[craig baconator]

Driving 70 miles or one week is no assurance that this “repair” will last for thousands of miles and vibrations and heat/freeze cycles. That alone is reason to reject it. If the plug isn’t epoxied in place then it may fail after any number of removals. Tell them come on guys, this is not right and they know it.

If you accept this now it will be a very small chance that you can get restitution in future if it fails. You just bought this car. You obviously expected to get a number of years of service out of it.

If they have to remove the transmission they may want to put in a used one to save time of having to rebuild it. If that’s the case then ask for a warranty or replacement of the transmission for the life of the car. If they balk at that then just say you have no idea of the service life of a used transmission and just replace the case on yours.

You have the service records that prove they worked on this transmission and caused the crack. You have the photos of the crack and their attempted “repair”. That is plenty of evidence. Your state may have some specific laws about car repairs. If they wash their hands if it and return it to you, write specifically on the bill that you don’t accept this repair and that they are liable for further damage that results in you operating the vehicle while it’s resolved. Take a photo of the bill and don’t pay them. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that.

 

[Dragonrider99]

Personally I would either go to a dealer or to a highly reputable repair center and get an estimate on what it would cost to replace the housing. You might want to get two or three different estimates. At that point I would go to small claims court and sue for the smallest estimate because that is typically what the court will award you. That's it end of story. I would not trust that repair whatsoever. As others have pointed out expansion and contraction is going to make that fail at some point and probably sooner rather than later. The plug itself looks like it has an obvious gap in it.

 

[chidog]

Most all repair out fits Dealer and independent are going to say take it to a transmission shop. One other thing, I am not real sure but there could be a possibility that the case halves are a matched set and need to be replaced as a unit. Maybe someone can look it up online and check availability and prices.

 

[allens969]

Update # 2: Thank you all (sincerely), you folks were right and the patch didn't hold up. I took it back to him, he's agreed to replace the transmission with a used unit.

As soon as I said, it's leaking (minor) he said I can patch it again and we can monitor for 2-3 days, I told him dude I can't live day to day constantly checking is it holding up or is it leaking...etc. (points you all gave) and he then said the other option is I can replace it. So I said do it - will get the car back Thu evening according to him. Will update again.

 

[Dragonrider99]

Glad to hear it. Used transmissions I have seen usually come with some type of warranty so be sure to enquire about that. As a matter of fact you can search for yourself for one. All the ones I have seen can be drop-shipped directly to the garage and the listing tells you how many original miles are on it and the warranty it comes with.

Best of luck!

For example:

2010 Honda CRV
Part Details:	Transmission Assembly - Automatic Transmission (2.4L) AWD
Price:	$1,080.00 (Used Transmission) or as low as $63.00/mo with More info 1 Year or 12K Mile Parts & Labor Warranty included
Shipping:	Free Shipping in all U.S. states except HI & AK (*There is a $150 charge for all residential deliveries)
Mileage:	~30K miles

 

[davidsh331]

Hi all,

Picked up a 2010 CRV Lx 4WD 146K km, a couple months ago and took it to the mechanic for fluid change (oil, trans and diff) since I didn't know the history. MF'r over torqued the transmission drain plug and cracked the housing (pic attached).

Now he's saying he'll get a longer/deep bolt plus freeze-weld the crack and it should be good, but need to know if that'll hold up or is a fair solution?

Also, anyone know the name of the part to which the drain port is attached: transmission housing, torque converter...transfer case?? Would like to know so that if needed I can say replace X part as a whole instead of repair.

Appreciate any/all help, thank you.

Your lousy mechanic should return your vehicle in same or better condition as when you delivered it to them. Short of that, I would see him in small claims court, as should you. Most auto mechanics are not expert welders, they just pretend that they are.

 

[dbier]

Update # 2: Thank you all (sincerely), you folks were right and the patch didn't hold up. I took it back to him, he's agreed to replace the transmission with a used unit.

As soon as I said, it's leaking (minor) he said I can patch it again and we can monitor for 2-3 days, I told him dude I can't live day to day constantly checking is it holding up or is it leaking...etc. (points you all gave) and he then said the other option is I can replace it. So I said do it - will get the car back Thu evening according to him. Will update again.

Glad it is getting replaced. Please post an update when you get it back.

 

[craig baconator]

Update # 2: Thank you all (sincerely), you folks were right and the patch didn't hold up. I took it back to him, he's agreed to replace the transmission with a used unit.

As soon as I said, it's leaking (minor) he said I can patch it again and we can monitor for 2-3 days, I told him dude I can't live day to day constantly checking is it holding up or is it leaking...etc. (points you all gave) and he then said the other option is I can replace it. So I said do it - will get the car back Thu evening according to him. Will update again.

I reiterate my comment about the warranty. You have no idea of the service history of a used transmission and shouldn’t have to worry about it. “Therefore I would like a lifetime warranty.”

if they balk at that then I would say seven years.

Edit: your car is a 2010. Mine is a 1999. I hope to get at least another 5 years out of mine. If I had a 2010 I’d want at least a 10 year warranty, provided that you change the fluid with Honda fluid on a specified interval.

Now someone is going to say that a transmission shop and even the original warranty wasn’t that good. I don’t care. It wasn’t you who broke it, it was the shop, and they should not charge you for work that comes as a result of their mistake any time in the future. If they balk then I’d negotiate for 5 years parts and lifetime labour. In other words if it fails after 5 years I’m bringing them a scrapyard transmission to install. If it doesn’t work I’m bringing them another. If that one fails a year later I’m bringing them another.

We have to keep in mind here that small claims court is uncertain and would be a huge waste of time and energy and money for both parties.

