ZeeJay95

Last night I was in my '07 Cobalt following my better half to someone's house to sell his truck. He pulled into a convenience store lot and stopped, so I pulled up next to him. Problem was, where I pulled up was over the manhole-looking covers where the fuel trucks fill the tanks. I heard and felt the car bottom out, but it really didn't sound all that severe. We left the parking lot and drove on. About 10 minutes later and in the middle of nowhere, my transmission started shifting funny. We were only a couple of miles from where we were going and there was absolutely no place to stop, so I crawled on very carefully and barely made it to the driveway before the tranny just gave up and the car wouldn't go at all. I was careful not to over-rev the engine during the whole process.

So obviously that fill cover smacked my transmission pan. It was dark out and we could see that the tranny pan was peeled back, but couldn't tell if the housing was bent or not (it was about 10 PM at this point). My in-laws live a few miles down the road so we called a friend who towed the car to their house on a chain. Left it there and borrowed their spare car so we could get back home.

I have full coverage insurance (or dang near close to it) on my car so I'm sure I can get it fixed one way or another. My question is... would you inspect the car yourself and replace the tranny pan if that is all that appears to be damaged? Or would you call the insurance company and let them deal with it thoroughly, but of course pay more? I have never filed a claim in all of my years owning cars.

Is there any point in telling the convenience store that their parking lot damaged my car? I think they're just gonna tell me to watch where I'm going next time. The fuel fill cover in question was flush with the concrete surrounding it, but there was a slight mound to the immediate area. It was a one in a million shot that I just so happened to be at the right angle to snag my transmission pan at all. My car is stock height, so it's not like I'm driving a low-rider around scraping it on stuff and then looking for compensation.

razor02097

there is a 95% chance the transmission is dead. The other 5% would be if you did replace the pan it works for a little while before dying. The worst thing for an auto is to run out of fluid. The next is getting it too hot.

I would pursue the gas station thing. There are regulations they have to follow. If the filler cap is too high then it is too high and their fault. What could it hurt? Not sure about your insurance I would say you might have to look at the policy. Most insurances cover things like body damage, glass and such. But unless it has something like road hazards I don't know how much they would do for you.

Sucks to hear about the trans woes. Hope you get it sorted out.

MallCrawlerZJ

My buddy has an 09? Cobalt ss, his trans seized up on him coming home on the highway, got it towed back and after talking to gm they sent him a brand new trans. Now he does rip his car around and has work done to it but still, a almost new trans shouldn't do that

ZeeJay95

called my insurance company and they said it would be covered under "collision" since technically I did hit something, LOL. Gonna take it to the dealer I bought it from since they have the best service department anywhere around here. Plus the power steering pump was recalled some time ago but I hadn't tended to it yet. Might as well have them do everything while it's there.

razor02097

Be really careful... read EVERYTHING they want you to sign... I can just see that being a reason to raise you insurance rate due to your "collision".

SteelBlue99

It doesn't matter, to the insurance company if it was your fault or not. If your insurance company pays out on a claim, and are not reimbursed, your rates will go up. The amount depends on the severity and amount paid. That's exactly why you need to get the gas station to pay for the damages. For now, pay the deductible and get your car running again. If your insurance can get the station to reimburse the amount paid out, you can get your deductible back, and your rates will not go up.