Hatheway Automotive Service

On Oct.21st, Mr. brought his 2008 *** to our shop for a 'front brake check and overall check for cross country trip". Over the last 22 years my shop has performed these checks dozens of times in the past always with the extra consideration of potential issues on such a long trip. We found a dragging brake caliper that caused a shake as the brake heated up (roughness felt) as well as loose steering tie rods that he was unaware of. Mr. never had mentioned any concern with any noise(s) other than the brake issue. I contacted him to inform him of our findings and get approval to repair. Again he made no mention of any other noise concerns. The reason for this is because the noise was so MINOR at THIS time anyone could have easily disregarded it or considered it normal for a 12 year old *** truck with 132,000 miles on it. Nonetheless, I did try to investigate further using an automotive stethoscope while running on lift and could not discern the ORIGIN of any noise. Next I inspected the fluids of all components including the front and rear differentials, transmission and transfer case. ALL fluids were FULL and in good condition with NO indication of something going fowl. Wheel bearings are common failure and checked to find no issues. My philosophy in treating my customers is "what would I do if this was mine or a family members vehicle?" I saw NO reason at THIS TIME that this vehicle would have one of it's toughest components fail so badly anytime in the near future. Mr. is mistaken in thinking I (or anyone in my field) could have possibly forseen or predicted such a failure. I can certainly understand Mr. frustration and feel sorry that this happened to him. But the plain and simple facts are: 1) My shop had absolutely nothing to do or cause this transfer case failure. 2) There was NO possible way to predict this failure AT THE TIME this vehicle was presented to our shop! It should be understood that just because a vehicle has been through a shop, there cannot be an absolute guarantee that a component may not fail in 3000 miles! This would set a dangerous and unrealistic precedent, especially for vehicle that has traveled more than the equivalent of five times around the world. I would also suspect that this failure gave off a substantial warning/noise at least 100-500 miles prior to such a failure. I understand few people would want a roadside mechanic to fix their vehicle, but a look at this particular time may have saved the collateral damage caused. With this said, I am 100% confident there is NO negligence by our shop. We did all we could do with what this vehicle presented at the time it was with us. I thank you for the opportunity to provided all the facts of this unfortunate event. Respectfully