 

[Garfy]

Hi all,

Picked up a 2010 CRV Lx 4WD 146K km, a couple months ago and took it to the mechanic for fluid change (oil, trans and diff) since I didn't know the history. MF'r over torqued the transmission drain plug and cracked the housing (pic attached).

Now he's saying he'll get a longer/deep bolt plus freeze-weld the crack and it should be good, but need to know if that'll hold up or is a fair solution?

Also, anyone know the name of the part to which the drain port is attached: transmission housing, torque converter...transfer case?? Would like to know so that if needed I can say replace X part as a whole instead of repair.

Appreciate any/all help, thank you.

The "mechanic" should replace the housing. I guarantee you that he/she did NOT torque the drain plug. There's a reason why Honda (and most other manufacturers) have a torque spec for every fastener and drain plug on a vehicle. If someone exceeds that spec (or didn't use a calibrated torque wrench on it) it's on them to replace the broken part.

 

[IggysCRV]

Absolutely a rubbish band aid fix. Unacceptable in .y books.

 

[8dragon]

Hi all,

Picked up a 2010 CRV Lx 4WD 146K km, a couple months ago and took it to the mechanic for fluid change (oil, trans and diff) since I didn't know the history. MF'r over torqued the transmission drain plug and cracked the housing (pic attached).

Now he's saying he'll get a longer/deep bolt plus freeze-weld the crack and it should be good, but need to know if that'll hold up or is a fair solution?

Also, anyone know the name of the part to which the drain port is attached: transmission housing, torque converter...transfer case?? Would like to know so that if needed I can say replace X part as a whole instead of repair.

Appreciate any/all help, thank you.

Don't go for the mechanic's fix. Have a new transmission part installed. There is no guarantee how long that "patch-job" will last. Guess what happens to the transmission after all the fluid leaks out?

 

[TremorCRV]

Don't go for the mechanic's fix. Have a new transmission part installed. There is no guarantee how long that "patch-job" will last. Guess what happens to the transmission after all the fluid leaks out?

Read through the thread. His mechanic is replacing the transmission.

 

[fixit32068]

(Thank you all) Update - fully agree with the reco's here that replacement (case or trans) is the ideal fix and mechanic/shop bears full responsibility.

I went there yesterday and by the time I got there, he'd already "fixed" it using Permatex epoxy (pics attached). He says he drove it 50km to test it and come back in 7-10 days he'll inspect it again to make sure it's holding up.

I feel like I can push him to replace but it almost feels like opening pandora's box - touching things that aren't broken to fix this crack (full engine and trans out)! Plus, if I push him to replace it, he'll likely just order a used/scrapped unit which again could be good or bad...

Honestly, I feel if it holds up I can live with it because it's just stressing to keep thinking about it (sigh)...but wanted to get some thoughts if such fix is liveable

Thoughts?

IF YOU ACCEPT THAT FIX YOU ARE OUT OF YOUR MIND!!!!!

 

[allens969]

Long shot but IS anyone able to look up the mileage on the following VIN (donor vehicle from which trans was pulled): 5J6RE4H33BL809227

Trying to find some peace of mind that it's not a high mileage vehicle

 

[Dragonrider99]

Thought you might like to see a picture of your donor vehicle. Still trying to get a mileage on it. If anyone has a CarFax subscription that should give the mileage at time of accident. Last odometer I found was 88,162 but no way of knowing if that was final or at some earlier time.
Update: Found a later mileage: 109,062

 

[allens969]

Thought you might like to see a picture of your donor vehicle. Still trying to get a mileage on it. If anyone has a CarFax subscription that should give the mileage at time of accident. Last odometer I found was 88,162 but no way of knowing if that was final or at some earlier time.
Update: Found a later mileage: 109,062

View attachment 160154

Thank you so so much! 🙏

Does it say if that's in miles or KM and approx. date/year of 109K?? I'm based in Canada (KM) so would be a relief knowing it's close to my original mileage (147K km). I acknowledge that it's no guarantee/depends on how donor was driven, but still after this stressful ordeal some good news would be settle the mind (Thank you!)

 

[Dragonrider99]

The VIN comes back as a 2011 model and the mileage is in Miles. Accident reported in April 2022.

And you are very welcome. Wishing you the best of luck. Please keep us posted how it all works out .

 

[Black Pearl UK]

With all respect, you need to go back and insist the trans case is changed. As others have said, this will repair WILL fail. Also, this guy has done the repair with the drain plug in, and then sealed around it, meaning you can't get it back out.



EDIT: I just saw the update that he is gonna replace. Well done and good luck

 

[allens969]

The VIN comes back as a 2011 model and the mileage is in Miles. Accident reported in April 2022.

And you are very welcome. Wishing you the best of luck. Please keep us posted how it all works out .

Absolutely - thank you so much 🙏 , converted the 109k miles mileage seems be around 175k km (compared to mine 147k) which isn't too far off so that's some peace of mind.

Certainly, going to monitor for while but the drive home and to grocery store seemed good.

The only thing I noticed that I'll tackle once the canadian winter fades is the replacement transmission dip stick tunnel tip top part has an indent (likely due to accident) so getting the dip-stick to lock in is tough. So will try to just push it open so it slides in easily. (It's the rubber portion just below the hook part of the dip stick from which you pull, that area the mouth of the trans pipe down is bent in)

 

[Kazoo2U]

Glad for the result you've posted.

You did the smart & reasonable thing regarding your vehicle. We all know someone who would have taken the first option, only to find out later that the fix didn't work & the "fixer" wouldn't do anything about that fail. You are your own best advocate.