Hi friends, so I'm in a bit of a predicament. Pardon the long post but I'm a bit annoyed. I currently own a 2010 g37xs. I'm not super active on here, but I'm honestly coming here for advice.
I took my car to a Monro in upstate NY for a yearly inspection. They say my rack and pinion is leaking, so I go down and look for myself and sure enough it is. So I say okay do the work and let me know when it will be done.

Here is where it gets hairy. They said because taking the rack out sheers a pin that holds the rack into the steering column, they need to buy a new rack and it cannot be re-manufactured. They told me this after the old rack was taken out. My car is currently sitting on their alignment rack, un-steerable and preventing other work being done on that lift. The first part they quoted me ($460) was not the correct rack for my car as it was for 2WD and I have AWD. The next rack they ordered ended up also being the incorrect rack. They said they had to source it from out of state. They kept the same quote price because they quoted the wrong part originally. The third part I was quoted, and which was ordered, had to be bought new, ended up being $1500 just for the part, and they decided to be generous and comp the entire labor charge for the job if I paid the entire part cost. I said sure that sounds fair. Problem is, this was also apparently the wrong part. Now they are trying to get with a dealer to give them the actual correct part and see what they can get.

I'm car-less right now and I don't know what to do. I had to call out of my 2nd job for the week because of it. Anybody know what my options might be here? It's not really their fault but this was supposed to be a 2-3 day affair and it's turned out to be a probably 2 week nightmare. I'm definitely selling the car after this, but what the hell am I going to do?

 

Have you talked to them about paying for a loaner/rental car? I’d start there and if they don’t know what they a doing you can always get it towed to a dealer who would probably offer a loaner. It will be more expensive but done right.

 

That's a good idea. I am calling them again to see if they actually found the right part or not. If it gets to that point where they can't find a rack, then what the heck would I even do? Have them buy me a ****ty car and give them mine? It's like I'm totally at a loss because I don't have the money to hire a lawyer or anything.

 

Threatening to get a lawyer may do the trick but I’d check your options first. Clearly they keep screwing up so they should want to do right by you.

 

I'd rather not threaten with a lawyer because I don't have any means to back it up and that feels kinda like it's in bad faith. It seems they have confirmed the correct part, with pictures, with the dealer and it will be arriving on friday. If I can, I will get part numbers and such and post here for if anybody else needs it in the future.

 

That was more of a last ditch effort if you're going nowhere and a lot of lawyers would take your case and just get a percentage of your winnings. Certainly not ideal to go down that route and better to work it out with them. I'm glad they are still working to make it right but personally I'd still ask about a loaner car if you really need one.

 

Good idea. I've actually been walking to work this week which has been nice. It's been relatively warm, oddly enough, so I'm not as peeved as I could have been.

 

The real rub is... was your rack actually needing to be replaced? You know they all “sweat” right? INFINITI told me I needed one too a while ago and its still fine. Recently took to a shop for something else and asked them to check my rack and they said “besides the normal seeping that they all have it looks good”.

Hopefully I’m not rubbing salt in the wound. Your situation sucks... have you tried finding the correct part yourself?

 

No harm done. I do know about the sweating and my rack was for sure dripping fluid. Not exactly a lot but in multiple places, wormgear adjustment, one of the seals, and some of the lines on top. To be fair, I'm not sure if it's ever been flushed before so I figured it was about that time as I was having a bit of wandering every now and then.

An update on the situation though. Dealership overnighted the part and absorbed the shipping cost without telling anybody, so that was a pleasant surprise and +1 for my respect for them.

I got the car back and here's a bit of play in the steering wheel which I think is just the lines needing to be bled again or possibly the bolt that holds the linkage together needs replacement. The shop will do it for free though as per the warranty on their work. Hopefully it all ends up okay in the end.

 

Oh boyyyyyyyy Glad u have the car back
A leaking steering rack is rarely something for immediate concern (unless NY won't pass inspection in that condition). You can run a steering rack dry and still drive safely as long as your muscles an turn the steering wheel. After a while the pump may seize up so I wouldn't recommend doing that for a long time...Maybe next time plan for doing the car repairs that fit your schedule knowing there could be potential longer waits.
What confuses me is why they said you must need a new steering rack and told you there is a disposable part that connects the rack.
YOU CAN PUT A REMANUFACTURED RACK ON YOUR CAR, AND
THERE IS NO SHEER PIN TO CONNECT THE RACK
Monroe probably messed up the lower column joint and could only await the part from the dealer and then used a remanufactured rack...
Hopefully they didn't change you too much. This job can be done in your driveway in like an hour or two....

 

The power steering fluid system self bleeds. You are ok as long as your fluid level is within the lines on the reservoir and you do not hear screeching from the power steering pump (you will hear easily)
The play you feel might be because the large nut on the steering rack needs to be tightened but it has to be within a specification
Next time PLEASE dont go to a Monroe unless you need something simple like tire mounting or some basic exhaust work.