I'm wondering if I should bother spending the time and money (that I don't have) on this. I surely could use some advice on the matter, as I've never been in this position before.
Backstory:
Looking deeper into it, it seems that a lot of Dodge Chargers/Magnums & Chrysler 300's (they share the same chassis) have this problem (water in transmission oil pan) once in their lifetime. You would think that with such a hefty problem, they would offer a recall, but hey, guess not when you can bend people over the fence for another $5500 on top of the initial sale.
Everyone I talk to about this is telling me I should "lawyer up" and get this taken care of, as it seems very "cut and dry".
So, should I go after these
heads?
Backstory:
I bought a 2005 Dodge Magnum R/T while I lived in Pennsylvania back in March 2009. It had around 29,000 miles on it when I took it off the lot. I drove it from PA to Oklahoma, where I currently live, last October. The vehicle currently has 39,000 miles on it. I've previously had no problems with the car whatsoever until last Sunday.
I was leaving work, getting onto the interstate, and as I went to accelerate, I hear a whine coming from the engine area, and the car starts to shudder/buck like it's going to stall. I let off the gas, then try to slowly accelerate again. The car accelerates to 40 MPH, then the RPMs rev to 3500-4000 as the car goes literally nowhere. So I'm rolling on I-35 at 35-40 MPH and get the car off safely and to a parking lot. From here, I am unable to get it towed to the dealership until Wednesday of that week. After a couple days, I get a call from the dealership saying that the diagnosis of the problem was that there was water in my transmission oil pan. From here, the water went through the transmission and pretty much ruined the transmission. They said I will need a new transmission, which will cost $5500. I told them it was under Powertrain Warranty coverage, so it should be taken care of. They said they would look into it, and call me back ASAP.
So I get a call back later in the afternoon, and the service adviser at the dealership asks me if the car was driven through heavy water, or left in high water. Obviously, I say no, because it wasn't anywhere near high water -- especially in Oklahoma. It hasn't rained here in awhile, and when it does, it disappears fast. Anyway, the service adviser proceeds to tell me that he doesn't know how the water got in there [the oil pan], but it did, and ruined the transmission in the process, therefore the warranty will not apply. He then tells me that he can get a used transmission for $3500, if that is more willing to suit me. I told him I'd call him back. After hanging up with him, I did a little digging... and I found a Service Bulletin from 2005 [PDF format], which states "This bulletin involves thoroughly flushing the NAG1 (W5A580) transmission of any water contamination, replacing the transmission filter, and applying RTV sealant around the base of the transmission fill tube to prevent water intrusion past the fill tube seal." I call the dealership back, and explain to the service adviser about this service bulletin. He asks for the bulletin number, which I give to him -- and he tells me that it does not exist. Odd, considering this is an official bulletin from Dodge. He then tells me that he will have a service technician look into it, and he'll get back with me in a few hours.
Well, that day passed and I never got a call back, so I called the dealership back the next morning. The service adviser tells me that they looked into the problem that I explained to them and it was not the cause of the water leaking into the transmission, and insists yet again that I had to have driven the car through high water -- which I had not. He says once again that because he does not know where the water came from/how it got there, that they will not be covering the costs via warranty.
So, I dug up the warranty booklet [PDF format] online to read up on anything I may be missing out on.
Now, according to my reading, there is nothing in that booklet that states that the car should NOT be covered by the Powertrain Warranty.
I then call the dealership back, explain to him there's nothing in the warranty booklet that says this problem should not be covered. He tells me, yet again, that the water had to have come from an outside source, which is why the warranty will not cover it. My question to him: How did the water get in there if everything else in the car is fine? He has no answer for me, and asks me to call Chrysler Customer Service; which I did.
I finally get a call back today from a dispute/claims rep, and she tells me the exact same thing the service adviser tells me. The water in the oil pan ruined the transmission, therefore the warranty will not cover it. I ask how the water got in there, she has no answer to that as well. She tells me my claim is denied, but she will push it through to the district manager -- who, in her words, "will probably deny it, but I'll run it by him anyway". Gee, thanks? She asks if I want to get a second opinion on it, and I tell her "sure, as long as you pay for the towing to the other dealership" -- she basically laughed that off, said I was responsible for all of the costs. She then tells me I should expect a phone call on Friday (later today, since it's like 2:11am as I type this) from my local dealership on the 'verdict' of the claim as per the district manager -- which, as I stated above, seems like a lost cause.
