Midtown
Alarming experience on 8/23/21. Gave service manager specific details on coolant leak on my Landrover LR3 including specific location of leak at the right rear passenger tire. Informed service manager that I have been monitoring the leak on the garage floor and there was absolutely no leak from under the engine area. Informed that if there was any coolant under the engine it would have been from spillage when I added coolant to bring to Woodies for an eval. 1) Previously good experiences with Woodies prior to this visit x3 and dealt with a different service person each of those times. 2) First call received from service manager, I was told leak issue caused engine light to come on and required a $129 LandRover computer diagnostic. First red flag. Informed service manager that the engine light had been on prior to this issue due to a bad tank of gas. But I agreed so they could conduct the diagnostic computer check for any engine indicators since the light had actually been on and at least get the engine light turned off. Told they would have to keep the car overnight. I agreed. 2) Received a call back from service manager two hours later - told that they were able to perform the computer diagnostic test and check the vehicle. Was told they determined the leak was coming from the radiator hose under the engine; there was no leak at the rear; and they couldn’t test the system to determine if there was a leak in the rear (as I told them) because of rusting and I would need to take to the LandRover dealership for evaluation and service. Quoted me $687 to fix the alleged radiator hose they said was causing the leak and “get you out of here today.” I told them to add coolant and have the shuttle come pick me up so I could take the car to the dealership - as I would not pay them $700 for fixing a non-problem, not solving the issue AND especially for changing out an alleged hose. Asked that they top off with additional coolant and was told they would. 3) When I arrived to pick up the vehicle, I requested pics that the service manager said he was going to send me, but had not sent after I said don’t fix and I would pick the vehicle up. Pics reflected grease around a hose - there was no leaking fluid in the pics. 4) Was charged $64.94 to get the alleged diagnostic computer check - not the quoted $129, the engine light was not turned off and I didn’t receive any results of the alleged system check. 5) Car was parked. I checked under the hood and no additional coolant had been added as requested and promised. There was enough fluid from the coolant I added immediately prior to bringing the vehicle to Woodies so I drove 1.5 miles home. 6) Got home, parked the car in a clean area in garage and waited… Within 5 minutes there were a couple drops on the ground near the right rear passenger tire exactly where I told them it was leaking. I got under the car myself and took video of the leak as it was occurring - including attached photos clearly showing the active leak. 7) Absolutely no leak of fluid from under the radiator as alleged and for which they tried to charge me $700. Not sure if they are under new management, have new technicians or what the issue is. But this Woodie’s shop was not an honest service provider in my case today. But there is no way I should have been able to find and photograph the leak myself in less than 15 minutes of arriving home from this shop that told me they could not find the leak and tried to charge me $700 for a non-issue.
Allison, I'd like to apologize for your less than great experience at our Midtown location. I realize how frustrating car repair can be to deal with, we try our best to make it a pleasant experience. When we first examined the vehicle we did not observe a leak coming from the rear, unfortunately the lines and block were excessively rusted and attempting to perform diagnostics or repairs would risk doing more harm than good. We then advised you to have Range Rover examine the issue and determine what your best course of action would be, as they are specialized in working through some of the more unique difficult issues. In regards to your leaking radiator hose, it is leaking. It was not actively flowing out of the vehicle, but it had begun to 'seep'. This is what you referred to as a 'greasy hose' from the picture we showed you. We also reduced the diagnostic charges from the original quoted amount as a courtesy to you as this is most likely going to be very costly to repair.
- Midtown