The Battle with Kittle

The Pajero was due its 135K service so a week out from Alice Springs I googled Mitsubishi Alice Springs and Peter Kittle Motors was the authorized service centre so I booked the Pajero in. The sad sequence of events goes like this:

• 4^th June car goes in for service at Peter Kittle Motors - $1,700.28 later I grimace and pick up the car late in the day. A lot of money but it was a “major” service and considering the remote roads we planned to travel in the months ahead we needed to be sure our vehicle was in tip top condition.
• 8^th June we head off on our way north to warmer climes. 35 km out of Alice we stop at the Tropic of Capricorn roadside stop to check tyres and take photos. Bugger – oil all over front of caravan, oil all over rear mud flaps and under car. Slow trip back into Alice - book another 2 nights and wait for Tuesday to see Mr Kittle (Monday the 8^th is a public holiday in Alice due to Finke Desert Race).
• 9^th June – take Paj back into Peter Kittle Motors and fairly quickly its back on the hoist and the mechanic determines that it’s simply a lose bolt on the Oil Fill of the transfer case – tightened up and we are ready to go again!
• 10^th June we head north again. With some trepidation we stop to check things at the 35 km stop and yep – oil all over van again and all over under body of car! Slow trip back into Alice - unhook the van in the street behind Peter Kittle Motors – take the car in – up on the hoist and now the problem is diagnosed as a blown seal between the auto gearbox and transfer case. I question the service manager on how could it be possible that after 135,000 km with no leaks and no leaks found during their service how this could happen – just a co-incidence Mr. Britton!!  New seals are not in stock so ordered overnight air freight from Sydney.
• 11^th June – get a call from Service Manager late in day saying parts were mistakenly send road freight and another urgent air freight order had been put in!
• 15^th June told that neither set of parts could be found.
• 16^th June - parts found late in day.
• 17^th June parts fitted and I am told car is ready for pick-up. Ask to borrow torch to check under car and find blot missing from bash plate and other bolts on bash plate missing washers and spring washers! Take car for a drive to 35 km park and no leaks observed!
• 18^th June we head north again with caravan hooked up – stop at 35 km park and with fingers crossed and holding breath we check car and caravan again. Yahoo – we finally get 36 km north of Alice.

Now for the interesting stuff.

• I could not understand why the car would suddenly blow a seal after a service when I had not had a problem for 135,000 km and this only happened after the service.
• I pointed this out to the Service Manager who then refereed me to his manager – who regardless of any discussion or facts - point blank refused to consider any liability (it was costing me $38/night at the caravan park).
• It was also that at this point that I was starting to be treated like a leper rather than a valued customer. Never after this point was I addressed by my name – the standard response when I turned up was a brusk  - “I will be with you soon I am busy at the moment”.
• So with plenty of time on my hands I started investigating why this would occur during a service. By chance four vans from a caravan club pulled up next to us – three of the vans being pulled by Pajero’s  - same model as mine. Talking to one of the guys revealed he had an identical problem after the oil was changed in his auto gearbox. Turns out that the auto pajero’s for the last 4-5 years  have a drain, fill and level plug on the gearbox. Not just a drain and fill as earlier models had. If you fill the auto gearbox with oil till it comes out the ‘fill” hole you put an extra  4-5 litres of oil in and when everything warms us this blows the seal! I did a double check on the Pajero Forum and a guy sent me an extract from the Service Manual which backed this up.
• So under a couple of Pajero’s I went and yep there were the three plugs (not two as the Service Manage insisted were there).  The level plug even has the word “check” engraved on it. I also realized that as my car has a bash plate under the auto gearbox – you cannot remove the “check” plug unless you remove the bash plate first.
• Armed with these facts I once again confronted the dis-service manager I was now having to deal with (let’s call him Joe in this story).  We even went out to look at the transfer case and talk to the mechanic who worked on the car. I asked the mechanic if he had taken the bash plate off to change the auto gearbox oil and in front of Joe and I – he stated he hadn't – aha! I explained to him that there were three plugs in the box so he would not overfill it again when new parts arrived. Joe still refused to discuss any possibility that Peter Kittle had caused the problem and as I was getting pretty frustrated and hot under the collar by this time his behavior (and mine) was getting pretty poor and not something you would expect from a senior guy in a large business. I can distinctly recall a conversation where one of the other Service Managers chipped in – “we don’t have to work on your car – we can put it out in the street and get to it when we are ready”. Pretty close to a threat

So in summary

• $1700 service
• Peter Kittle over fills auto gear box by 4- 5 litres by filling to the fill plug level not the “check/level” plug level.
• When warm the gearbox pressurizes and blows rear seal
• Peter Kittle refuse to admit any liability and behaviors (now that I was not a paying customer) very poor from senior Peter Kittle staff.
• Cost of additional stay in Alice over $380 – never any offer to provide credit on original $1700 cost from Peter Kittle
• 10 days of sitting around in Alice without a car
• Never in the time from first bringing the car back to when I finally left Alice was there a “sorry Mr Britton” from any of the Peter Kittle staff.
• As the replacement of the gearbox seal was covered by warranty – it is likely that Peter Kittle charged Mitsubishi for repairs of a defect they had caused (so I am not the only one being ripped off).

Based on my personal experiences with Peter Kittle Motors Alice Springs I would strongly recommend if at all possible give these guys a miss and get your car serviced in Adelaide or Darwin – you don’t need the stress, cost and heartache!!