ComplaintsforSpecialized Diesel and Conversions

• Initial Complaint

  08/08/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We have been taking our truck for months with stalling out. They replace the fuel pump. That didn't fix it. Them they put 3 fuel injector. That didn't work. The third time was even scarier it stall on the freeway multiply . We had no where to pull over. We had dogs in the back it was hot with do place to pull over. Our lives and our dogs lives at risk because of the stalling. We took it back again it stalled out 9 times driving it there. They replaced a fuse . My husband is taking it back. I want it on record that I do not trust this company that they have put out lives at risk. This is ridiculous that we have brought it out so many time for stalling out and it still isn't fixed. I do not recommend this company. I think this started out in October and it is now August. They don't get us in right away they make us wait. My husband hasn't had his truck. Fortunately he has a bike to ride to work. I just hope that it gets fixed before the weather changes.

  Business response

  08/19/2024

  I would like to start by saying that I don't recall ever meeting ****** or talking with her about any issues with the truck, so anything she has to say is just her interpretation on something she has not been directly involved in or talked to me directly about, I have talked directly to her husband ***** on every repair, and every time I have spoken with him I have explained what we can do to try and diagnose the problem with the truck, and he has been very understanding of the processes we have done to try and repair the issue. The stalling issue with the truck originally started happening occasionally every ***** miles or so, and would not replicate the problem when at our shop, I recommended replacing the fuel pump because the code was for fuel pump circuit, the fuel pump is pretty common for failing on these trucks, so after replacing the fuel pump we did not hear from ***** for several months, he then called and said it had died again after several months, once again not something we can diagnose when we can't replicate the problem. I recommended replacing one bank of injectors because the truck had a misfire cold and ran rough, 6.0 fords have injector issues that allow compression to come back through the injectors and allow air into the fuel system and cause them to stall, I told him this may not fix the issue but it could and it would help the diagnostics with the truck running right and not having injector issues, ***** was explained all of this before we made the repairs. Several months go by and he reaches out saying the truck is now stalling every couple of minutes, so after he drops the truck off without an appointment and after several hours of running the truck and having the truck die constantly while probing for power to the fuel pump we found a corroded connection in the fuse box, we replaced the fuse and cleaned the contacts and the truck went from dyeing every 2 minutes to running for 2 days without missing a beat, I explained that we cleaned the connections but the only real fix would be to replace the fuse panel behind the dash and the entire wire harness associated with it and it would cost upwards of four to five thousand dollars, he declined replacing the fuse box and said he would try the new fuse and see if that holds up before investing in a new fuse box. Most of the time he brings the truck in off the schedule witch we are always running about a month out for appointments, but because I wanted to try and help them out I try and not make them wait the month wait time, usually within a couple of business days of the truck being dropped off we try and start the diagnostics. ***** can also be hard to get ahold of at times, we have been trying to reach out to him for a week now and his phone is off with no voice mail setup and we do not have ****** in the system or her phone number, this also adds to the length of time it takes to make a repair because we need to explain what we are doing and what it will cost to the customer be fore we can make repairs. I would like to note that the problems with the truck are not a straight forward repair, the problem has been very random sometimes not showing up for thousands of miles or months, when we can't replicate the problem we can't guarantee the problem has been fixed, saying that my business has put their lives in danger is not ok, this problem started on its own, not from anything we have done, we have been trying to fix the issue and explaining all issues and options to ***** in great detail and he says he understands that its a repair that isn't straight forward. I would appreciate if ****** has a problem with the work we have done to her husbands truck she talks to me directly so we can resolve the problem.  We always have our customers best interests in mind and want them to be happy with the work we do. I am sorry this hasn't been a straight forward repair but that's why it's called "Diagnostics" and we have continued to work with ***** and try and make it right with him.

  Customer response

  08/22/2024

   
  Complaint: 22113654
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  They have not fixed the problem. I would like to respond the state that the owner that he has not responded to me or talked me personally. I did talk to his secretary and told her my concerns after the third time the truck died out on the freeway.  I am informed on what has been done on our truck. I am a co-owner in this truck. You started with the fuel pump, then three fuel injectors one side and a fuse that was corroded. Not sure what it is this time. You seem to have little concern that not finding correctly could cause an accident. I know my husband and he is very aware of mechanics and also your time. He is always thoughtful of getting it to your shop when its convenient for you. If I had a car that kept coming in, I wouldnt make them wait like you have done with us. I know that your time is valuable, but so is ours, not to mention the fact our safety. ***** always defends you because he knows what its like to be a mechanic and I as a wife of a mechanic. Im aware of what it takes also. Your letter shows no respect for us, particularly me and if you didnt talk to me, thats on you . We were in an accident rear ended on highway 2. and I understand that youre trying to figure it out. I just want a safe car that I know that when I get in it, this wont happen again. I feel it shouldnt take four times for you to figure this out. And I do not believe that you should be charging us every time we come in. It is for the same problem each time the truck is stalling out therefore it should be warranted like other shops would do.
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

  Business response

  09/06/2024

  what part would you like changed to fix this problem? what part would you like me to warranty? I will gladly warranty out a part that has a problem and not charge for it, clearly you know what's wrong with the truck so please tell me. I have been DIAGNOSING the truck to try and FIX IT, you can't fix it without diagnosing what is failing, when someone spends time diagnosing the problem they get paid for it, its called diagnostic time! you can't fix an intermittent problem when the truck doesn't act up. And I can guarantee you every shop on the planet will charge you diagnostic time every time the truck comes in and they spend hours trying to fix it. You can't "warranty" diagnostic time, this is time it takes to find a problem, your truck might have an issue for 5 or 6 times in a row and then run fine for days on end, if I spent every day all day driving your truck around waiting for it to act up you would pay me 10's of thousands of dollars for me to drive your truck around hoping it might act up, it is much more cost effective when the truck is not having an issue for the customer to drive the truck around until the problem arises rather than paying me 1400$ a day hoping the truck will act up. I have to have your truck for several days because it usually doesn't act up when it's here, so every day I go out and spend a few hours running it and test driving it (that I have not been charging you for drive time, BTW) to try and get the problem to come back. I will say it until my face turns blue for you to understand this problem is 100% random, it might have an issue 20 times every 2 minutes or it might run good for a month with no issues. Their is no magic wand I can wave to make the problem go away, only spending time fallowing the power loss WHEN THE PROBLEM HAPPENS!  if the truck runs great for days on end with no issue I don't know what you want me to do, keep your truck and charge you 1400$ a day to drive it for you? I hope you find a new shop to work on the truck that will spend day after day for months testing and driving the truck for a 1 hour diagnostic fee and then "warranty" the rest of their time working on the tuck....yeah...I bet you should have no problem finding that...

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