Dispute with insurance company and repair
Discussion
Hi All,
Long time lurker, not many time poster...
sorry for the rant but looking for some advice.
I had an unfortunate interface with some wildlife on the way to work one morning, deer went through front bumper, radiator, condenser and associated pipework etc.
pulled over after the impact. fluids squirting out everywhere. deer and car.
Car was recovered, (driven onto the loader), Vehicle was repaired and driven back to me (20 miles). drove it home (13 miles), within 300 yards at the start of my homeward journey the gearbox did not feel right it felt like it was slipping/harsh etc
got home called the garage told them of the issue, they then collected the car and drove back to the garage (13 miles) had fault codes read at main dealer, they state the issue with the gearbox is not accident related. so driven back to me at work (20 miles) not happy at this point but was assured it had a full inspection at the main dealer and all fluid levels were ok. so drive it home (13 miles)
now the issue I have is the auto transmission cooler goes through the radiator which was destroyed by the deer.
therefore the transmission would need at the very least topping up with oil if not flushing due to potential contamination. the garage confirmed to me that they would not do anything with the transmission as that is mechanical and they only do body work and swap out rads etc.
looking at the main dealer report it makes no reference to the oil level for the transmission. I know the only way to check with is from underneath the car with the engine running and transmission at a certain temperature.
so not something that can be done easy.
surely a garage repairing front accident damage to an automatic must be aware that the trans cooler is in the radiator, after all they filled the radiator with coolant, the power steering with fluid, the air-conditioning re-gassed. but one of the most critical components the transmission, nothing nada zip...
insurance company stating garage says not accident related. suppose in a way they are correct as it's incompetency related due to their chosen garage not re-filling the transmission.
if you got this far well done. think I score 1 out of 10, not enough swearing!
car is a Mercedes, gearbox is the 7speed 722.906
any advice, on next steps. trying to find documentation about accident collision repairs and ATF coolers etc.
I have found an article on the web called "The Importance of Mechanical Diagnostics in the Collision Repair Process" but looking to see what a Mercedes mechanic would recommend.
Thanks and regards
RichPu
Long time lurker, not many time poster...
sorry for the rant but looking for some advice.
I had an unfortunate interface with some wildlife on the way to work one morning, deer went through front bumper, radiator, condenser and associated pipework etc.
pulled over after the impact. fluids squirting out everywhere. deer and car.
Car was recovered, (driven onto the loader), Vehicle was repaired and driven back to me (20 miles). drove it home (13 miles), within 300 yards at the start of my homeward journey the gearbox did not feel right it felt like it was slipping/harsh etc
got home called the garage told them of the issue, they then collected the car and drove back to the garage (13 miles) had fault codes read at main dealer, they state the issue with the gearbox is not accident related. so driven back to me at work (20 miles) not happy at this point but was assured it had a full inspection at the main dealer and all fluid levels were ok. so drive it home (13 miles)
now the issue I have is the auto transmission cooler goes through the radiator which was destroyed by the deer.
therefore the transmission would need at the very least topping up with oil if not flushing due to potential contamination. the garage confirmed to me that they would not do anything with the transmission as that is mechanical and they only do body work and swap out rads etc.
looking at the main dealer report it makes no reference to the oil level for the transmission. I know the only way to check with is from underneath the car with the engine running and transmission at a certain temperature.
so not something that can be done easy.
surely a garage repairing front accident damage to an automatic must be aware that the trans cooler is in the radiator, after all they filled the radiator with coolant, the power steering with fluid, the air-conditioning re-gassed. but one of the most critical components the transmission, nothing nada zip...
insurance company stating garage says not accident related. suppose in a way they are correct as it's incompetency related due to their chosen garage not re-filling the transmission.
if you got this far well done. think I score 1 out of 10, not enough swearing!
car is a Mercedes, gearbox is the 7speed 722.906
any advice, on next steps. trying to find documentation about accident collision repairs and ATF coolers etc.
I have found an article on the web called "The Importance of Mechanical Diagnostics in the Collision Repair Process" but looking to see what a Mercedes mechanic would recommend.
Thanks and regards
RichPu
I presume the gearbox was operating perfectly BEFORE the accident.The gearbox oil cooler is integral with the main radiator,with two pipes running to the gearbox.The only way to check the oil level is with a Mercedes Dealer dip stick.
Your Mercedes would definitely have lost gear box fluid in the accident and even more fluid if it was started and moved with a damaged radiator. Has the garage been starting and moving the car with all this damage?? if so the lack of oil could have damaged the gearbox.
Your argument has to be that the car and the gearbox was perfect before the accident, now its not.
Your Mercedes would definitely have lost gear box fluid in the accident and even more fluid if it was started and moved with a damaged radiator. Has the garage been starting and moving the car with all this damage?? if so the lack of oil could have damaged the gearbox.
Your argument has to be that the car and the gearbox was perfect before the accident, now its not.
just to close this off as I know a lot of threads never have an ending..
Insurance agreed to get the car re-examined, got it collected on a low loader this time though. not sure if they were concerned about damage. although at this point it had driven at least 70-80 miles like this.
anyway, main dealer confirmed the oil was low and had to top it up. 3 litres of oil. the gearbox takes 9 litres so a third missing, not good.
complaint letter will be on the way to the insurance, as they state there will be no lasting damage. not sure I believe that.
anyway got car back and it drives a lot better now.
Insurance agreed to get the car re-examined, got it collected on a low loader this time though. not sure if they were concerned about damage. although at this point it had driven at least 70-80 miles like this.
anyway, main dealer confirmed the oil was low and had to top it up. 3 litres of oil. the gearbox takes 9 litres so a third missing, not good.
complaint letter will be on the way to the insurance, as they state there will be no lasting damage. not sure I believe that.
anyway got car back and it drives a lot better now.
Nice to know the result. Don't forget to keep hard copies of correspondence abut the whole incident just in case.
Common cause of automatic gearboxes playing up is low fluid - often due to ignored leaks - & topping up will often cure it so it sounds like that's been your issue & fingers crossed that nothing else appears.
Them arguing that the gearbox isn't affected when an area through which its fluid passes is damaged to the extent that the fluid escapes & then the lost fluid isn't replaced is utterly ridiculous.
Doesn't give any confidence in their chosen repairer either OR their claim that the car had been checked before at a main dealer.
Is the dealer prepared to disclose to you whether the car was actually seen by them on its first claimed visit & what they were actually asked to do?
Common cause of automatic gearboxes playing up is low fluid - often due to ignored leaks - & topping up will often cure it so it sounds like that's been your issue & fingers crossed that nothing else appears.
Them arguing that the gearbox isn't affected when an area through which its fluid passes is damaged to the extent that the fluid escapes & then the lost fluid isn't replaced is utterly ridiculous.
Doesn't give any confidence in their chosen repairer either OR their claim that the car had been checked before at a main dealer.
Is the dealer prepared to disclose to you whether the car was actually seen by them on its first claimed visit & what they were actually asked to do?
Edited by paintman on Sunday 29th October 10:00
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