The first problem I had with my car shifting was when I tried to pass a car. The car kind of bucked and would not accelerate enough to pass cars. The fix engine light was on. I took it to a small town mechanic who did some diagnostics and said it was not the transmission. He reset the engine light but it came back on as I was driving home ( 150 miles away). On my next trip downstate ( 150 miles) I had my oil changed. As soon as I left the oil change place my car would not shift from 1st to 2nd gear consistently, and once it dropped into neutral then kind of slammed into second. The D4 light was blinking. This happened inconsistently, but I did not drive it more than 10 miles.
Being 150 miles away from home, I didn’t know where to take my car. The local KIA dealership said they could get the diagnostic codes for me but could not fix it. After diagnostics they said the codes indicated some “sort of trouble with the transmission” but couldn’t tell what. I called the closest Honda dealership and an independent transmission specialist. I gave both places the codes. Both said it sounded like a transmission problem but couldn’t say for sure until they saw the car.
The transmission guy warned me that when people bring their vehicles in for a second opinion, the dealership always recommended very expensive full repairs that are not needed. He told me I should not drive the car, even though it was drivable, (since the problem was intermittent), so I had it towed in to him in the closest big city. He said he would check the car over ( I have a gas leak, some inconsistent electrical problems and my oil light had come on before I had the oil changed) to see if it was worth the price of a repair and call me.
I made the 150 mile trip home and waited four days before I called him, since I hadn’t heard him. When I called him, he said ,“the transmission rebuild was almost done”. He said second gear was “burned out”. I was ticked because he did not call me or give me any details ahead of time or put anything specific in writing for me. He said he could “take it back out” if that is what I wanted. I didn’t know what to do, so I told him not to take “it” back out.
I picked up the car on Saturday and drove it 15 miles. It worked fine. The next day I drove the car a block and it did EXACTLY the same thing it did before I had it “repaired”. The car would not shift from 1st into second… then it kind of dropped into neutral then clunked into second gear and the D4 light was blinking. When I called him he said he would have to look at it to see what the problem could be. (electrical or something else).
***Now what should I do? He wants to see the car right away to do some diagnostics. Should I have it towed somewhere else? If I do that, will I have any way of making him accountable? What about the $$$$$ I spent on the transmission- do I just kiss that goodbye?
( ps. he did not give me the repaired parts. My written estimate from the time the car was dropped off said ,“transmission repair $2,200-2,600”. The final paperwork said, " Exchange transmission bench unit" and “10 qts. fluid”.
After signing the paperwork when I paid for it, I realized that he had me sign a line that said “authorization for inspection or repair” that he had dated May 2nd, when I had actually signed it the day I picked it up- May 11th. )
My car has 176,000 miles on it.
Thanks to anyone who has advice on what to do next.