Car repairs - when it rains it pours...

[Swatcat27]

I take good care of my car - as in, take it to the dealer on time for the oil changes & services. 2 weeks ago was the hated 90,000 mile service...a transmission flush, timing belt change etc etc - and it cost me $500. I was happy that I wont need to worry about another one for 30K miles. 2 days later, I get the 'check engine' warning light & I take it to the dealer and it was a shot charcoal canister - my fault, coz I overfilled the darn gas tank. The guy estimated $400 for parts & labor but also told me that sometimes, cars are funny and I could try to drive it after he reset the warning without changing the canister. I thought $30 was better than $400..so I had the light reset. 2 days later my battery died. $130 more. This morning, driving from KC, the freaking 'check engine' light pops on again. I have had this car for 7 years and I have never had problems. I have been to the dealer 4 times in less than 10 days.
%^*%^&&*$$

[sighyoung]

IIRC, I needed to replace a lot of things on my 92 Honda Civic around 90,000 miles.

Once you get past that, hopefully, the expenses will settle down.

[G. Keenan]

IIRC, I needed to replace a lot of things on my 92 Honda Civic around 90,000 miles.

Once you get past that, hopefully, the expenses will settle down.

Are you still driving that bad boy sigh? If so, kudos.

[sighyoung]

IIRC, I needed to replace a lot of things on my 92 Honda Civic around 90,000 miles.

Once you get past that, hopefully, the expenses will settle down.

Are you still driving that bad boy sigh? If so, kudos.

Only 104,000 miles, and still going strong.

[stlouie_lipp]

Tell me about it...I spent $850 on brakes and two tires in July. Then last week my brakes started grinding real badly. Took it back, and another $280 later they were fixed (brake line and calipers). If I hadn't worked for 4+ years at a service station while in college (and knew that sometimes these things are simply a coincidence) I would have thought I was getting ripped off.

[jim]

I take good care of my car - as in, take it to the dealer on time for the oil changes & services. 2 weeks ago was the hated 90,000 mile service...a transmission flush, timing belt change etc etc - and it cost me $500. I was happy that I wont need to worry about another one for 30K miles. 2 days later, I get the 'check engine' warning light & I take it to the dealer and it was a shot charcoal canister - my fault, coz I overfilled the darn gas tank. The guy estimated $400 for parts & labor but also told me that sometimes, cars are funny and I could try to drive it after he reset the warning without changing the canister. I thought $30 was better than $400..so I had the light reset. 2 days later my battery died. $130 more. This morning, driving from KC, the freaking 'check engine' light pops on again. I have had this car for 7 years and I have never had problems. I have been to the dealer 4 times in less than 10 days.
%^*%^&&*$$

DON'T DO THAT!!!!

Don't flush the tranny. You can change the fluid out (and filter - that's a good idea), but I would stay away from flushing a tranny - especially if you do it at a quick-lube type place. By 90,000 miles or so, sometimes the gunk in the fluid is what is keeping things together.

I wonder how many trannies bit the dust withing 5K of flushing? It's a rip-off, it's unnecessary, and probably downright not good for your car.

Sorry to hear about your car expenses, that stinks.

[clevername]

I take good care of my car - as in, take it to the dealer on time for the oil changes & services. 2 weeks ago was the hated 90,000 mile service...a transmission flush, timing belt change etc etc - and it cost me $500. I was happy that I wont need to worry about another one for 30K miles. 2 days later, I get the 'check engine' warning light & I take it to the dealer and it was a shot charcoal canister - my fault, coz I overfilled the darn gas tank. The guy estimated $400 for parts & labor but also told me that sometimes, cars are funny and I could try to drive it after he reset the warning without changing the canister. I thought $30 was better than $400..so I had the light reset. 2 days later my battery died. $130 more. This morning, driving from KC, the freaking 'check engine' light pops on again. I have had this car for 7 years and I have never had problems. I have been to the dealer 4 times in less than 10 days.
%^*%^&&*$$

DON'T DO THAT!!!!

