Well, I'm in need of some advice today... Some of you may recall that I've been dealing with issues with my F150 and not being able to get it to start. It has been broken down at my buddies house for a month now, so I decided to get it towed back to my house where it would be easier to work on as time and weather permit. I have AAA, so I had them meet me over at his house today to pick it up. The driver was super nice and spent some time trying to help me troubleshoot the problem before deciding to go ahead and just tow it. Unfortunately, that's when everything went wrong. Since the truck had been sitting in that spot for around a month, the wheels were fairly frozen to the ground. He tried to break it free with the steering wheel, and in the process the steering gear broke. So, now not only does it not start, but it can't be steered either. He was very apologetic and said that they'd make it right and get it fixed. I honestly can say I was bummed that it happened, but I wasn't (and I'm still not) mad at him at all. He was trying to do his job, but in the process he got too rough with it and it broke.


Anyway, he said that his supervisor would have to come look at it, because the supervisor is the one that would actually have to take care of it. He towed the truck to my house, and the supervisor met us there. The supervisor was also very cordial when we first met. He took a look at it for maybe 30 seconds or so, then said "This is a maintenance issue. This is an old truck (it's a 1992), and so it's just worn out. This is a maintenance issue and AAA can't be held responsible for that." I politely told him that while my truck is old and does have some problems, that before this morning steering wasn't one of them. I told him I wasn't mad at the driver for this happening, but that I wanted AAA to own the problem since it wasn't broken before they got ahold of it. He said I could call the member relations number and see if they'd do something, but as far as he was concerned AAA wouldn't take care of it.





So... I have gotten a rough (over the phone) estimate on a repair from a garage I trust. They say depending on whether we used reman'd parts or brand new, it would cost between $500-625ish for parts, labor, and realignment. I certainly can't afford to fix that myself right now, and I really don't feel like I should have to. I called the number and left a message for the person I was told to contact, and I'm waiting to hear back from him.


Have any of you ever had a similar situation? How did you get it resolved? I'm a Christian, and I'm wanting to handle the situation in a calm and civil manner, but I also don't want to be run over by a company that can certainly afford better than I to pay for the damage they caused. Anyone have any thoughts for me?

 

Sorry to hear about your problems, but I'm curious, how damn hard was he wrenching on the wheel??

And what exactly broke? Tilt steering columns are notorious for breaking if you lean on them. Did the column break or did the box break?

Make sure you document everything. Send them a dissatisfaction letter memorializing what happened. Put in there how the driver wrestled with the steering to free the frozen wheels and how he was apologetic about breaking the truck. Basically you want the letter to show they took blame. If they don't object, then you can use that in court as evidence.

Document the damage. An independent shop is best. Professional opinions of the cause would be good too. Basically prepare to take them to small claims court. Most times it's easier to just settle than getting attorneys involved.

Wear and tear is a default excuse, but my 86 f150 has almost 300k miles and still has the original column and steering box.

 

The other thing you can do is if you have Full coverage insurance on the truck you can usually file with them and they'll take the matter up with AAA when the repairs are finished. You'll usually just have to pay your deductible.

 

Yeah, he was pulling on it pretty hard, two handed. Those wheels never gave, even when the steering gear gave up. And it was definitely the gear, not the column. You can see in the engine compartment when you turn the steering wheel the shaft turns, but it broke at the gear.


I'm really hoping to avoid court, but I am prepared to go that far if necessary. Thank you for the advice on documentation.

 

This is just my old work truck, so I don't have full coverage on the truck. I wouldn't want to have to pay the deductible because of their mistake, even if I had it though. But thank you for the suggestion!

 

Did you check the rag joint? I'm surprised if the box went.

The hope is that when they see how prepared you are they'll give in and pay to avoid more costs. Stand your ground, be polite and document. Don't threaten to sue yet, see where things go, then if you can't get anywhere then file and serve them. Serve everyone who touched your truck and their superiors.

Don't threaten to sue though. Try and resolve it, then sue. It can always be settled out of court.

Also, you may want to get it fixed, pay for it, then you have a finite, fixed cost. Use a AAA recommend mechanic so they can't argue price gouging, etc. Just don't tell the mechanic who broke it. Just say it's a tow company.

 

If that guy broke the gear with his hands then you should thank him. The next time you drove it it could have broken with you going down the road. Something had to be wrong with it already.

 

That's what I was thinking. One good pot hole or jolt and it be the end of the road.

 

It may not have been an issue you were aware of yet, but if the steering gear broke that easily then there was something going on already. That's not saying that I wouldn't try to get them to pay for it. The immediate issue happened while the AAA guy had his hands on the truck, no doubt about that. Get whatever you can out of them.
AAA is big, you'll probably be able to resolve it in some way.

 

I can't imagine there would be a lawyer willing to sue for $650. You will have to go to small claims court on your own I would think. You may look at this as a blessing for happening as it did and not while you were driving down the road as others have stated.

 

See if they'll meet you half-way. I don't know if failure of the gear was imminent, and neither do they. I'd say the chance that it was due to it being "an old truck" is 50/50, so a 50/50 split is reasonable. For them, you'll go away and not bother them about it anymore, and won't make a splash about it on all the truck forums.

 

Rag joint is bad, NOT the steering box.

The rag joint is about $35 and take approx 30 minuets to change

 

There's no way someone broke a functioning steering box by cranking hard on a steering wheel. Like Brad said, you need to check the rag joint before assuming the gear box is dead.

 

Can you take some pictures for us? I'd like to see what is broke if possible. Also, what other problems does your truck have?

 

Could have been worse...