[Discoidin]

Hi everyone,

Been on this site for a while for all my volt news, but have never posted. Now my 2015 volt requires repairs, and it's going to cost me a lot of money. So I wanted to ask your advice.

Recently I noticed pink/brown fluid under the car, and finally the engine light came on. Took it to a dealership and they said there was an impact, large enough to have cracked the transmission. Now they are saying I have to replace the whole thing, and it will cost $7k.

Do I have a choice? Can I even shop around? Would another dealership give a different quote? Are there any mechanics who can operate on the volt or dealership only? (I live in Toronto)

Thanks

 

[uchual]

Sorry to hear about your Volt! I'm in the Toronto area as well, and as a new owner (I've had the car less than a year), I haven't really taken the car to any dealer at all. Oil change and other basic stuff has been taken care by my local trusted shop or myself.

As far as I know, anything in the car that does not involve the electric power train can be serviced by any competent shop. In your case, by a specialized transmission shop. So I'd say it's worth to shop around. Good luck.

 

[JuneBug]

So, are they correct about the impact? What happened? I doubt a regular transmission shop would be able to deal with the Volt transmission--it's totally different from what they are used to, and may require special tools they don't have.

 

[El Dobro]

Salvage trans and a shop that can do programming and you should be ok.
http://www.car-part.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi

 

[BillG]

If the damage was caused by an impact, file a claim with your insurance company. It should be covered by your auto policy.

 

[Caffeine1]

If you can get a used one, speak to your trusted garage guy. I'm sure any mechanic could swap the part out. I'm confident I could, So I'm sure a mechanic could. As for the crack.. Another option may be to have a shop look at it that can weld aluminum.. if it's just a crack caused by impact and caused a leak. It would be a single bead of weld to seal the crack ( can probably do that in place, with no need to remove anything from the car..so very cheap ~$200).. assuming there is no internal damage, refill the fluid and drive on!

 

[Bill Step]

If you can get a used one, speak to your trusted garage guy. I'm sure any mechanic could swap the part out. I'm confident I could, So I'm sure a mechanic could. As for the crack.. Another option may be to have a shop look at it that can weld aluminum.. if it's just a crack caused by impact and caused a leak. It would be a single bead of weld to seal the crack ( can probably do that in place, with no need to remove anything from the car..so very cheap ~$200).. assuming there is no internal damage, refill the fluid and drive on!

fixed an audi v8,came in by flat bed,whole front end removed and went to welding the crack a tech caused.saved an expensive short block replacement.

 

[brett_cgb]

Recently I noticed pink/brown fluid under the car, and finally the engine light came on. Took it to a dealership and they said there was an impact, large enough to have cracked the transmission. Now they are saying I have to replace the whole thing, and it will cost $7k.

Do I have a choice? Can I even shop around? Would another dealership give a different quote? Are there any mechanics who can operate on the volt or dealership only?

There's a leak. Have them show you where the damage is.

If there's no obvious damage, it might be covered by warranty (it might have been a failed seal or something similar - not likely.) If there's clear damage, you're stuck, unless car insurance helps out.

Hybrid gas-electric drive trains are still fairly exotic - this is likely a dealer-only repair. Another dealer might give a similar quote. The car probably isn't drivable, how much will a tow cost?

You might find an independent shop that's willing to do the work, perhaps using salvaged parts. Iffy.

A repair this expensive may not be cost effective without some help (insurance?).

 

[tekym]

Most of the advice in here is faulty. The transmission in a Volt contains the entire electric drivetrain including 2 motors and the various gears that connect them and the ICE to the wheels. This includes high-voltage wiring that feeds the motors. Therefore, this IS NOT a normal transmission repair that can be handled by any mechanic, an ordinary mechanic might electrocute themselves trying this without the proper training and awareness. A trained Volt tech is the only type of person qualified to handle the transmission safely.

Insurance should pay for this if it was actually an impact. Ask to see evidence like debris left by the thing that hit, marks on the transmission case showing an impact, etc.

 

[Jimbo62]

Insurance should pay for this if it was actually an impact. Ask to see evidence like debris left by the thing that hit, marks on the transmission case showing an impact, etc.

I agree with this.

 

[pianocaddie]

Re: insurance. While I agree that insurance might pay for this, I thought my recent experience is worth repeating.
Driving in the far left lane, 65mph, I saw a piece of debris (concrete chunk) slide out from under the car in front of me. Debris slid to the right, I gently swerved to the left, sliding debris impacted a tire of the car on my right, went airborne, and through my grill, damaging the bumper/grill/horn/invertor radiator (2014 Avalon).
Insurance: "If it's sliding on the road, covered under collision. If it's airborne, covered under 'no-fault comprehensive.'"
Progressive insurance.

 

[obermd]

Re: insurance. While I agree that insurance might pay for this, I thought my recent experience is worth repeating.
Driving in the far left lane, 65mph, I saw a piece of debris (concrete chunk) slide out from under the car in front of me. Debris slid to the right, I gently swerved to the left, sliding debris impacted a tire of the car on my right, went airborne, and through my grill, damaging the bumper/grill/horn/invertor radiator (2014 Avalon).
Insurance: "If it's sliding on the road, covered under collision. If it's airborne, covered under 'no-fault comprehensive.'"
Progressive insurance.

USAA would have covered it under collision either way. I have yet to hear a good coverage story with Progressive.

 

[BillG]

USAA would have covered it under collision either way. I have yet to hear a good coverage story with Progressive.

I think you just heard one. Generally, comprehensive deductibles are lower than collision, so in this case Progressive would be better than USAA.

 

[JuneBug]

Re: insurance. While I agree that insurance might pay for this, I thought my recent experience is worth repeating.
Driving in the far left lane, 65mph, I saw a piece of debris (concrete chunk) slide out from under the car in front of me. Debris slid to the right, I gently swerved to the left, sliding debris impacted a tire of the car on my right, went airborne, and through my grill, damaging the bumper/grill/horn/invertor radiator (2014 Avalon).
Insurance: "If it's sliding on the road, covered under collision. If it's airborne, covered under 'no-fault comprehensive.'"
Progressive insurance.

Here's what Geico told me a few years ago: If something flies out of a truck and hits my car, that's comprehensive ($50 deductible). If it falls out of a truck, bounces on the pavement, THEN hits my car, that's collision ($500 deductible).

 

[pianocaddie]

Following my ins agent's advice, I told the Progressive rep that the debris was airborne, coming from my right, and therefore unavoidable. All the damage was on the top of the bumper, and the passenger side of the grill. No damage to the hood.

Progressive rep/adjuster visited today. YES, comprehensive, $495 deductible, which was the deductible I had chosen to keep our rates down. We've been with Progressive for over 2 years.

Coincidentally, this $3k (no-fault comprehensive) claim follows a $5k (at-fault collision) claim on June 15, (2015 Leaf), wife rear-ended a swerving p/u truck. If Progressive decides this is excessive, they could raise our rates. Bummer, as we're about to ADD a 17-year-old girl to the policy...ARGGH!!!!)

My wife and I have several hundred thousand miles of driving, 75+ years combined, with a single previous claim, 23 years ago, when we were rear-ended by an uninsured driver while we were sitting at a traffic light...I saw it coming, couldn't move, car in front of me. Geico covered it, no change to our rates.

Sorry for the thread drift...