Mike at New Era blew my T56 Transmission!

**mondi2002** · 08-21-2007, 05:35 AM

After I had my car Dynotuned there I call Mike at New Era to make a follow up appt for street tuning because it was missing at part throttle and he says that it was because I was in the car with him and that he normally goes by himself and that I would have to drop it of so he can get it right. See My other post about the tuning problems Here:
http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=767961
I tell him that I dont have the time to drop it off and will drive it for a while to see if it gets better. It did get a little better but I was still not happy with it because it was missing at part throttle so I decide to drop it off on a thur. and pick it up on Mon since I had the day off. He calls me on Sat and he sounds nervous, at first I thought he crashed my car! He tells me that there is something wrong with my tranny that it was grinding and it stuck into first. I tell him that it was like new when I dropped it off and that he must have missed a gear or was really beating on it (power shifting). He tells me no and in fact he did not get it over 3k rpm. He tells me he thinks it is driveable and he wanted to know what I wanted him to do?!? I guess he was on the side of the road. I told him to take it back to the shop if he thought it was OK.
I call him back and appoligized to him that I blew up on him and asked
him if he made it back OK. He said it felt fine now and maybe the clutch
fluid just heated up and was not disengaging all the way. So on Monday
I pick it up and he wanted an extra $50 for the street tune and he ask
if I wanted to take it for a ride to see if it was OK or just head for
home. I told him my wife was with me and I have AAA if I had a problem
with it. He started changing his story that it really did not grind & he thought it was the clutch. (New Textralia). So on the way home and it starts grinding pretty bad and I knew right away it was not the clutch. When I got home I drain it and allot of liitle pieces of aluminum come out! The Tranny needs to be rebuilt! It going to cost me at lease 1K and probably the rest of the
racing season. I just wish he would own up to it! I have 40K on the
Tranny and it never grinded once not once then he drives it and its
toast. Come on! He said he had time to fix the tuning issues but it
feels the same to me. I did call him back to see if he could help me out with it and he immediately jumped on the defensive that he did nothing wrong. But the fact of the matter is that it broke when it was in his hands and he should do something to help me. I am not asking him to pay for the whole thing, just help out a little and treat me with some respect. I let a few days go by and called a freind to help me out. He told me that I should call Mike at New Era back to see if he changed his mind before I post.
I told him that I did not think he wanted to talk to me so he decided to call him and also got thye same responces & added that I called him up swearing at him which I did not do. I actually referred my freind to New Era for a Tune and he was happy with it. But I guess if something goes wrong he just wipes his hands. He thinks I drove my car over 1-1/2 hours away with a bad tranny just to set him up. Yeah right. Thanks allot Mike!

**New Era Performance** · 08-21-2007, 08:41 AM

I never once said that the transmission was grinding , I told you that it stuck in first gear in a parking lot after I reflashed the pcm (after a 3 mile drive) and once again after a few more miles , and that I heard what sounded like a rubbing noise a couple of times when it was in third and first gear at low rpm driving and that I was pretty much done tuning anddidn't want to drive it any more becasue I wasn't sure what was wrong , I have never worked on this car , just tuned it . My story never changed , yours did . The drive tuning was only to clear up a part throttle hesitation issue and some idle tuning , there was no need to go WOT so it was dropped off already having issues if it sticks in 1st gear after a 3 mile drive .

When you race a car literally every week for 5 yrs and 583 rwhp with a stock transmission you are pushing it , to pin this on me for driving the car down the street never going above 45 mph and the thing sticking in gear the first time I pulled over to reflash is rediculous . If I felt I was at fault I would be more than happy to take care of it .

**mondi2002** · 08-21-2007, 09:38 AM

Originally Posted by New Era Performance

I never once said that the transmission was grinding , I told you that it stuck in first gear in a parking lot after I reflashed the pcm (after a 3 mile drive) and once again after a few more miles , and that I heard what sounded like a rubbing noise a couple of times when it was in third and first gear at low rpm driving and that I was pretty much done tuning anddidn't want to drive it any more becasue I wasn't sure what was wrong , I have never worked on this car , just tuned it . My story never changed , yours did . The drive tuning was only to clear up a part throttle hesitation issue and some idle tuning , there was no need to go WOT so it was dropped off already having issues if it sticks in 1st gear after a 3 mile drive .

