Long story short, my car is in the shop right now because my torque converter is starting to fail, resulting in a lot of metal shavings throughout. Transmission still worked fine, but my 1>2 shifts was noticeably harder and the shift behavior seemed different.

Trnasmission shop dropped my pan and showed me the metal shavings, the magnets literally looked like a with all the shavings

So warranty adjuster comes out, takes pics and files a report end of last week.

Today, they called and said that they have located a used transmission from a reputable parts' distributor ... to me, that means that they found a transmission at a auto salvage yard.

Here is what my contract says:
Cost ...
... means the usual and fair charges for parts and labor necessary to repair or replace the parts covered. These charges shall not exceed manufacturers suggested retail price for parts and labor allowances derived from nationally recognized labor time standards. Replacement parts shall be of like kind and quality and may include new, remanufactured, rebuilt or used based on the Administrator's option and availability.

I do not see any way that a used transmission qualifies as a replacement part of like kind and quality. I'm going to call them tomorrow, I need some transmission experts to give me some advice.

They are basically trying to screw me over by saying a used transmission is acceptable. My transmission shop doesn't agree with them, they're reviewing the fine print in my warranty contract right now and plan to call up the warranty company tomorrow to try to figure something out.

Please help

 

I hope you get at least a rebuilt..... but your saying your used transmission is not of like kind and quality of another used transmission? Just sounds funny that your used transmission is better than another used transmission. Like I said I hope you can at least get a rebuilt so you know whats going in there. How much time left on your extended warranty? Are they giving any warranty on the used one? If you have 3 years left of extended thats one thing but if it runs out in 3 months thats another. Good luck

 

Well, I spoke to the insurance company. When they say "replacement part of like kind and quality", they mean replacement of the part in your vehicle. They definitely had figured out how to protect themselves when they put it in the contract.

For example, if you have 100k miles and your engine goes out, they can basically go to a junk yard, locate an engine with less than 100k miles and provide it to you, as long as it runs. I guess I never expected that.

KL99SEA, I'm going to get a full rebuild (new torque converter, plates, solenoids, etc) and it's going to run me out of pocket $450. I don't feel comfortable at all with used transmissions. The warranty company offered a 3 month, 3000 mile warranty on the used transmission, that's an oil change and it's pure crap.

This is first hand experience about extended warranties, if getting one, review your contract carefully to see what type of parts will be used (new, rebuilt, or used).

If anyone has suggestions about anything I should do to the transmission while it's apart, fire away. It's got to be affordable things though, I can't afford to have a bulletproof tranny thought I would love one.

 

How much time do you have left on the extended warranty.......3 month 3k miles doesn't matter if you have 2 years of extended left. They would have to cover it again. I deal with marine extended warranties all the time and like you said....you better read the fine print. Marine policies have a list of covered components and your service center better call the failure something on the list.

 

The chances of finding a new tranny for a car as old as yours are nearly zero. Since yours is "used", you will get a used one. That kind of thing happens even when you get parts under your basic warranty. In the case of head units and CD players, they sometimes replace them with used (serviced) components. You are not getting screwed since your warranty does not promise you a new tranny.

 

Wake up kids ........... that is what fine print is all about. You need to read all of very carefully and ask questions about the parts that you don't understand.

The insurance companies are not in business to shell out money. They are in business to take your premiums and invenst them in the stock and bond markets.

Mr. P

 

Honestly you're better off with a good used transmission than a rebuilt one.

 

I went through the same thing for 5 months before I got my car...
They will not give you a new one...that's what they kept telling me...
It ended up being in the shop about 8 times in 5 months & still wouldn't give me a new one...

here's what i did:
went to my county court, filed a civil case against them... They care about their name so much that within 24 hours that they received a notice to appear in court, they gave me a new transmission & asked for me to drop the charges...

Your situation is a bit different because it only broke once... IF you really really want a new tranny I suggest you kill the next one they put in & the next one after that.... they say that they can prove you beat on it... IT's all BS! .... It took 5 months for me to get a new tranny...but i got it...


and just a side note: when I say new . . .it is not brand new from the factory... they don't make them... what nissan does is take all new parts including the shell and they put one together...
It's new to me but they say that it's actually a factory rebuilt... (because they build it) . . complicated but whatever....

So just to summarize...you probably will NOT get a new one from them this time but if you use your head, at the end, you'll still come out on top...
Suing them always works....

 

I had metal shavings and it's fine. It's an auto so after even a few months you'll have shavings in there. I also don't see a problem with a used tranny if it's a low mileage unit. Who cares if it's from a salvage yard if it only has 60-70k miles on it?

 

Get the vin from the donor car is run a carfax to confirm the mileage

 

When I spoke to the warranty company, they said that they would have to "order" the transmission first, then only they could provide me the donor vehicle information. Not tempting at all.

I've opted to just have my transmission rebuilt completely ... it'll get a new torque converter, plates, etc. I had a look at my transmission on the bench, it was in good shape if not for the torque converter breaking up. I'm debating about the solenoid kit. If I do it all, it'll be $450 out of pocket. I've been car-less for over a week now and I'm leaving for Japan in less than 2 weeks, I really don't feel like messing around with the warranty compnay anymore.

So $450 out of pocket it is .... talk about a nice 100k mile tune-up

 

Car's back, got it yesterday. I ended up paying $380, transmission shop ate the deductible.

I have only put 3 miles on it since picking it up, so I'll have to drive it more to comment on the rebuild.
Most obvious, the 1>2 jerk I had is gone. 1>2 lag is still apparent, 2>3 has a slight lag and 3>4 lag is non-existent.

I just washed her today, and finally installed my reverse indiglo gauge overlays. My quest for a blue meter is complete, reverse indiglos are perfect.

Going to wax it tomorrow, just in time for 4th of July fireworks and bbq, bonfire.

 

LKQ or like kind quality means a recycled or used OEM part. Thats industry standard, even in the collision repair business. Most insurance companies don't put new parts on cars over 2 or 3 years old. They make body shops search for LKQ (junk yards) for parts first (including sheet metal). Then comes aftermarket and if thats not available OEM which is the last choice.

Your getting exactly what your contract says your entitled to. LKQ or recycled OEM parts. You should be happy your not paying for that tranny and the labor to install it.