Hi everyone,

Let me tell you what happened to me 2 days ago. I took my `03 Caravan to a JiffyLube knock-off called Fast-Flo here in my little hometown of Hillsboro, Illinois to have the tranny flushed and a new filter installed. They installed the filter, then proceeded to fill it with Mobile multi-vehicle ATF fluid! I was unaware of this, as I was at work and my wife actually took the vehicle at the designated appointment time. When my son returned to pick the van up, all was fine until he came to the first stop sign. The down-shift from 2nd to1st was very rough. He called me to tell me about it, and I stopped by Fast Flo to do some checking. I talked to the tech that did the job and he told me that it was a normal job in every respect. I asked him what type of ATF was put into the vehicle. He produced a bottle of multi-vehicle ATF that clearly stated MERCON V on the front label. Well, I about had a stroke!
When I demanded that they change the filter again and put in Mopar ATF+4, he said that he would for an addional $90! BIGGER STROKE!! I refused to pay for the proper fluid and they refused to put it in. Big-time fight coming, I can assure you. Their claim is that the multi-vehicle ATF superseads All +4 transmission fluids and is compatible with Chrysler products. If I can prove that it is the fault of the fluid, then they will reimburse me.
It is now at the local Dodge dealer (where I SHOULD have taken it in the first place) to have the fluid changed to Mopar ATF+4.
My questions are......Has anyone else encountered something like this and what recourse did you have?
......Has there been any harm done to my transmission( it has only been driven approximately 10 miles on the Mercon V)

Jonah

 

This happens ALL the time--sorry to say. Most lube shops use a generic fluid to flush the trans, then add a bottle of "magic" converter that's supposed to turn ordinary Dexron into ATF+4. The reason they do this is because Dexron is about .90/qt in bulk and ATF+4 is $5/qt. You do the math. Bottom line, call Chrysler and ask them if Mobil ATF is acceptable. If they say no, that's all that counts. Mobil's opinion is irrelevant. Who cares what they say, it's the vehicle manufacturer's specs you (and the lube shop) have to live by.

 

UPDATE!!

I took my `van to the local Mopar dealership, where the replaced the Mercon V with Mopar ATF+4. They also had to flash the tranny controller to stop the harsh downshift. Since then, the van has been to Maryland, Wisconsin, and Iowa a couple of times without any problems whatsoever( I live in central Illinois).
The dealership charged me $118 to do the fluid change and flash. The fluid came to $36 retail. The Fast-Flo was going to charge me $90 (their so-called cost) to replace the fluid with ATF+4, which they were going to buy at the same dealership that I took my van to.

Needless to say, I stopped the payment to Fast-Flo! The other day I received a letter from the Montgomery County State`s Attorney saying that I have 20 days to pay up, or he is going to issue a warrant for my arrest for "deceptive practices". COUNTERSUIT!!! We will just see what the court has to say about this. If anyone is guilty of "deceptive practices", it is the JiffyLube knockoff! They are the ones that put the wrong tranny fluid in my vehicle, refused to put the proper tranny fluid in unless I paid a 300% markup on the same fluid they should have put in the first time, therebyforcing the transmission to operate outside of it`s design parameters,and basically left me hanging with a vehicle that functioned properly going in, and not functioning properly after they "serviced" it.

I will keep everyone updated as the proceeding take place. This should be interesting!

Jonah

 

Went down to the County courthouse today and filed the papers to counter-sue. Court date is set for the 16th of June.