Called Aamco on Valencia because they offered free towing and they specialized in clutch and transmission repairs. They quoted me around $800 total for parts and labor.
Later that evening I had the Jeep towed to Aamco and they said they would begin working on it on Saturday August 9th.
Saturday August 9th
I called Aamco and asked what they had found out. They informed me that the slave cylinder was out, they needed to replace the clutch, the pressure plate, and the bearings. They informed me the labor would be $490 and the total cost would be $1200. This was a lot of money and more than I had originally been quoted but I agreed as they were the experts and I wanted my jeep to run smoothly as it had done in the past. They said it would be complete by the end of Monday August 11th.
Monday August 11th
I called Aamco towards the end of the day to ask when it would be ready and I was informed it would take longer than expected and would be ready on Tuesday August 12th.
Tuesday August 12th
I received a call from Aamco around 10:00am and they informed me that the Jeep was complete and was running smoothly and driving great. I was pleased although it had taken slightly longer than I was told I was excited to get it back and have it functioning properly. I informed them I would be coming in around 12:00pm to pick it up on my lunch hour. Julio informed me that the line from the Master Cylinder to the Slave cylinder was not a jeep part and was a temporary part but it still worked fine. He suggested that in the future I get it replaced in the future but for now it would be working fine. He said the part was on back order to 6-8 weeks from Chrysler/Jeep.
I picked the jeep up was handed the keys, I paid checked the receipt and everything I had been quoted was on the receipt and correct. I went to the jeep started it and drove away. I was pleased with the results. From Aamco to my work was about a ten-mile drive. Once I got on the highway I started to feel difficulty shifting gears, and I heard a grinding noise. I didn�t think much of it as I thought the parts were probably settling.
Driving home from work which is a 25 mile drive was when I really started to question whether the jeep had been repaired properly as it was almost impossible to change the gears. At the traffic lights I could not get the jeep into 1st gear and when I arrived home my hand was red and painful from trying to shift gears.
Wednesday August 13th
I drove to work in the morning and experienced the same issues I had before so when I arrived at work I called Aamco and explained what was going on and they informed me that the clutch line probably had air bubbles in it and I would need to be bled. They asked me to bring it in and I said I could not take any time off work and it was not drivable. After many times trying to convince Aamco they decided to tow it free of charge to Valencia from my work.
Later in the day I received a call from Aamco saying that after it had been bled, it shifted great, and was driving fine. I was a little bit weary of this considering the problems I had experienced but when I went to pick it up it shifted perfectly and drove nicely.
I had been driving the jeep to and from work for around a week and then everything started acting up again. It started by grinding slightly when I changed gears, then it became stiff to change gears and eventually it became grinded loudly and was almost impossible to get into gear at traffic lights. The main issue I had was when driving on the freeway when I would try to change gears it would be a very loud grinding noise and impossible to get into gear so I would just have to coast along until it finally popped into gear. Along with the danger of traveling at a fast speed and then coasting and having traffic zoom around you at high speed. It also caused my hand and arm a great deal of pain trying to shift gears.
Friday August 29th
I was planning to take the Jeep on my lunch hour to get it sorted today; however, on the way to work the clutch went out completely. The pedal had no pressure and was just floppy and it was 100% impossible to get the jeep into gear. I had to start the jeep in first gear and drive home in first gear; thankfully I was only around 3 miles from my home. I called Aamco to explain what had happened and they blamed me. They said they told me from the start that the line from the master cylinder was bad and the jeep should not be driven. I argued back saying that the line was mentioned to me but why did they call me and tell me it was ready and working perfectly. I told them they needed to fix the problem and basically they refused, they blamed me, and said there was nothing they could do because the part was on back order for 6-8 weeks. I decided to then call around to try and find this part myself even though I am no car expert and didn�t even have a clue what I was asking for. Several places I called were confused with what I was asking for because I had no means of explaining it. I called Chrysler/Jeep and asked if they had any of the lines and if I could possible get one sooner that 6-8 weeks and they informed me that they did not even manufacture this part any longer. This angered me so much that Aamco would lie just so they could install a new clutch system for $1200 knowing it would not even work.
For the next week I had to get rides to and from work; which was extremely difficult, wasted so much gas, caused me to be late to work, and upset me in general. I kept calling around and I found a company called Hose Power who could make a new line for me this was great news; however, I did not know the location for this line on my jeep so I needed Aamco to remove it for me. The only problem being I had no means of getting the jeep to them
Aamco refused to have my Jeep towed to their location so it sat on my driveway immobilized for this whole week. Eventually I had to get my insurance company to arrange to have it towed to Aamco and lose out on my one free towing they offer per year. What if something serious happens now when I am driving somewhere? Well I had to get it towed to Aamco so I did and they agreed to remove the part.By this time I had missed so much time of work I could not miss any more days so I had to have my mother drive to Aamco to pick up the part. They towed my car to Aamco at 9:00am on Tuesday Sept 9th and said the part only took 15 minutes to remove. My mother called them and they said she can follow the tow truck and wait 15 minutes and they would have it ready. She was unable to do this so she asked them to remove it and she would be there at 11:00am to pick the part up. My mother arrived late at 12:00pm and asked for the part and they said they did not have it out. She asked them to remove it so she could take it to Hose Power. They said they could not because there were other people ahead of her. That was completely crazy considering all we had been trough and the jeep had been sitting at their lot all day. My mother informed them that they had to get it done ASAP as she had to be at Hose Power and they agreed, took out the part and gave it to her.
She took the part to Hose Power to show them what was wrong with it and they agreed they could make it. It only took them around an hour and then she picked it up and took it back to Aamco. Once she arrived at Aamco they said it would take 2 hours to install it and to bleed the clutch so she left.
After around two hours they installed the part and called to say it was leaking still and the part was not correct. This was not Aamco�s fault but Hose Power�s fault so I do not blame Aamco for this.
On Wednesday September 10th I took the hose back to Hose Power and they said they knew it wouldn�t work cause this piece inside one of the ends of the hose was missing (why they even replaced the hose or charged me $50 I will never know). They told me of some places who might carry the end that was missing a piece. I called around and one Jeep specialty store had a brand new factory jeep hose. I was so excited, my Jeep finally would be fixed and work because I had had a whole new clutch system put in and now I would have a new line.
On Thursday September 11th I purchased the brand new line and took it to Aamco at 12:00pm. They said that the piece was correct and it would work perfectly. I asked when it would be complete and they said it should take two hours to install it and bleed the clutch line, but give them till 4:00pm. At 4:00pm I called to check if it was done and they said they had not even started on it. I questioned this and they informed me that there were other people ahead of us. How they could have put other customers ahead baffles me considering everything we went through, all the waiting around, all the lies. I just thought they would at least make an effort to try and make the customer happy at the end.
On Friday September 12th I called Aamco at 10:00am and they said it was done, working fine, shifting fine and was perfect. I was ecstatic and finally felt closure after all I had been through I was willing to put it all behind me and have me jeep working perfectly. I picked it up at 12:30pm on my lunch hour and drove it. It did work good��. For around five minutes. Then it started grinding lightly, sticking when shifting, the clutch pedal seemed loose and temperamental. On the freeway back to work it had stuck badly and did a very loud grinding noise and shook my hand badly causing sever pain. I also had several cars and trucks have to slam their brakes on and swerve to avoid colliding with me. Once of the freeway and shaken badly the jeep then proceeded to stall at every traffic light because it did not recognize the clutch was engaged when I came to stop. It was impossible to get into first gear and second, third and so forth. I am now typing this sitting at work because I am infuriated and wondering how I am going to get home from work and enjoy my weekend.
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