Don't flush the tranny. You can change the fluid out (and filter - that's a good idea), but I would stay away from flushing a tranny - especially if you do it at a quick-lube type place. By 90,000 miles or so, sometimes the gunk in the fluid is what is keeping things together.

I wonder how many trannies bit the dust withing 5K of flushing? It's a rip-off, it's unnecessary, and probably downright not good for your car.

Sorry to hear about your car expenses, that stinks.

see, that's the kinda information that's handy to have. I know next to nothing about cars so I'm usually at the mercy of what the car guys tell me which makes me a prime rip-off candidate (and I'm certain they have a 6th sense about that, too). We need a handbook for all us ignorant car owners who want their car to work and don't want to pay for unnecessary procedures.

[Swatcat27]

I take good care of my car - as in, take it to the dealer on time for the oil changes & services. 2 weeks ago was the hated 90,000 mile service...a transmission flush, timing belt change etc etc - and it cost me $500. I was happy that I wont need to worry about another one for 30K miles. 2 days later, I get the 'check engine' warning light & I take it to the dealer and it was a shot charcoal canister - my fault, coz I overfilled the darn gas tank. The guy estimated $400 for parts & labor but also told me that sometimes, cars are funny and I could try to drive it after he reset the warning without changing the canister. I thought $30 was better than $400..so I had the light reset. 2 days later my battery died. $130 more. This morning, driving from KC, the freaking 'check engine' light pops on again. I have had this car for 7 years and I have never had problems. I have been to the dealer 4 times in less than 10 days.
%^*%^&&*$$

DON'T DO THAT!!!!

Don't flush the tranny. You can change the fluid out (and filter - that's a good idea), but I would stay away from flushing a tranny - especially if you do it at a quick-lube type place. By 90,000 miles or so, sometimes the gunk in the fluid is what is keeping things together.

I wonder how many trannies bit the dust withing 5K of flushing? It's a rip-off, it's unnecessary, and probably downright not good for your car.

Sorry to hear about your car expenses, that stinks.

see, that's the kinda information that's handy to have. I know next to nothing about cars so I'm usually at the mercy of what the car guys tell me which makes me a prime rip-off candidate (and I'm certain they have a 6th sense about that, too). We need a handbook for all us ignorant car owners who want their car to work and don't want to pay for unnecessary procedures.

QFT. When I stopby the dealer tomorrow, Im going to ask if it was transmission flush all the way or a transmission fluid change. They are probably gonna be caught unawares by my sudden auto knowledge spike.

[jim]

I take good care of my car - as in, take it to the dealer on time for the oil changes & services. 2 weeks ago was the hated 90,000 mile service...a transmission flush, timing belt change etc etc - and it cost me $500. I was happy that I wont need to worry about another one for 30K miles. 2 days later, I get the 'check engine' warning light & I take it to the dealer and it was a shot charcoal canister - my fault, coz I overfilled the darn gas tank. The guy estimated $400 for parts & labor but also told me that sometimes, cars are funny and I could try to drive it after he reset the warning without changing the canister. I thought $30 was better than $400..so I had the light reset. 2 days later my battery died. $130 more. This morning, driving from KC, the freaking 'check engine' light pops on again. I have had this car for 7 years and I have never had problems. I have been to the dealer 4 times in less than 10 days.
%^*%^&&*$$

DON'T DO THAT!!!!

Don't flush the tranny. You can change the fluid out (and filter - that's a good idea), but I would stay away from flushing a tranny - especially if you do it at a quick-lube type place. By 90,000 miles or so, sometimes the gunk in the fluid is what is keeping things together.

I wonder how many trannies bit the dust withing 5K of flushing? It's a rip-off, it's unnecessary, and probably downright not good for your car.

Sorry to hear about your car expenses, that stinks.

see, that's the kinda information that's handy to have. I know next to nothing about cars so I'm usually at the mercy of what the car guys tell me which makes me a prime rip-off candidate (and I'm certain they have a 6th sense about that, too). We need a handbook for all us ignorant car owners who want their car to work and don't want to pay for unnecessary procedures.

