[RollingBlackout]

So, long story short, I had that oh-so-popular service done recently on my '13 Volt to address the drive motor bearing table saw sound. Covered by my Voltec warranty, great. Took two weeks to get my car back, not so great, but whatever, they got me a rental while I waited and you can't beat free.

So, I drive my car home on battery, about 10 miles, no problemo. Park it overnight, happy my baby is home. And I go to work the next morning, about 45 miles. The first 12 miles are on battery, the rest switched to Hold mode/gas. My workplace is right off the highway exit, and as I come to a stop at the exit, white smoke starts billowing out from under my hood!

I roll to the parking lot (basically down the ramp and left, less than a mile) on battery and open the hood. There's transmission fluid everywhere, sprayed onto the hot exhaust which is causing the white smoke. I look deep in the engine compartment and see that they did not put the plug back in the transmission, which has resulted in it spraying everywhere.

I made them tow my car back of course, and they are saying that the car "didn't lose that much" and they're "99% sure it's totally fine." Unfortunately in my shock I did not look at the fluid level myself, and have very little grasp on how the Volt transmission actually works. Any opinions on whether they did much damage by the cap being off for ~45 miles of highway driving?

Yes, supposedly this was certified Voltech service and I'll keep the dealership name anonymous... for now. They still haven't found the origin of the noise I took it in for, $750 of wheel bearings later. But that's another story...!

 

[dznf0g]

I'm inclined to say NBD, but you don't say how much fluid they had to put in to top off after your tow in. I assume that it is the fill plug you reference. If so, it is a splash out situation, not a pressure leak. What does you repair order say as to how much fluid was added.

 

[pianocaddie]

Defending no one here, but just a reminder that it takes very little oil/trans. fluid to make a real mess, and a lot of smoke.
You're dealing with an infrequent (common?) error that all techs have experienced, even the most seasoned techs. This sort of accident happens. Sorry about that.

So, NOW you're dealing with the integrity of the dealership mgmt. They know how much fluid was lost, and should confirm that to you, maybe even in writing. The incident should be clearly documented in the electronic files of the dealership (do GM dealerships share service history???).

IF they can't/won't document the amount of fluid lost, I would lean on them for a clearly written warranty extension on the affected parts.

(The fact that they couldn't determine/solve the source of your "table saw" sound makes me a bit nervous about the dealership's competence.)

 

[hellsop]

(The fact that they couldn't determine/solve the source of your "table saw" sound makes me a bit nervous about the dealership's competence.)

Yah. "Traditionally", that's a MGB motor bearing cage problem, not a wheel bearing issue.

 

[RollingBlackout]

Thanks guys, that's an excellent point about demanding to know how much transmission fluid was lost, and checking records/insisting on warranty. I know accidents happen, so I haven't been that much of a b**** about that one, but just wanted to check with the Internet experts. I haven't received my car back yet since they're still diagnosing the other noise, but I will check on the transmission fluid amount when I speak with them today. I'm glad to know it's not a pressure leak re: dznf0g.

They've had the car for going on four weeks now blaming being "slammed" busy but I'm about at the end of my rope to take it elsewhere. Except, they originally -did- diagnose it as wheel bearings (after saying it was the motor bearing cage and fixing that to no avail) so I forked over /an entire paycheck/ for them to replace both front bearings. Aaaand the noise is still there.

Relevant fact: I'm at 98K miles so that 100K Voltec warranty expiration makes the issue a little more pressing than I'd prefer it to be. Silver lining: It's all going down at 98K, not 101K!