Help; 2004 Odyssey; replaced motor and now having problems

My one experience with Allstate was as a victim -- the other guy who hit me
had them. Convinced me that that was one company to stay away from. If I
ever have to deal with them again, I'll get a lawyer first.

 

I rear-ended a very nice lady in an old Ford Bronco and about 25 MPH.
The front end of the minivan looked totalled, but my insurance
appraiser said that it was a very straight-forward procedure to replace
the existing enine with another from a different Odyssey. He told my
wife that we would "never know we were in an accident". Since then (9
months) we have had to have the van back into the shop 3 times because
the serpentine belt keeps coming off. There is a bolt near the
alternator that mounts to the engine block and the bolt has broken
twice now. And, the last time, our trans fluid was completely gone and
we had a leaky shift shaft seal. I can clearly see that the belt
*wheels* are not aligned and that this is why the serpentine belt keeps
shredding.

Anyway, I think the insurance appraiser messed up and missed that the
frame was bent in the original accident. But, I am not sure that I can
prove this. I am wondering if anyone has had thier engine completely
replaced and whether or not they are having similar problems. Also, any
general advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!!!!

 

Insist that the insurance adjuster and shop fix it correctly. Did you sign
off on the fix? You should not have. It may be time to get legal help.

 

We did sign off on the fix...but what option do we have otherwise? I
mean, the appraiser assesses the damage and tells us what they will
cover. So, we say, "Go do it. But, hey, are you sure there isn't some
frame damage?" He says, "No, you never even know your were in an
accident."

Anyway, I am hoping that if the shop goes back and says yep, the
appraiser missed some frame damage, that the insu co (Allstate) will
step up.

We're in Good Hands ,eh? (sarcasm inserted)

Thanks!

 

I, in an 04 Ody, tboned a car that ran a red light going 45. The officer
and I both thought the van was totalled. But no, in my case the engine and
tranny were untouched but the entire front end was a gone. They did have to
drop the engine and tranny to rebuild the front support.

I have Farmers and had the work done at an Farmers approved Acura
dealership. I have had no major problems with the workmanship and the
dealership fully backed all their work for one year. My biggest complaint
was that my agent did nothing to help speed up the process. We were without
a van for a full month and didn't have rental on the policy. That sucks.

I would say that the shop is incompetent or the replacement engine was junk.
Hopefully your insurance will help out.

Scott

 

Hard to say what is going on without seeing it, but all of the pulleys
are mounted to the engine, not the frame. It is hard to see how a
frame problem would cause the belt to jump or shred unless it was
making contact with the vehicle.

Taking a wild stab, I would guess that the new engine was in an
accident in the original vehicle. (Pretty good bet because otherwise
it would still be in the original vehicle.) In that crash, the engine
was impacted and something on that engine was bent or broken. The
shop is missing it because they are looking for damage from your
accident. I would also guess that they are dishonest, incompetent or
both. If you can see that the pulleys are out of alignment, it should
be easy to figure out why. Take it to a honda dealer and ask them to
look at it.

 

Thanks. I didn't realize that all of the pulleys are attached to the
engine. Very interesting. Yes, I think we were kind of suspecting the
engine frame was the problem. I will ask about the history of the
replacement engine. Thanks for the info.

 

Let's see here: someone else caused your car to be out of commission,
and you didn't make that person pay for your rental?

Sure, you subrogated the collision claim to your insurance company (not
necessarily the right thing to do). But that doesn't mean you can't go
after the other guy separately for a rental, does it?

 

Should have been able to. I have when I've been hit.

I always go after the other drivers insurance directly. I don't want my
insurance company to pay out, possible not get all their money back form the
"other guy" and then raise my rates as a result.

I simply inform my agent of what happened in the event I need to get them
involved, but then go after the other company.

 

I always go after the other drivers insurance directly. I don't want my
insurance company to pay out, possible not get all their money back form the
"other guy" and then raise my rates as a result.[/QUOTE]

Bingo.

The ONLY reason to subrogate to your own insurance company is if the
other guy has no insurance, AND it's a large claim.

Nowadays, even that can raise your rates.

Keeping your own agent completely out of the loop is the only safe thing
to do.

 

Bingo.

The ONLY reason to subrogate to your own insurance company is if the
other guy has no insurance, AND it's a large claim.

Nowadays, even that can raise your rates.[/QUOTE]

I've never heard of that happening. Basically, if the insurance co doesn't
have to pay, as far as they are concerned it didn't happen. At least this
is how it worked for me in the past first using All State as my co, and then
(and still) as a customer of NationWide.

I keep him in the loop just in case any difficulties arise, he isn't new to
the game and already knows what's going on.

 

I've never heard of that happening.[/QUOTE]

Believe me, it happens. The insurance companies are ruthless.

Never even call to ask if you're covered on something that happened,
unless you're comfortable with your rates going up.

Not anymore. If they know that it happened, it's a mark against
you--whether they pay or not. The simple fact that it happened is
enough for them.

You'd think that would be a wise move, but not in this day and age of
in-your-face business attitude toward the customer.

It's all about how much money they can put in your pocket.

 

Believe me, it happens. The insurance companies are ruthless.

Never even call to ask if you're covered on something that happened,
unless you're comfortable with your rates going up.

Not anymore. If they know that it happened, it's a mark against
you--whether they pay or not. The simple fact that it happened is
enough for them.

You'd think that would be a wise move, but not in this day and age of
in-your-face business attitude toward the customer.

It's all about how much money they can put in your pocket.[/QUOTE]

I'm sure you mean how much money they can put in their own pocket.

I love the way some service companies raise rates under the banner of
value. My cell phone company (Cingular) tells me that slamming me
into a new plan is a good value because I now get 200 minutes for $30
instead of 75 minutes for $25. Of course, in four years I have never
used all 75 minutes. Same thing with cable. You can get four
channels for $15 or 120 channels for $55. If you only want ~12 of
those channels you still have to pay for all 120.

 

No drivers license and no insurance.

Scott

 

Did you follow him to the ends of the earth?

 

not worth it. The Honda saved my life. I am just glad I was able to see my
kid again.

 

Your choice is to take it to a shop you trust. Then they do an assesment of
the damage. They then compare that to what the appraiser wrote up. If they
don't agree, they call up the appraisser. It is quite possible that there
was damage that was not obvious until things were taken apart.

They should.

 

You're half way there. You found the source of the problem. Now you have
to fix it.

I don't see how a bent frame would cause the problem you describe. All the
components are mounted to the engine so a bent frame should not be the cause
of the problem. I would find a better shop to look at the car.

 

Thanks Alex. Yeah, now that I know that all of the components are
attached the engine, I am thinking that the replaced engine must have
had previous damage or something. The shop seems to agree, but I
haven't heard back definatively. If that is the case, I am going to ask
Allstate to replace the engine (again) with a NEW 2004 engine. I think
that I can probably demand that from them. Or, alternatively, they can
take my van for parts or resale and buy me an undamaged one. If they
fight me I'll be calling my lawyer. I've been back to the shop 3 times
since May; and twice my family was stranded (both times on vacation!).
I live in Colorado, and it's not pleasant getting stranded in December.
Anyway, the appraisal that we signed states that Allstate fully
gaurantees all parts. So, I'll be asking them to to so.