Edward Lee

iTrader: (3)

Well about a month ago I started getting this thud sound under the right wheel well when I went over any sort of bump or dip in the road. After taking the car apart, I couldn't find the problem. When I took my car in for the tranny flush the dealer said that it sounded like the front strut was bad, which I found hard to believe so I decided to pay another dealer to find the problem.

$91 later Wondries Nissan came back and said that the right front strut was bad and that it needed to be replaced. So after giving the dealer $91 to diagnose to problem, $152.00 to get another strut and more money to have it installed, the problem was still there.

I then returned to the dealer, with the new strut installed and asked them to take another look. They came back and again said that I needed to replace the strut. I then informed that tech that what he was looking at was in fact a new strut. He quickly changed his story to, "You need to bring your car back to stock to get rid of the problem. It's all that aftermarket stuff that is causing the problem and if you return the car to stock, the problem will go away."

Then he went on to inform me that that was not my only problem. He said that I needed new motor mounts and proceeded to showed me the problem. Yes I needed them. I asked him if the thud could be related to the bad motor mounts and he said absolutely not. They are two separate issues and that changing the mounts will not get rid of the problem.

Well, after hearing that and realizing that this fool does not know his head from his ***, I decided to have the mounts replaced.

I get the car back and the thud is gone. IT WAS THE MOTOR MOUNTS THAT CAUSED THE THUD UNER THE RIGHT WHEEL WELL.

I am now asking the dealer to reimburse me the $91 diagnostic fee, $152.00 for a strut that I never needed to purchase and the cost to install the strut. I have to return this Monday to see the big boss. Looks like a job for the Bureau of Automotive Repair and small claims if he is unwilling to return my money to me. This is automotive malpractice.

Lontar1

iTrader: (5)

Ahhhh, they won't do it....been there done that. They will give you the excuse that the tech did his work and he spend over certain amount of hrs looking att he problem...... good luck

BLUEMAX01SE

You should have banged that mechanics head against a brick wall to give him a THUD! Good luck with fighting to get your $ back! I hope you win!

Edward Lee

iTrader: (3)

Before I handed over the keys and signed the work order, I asked what happens if they don't find the problem. Their response:

We will find the problem! If we can't find what is making the sound, Wondries Nissan will not charge you.

chr0nos

iTrader: (1)

you prolly won't get the diag fee back, but you can dispute the charge with your credit card company for the $152. i had a similar story with an 02 sensor at advanced auto parts, and discover gave me my money back for the o2 sensor that did not need to be replaced after all.
it's not really fair to the dealer either, because they spent time working on your car. you could try to get some money back, but i doubt they will credit you everything.

Edward Lee

iTrader: (3)

The diagnostic fee is a given. I know that they will give that back to me as they never found the problem. This was affirmed by Nissan themselves. Read prior post. As far as getting them to cover the strut and labor, that's another story. I can't dispute the $152 strut charge with the merchant as I purchased the Strut from Stillen and they had nothing to do with the misdiagnosis. All that I can do is to demad that Nissan cover all costs incurred with their misdiagnosis.

Here is California, we have what is called Bureau of Automotive Repairs. They are extremely helpful in resolving these types of issues.

Bottom line, Nissan was paid $91 to tell me exactly what was wrong with the car. They failed to do so and instead mislead me with an incorrect diagnosis and remedy of the problem. Nisssans paid service was the direct cause of the damages that I suffered. This is an open and shut case.

darrick04

FIRST: glad you solved the problem

SECOND: hope you solve your next problem

THIRD: how much were the "motor mounts"? or w/e

Edward Lee

iTrader: (3)

There are four mounts that hold the engine in the bay but I only needed the main three. I did not need the one that connects to the transmission.

The total for the 3 mounts came to $505.00 from Courtesy Nissan. I paid the dealer $273 to install them. Two of the mounts that I purchased were electronic. The ones removed from the car were ripped and totally shot.

I was going to do the install myself but needed the dealer to do it due to the other issue with the thud sound.

This all being said, the car performs like a brand new vehicle. There are no more hard bangs when the car shifts and I was finally able to align the car perfectly in my garage. In addition, the ride has totaly changed and I now have my solid and non-bouncy ride back (Tokiko Illuminas & Tein H-Techs). I guess that the motor bouncing around in the bay produced centrifugal forces. The car is more smooth and composed by leaps and bounds.

To test your mounts, just place the car in drive, apply the brake and slightly gas it. The motor will move slightly. If the motor shifts, and you will know, you'll need mounts.

Edward Lee

iTrader: (3)

Back from the Nissan Dealer! Here are the two options that the meeting arrived at:

1. Nissan will replace the new strut with the old one and see if they can replicate the problem. If they could, then they could argue that the strut was bad from the beginning. If the sound didn't come back Nissan would refund me all the money ($91 + $152 + install) that I was out, leave the old strut in (it works fine) and keep the new strut.

2. Refund me my $91 diagnostic fee and pay for half the strut $76.00, leaving the new strut in the car and taking possession of the old strut.

I opted for option 2 as I didn't need another person tearing apart the car and I wouldn't have to leave the car at the dealer for another 4 hours.