Dear Isuzu....

Earlier this fall I took my car in for an oil change and found out not only was the fan belt going but my tires were getting dangerously warn down. If you drive a midsize SUV which is your main sort of transportation during the winter months through snow and ice at all hours of the day or night, frequently before MODOT has the opportunity to prepare the roadways for you, the cost of tires can be ridiculous. Start a bidding war between retailers eager for your business promising to beat your competitors, and you're facing a brief loss of breath rather than loss of consciousness and your bank account. (Brief side note; all my financial comparisons are based on my solitary income from 40hrs/wk. $120/tire can take a serious toll on your bank account.) Thankfully this winters mild temperatures have been a blessing and allowed my procrastination to linger. But when the mechanic tells me there's a leak in my fuel tank and it needs to be replaced procrastination is no longer an option. For those, like myself, who haven't read the Dummies Guide to Car Mechanics, a leaky gas tank significantly increases your chances of a car blowing up on you. I will admit the fact initially escaped me until my friend and boss's astonished face managed to get the point across when he found out what the issue was and learned I was still driving my car. I stopped that night. Here's the kicker, when the mechanic told me about the leak he made sure to inform me that Isuzu had a recall on the same issue for the same year and model as my car a few years back. I hadn't ever received notice on any recall so he gave me all of the necessary information and told me to call the dealer to find out if my VIN was included. I called the next day only to find out that no, the 5 passenger vehicles were not included in this recall. The 7 passenger Ascenders were recalled. My VIN wasn't included though and "Thank you very much Mrs Alioto, but I'm sorry we can't do anything to help you," ended the conversation. I don't normally give up easily but I figured that was it. So I went about having an estimate for repairs done only to find out this lovely piece of plastic that holds the 20 gallons of fuel to get me from A to B will cost me between $500 and $800. This is where the story gets fun. Apparently Isuzu Ascenders and Chevy Trailblazers are the same SUV. But Isuzu puts its own identification numbers on each part, but buys the parts from GM. So if you want to replace an Isuzu part with an Isuzu part you'll pay more. Not only that but this make and model car were installed with two different fuel tanks during that year. One with a fuel filter attached to the tank and one that was separate. If you want to know which one your vehicle has you have to remove the tank and look at the top side. Anyone heard that labor costs increase every time the mechanic works on your car? I'm ready to quite my job and become a mechanic, at $85/hour pay can't be that bad.

I do have to say in my mechanics defense, he has been awesome. The first one to encourage my pestering the manufacturer about the tank and he was definitely aghast when I said they wouldn't do anything. He told me to call again and ask to speak to a superior. I have and still got the same answer.

Here's the bottom line now. I can purchase a tank from Weber Chevy that should fit my car for around $580 and pay for the labor costs from my mechanic to install it, but the rub here is that the tank will not be under warranty, which is only for a year. Or I can purchase it second hand from a junk yard, and pay our company handy man to install it for a grand total of around $400 for parts and labor. But no warranty, no guarantee it will fit, and no security that if the installation is wrong I'll have it repaired without additional cost. Or I keep it at the mechanic have him buy the part for $773 from GM it gets here in two days, and after I pay a total of $1164 I'll have a new fuel tank with warranty, a job I can feel secure about and a promise to repair it if something goes wrong and I'll have my car back sometime next week. I took the last option for now.

Remember when I said I don't normally drop things easily? I'd gone along grumbling until today when I started looking at the numbers more and became more frustrated with the entire situation. After a talk with my mom, who very sweetly reminded me to be the "squeaky wheel", I started doing a bit more research. Turns out, I'm not the only one that has been in this situation. Apparently others have dealt not only with the same or similar problem with the fuel tank but have also been turned away by Isuzu to pay out of pocket to fix it! I can't believe there hasn't been another recall. As I've learned countless times before, always follow your mothers advice, so I'm dedicating my time to being a squeaky wheel. Because, as we know, no one can stand a squeaky wheel for any lengthy period of time. Sometimes you just have to make a little noise for someone to pay attention.

OK Isuzu, this IS NOT right!! The evidence is here, and if you need more documentation or a little more noise to take action, you'll get it. Or, if nothing else I'll be sure to keep my receipt and hopefully when you get around to submitting the recall, I'll be sure to let you know I"m ready for my refund.

For now, if you know of anyone with an 03-04 Isuzu Ascender with a faulty Fuel tank who had to repair it out of pocket PLEASE leave me a comment! Or if you know of a website I can visit that lists other similar issues, let me know! Hopefully this blog will have a part 2 with a happier ending soon.

Oh yeah, the tires are gonna have to wait.