Dimitrios G. Panagiotidis

Review of Ray Chevrolet

My 2011 Suzuki SX4 CVT transmission developed a pr...

My 2011 Suzuki SX4 CVT transmission developed a problem and was recently replaced by their service dpt under Suzuki's powertrain lifetime warranty. After I received the car, there was a strong odor in the cabin that did not go away, weeks later it is still there. At the same time I noticed fluid smearing my driveway, I had recently changed my engine oil and I thought the techs did a poor job cleaning. But the odor did not go away and it was a clear fluid not amber like oil.

I took the car back to Ray's they said they inspected it and it was not the transmission but the leak came from the transfer case. They refused any responsibility so I left. Mind you I live 35 miles away so I did 70 miles roundtrip for nothing. I started investigating by asking other dealerships and mechanics and found that the leaking fluid was indeed CVT fluid (Suzuki Green-1) it was not coming from the transfer case but between the transmission and the transfer case or it would have been a thicker SAE 80W-90 GL-5 hypoid gear lubrication oil.

Then I decided to look for my self. I jacked the car and armed with a good flashlight I started looking. I was terrified when I saw that whoever technician did the transmission replacement forgot to use all bolts to attach the transmission on to the transfer case. He actually forgot the crucial lower bottom bolt, so no wonder the lower seam between the adjacent metal parts is leaking clear CVT fluid.

I am waiting to see how they will respond, obviously they have no choice but we all know with car dealerships they come up with the most ridiculous excuses to avoid responsibility. When I told them that even if the transfer case was not touched during the transmission replacement, the leak no matter where it is coming from is still a "powertrain" issue, the service rep (Brian Abercrombie) had the audacity to tell me that the transmission repair was so expensive that they "maxxed out" all my benefits for the powertrain warranty. Of course, this is such a bogus reason, lifetime means lifetime of the car for the first owner, which is undeniably me, but I will not even go there.

Who ever worked on the transmission replacement, screwed up big time. I know for a fact he was working under a lot of time pressure, no surprise when such mistakes happen. Still not judging, but not assuming responsibility show how shady this dealership, at least their service department is. Well, stay tuned, if they do not respond in the next 24 hrs, this case will be all over social media, and I have already initiated the complaint procedure with Suzuki, BBB and all applicable authorities.

I gave them one star because this is the lowest possible, I wish google had a -100. Do yourselves and your cars a favor, stay away from this place, they are clueless, greedy and very irresponsible.