Mr. Transmission on Essa Road!

Also shared on GOOGLE REVIEWS….

I don’t usually like to rip into local businesses but my experience with the Barrie location of Mr. Transmission needs to be told. Potential customers need to be WARNED! I will give you a detailed account of what happened to me.

On December 23… the check engine light on my 2012 Honda CRV came on and the D on the dash display started flashing. (The car has only 148,000 k’s on it) I immediately drove it over to PartSource near my home who ran a code reader on it for free. The code displayed a code of P0843 "Transmission Fluid Pressure Sensor/Switch "A" Circuit High.”

On December 27… I took that information to my mechanic who works from his home and he agreed to replace the sensor as well as my transmission fluid. He used OEM Honda fluid but an aftermarket pressure sensor. This did not fix the problem. He took a lengthy drive with me and we both observed that the tranny seemed to shift without any noticeable problems. He told me that Mr. Transmission offers a “free diagnostic” and I should take the car over to them to look over.

I spoke with Jason who I assume is the manager and explained in detail what had happened with the car up to that point. He said they weren’t able to look at the car until January 10 but I booked the appointment and parked the car in my driveway until then.

Fast forward to January 10- after having the car all morning I received a call from Jason who said “we ran our diagnostic and checked all the external connections and sensors and we weren’t able to find a problem. However… when we took it for a test drive we noticed flares when shifting between certain gears. You’re gonna need your transmission to be rebuilt which is gonna cost $4300… and possibly more once we get inside to see any internal damage.”

I informed him that I would need some time to think about it and would be picking up the car later. I did so and decided to get a second opinion. Best decision I ever made.

I called a smaller local transmission shop based on google reviews and they informed me that they couldn’t look at it until January 29 so again I parked the car in my driveway and waited. On the day of.. it only took a couple of hours to receive a call from them. The car “shift’s beautifully! There’s nothing wrong with it.” The pressure sensor that my mechanic installed was an aftermarket part and was faulty. They ordered an OEM Honda part… installed it… and just like that the problem was fixed!

So… lets get back to Mr. Transmission! So they apparently “checked all my external connections and sensors?” Between that and their “free diagnostic” they managed to miss the fact that one of the sensors was faulty. Then had the absolute NERVE to try to tell me that my transmission was toast??? And then tell me my only option is to have them rebuild it for $4300 PLUS??? What a complete disgrace! And i’m left wondering how many innocent people have been ripped off by this company because they didn’t know any better!

As I sift through other reviews below I see that i’m not the only one who has been told they needed their transmission rebuilt. Some of them are even POSITIVE reviews because “the quote was less than the dealer!” Obviously… transmissions will sometimes need rebuilt… of course… but i’m left wondering- how many other people were told their transmissions needed rebuilt when the little shop 5 minutes away could’ve solved the problem WITHOUT rebuilding it?

Mr. Transmission has been in business 60 years and has 59 locations across Canada. It makes me sick to my stomach that this company is allowing this to happen. If this review saves JUST ONE PERSON a costly repair bill then it’s worth it! Always get a second opinion! The “little guy” will actually do the work to find out what the actual problem is instead of preying on the “sucker” who knows nothing and feels they have no choice but to do as they’re told.

STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS! THEY ARE ONLY OUT FOR YOUR MONEY!!!