so... the other dealer ****ed up the install on the clutch??? so... dodge should cover that cost, not you paying for yet another clutch. contact corporate asap

 

wow...what a mess this is for you

 

I noticed about 2 weeks ago that my trans is leaking a bit. Looks like it's leaking around the seal. I'm going to see if I can find a dealership that wont mind working on a modified car under warranty. I just hate how employees at the dealerships like to drive cars hard (especially when they see what's under the hood). I'll probably lower the boost. I know I'm dropping the car off to get the AC worked on. If I can get them to work on the transmission too, the H-brace and traction bars will have to be removed to replace the transmission seal right?

 

Not sure what has to be removed to get out the tranny, although I will find out next time I need a clutch because like all my other cars I will be doing all future repairs. The dealer called me today December 26th. This all started with the first visit on October 9th. Get what this guy tells me today. I will cover the tranny for you even though you have a stage 2 kit but I have to charge you for the clutch $500 + 100 deductable+tax. Should be around $700, that was the best I could do. He tells me he called corporate to try to get them to cover it thats why it took so long to call me back. Then mentions how I could "catch more flies with honey than vinegar" and that he doesn't like dealing with customers that get loud with him. I guess I should be ok with the con job his shop gave me. Scamming customers seems to be ok . I though to myself, so if I kissed his a** or maybe a bribe it wouldnt be so much? Well , the wife spoke to my old saleman who sold me the car in '03 who remembered us. I guess it was a memorable first drive for him. He is the manager now and said he would see if he could pull any string for us and not to pick up the car yet. Also did some legal research about this voiding the warranty. Apparently it is illegal to void the warranty for parts changed, street legal parts or not. Simply put, the dealer has to prove that the part that failed was a direct result of the part that was changed. Like an electrical fire caused by a metal cold air intake hitting the positive battery terminal. To prove that 3rd gear failed because of stage 2 would be impossible. How many people here have way more than stage 2 with no trany issues? Cases like this have to be dealt with on a case by case issue. The powertrain warranty just can not be swept aside because they say so, but they figure how many people are really going to go to court about it? Any lawyers own an SRT-4? I'll keep you all updated. I'm getting P O'ed just thinking about this. I gotta go have a drink.

 

HMM. So getting them to fix a transmission leak with a lot of mods would be some sort of challenge.

Good luck with your car.

 

when i asked the dealer here about looking at my tranny (2nd gear dosent 'feel right'). they said that unelss they found something that would be a warranty repair, they would charge me for looking at it. and that i would need to produce reciepts from every fluid change for the car. as i change both oil and trans myself, i would have to produce the reciepts of buying oil and filters and such for it... like i still have all of those
i just said screw it, it still drives ok. guess ill be fixing the tranny out of pocketif/whensecond finally gives out.

 

That sucks. They don't care.

 

I'm sure any problems we all have would be dealt with on a case by case basis. Thats pretty much what I was told when I bought the car in '03. Unfortunately this was from the same crew who tried to convince me that the oil spray on the front drivers side rim was Armor All and not the blown strut it was whan the car was new. I just wish I had the time to research all the 2003 back issues of Autoweek magazine. The article that sold me on this car was an interview with the head of Chrysler PVO dept. Who said in the article something like, "As if this car isn't fast enough. In the near future there will be performance packages that you will be able to get to increase the performance even further and being they will be Dodge parts it will still be under warranty". Not to mention weren't there stories of the first few prototypes actually being used to street race sort of undercover to see how they would hold up? After all thats how it was done in the '60's. And lets not forget the SRT4 commercial racing the WRX. Come on Dodge Dealers, time to be men and stand behind what you sell. After all, lately that Cobalt SS is looking a heck of a lot better than the Caliber SRT4 for my next new pocket rocket.

 

FIXED! (sort of ) ... Well, I just drove the car home. About a 10 mile trip. Brand new tranny with a build date of 02-14-07. Why are these trannys still in production? Are they used in the Caliber srt-4 that has way more hp than my neon srt-4 ? Or are so many being replaced that there is still a market for them? I jack the car up to do an oil change and find not only are front lug nuts barely hand tight but it looks to be leaking tranny fluid out of the right side axle seal. I cleaned off the splatter on the bottom of the car and will keep an eye on it. Left a message at the dealer for the service mgr (which I'm sure he'll never get ). Also , good thing I checked in the trunk before I left there as I was supposed to get the 4 week old clutch that they said was possibly no good because of a misadjusted clutch fork. Not only was it not in the trunk but when we found it on a workbench there appears to be nothing at all wrong with it. Well at least I have a spare clutch for $706. Oh,,, and 3rd gear still feels different than all the others.

 

That's just a mess.