Monster Transmission - 4L60E broke 2x with 267 wheel hp-- $2772 total loss
I originally bought a 4L60e HD package [$1400 + $200 (tc) + $150 (fluid)]. I told them exactly what I had: lifted 4x4 Yukon with headers, intake, cam, & tune. Josh Mercado was my salesman. I installed this 12/2011. I broke this transmission in less than 4 months (3 year warrantee); I drove home in reverse.
They honored their warrantee; paid $361.50 to ship it back. Steve provided the inspection results โburnt clutch debri in pan & alumn piston broke - stuck over-run clutches onโ. Since this one broke and I did not want to replace this ever again I asked them to rebuild it with the SS package which is claimed to support 650+ HP. Before making the purchase I specifically asked them on several phone calls if this newly upgraded transmission came with a new SS warrantee. The answer was yes but it only 30 days; I payed $660.50 (upgrade + new tc + fluid + shipping).
WARNING: The warranty displayed on their website it not the REAL warrantee; not all builds get the same one either.
I receive the new SS 4L60e on 4/9/12, installed it the next weekend. I broke the output shaft in a 3-4 upshift while merging on to the Florida Turnpike in 20 days. After a 2+ week run around from Josh Mercado impersonating various voices, I learned that the invoice that was sent to me did not have the warrantee box checked which meant I had none.
TOTAL SPENT: $2772
What should you do?
- Read jakesperformance.com & phoenixtrans.com; monsterโs only upgrades soft parts. These guys upgrade hard parts to get the power number that monster claims.
- Donโt waste money on 4L60e; Buy a 4L80e.
- If you do buy one of these transmissions; keep your shifts nice and soft; donโt get eat my shifts!
What did I do? I bought a Jake's Stage 4 Transmission with a Billet Torque Converter ($4000+). Jake is an honest guy; he knowโs how to do the work himself and is not afraid to make his own parts when the market doesnโt sell a quality part and he will talk to you.
TOTAL SPENT: $6772 (I did all the work on my back in the driveway)
Monetary Loss: $2772.
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Comments
Please avoid publishing any personal information and promotional content
got a junk np246 transfer case from them. Noisy clanky POS from day one. Waste of money.
its hard to warrant certain parts in the 4l60e, you were wise upgrading that truck with the 4l80 still some parts need additional attention, but they should have been more upfront with you
I ended up with a Stage 4 Jake's Transmission and a billet converter. I little over kill but no issues after that.
Jake is very knowledgable and wants to know how something fails so he can improve his product.
Technically very competent. You will not find that level of service at Monster.
If you paid for it w/your credit card file a fraud investigation w/card
I appreciate the feedback on this post. Itโs worth noting that Monster posted my name on the internet; I donโt appreciate that. Monster and all the people that work there represent the company. I, however, do not!
I posted enough information so my review was honest and credible; the can readers decide what they do with their money.
Several things are clear and undisputable facts (although Monsterโs records reflect only the comments that costumer service chose to document):
1) I broke two units that were supposed to handle 500 hp and 650 hp.
*** 267 hp =/ 650+ hp =/ overpowered***
2) I still have a monster transmission lying around collecting dust. If Monster's customer service is what they claim it is they would have done something. THEY HAVE NOT. I welcome the call.
3) I was told several times on the phone that the rebuilt SS unit would have a warranty, albeit a shorter one 90 days (feel free to confirm the duration). The warranty posted on the website is NOT actual the warranty and did not even include the duration. You only found out the duration on your shipping invoice after you have purchased a unit. HD units receive a 3 year warranty; SS units get much less. ** Now you pay for the handshake warranty **
To get to this point, Monster gave me the run around with multiple calls spanning weeks trying to figure out why they were not living up to their "hand shake" warranty. Eventually they told me that the only warranty I had was the one listed on my new invoice from the SS unit. Despite what I was told on multiple occasions and to my surprise, it did not have anything written in the "Warranty" sections on the invoice (picture #3). Monster claimed they would review the phone records. THEY NEVER DID.
An aside: Itโs funny that they are claiming I used different voices when I called in because that was Josh was doing. He answered the phone and said tech support was closed and I would have to call back the next day. Then I called back sales which was still open to ask them different questions trying to understand what type of parts they install and if they upgraded any hard parts within the transmission. Josh blamed me for calling in and playing games, although he is forgetting that he admitted to modifying his voice. I don't play games. This was a childish ploy and the fact that he is resurrecting this fabrication also should give future consumers additional insight into this company.
