4 Wheel Parts ripoff Improper installation could have killed me Burbank California
I had a 3" Rancho Lift Kit Installed on my Chevy Tahoe. I have been quite happy with a number of Rancho lift kits installed on differnt vehicles over the years so was surprised when I was hearing strange noises.
This was all done a number of years ago but I just found this website. This particular 4 Wheel parts location has moved but I'm making this posting as a warning to others to be careful about their incompentence.
After numerous complaints via the phone and in person I was deemed a nusiance customer and they ignored me. They did try to grease fittings and grind areas that they thought were rubbing. Nothing was working. They finally told me I was a nusance and because my truck had fairly high mileage on it, I should get use to the noise.
I was driving towards the freeway one day about a mile from the on-ramp when I came upon a 4 way stop. When I put my foot on the brake the pedal went all the way to the floor and i of course went through the intersection. luckily no one else was at the intersection.
The outcome of all of this was that the brake line was improperly routed through the lift kit. It was the cause of the noise and finally broke. had it happened on the freeway, I could have been killed with potentially several others since my Chevy tahoe is not a light vehicle and I don't tend to drive it slow.
I tried to get 4 Wheel Parts to address the issue and give me a refund. I had the brake cable replaced elsewhere. They refused to do anything about the issue and to this day I'm still disputing the credit charge with the credit company 4 Wheel Parts offers to their customers directly.
Barry
Tarzana, California
U.S.A.
7 Updates & Rebuttals
Mcduff
Fulllerton,California,
U.S.A.
FILE A FEDERAL COMPLAINT HERE
#8Consumer Suggestion
Thu, September 11, 2008
GO HERE AND SCROLL DOWN FOR LINKS ON MAKING FEDERAL COMPLAINTS
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/209/RipOff0209972.htm
Barry
tarzana,California,
U.S.A.
Lift kit addendum rebuttal to the rebuttals
#8Author of original report
Sun, November 26, 2006
I wrote brake cable and meant the brake line. The line was totally severed because the extention was free to move around the wheel well. It was rubbing against the shock and coils and finally got pinched to the point it broke in half.
I lifted the truck only 3" so as to not totally throw of my center-of-gravity as most people do with the larger loift kits. I actually do off-road my Tahoe and needed some extra clearance for taller, wider tires and to get the body raised a bit to reduce centering.
It would be nice if the truck manufacturers still made 4x4 vehicles that could actually be used for off-roading as they imply on their ads. I happen to need an SUV so a Jeep is to small for my needs. I know the Jeep is still trail worthy. I have shot videos for Jeep but need a bigger vehicle to carry equipment.
Barry
tarzana,California,
U.S.A.
Lift kit addendum rebuttal to the rebuttals
#8Author of original report
Sun, November 26, 2006
I wrote brake cable and meant the brake line. The line was totally severed because the extention was free to move around the wheel well. It was rubbing against the shock and coils and finally got pinched to the point it broke in half.
I lifted the truck only 3" so as to not totally throw of my center-of-gravity as most people do with the larger loift kits. I actually do off-road my Tahoe and needed some extra clearance for taller, wider tires and to get the body raised a bit to reduce centering.
It would be nice if the truck manufacturers still made 4x4 vehicles that could actually be used for off-roading as they imply on their ads. I happen to need an SUV so a Jeep is to small for my needs. I know the Jeep is still trail worthy. I have shot videos for Jeep but need a bigger vehicle to carry equipment.
Barry
tarzana,California,
U.S.A.
Lift kit addendum rebuttal to the rebuttals
#8Author of original report
Sun, November 26, 2006
I wrote brake cable and meant the brake line. The line was totally severed because the extention was free to move around the wheel well. It was rubbing against the shock and coils and finally got pinched to the point it broke in half.
I lifted the truck only 3" so as to not totally throw of my center-of-gravity as most people do with the larger loift kits. I actually do off-road my Tahoe and needed some extra clearance for taller, wider tires and to get the body raised a bit to reduce centering.
It would be nice if the truck manufacturers still made 4x4 vehicles that could actually be used for off-roading as they imply on their ads. I happen to need an SUV so a Jeep is to small for my needs. I know the Jeep is still trail worthy. I have shot videos for Jeep but need a bigger vehicle to carry equipment.
Barry
tarzana,California,
U.S.A.
Lift kit addendum rebuttal to the rebuttals
#8Author of original report
Sun, November 26, 2006
I wrote brake cable and meant the brake line. The line was totally severed because the extention was free to move around the wheel well. It was rubbing against the shock and coils and finally got pinched to the point it broke in half.
I lifted the truck only 3" so as to not totally throw of my center-of-gravity as most people do with the larger loift kits. I actually do off-road my Tahoe and needed some extra clearance for taller, wider tires and to get the body raised a bit to reduce centering.
It would be nice if the truck manufacturers still made 4x4 vehicles that could actually be used for off-roading as they imply on their ads. I happen to need an SUV so a Jeep is to small for my needs. I know the Jeep is still trail worthy. I have shot videos for Jeep but need a bigger vehicle to carry equipment.
Marc
Makaha,Hawaii,
U.S.A.
They aren't automotive engineers.
#8Consumer Comment
Sat, November 25, 2006
They are a middleman, selling parts and installing lift kits and such. You've got to expect this sort of thing to occur once in awhile, especially since a lot of the trucks they work on are illegally on the road anyways. Headlights and bumpers too high, oversize tires sticking out way beyond fenders, center of gravity all off, the list goes in. You should expect to have to do a little trimming or modifying, at least that's what I think. I buy Jeep parts from them, and usually end up grinding and welding something or another to make it fit right. You must have had a problem in your brakes anyways because since about 1965 dual master cylinders were mandated to prevent situations like what happened to you. But then you said "cable" instead of a "brake line" so I'm not exactly sure which you meant.
Thomas
Anderson,South Carolina,
U.S.A.
Hi, Barry. I am curious why
#8Consumer Comment
Sat, November 25, 2006
you ever installed a Rancho Lift Kit on your Chevy Tahoe in the first place. Raising the vehicle must change vehicle dynamic response.
GM paid their engineers and designers good money to engineer and design that Tahoe. Do you trust the Rancho "engineers and designers" MORE than you trust those GM engineers and designers ??
And if you DO trust the Rancho "engineers and designers" MORE than you trust those GM engineers and designers, why do you buy GM?