Complaint Review: Echelon Ford

After owning 2 Ford Windstars with transmission problems, I finally found a 2004 Ford Freestar for sale that was VERY well taken care of and had NOT one single issue wrong with it when I bought it. The transmission worked great. Transmissions are a big problem with the Windstars and Freestars, so I was very careful to buy one without any transmission issues.

A few weeks after I bought it, I called Echelon Ford and gave them my VIN number and asked if all recalls were done to the vehicle. They told me the torque converter was never replaced in 2007 when it was recalled and that the 3rd row seat latch needed to be fixed. They said each job would take 4 hours.

Before deciding whether I even needed or wanted to get the torque converter replaced, I SPECIFICALLY asked Echelon Ford, a few times, in fact, if messing around with the transmission could cause it to have problems since it currently did not have any issues. I wanted to be one hundred percent sure that them replacing the torque converter could not damage some other part of the transmission. They all assured me that it would NOT cause it ANY damage.

I asked them, in their opinion, should I even bother having it replaced since it worked perfectly fine. They told me that it could give out at any time and could be a safety issue, so they recommended I get it replaced. They also assured me that if it had any problems after they installed it, then Ford would be responsible for fixing it. So, I made the mistake of trusting them.

I dropped it off early on a Friday morning. Was expecting to get it back 8 hours later. I did not get it back till Tuesday evening. They kept telling me they were having complications. As soon as I pulled out of their parking lot, I noticed the alignment was off BADLY and it was PERFECT when I took it in. I called them within 5 minutes of leaving and got their voice mail and left a message about it. They never returned my call.

A couple of days later, the transmission started slipping, the RPMs were very high when accelerating, and on a few occassions, it would not go into reverse. My husband took it in, and he and a mechanic took it for a test drive. The mechanic pulled out the dipstick and told my husband there was no transmission fluid in it even reading on the dipstick, so he put some in. So, they were NEGLIGENT when working on my transmission by not replacing the fluid when they did the job.

The vehicle continued to have the same issues, so I finally went in and spoke with the supervisor, Pat Regan. He denied all liability and tried assuring me that they did not touch anything in the transmission when they replaced the torque converter. He did acknowledge that it can mess up the alignment and offered to align the vehicle at no charge.

However, I am reluctant to allow them to do it after they already screwed up my car. I want them to fix the transmission issues that THEY caused, but they flat out refuse. I went to an attorney who sent them a letter and they told the attorney they would fix it at dealer cost if I pay for it. Why should I pay for their mistake???? I just bought the vehicle a few months ago for $4,000 in PERFECT condition! I bought this van because we are moving to Florida and I want a reliable vehicle for the long drive. I cant trust this vehicle now for a drive of that distance and I cant sell it because now it has a bad transmission. I would imagine the transmission got more screwed up from me driving it with no transmission fluid, but it never occurred to me that they would be so NEGLIGENT that they would work on the transmission and NOT replace the fluid.

I have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and will be filing complaints on EVERY consumer review website I can possibly find UNTIL they fix my transmission at THEIR expense!

DO NOT HAVE YOUR CAR SERVICED HERE!      THEY ARE NEGLIGENT!