Ok so my car was shifting fine and I let it sit for about 2 weeks without driving it. I washed it after those two weeks and when I drove it around the block it would just rev up and not shift into second gear. If I got the rpms up around 2500 and let off the gas it would then shift into 3rd, but slip after any deceleration. I checked fluid level and color both which looked good so I took it to a mechanic I usually go to and he said I need a rebuild after he dropped the valve body to look for something he thought was stuck. After quoting me $3200 for a rebuild I thought I would look elsewhere.

I took my car to a transmission shop that replaced my 4l60e with one of their rebuilds and they told my I could pick it up that same day. They never returned my calls and the next morning they said something was wrong and it still wont shift they think it is a bad PCM so he quoted me another $750 to buy it and flash it. I was supposed to pick it up today as that is what we agreed on last friday. He hasn't been picking up any of my calls and I just have a really uneasy feeling about him. I have already paid the $2000 in cash for the transmission and I have the receipt for that ,but tonight he sent me a text saying the PCM and flash also didn't work and he is now trying to track down a short and that he was in a motorcycle accident today which is why he didn't answer any of my calls.

I am getting very worried and have a sinking feeling I am being scammed and am ready to cut my loses and just pick up my car tomorrow and sell it as is because I've had enough of it.

So does any of this sound weird to you guys or are these actual problems that could be causing the issue. So as it stands now, New transmission, new PCM and flash, new battery and it is still not shifting into second.

Any advice would greatly help as I am going to either pick up the car tomorrow and sell it or tell him I'm not paying another dime and he needs to fix it for misdiagnosing the PCM.

 

I guess anything is possible, but the part that sticks out to me is, he just happened to have a motorcycle accident the SAME day that you are supposed to get your car back.

 

Let me get this straight.

You've paid him $2,000 and you've been TOLD that your transmission has been replaced, a new PCM flashed has been installed along with a new battery and its still not shifting and now he's chasing a ground? Do you know for a fact that all those have been done? And your saying the day your supposed to pick up the car he's gotten into an accident? Is that what your saying? Because if it is then I'd certainly be wanting to see what all was done to my car.

 

Yes I am going tomorrow to get it and I may be going the legal route once I have the car back in my possession. This has honestly just been a nightmare for me and I want the car back at my house.

 

If its a new transmission then there should be evidence of work done but engine de-greaser and a good pressure washing and she'll look good as new. He may have done everything he's claiming and again there should be evidence of this so give him the benefit of the doubt. This is why I don't trust people with my stuff anymore because nobody will care more about your stuff than you.

 

Maybe **** happens. I sold a guy I worked with a 4L80E a few years ago. He was a good mechanic. After he installed the transmission he called me saying it was doing the same thing as his old one.
I came to his house and we ran it with my stand alone harness and it worked perfect. Told him it's the wiring. He later replaced the wiring harness and it worked fine after that. This was a misdiagnosis on his part. He later tore the old harness apart and found several bad spots.

One other time I sold a guy a '93 corvette that I built the 700R4 in it, He said that the tire guy said the transmission was bad, then the alignment guy at a different shop said the transmission needed a new pump. I told him to bring the car to me.
Somehow the TV cable un-adjusted itself. I knew right away because I had marks on it. I readjusted it and it was fine, although it would have eventually killed the trans.

My point is, people are fast to assume the problem is obvious because it's common. When it's not a common problem you're seeing what happens next - they throw parts at it and scratch their heads.

 

Maybe its Federal law or maybe just most States have a law stating that you have the right to have any old parts returned to you, or if it is too big or has to be returned as a core, you have the right to inspect it before it is trashed or returned. So, if there is no other 4L60E sitting there, call the police immediately.

Now assuming it isn't a complete scam and your old 4L60E is sitting there, perhaps a few parts from your old trans were re-used, like the Manifold Pressure Switch, which would give that symptom.

 

In Most states, this is true...

However a customer must make this request upon initial agreement of work to be performed... there is no legal requirement after the fact.