I was leaving work, getting onto the interstate, and as I went to accelerate, I hear a whine coming from the engine area, and the car starts to shudder/buck like it's going to stall. I let off the gas, then try to slowly accelerate again. The car accelerates to 40 MPH, then the RPMs rev to 3500-4000 as the car goes literally nowhere. So I'm rolling on I-35 at 35-40 MPH and get the car off safely and to a parking lot. From here, I am unable to get it towed to the dealership until Wednesday of that week. After a couple days, I get a call from the dealership saying that the diagnosis of the problem was that there was water in my transmission oil pan. From here, the water went through the transmission and pretty much ruined the transmission. They said I will need a new transmission, which will cost $5500. I told them it was under Powertrain Warranty coverage, so it should be taken care of. They said they would look into it, and call me back ASAP.
So I get a call back later in the afternoon, and the service adviser at the dealership asks me if the car was driven through heavy water, or left in high water. Obviously, I say no, because it wasn't anywhere near high water -- especially in Oklahoma. It hasn't rained here in awhile, and when it does, it disappears fast. Anyway, the service adviser proceeds to tell me that he doesn't know how the water got in there [the oil pan], but it did, and ruined the transmission in the process, therefore the warranty will not apply. He then tells me that he can get a used transmission for $3500, if that is more willing to suit me. I told him I'd call him back. After hanging up with him, I did a little digging... and I found a Service Bulletin from 2005 [PDF format], which states "This bulletin involves thoroughly flushing the NAG1 (W5A580) transmission of any water contamination, replacing the transmission filter, and applying RTV sealant around the base of the transmission fill tube to prevent water intrusion past the fill tube seal." I call the dealership back, and explain to the service adviser about this service bulletin. He asks for the bulletin number, which I give to him -- and he tells me that it does not exist. Odd, considering this is an official bulletin from Dodge. He then tells me that he will have a service technician look into it, and he'll get back with me in a few hours.
Well, that day passed and I never got a call back, so I called the dealership back the next morning. The service adviser tells me that they looked into the problem that I explained to them and it was not the cause of the water leaking into the transmission, and insists yet again that I had to have driven the car through high water -- which I had not. He says once again that because he does not know where the water came from/how it got there, that they will not be covering the costs via warranty.
So, I dug up the warranty booklet [PDF format] online to read up on anything I may be missing out on.
Now, according to my reading, there is nothing in that booklet that states that the car should NOT be covered by the Powertrain Warranty.
I then call the dealership back, explain to him there's nothing in the warranty booklet that says this problem should not be covered. He tells me, yet again, that the water had to have come from an outside source, which is why the warranty will not cover it. My question to him: How did the water get in there if everything else in the car is fine? He has no answer for me, and asks me to call Chrysler Customer Service; which I did.
I finally get a call back today from a dispute/claims rep, and she tells me the exact same thing the service adviser tells me. The water in the oil pan ruined the transmission, therefore the warranty will not cover it. I ask how the water got in there, she has no answer to that as well. She tells me my claim is denied, but she will push it through to the district manager -- who, in her words, "will probably deny it, but I'll run it by him anyway". Gee, thanks? She asks if I want to get a second opinion on it, and I tell her "sure, as long as you pay for the towing to the other dealership" -- she basically laughed that off, said I was responsible for all of the costs. She then tells me I should expect a phone call on Friday (later today, since it's like 2:11am as I type this) from my local dealership on the 'verdict' of the claim as per the district manager -- which, as I stated above, seems like a lost cause.
Looking deeper into it, it seems that a lot of Dodge Chargers/Magnums & Chrysler 300's (they share the same chassis) have this problem (water in transmission oil pan) once in their lifetime. You would think that with such a hefty problem, they would offer a recall, but hey, guess not when you can bend people over the fence for another $5500 on top of the initial sale.
Everyone I talk to about this is telling me I should "lawyer up" and get this taken care of, as it seems very "cut and dry".
So, should I go after these
heads?