When you race a car literally every week for 5 yrs and 583 rwhp with a stock transmission you are pushing it , to pin this on me for driving the car down the street never going above 45 mph and the thing sticking in gear the first time I pulled over to reflash is rediculous . If I felt I was at fault I would be more than happy to take care of it .

I understand that I have a stock tranny which has 40,000 miles (30K car was stock). I do race but am very careful and never missed or grinded the gears on it. Aka granny shifting. I also have a stock 10 Bolt which now as outlasted my engine and tranny.
The fact is that he was driving it when it broke and I am the customer.
I was asking if he could help me in any way, not pay for the whole repair.
Instead he said he did not have the time. And thats not good business.

**LETHALxLS1** · 08-21-2007, 11:49 AM

Yea I had something very sililar happen when I dropped my car off to get a few minor repairs done at a well known shop here in Florida. I had no idea they would be taking my car out and driving it for a simple plugs/wires change. When I pick it up its banging when shifting into 3rd (its a a4) and a week later my tranny is toast. I basically learned a huge lesson about dropping my car at shops.

**N20LT4** · 08-21-2007, 01:38 PM

In my opinion, if someone is driving it and it breaks, it's atleast partially their responsibility no matter what. Even if that person refuses to be 100% responsible, they should atleast cover some of the repair costs, unless the owner of the vehicle has signed some sort of waiver that excludes the shop from any and all responsibility. That would only be the right thing to do.

**mondi2002** · 08-21-2007, 02:04 PM

Originally Posted by N20LT4

In my opinion, if someone is driving it and it breaks, it's atleast partially their responsibility no matter what. Even if that person refuses to be 100% responsible, they should atleast cover some of the repair costs, unless the owner of the vehicle has signed some sort of waiver that excludes the shop from any and all responsibility. That would only be the right thing to do.

My feelings exactly. No waiver signed.

**New Era Performance** · 08-21-2007, 02:54 PM

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=770464

**LETHALxLS1** · 08-21-2007, 03:20 PM

See how tech just closes threads like that? I think thats BS. Anyways-seems odd as hell to me that your tranny was fine when you dropped her off and while on a 3 mile cruise in your car not gettinng it above 3K rpms it took a dump???? Hmmmmmmm.

**New Era Performance** · 08-21-2007, 03:36 PM

As stated , it didn't just take a dump . It stuck in first gear a couple of times for me and made some howling noise in third and first a couple of times . I had 15-20 miles of driving on it (when it waqs done with tuning) and because it only did it a few times (it never made a grind noise while shifting) I thought maybe the clutch needed to be bled ( IDK , I did none of the work on this car , just tuned it)??? The car was picked up by Joe himself and he drove it home 60 + miles , I didn't destroy the tranny !!!!!!

***Ed Blown Vert*** · 08-21-2007, 04:59 PM

All I can say is a stock tranny with 40k and a Procharger isn't going to last too long. It was going to break and it happen to break in the hands of another person. How does he know you didn't bring it to him already damaged?

Now if this was a new tranny and in broke in his possession, then I can see him being more at fault.

You race the car and breakage is part of the game.

**LETHALxLS1** · 08-21-2007, 05:40 PM

I dont know this guy but it seems a little far fetched that he brought the car to the guy to get it re-tuned knowing his tranny was messed up trying to just blame it on the tuner. He says there wasnt anything wrong but why did he call the guy from the side of the road? I think the tuner should pay half for the rebuild- IMO.

**clg82** · 08-21-2007, 05:52 PM

Originally Posted by Ed Blown Vert

All I can say is a stock tranny with 40k and a Procharger isn't going to last too long. It was going to break and it happen to break in the hands of another person. How does he know you didn't bring it to him already damaged?

Now if this was a new tranny and in broke in his possession, then I can see him being more at fault.