If a customer tells the repairer later on... during or after repairs, that parts are to be saved... It may be too late and the parts maybe long gone in a dumpster that a garbage truck picked up.

After all that, I just hope everything works out well in this situation... and that no body is getting screwed!

 

I think @Jays_SSZ28 is spot on as to what is going on here. Just throwing parts at the problem instead actually doing a proper diagnosis. Not a crook just a bad tech.

 

so, you just let a couple shops unload the parts cannon without having a sure-fire diagnosis?

After they did the rebuild and it didn't fix the issue...why would you trust them to do the pcm? Clearly they couldn't diagnose the problem properly the first time...

 

That appears to be true in California - you have to ask for the parts when you approve the work:
https://bar.ca.gov/Consumer/Auto_Repair_Guide.html

However in Michigan, the customer has to sign a release if they don't want the parts when the work is done and they pay. It is the default.
https://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,4670,...8691--,00.html
"Customers have the right to receive back all parts replaced, except those that must be returned to a supplier or manufacturer for warranty or rebuilding purposes, which the customer is entitled to inspect "

 

Ok so this morning I received some good news for now. After calling him everyday for a week trying to get it fixed and he kept saying they were changing parts on his penny, he said he is going to double check everything tomorrow and try to get it running and if not he is sending my car to the dealership and getting it fixed on his dime. This although not the best news I could've hoped for, has put me at ease knowing a dealership with the proper knowledge should be able to get it working again and at no charge to me.

On a side note I'm selling this car once I get it fixed as I'm headed off to my last two years of college in the fall and need the extra money so if your in California and looking let me know.

 

Those that throw parts are the ones that give us good mechanics a bad rap.

 

Looking forward to an update.

 

The sad thing is that with a good scan tool like a Snapon or Autel maxisys Pro or Elite you should have been able to find the problem no sweat. Electrical or whatever. Which is what that mechanic is going to do by taking it to the dealer. I will bet he is only going to have it diagnosed by the dealer and not have it fixed. Then fix it himself. No way I would pay for that pcm or having it flashed. That's his problem for not diagnosing it right. Because he probably doesn't have a good scan tool. Plus he gouged you on the price. I just paid $1600.00 on a rush overnight job in a 4wd mechanics truck. Got a 3 year 36,000 mile warranty with it too. New converter, total rebuild, with five pinion planets. Don't feel sorry for him and stand your ground. Before I got my Autel Maxisys Elite it was a pain to diagnose anything. My old scanner would just give you a generic code that could be many different things. So you ended up throwing parts at it hoping it wasn't the wiring. With the Autel you can pinpoint the exact problem. You can isolate each circuit and test every module manually. The 4L60E is all electronic and he should have been able to scan it. He should have been able to see if the computer was bad immediately at first diagnose.

 

Update: the Chevy dealer diagnosed a bad TCM and replaced it on Monday they put it together and it is now throwing a 1870 code which from what I looked up is a bad TCC valve and they are instead changing the PCM again and re-flashing it. All of this is being done by the dealer not the first mechanic (if you want to call him that). So I'm still at a stand still and don't think the new PCM is going to change anything, but I guess I'll find out later today. Car has officially been gone for 3 weeks yesterday and I am definitely going to question him on the PCM price as mentioned above because of the bad diagnoses when the problem is most likely due to something being bad in the rebuild. Hopefully though, the dealer can fix it and I can be done with this nightmare and pick my car back up this week.

Side note: When I originally brought my car in for the no 1-2 shift my car wasn't throwing any codes so now that it is, its probably due to whatever rebuild he did that has a bad part somewhere.

 

What year is this car?
I don't know many (any) 4L60E's that use.a tcm. Most have the transmission controller built into the pcm.

 

Scratch that TCM I believe they changed the internal harness first not TCM. Still waiting on word from dealer.

 

Well I take it your getting your information from the dealership and not the middle man/aka "The Shady Mechanic"

 

What a freakin nightmare. Hope things get straightened out.