QFT. When I stopby the dealer tomorrow, Im going to ask if it was transmission flush all the way or a transmission fluid change. They are probably gonna be caught unawares by my sudden auto knowledge spike.

If you did have a transmission flush, at least you had it at the dealer. Never, ever, ever have a transmission flush done at a quick-lube place. At least with the dealership, they will have the right tool and won't be mixing different types of fluids.

The best thing you can do is talk to someone you trust, the transmission flush is a big ripoff. It would be bad enough if they just took your money without benefit, but this is one where they actually take your money AND hurt your car.

A mechanic I know and trust told me that you either A) do a transmission flush every 30K at the dealer (and keep in mind this guy does NOT work at a dealer) or B) you never do a flush. Doing a flush late in the life of the transmission is probably not a good idea, and doing it at a quick lube place is definitely not a good idea.

http://autotechrepair.suite101.com/article.cfm/040206

edit - I choose option B. I never do a transmission flush, but I will have them drain the fluid and install a new filter.

[Swatcat27]

I take good care of my car - as in, take it to the dealer on time for the oil changes & services. 2 weeks ago was the hated 90,000 mile service...a transmission flush, timing belt change etc etc - and it cost me $500. I was happy that I wont need to worry about another one for 30K miles. 2 days later, I get the 'check engine' warning light & I take it to the dealer and it was a shot charcoal canister - my fault, coz I overfilled the darn gas tank. The guy estimated $400 for parts & labor but also told me that sometimes, cars are funny and I could try to drive it after he reset the warning without changing the canister. I thought $30 was better than $400..so I had the light reset. 2 days later my battery died. $130 more. This morning, driving from KC, the freaking 'check engine' light pops on again. I have had this car for 7 years and I have never had problems. I have been to the dealer 4 times in less than 10 days.
%^*%^&&*$$

DON'T DO THAT!!!!

Don't flush the tranny. You can change the fluid out (and filter - that's a good idea), but I would stay away from flushing a tranny - especially if you do it at a quick-lube type place. By 90,000 miles or so, sometimes the gunk in the fluid is what is keeping things together.

I wonder how many trannies bit the dust withing 5K of flushing? It's a rip-off, it's unnecessary, and probably downright not good for your car.

Sorry to hear about your car expenses, that stinks.

see, that's the kinda information that's handy to have. I know next to nothing about cars so I'm usually at the mercy of what the car guys tell me which makes me a prime rip-off candidate (and I'm certain they have a 6th sense about that, too). We need a handbook for all us ignorant car owners who want their car to work and don't want to pay for unnecessary procedures.

QFT. When I stopby the dealer tomorrow, Im going to ask if it was transmission flush all the way or a transmission fluid change. They are probably gonna be caught unawares by my sudden auto knowledge spike.

If you did have a transmission flush, at least you had it at the dealer. Never, ever, ever have a transmission flush done at a quick-lube place. At least with the dealership, they will have the right tool and won't be mixing different types of fluids.

The best thing you can do is talk to someone you trust, the transmission flush is a big ripoff. It would be bad enough if they just took your money without benefit, but this is one where they actually take your money AND hurt your car.

A mechanic I know and trust told me that you either A) do a transmission flush every 30K at the dealer (and keep in mind this guy does NOT work at a dealer) or B) you never do a flush. Doing a flush late in the life of the transmission is probably not a good idea, and doing it at a quick lube place is definitely not a good idea.

http://autotechrepair.suite101.com/article.cfm/040206

edit - I choose option B. I never do a transmission flush, but I will have them drain the fluid and install a new filter.

my mechanic at the dealership called me an hour ago to let me know that my new charcoal canister was in stock now..so I quizzed him on the tranny flush. He said that they did it every 30k on the big service...so I have had it done a couple of times now. Thanks for the info, Jim.