[David M]

2007 Owners manual says - 2 quarts on pg 217 of owners manual ....

Questioned the service advisor. She checked with parts and mechanic , insisting that 4 quarts were used.. x $40.73 CAN

shop rate $109.95/hr ! ( plus 13% for the government) - The bill was outrageous for the 100K service
Shoulda had my regular mechanic do everything.

Is there anywhere else this expensive fluid is used in regular maintenance ?

Is there a spillage charge ?

Hmmm . contact Ford head office ?

 

[volcomstone1966]

yah that should have been 2 not 4

 

[IcanDrive55]

so the mechanic admitted he overfilled your transmission? Interesting. Probably need to get something in writing in case your transmission takes a crap

 

[David M]

Colony Ford - Queen St - Brampton - Large dealership - way too many layers - I didn't see or speak to the mechanic directly

 

[Marde]

Ouch. I didn't know that MTX uses so little fluid. Maybe they doubled the capacity/amount because of some kind of flushing service?

Be happy you don't have a ATX as it requires much more fluid than yours.

Tight wads like me do their own trans service and save again when using a similar spec'ed ATF like this:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Valvoline...utomatic-Transmission-Fluid-1-Gallon/15125768

 

[amc49]

They generally have a 'materials use' charge, which covers everything from a single squirt from oil can to towels used on the job and even hand cleaner for mechs' hands.........

 

[whynotthinkwhynot]

I thought it was only 1.3 qts? Flush a MT? Nah. IMO they really shouldn't have to add it. Typically the axles will go out at around 150k, and that will change most of the fluid for you. What they did was just ridiculous.

I don't think you can fit 4 qts of fluid in there, but if you did, it probably wouldn't KO the transmission, but it would KO the axle seals. Keep an eye and a nose out for an oil leak if you really think he put 4 qts in there.

 

[sailor]

That number is just plain wrong.

2 qt. is the actual spec., revised from the old spec. of 2.1 to avoid the need for a "partial" quart (fill to just below the check/fill hole instead of until it flows out)

It's not possible to put appreciably more than 2 qt. in the trans., it just comes back out the fill/check plug hole on the front side of the trans..

Someone entered 2 qt. twice into the computer, and whoever you spoke with didn't bother to check/correct that.

NOT the first time this has happened....

 

[felixthecat]

I used over 2 qtrs, but mine was dry to begin w/. Like sailor said above, someone punched 2 twice perhaps.

 

[David M]

finally a reasonable voice

I used over 2 qtrs, but mine was dry to begin w/. Like sailor said above, someone punched 2 twice perhaps.

Greg responded to my email

"I don’t know what the mix up was I talked to our parts manager and we are training a new part person I think he accidently billed out too much."

 

[FocusKnot]

So the mechanic is a trainee too???????????

You said:
"Questioned the service advisor. She checked with parts and mechanic , insisting that 4 quarts were used.. x $40.73 CAN"

 

[Marde]

Looks like this thread is wrapped up by the OP, but wanted to share a similar nugget.

Bought my Focus from a family who kept all maintenance records. They were hiding something and did pull out some records, but that is another story. After reviewing all the records, one shop had billed the PO for replacing the air-filter in 2008 and again in 2010. As the new owner, I thought I should check the filter or just replace it. I asked AutoZone to give an air filter for my car and set out to replace it. The filter they gave me would not fit because my Focus had the LifeTime air filter. Never even heard of a lifetime filter until learning the hard way trying to find it. The shop that replaced the air filter NEVER did.

The moral of the story is some shops will make mistakes while others will flat-out rip you off and bill you for something that doesn't exist or doesn't apply. All mistakes are mistakes because a shop can not say "we were milking you -and you caught us".

 

[Lee308]

They call them "stealerships" for a reason.

Do your own work. Its the only way not to get screwed.

 

[Mandroid]

I work at a dealership doing general maintenance (oil changes, transmission flushes, coolant flushes, tire rotations, alignments. You get the picture), and we are under a lot of pressure by management to get these cars out as fast as possible, especially if we having waiting customers. We do our best to make sure everything is good to go before dropping the car off at the wash line, but sometimes customers come back saying we didn't add air to their tires or reset their oil mileage, or even re-learn the tires. At that point we have to drop what we are currently doing and take care of them as fast as we can. Mistakes are part of dealerships. Plus, the parts guys are the ones in charge with supplying us with the right stuff. So blame them lol

 

[FocusKnot]

My earlier response was to make the OP think about what he was being told. He questioned the bill and it was supposedly verified by TWO people.

“Greg” should not have pointed the finger at "a new part person"…that is one of the oldest and most pathetic explanations in the book. The other one is to point the finger at the empty chair...so-and-so did it and he is no longer here. Rest assured that if you are ever given one of those two excuses, it is not the truth.

Mistakes are made sometimes and other times it is not a mistake. Either way, a good service manager should have had a response something like this....

-----
Dear David,

Thank you for bringing to my attention your concern regarding a possible overcharge for your recent service visit. I have looked into this matter and have indeed found that a clerical error was made. A refund for _____ will be mailed to you today along with a coupon for a free oil change upon your next visit.

Please accept my sincere apology for this error. We want you to know that we have appreciated your business and we look forward to your continued patronage.

If I may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards,
Greg
Service Manager
Rip-off Ford
-----

And now his thoughts while he was writing the above response....

Dang it....caught again! Oh well, we make a TON of money off the other suckers that never check their bill!

 

[felixthecat]

I sold some left over= 3.5 qtrs of the ford synthetic trans fluid for $35.00.

 

[Mandroid]

My earlier response was to make the OP think about what he was being told. He questioned the bill and it was supposedly verified by TWO people.





“Greg” should not have pointed the finger at "a new part person"…that is one of the oldest and most pathetic explanations in the book. The other one is to point the finger at the empty chair...so-and-so did it and he is no longer here. Rest assured that if you are ever given one of those two excuses, it is not the truth.





Mistakes are made sometimes and other times it is not a mistake. Either way, a good service manager should have had a response something like this....





-----


Dear David,





Thank you for bringing to my attention your concern regarding a possible overcharge for your recent service visit. I have looked into this matter and have indeed found that a clerical error was made. A refund for _____ will be mailed to you today along with a coupon for a free oil change upon your next visit.





Please accept my sincere apology for this error. We want you to know that we have appreciated your business and we look forward to your continued patronage.





If I may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact me.





Kind regards,


Greg


Service Manager


Rip-off Ford


-----





And now his thoughts while he was writing the above response....





Dang it....caught again! Oh well, we make a TON of money off the other suckers that never check their bill!

My job is to do the best I can in the shortest amount of time possible. I tend to lean towards taking more time so I can make sure its a quality job. The bill is taken care of my our service department clerks, I would t be surprised if they were trained to make "typos" lol.