You race the car and breakage is part of the game.

wow i can't believe you unlocked it! Thanks for giving us our freedom of speech back. IMO he should cover it. If I let a buddy of mine borrow the car and it breaks you better believe his a$$ is paying for it. I would hope and trust that a reputable shop would to the same. especially if the CUSTOMER drove it there and it was fine.

***Ed Blown Vert*** · 08-21-2007, 06:06 PM

Originally Posted by clg82

wow i can't believe you unlocked it! Thanks for giving us our freedom of speech back. IMO he should cover it. If I let a buddy of mine borrow the car and it breaks you better believe his a$$ is paying for it. I would hope and trust that a reputable shop would to the same. especially if the CUSTOMER drove it there and it was fine.

I didn't lock this one. I locked the other one. As a reminder there is no freedom of speech on a private forum.

And a reminder on the rules:

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**clg82** · 08-21-2007, 06:13 PM

Originally Posted by Ed Blown Vert

I didn't lock this one. I locked the other one. As a reminder there is no freedom of speech on a private forum.

And a reminder on the rules:

17. Sponsors bashing

Our paying Sponsors deserve respect and restraint. Attacking a sponsor on the board is strictly prohibited. If you have a complaint with a sponsor, you may send the information directly to an Administrator and it will be passed directly to the Sponsor for action or resolution. If you do post on the board about a specific problem involving a sponsor, please remain calm and state the facts. Do not let emotion cloud the issue at hand. When your thread is read by a moderator, the moderator will do the following:

A) Lock the thread and place a copy of the thread in the Moderator Forum OR the Sponsor Forum. These forums are not visible to the members but I assure you they do exist.

B) Reply to the locked thread that (A) has taken place.

C) The moderator or Administrator will update the locked thread with the response from the Sponsor OR the Sponsor will contact you directly.

We really hope situations can be resolved off-line but we will not prohibit a statement of fact BUT we will control the thread so as to stop the “Hate” or “Me too” replies these threads often generate.

The customers that they service should also receive respect as well!!!

**Y2KPewterSS** · 08-21-2007, 06:31 PM

When my tranny blew up on me, I had no warning or signs of it crapping out on me. It just went. Never raced or abused. Parts break with stock power levels. You are well beyond stock power levels. Its very unfortunate what happened to your tranny, but its entirely possible(not saying this is the case, just a suggestion) that your tranny had deteriorated over time and just decided to finally give when Mike was driving it.

***Ed Blown Vert*** · 08-21-2007, 08:38 PM

I guess I don't understand why you would blame someone for something they were not working on.

Using your reasoning, if you gave the car to him with bald tires. And he lost control because of it and wrecked your car, it would be his fault because he was in possession?

Now I agree that if he was working on your tranny and something happened, he may be partly responsible.

**0rion** · 08-21-2007, 10:30 PM

I hate to see things like this happen and people get put in these positions. Look at it this way...what if your wife was driving it and the tranny went out? I would be ticked at the wife for sure but is it really her fault? I don't think so, just bad timing. You're putting a ton of power down on a stock tranny. It's just a matter of time before that happens. Just bad timing when it decided to go. I really do feel for you that all this happened to you but I honestly don't think that the tuner should be held responsible for a tranny going south during tuning. A vast majority of the tuners out there have disclaimers for just these instances.

**LETHALxLS1** · 08-21-2007, 11:16 PM

I dont understand why the guy couldnt go with the tuner when he tuned the car. Just my 2 cents.

**Hot Black Trans-Am** · 08-21-2007, 11:52 PM

Sounds like the stock trans was just ready to go and started to get bad when it was being tuned. Transmissions just have an odd way of going out when not expecting them too and without much warning at times. I'm guessing the broken pieces were already floating around and just landed in a bad spot during the tuning.

**Hot Black Trans-Am** · 08-21-2007, 11:54 PM

Originally Posted by BREAKxNECKxSPEED

I dont understand why the guy couldnt go with the tuner when he tuned the car. Just my 2 cents.

Probably for less distractions and maybe he gets nervous when someone is staring at him. I work on PC's in peoples homes and I hate it when people hover over me and ask me stupid questions ever 10 seconds. I'll take the PC home if they get to annoying and bring it back.