On October 24, our car was towed to the Don Davis Service Center at 1300 East Interstate 20 in Arlington, Texas after it died suddenly on the highway. The mechanic at Don Davis, determined that the car had overheated and that the repair should be covered under the extended warranty. He told us that the only way to find out for sure what was wrong with the car was to tear the engine down. He warned us that if, once he tore the engine down, the problem was found to be not covered under the warranty, we would be responsible for paying the cost of the engine tear down. He also stated that if the repair were covered by warranty, the warranty would also pay the cost of the tear down. My husband asked us if there was any other way to find out what was wrong with the car and he stated no.
We authorized the teardown of the engine on November 11. After tearing down the engine, Tim called us and told us that the engine was bad and needed to be replaced. He said that the repair would be covered under warranty.
A warranty inspector went to Don Davis to inspect the engine. The inspector found a hole in the radiator caused by a wrench that was lodged against the radiator. As a result of this discovery, our warranty company denied the claim on the car.
Tim called us and told us that the repair would not be covered under the warranty and that we would be responsible for paying for the engine tear down. He also said we needed to replace the engine and that the additional cost would be about $3000. He also said there was a possibility the engine block was cracked and would also need to be replaced, but he would not be able to tell until he replaced the engine.
We decided against proceeding with the replacement of the engine. We asked Tim to put all the parts he had removed back into the car and had the car towed home on December 9. We paid Don Davis $1340.88 for the engine tear down.
We had the car towed to anopther mechanic for evaluation. This mechanic evaluated the car, he discovered that several of the parts that had been removed by Don Davis had not been put back in the car as we requested. We called Don Davis and requested that the parts be returned to us. Don Davis said they no longer had the parts and denied responsibility.
After the new mechanic further evaluated the car, he told us that he did not see anything wrong with the engine. He felt that if the engine was put back together again and the radiator replaced, the car would be okay. With our authorization, he purchased the necessary parts and put the engine back together. We paid Mr. Sterner a total of $1013.40 for this job. When he completed his repair, he tested the car thoroughly. After finding no further problems, he returned the car to us. We have been driving it ever since with absolutely no more problems. (The car drives from Arlington to Fort Worth and back again every day. We also took the car on a longer trip to Lake Texoma, again with no problems.)
After the car was repaired, we sent a letter to Don Davis. We asked for an explanation of why their mechanic did not notice the hole in the radiator of the car until it was pointed out to him by the warranty inspector, why the mechanic claimed the engine was bad and needed to be replaced when it clearly did not, and why the missing parts had not been returned to us. We asked Don Davis for a refund of the total amount we spent on the car minus the cost of the radiator ($2309.28).
Tim Bennett from Don Davis said that Don Davis had no liability as the warranty inspector verified that the heads were shot and that the wrench was found. Mr. Bennett also said that too much time had passed since the car was at their shop and therefore, Don Davis would not reimburse us for the missing parts.
We have a copy of the warranty inspector's report as well as a report from the mechanic who fixed the car. There are several items of note in these reports:
When Tim from Don Davis contacted the Consumer Program Administrators (CPA) Claim Department on November 1, he said that the Davis technician had determined there was a possibility the engine had a cracked cylinder head or engine block. However, Tim was unable to answer any of the Adjusters questions about diagnostics or testing that was done on the vehicle.
The vehicles computer was not scanned for codes
The technician did not perform a cooling system pressure test because he was concerned that water or coolant would enter the engines cylinders. However, according to the CPA report, the cooling system pressure test is industry standard and the technicians concerns were not valid.
The CPA Adjuster told Tim that since no pressure test was performed and the computer was not scanned for trouble codes, it would be necessary to obtain our authorization for teardown at our expense to diagnose the cause of failure and the estimated cost of repairs. However, when Tim told us the that he would need to tear down the engine to diagnose the problem, we asked him if there was any other way the diagnosis could be obtained and he said there was not.
On November 12, a warranty inspector inspected the vehicle and found the following:
The cylinder heads had already been machinedwhich prevented the warranty inspector from confirming Tims diagnosis that the heads were warped. The fact that Tim had proceeded with machining the heads without authorization from CPA was a violation of our warranty. Neither CPA nor us gave Tim authorization to machine the heads.
During the inspection, a splash shield was removed from underneath the radiator core support. After the shield was removed, a wrench was found hanging between the radiator and the radiators core support. This wrench had rubbed a hole into the core of the radiator, causing it to leak.
Our mechanic notes that we informed Don Davis that the vehicle made a rattling nose and then died and would not start. According to our mechanic, The diagnostic procedure should have begun with a visual inspection and also by checking all the fluid levels and condition, especially the engine oil level, coolant level and transmission fluid level. At this point, the technician would have identified that the cooling system was low on coolant and should have added water and or coolant to the cooling system and performed a simple coolant pressure test (also mentioned in the warranty inspectors report). Our mechanic states that if the Technician had performed this test, he would have identified the leaking radiator and the wrench that rubbed a hole in the radiator core.
Our mechanic does not understand why Don Davis had the original heads rebuilt and surfaced when they were recommending a new/rebuilt engine. He also is unclear as to why Don Davis made the recommendation to replace the engine as the engine block showed no signs that it was damaged. There were not any signs of cylinder wall scuffing and the oil did not appear to be burnt or overheated. Also, the manner in which the engine was dissembled was such that the expected intent was to re-install the top end of the engine.
It is clear from the reports of the warranty inspector and our mechanic, that the technician at Don Davis did not properly diagnose the problem with our vehicle, lied to us about what needed to be done to diagnose the problem, and performed repairs without the necessary authorization from CPA or ourselves. It is also clear that Don Davis failed to return to us all the parts they removed from our vehicle. We hate to speculate about the motivations of the technician in these actions, however, our mechanic does note in his report that Don Davis also stated that it would be easier to replace the engine. I feel that it would not be easier but most definitely profitable for Don Davis.
We also feel that the fact that the vehicle has been running smoothly with no problems since our mechanic put the engine pack together and replaced the radiator speaks for itself. It is our belief that Don Davis Ford has failed to act in good faith towards us and that they attempted to sell us a repair that the car did not need.
Dindy
Arlington, Texas
U.S.A.
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