Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  07/19/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I took my car into the shop for observation on May 3rd - due to oil leakage at the top valve cover. At the time, I was quoted ~$2200 to have the engine sealed by the mechanic there at the shop. A day later, I was informed that part of the procedure documented in the repair to seal the top cover included checking the Cam Shaft for scratches or scoring. I was then notified by **** on of the owners that the driver side Cams (2) of them were damaged with by some scoring and that it would be a costly repair to replace both CAMs, rockers, and timing chain. Somewhere in the tone of $6000, just for the driver side. At that point, I asked about alternatives- I located third party parts online and consulted with a known master mechanic and he suggested that there may be some questionable diagnosis given the previous symptoms (oil leak) and since I had not experienced any issues with the car failing to accelerate or there had not been any rare noises or check engine lights triggered. Since the car was taken apart and the parts were presumably damaged - I provided Rich with my extended warranty information to check and see if they would cover the repair. It took a few days, however, the did approve the repair for $5700+ ; I had to pay for the opposite side of the car where they had already sealed the cover (~$1332). On 5/20/22 I received notice that my car was ready for pickup - new Cams, timing chain and all. I drove the car for a few days and noticed that there was a strong oil smell coming from the engine. I informed AEW about the smell and was told ******* smell is quite normal for the time being, we had the motor completely torn apart. It can get oil in places it shouldnt be mainly the exhaust. A week later I continued to experience the oil smell so I took to both the ******************* dealership and to the master mechanic to have the work evaluated and the car checked for oil leaks. It was found that the oil was leaking on both sides of the car.

  

  Business response

  09/13/2022

  ********************* came in for an oil leak that another shop diagnosed and that another shop had already replaced some parts as well. This said shop is one of the shops that she is referencing. they are supposed to be a ******** specialty shop and they wouldn't work on it for her anymore. We looked at it and found that both valve cover gaskets were leaking. Upon tear down we found that the drivers side camshafts were worn down and pitted, most likely due to poor oil quality and maintenance. We went through her warranty company who came out and inspected it and they covered the replacement camshafts and other related parts. The warranty company would not have paid for the repair if the parts were not faulty. We replaced only what the warranty company would pay for, Timing chains were not included and not replaced. When we finished her car we cleaned it to the best of our ability. Oil was and gets everywhere when doing this type of work. When we gave it back to her it was good. She did call us a couple days later and said it still smells. We told her it might just be burning off the excess from the exhaust and to call us in a week if not better. We informed her that it's under warranty so if there's anything related we would take care of it. She called us a week later and told us that it still smelled. We told bring it back and we will look. At this point she had supposedly taken back to her master **********************;that won't work on it for her and to georgetown ********. Both said that everything was leaking. We looked at her car and found that there was a small leak coming from the o-ring that seals the vacuum pump. We pulled it apart and found that the o-ring got knicked on install. No big deal, we put a new o-ring on it and cleaned it up. We let the car run at our shop and put a few miles on it to ensure that the leak was resolved. When it left our shop the last time it was not leaking oil. We have not heard from ***** since she left the last time.  

   

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