Rexburg and Idaho Falls Auto Repair

I hesitate to share this review as there is a remote chance I am wrong. I will delete it if it can be shown I am wrong. To quickly summarize, it appears that Oswald’s underfilled my transmission fluid after a pan replacement. From the data it appears that it was underfilled by .8 to about 1.5+ quarts. This caused the transmission to malfunction. Speaking to a local transmission shop, the symptoms were indicative of low transmissionfluid. When I took the truck back in to Oswalds due to the symptoms, they confirmed the symptoms. But afterwards, almost all the symptoms disappeared and this was confirmed by a transmission shop. Hard if not impossible to prove but I believe the shop saw they underfilled the transmission and filled it without saying before the appointment to the transmission shop they sent me to. I suspect this was done to avoid any liability for underfilling it. Again, I can’t confirm this but everything fits. I’ve reached out twice to clarify but I was ghosted by Oswald’s which seems to confirm my suspicions. About the only positive is that so far most of the symptoms have not returned post second visit. The details: Oswald’s replaced my truck’s transmission pan a few months ago. I went in for regular service and we decided to replace the Transmission pan (it was a lifetime, sealed ZF Hemi transmission with very dirty fluid). Shortly thereafter, I started having transmission issues - rough shifting between 1st and 2nd gear and related issues. I was advised that sometimes happens with what we did. After speaking with Oswalds, I scheduled an appointment at a transmission shop (a few weeks from that point). At Oswald’s request, I did take the truck back in to check if it could be anything else (knowing how expensive transmission rebuilds/replacements are). I appreciated that at the time. They asked and had it for the day. When I got it back, I was shown how dark the transmission fluid was (as dark as it was in the first visit if not darker even though there should have been large majority new fluid). However, after that second visit, the transmission stopped having the majority of the challenges it was having before. Its performance improved significantly. This was verified with a test drive by the transmission shop. With research and discussing it with the transmission guys, the majority of the symptoms I was having are often associated with a lack of transmission fluid. Again, it is now shifting much more smoothly now and not having the challenges around corners, etc. It sounds a lot like the transmission was significantly under filled when the pan was swapped out. This is reinforced by what the specs/experts say is the amount of ZF fluid I should have paid for and had installed. Apparently, if every drop of what I bought (on the first service order) was put in, I would have been at least .8 quarts to somewhere around 1.5+ quarts short of what was required. That's the expected transmission fluid change amount not the dry fill rate that would have been a full 3 quarts low. I recognize that with the change there would have been some old (and yes, dark/used) fluid remaining. The fluid now also looks lighter to me. It also seemed a little odd that the office asked me to tell them what the transmission shop said (although that could have been innocent, a positive thing as well). This leads to my strong belief that the transmission was underfilled initially and this was caught and quietly addressed in my follow up visit to Oswalds. The data above and current improvement in function lead me to believe this to be the case. No note of this is on my second repair statement. I asked them twice privately about my concerns but was ghosted which just reinforces my belief of what happened. It makes me sad as I saw them as our go-to repair shop for our vehicles. Again, I can’t confirm for sure that’s what they did so take this review for what it is.

I hesitate to share this review as there is a remote chance I am wrong. I will delete it if it can be shown I am wrong. * UPDATE * It appears Oswald's remove my access to past invoices online. That included some of the data mentioned below. I've always been able to reference those before. Luckily, I have screenshots of the information but am saddened that I can no longer access any information on maintenance or repairs done on any of our vehicles. Most of that work was done satisfactorily and it was helpful to know when things were replaced/repaired. To summarize, it appears that Oswald’s underfilled my transmission fluid after a pan replacement. It seems it was underfilled by .8 to about 1.5ish quarts. This caused the transmission to malfunction. Speaking to a local transmission shop, subsequent symptoms were indicative of low transmission fluid. I took the truck back in to Oswalds due to the symptoms, which they conformed. However afterwards, almost all the symptoms disappeared and was also confirmed by a transmission shop. Hard to prove, but I believe the shop saw they underfilled the transmission and filled it without saying before the appointment to the transmission shop they sent me to for a transmission rebuild/replacement. I suspect this was done to avoid any liability for underfilling it. Again, I can’t confirm this but everything fits. I’ve reached out twice to clarify but I was ghosted by Oswald’s which seems to confirm my suspicions. About the only positive is that so far most of the symptoms have not returned post second visit. The details: Oswald’s replaced my truck’s transmission pan a few months ago. It was a sealed ZF Hemi transmission with dirty fluid). Shortly thereafter, I started having transmission issues - rough shifting between 1st and 2nd gear and related issues. I was advised that sometimes happens with what we did. After speaking with them, I scheduled an appointment at a transmission shop. At Oswald’s request, I did take the truck back in to check if it could be anything else (knowing how expensive transmission rebuilds/replacements are). I appreciated that at the time. They had it for the day. When I got it back, I was shown how dark the transmission fluid still was (as dark as it was in the first visit if not darker even though there should have been large majority new fluid). After that second visit, the transmission stopped having the majority of the challenges it was having before. Its performance improved significantly. This was verified with a test drive by the transmission shop. My invoice shows how much ZF specific fluid was put in the transmission. If every drop of what I bought (on the first service order) was put in, I would have been at least .8 quarts to somewhere around 1.5 ish quarts short of what was required. That's the expected transmission fluid change amount not the dry fill rate that would have been a full 3 quarts low. I recognize that with the change there would have been some old (and yes, dark/used) fluid remaining. It seemed a little odd that the office asked me to tell them what the transmission shop said (although that could have been innocent, a positive thing). This all leads to my belief that the transmission was underfilled initially and this was caught and quietly addressed in my follow-up visit to Oswalds. No note of this is on my second repair statement. I asked them twice privately about my concerns but was ghosted which just reinforces my belief of what happened. It makes me sad as I saw them as our go-to repair shop for our vehicles. Again, I can’t confirm for sure that’s what they did so take this review for what it is.

I can always count on them to get the job done right and on time.

Had engine work done. My pickup was running sluggish and now has its “get up and go” back. So far running good.

Josh and the guys are great to work with.

Oswald’s provided a great experience by keeping me periodically updated about my vehicle repair through a variety of communication mediums, including but not limited to, text message, phone calls and videos, with detailed descriptions of price estimates and what needed to be repaired on my vehicle.

I can't say enough good things about Oswald Service. Best staff I've ever dealt with. They listen to what your saying and take care of the issues. Always keep you updated on the progress. Definitely would recommend to friends and family.

Oswald has been incredible. Great communication. Kept me updated through the process and seems like they did great work.

It's all good. Thanks 😊