My truck is 4500 lbs with factory 3.42 gears and a 6" lift (+ ~200 lbs). My dyno run with the stock LQ4 is posted (picture #1). My transmission tuning was stock with factory torque management tables. I also drive normal; I don't jump the line etc. After these events I added more torque management to soften the shifts as much as possible.
Because of this Monster mess, I installed a Jake's Transmission 4L80e Stage 4 (billet internals) with a billet torque converter (2800 rpm stall) and converted the NP241 to the 32 spline shaft. This was probably overkill but I did not want to go back into this thing. I spent another $4000+ but it was well worth it. All told I've spent over $7000 on transmissions. Most customers do not have this fortitude.
Bottom line, don't buy a Monster Transmission, don't trust their handshake or their word and if you buy one you donโt want the "eat my shift" option. If you have an LS style motor, a performance small block, or a heavy truck upgrade it to a 4L80e.
Monster screwed up my transmission several times and blamed me each time. I have several transmission experts that back me up. They screwed up and Josh Mercado and his Thomas family trust family buddies will not admit that they made a mistake, because according to Danny Smith at Monster they do not make mistakes.
Do not use monster transmission for anything you will be sorry you did they will take your money and run.
Another post without a name or any info. We do make mistakes and aren't perfect.
We have stated that several times on this site and over the phone. We do our best to make our clients happy, going above and beyond as much as possible. Putting peoples names on here and hiding doesn't get anything resolved. We aren't running anywhere we are still at 19370 Oliver Street Brooksville FL 34601 .
Our number is 1-80*-***-**** and you are welcome to call anytime. We stopped responding to posts on here because it became obvious that the site wasn't allowing satisfied clients to remove their old postings. Now we aren't going to sit by idle while people try to smear our name and hide behind the internet. Our staff works extremely hard to custom build these units every day and take care of any issues that may occur.
We are not going to be able to make everyone happy but we continue to try to. Danny Smith hasn't worked here for years so this is obviously an older order that someone is trying to stir things up over. We are still here after 10 years not because we "take your money and run" but because we build more than transmissions we build relationships. We volunteer in our community, we host a monthly carshow for a different charity each time and do many other things to help people.
Wether its handing out turkey dinners to homeless people instead of spending time with our own families or helping clients get back on the road, we care.
We welcome you to come by or call in if you have any questions. There are two sides to every story, thank you for listening to ours !
To "Monster Staff"
So you won't sit by while your unsatisfied customers talk truth about your company, yet if you go back on this post you will see where one of your employees bashed several of your customers that were not satisfied. Real professional.
I have tried to deal with your company, I could not get past Josh Mercado or Danny Smith, they would not let me talk to anyone else.
Danny told me that my broken transmission was my problem because monster transmission does not make mistakes. And again I will never trust your company again or recommend you to anyone.
I still am waiting for call for my tracking from kelly
I have a 4l65e transmission for about 3 yrs now in a lifted 4x4, not one problem, and it will chirp the 35 inch tires all day long
I'm with you monster!!!!
Thank you Brains, we really appreciate the support! If anyone has any issues we allways go above and beyond to help our clients.
It is not allways going to make everyone happy.
We do our best to give our clients the best products and service every time. Thank you again !!!
Philip Tieman picked up his transmission from us on 11/10/2010. He called up on 11/22/2010 stating he had vibrations at 1500rpms.
On 12/27/2012 we sent him out a replacement torque converter. On 1/7/2011 he called in and said that he had the 4 and 6 plug wire reversed and the trans was fine, had nothing to do with us. On 1/2012 he left a voicemail stating that he wanted to upgrade to our SS version, that he was adding a new motor and turbocharger. Said the transmission works great.
Head builder said the current build he had would work fine. On 4/6/2012 he called in and said he only has reverse. Told him if it was a manufacturers defect we would cover it, he just had to ship it in. On 4/6/2012 he paid for the shipping ($163.19) and had the unit shipped in.
The aluminum piston broke, so we agreed to fix the unit for free. Client wanted to upgrade at this time so we only charged him $299 for the upgrade, he changed the stall he wanted so he bought a converter with a different stall speed. We shipped the unit out to his business of choice. On 6/12/2012 he called and said the output shaft broke off of his transmission.
He sent in pics and our head tech determined that fracture appears to be in a Linier Fashion, which means a stress fracture from over powering the output shaft. We informed the client that it wouldnโt be covered by warranty. We sent him a torque converter under warranty, replaced the unit under warranty and we didnโt charge him labor to upgrade the trans. There is no box to check on our warranty.
We donโt play games on the phone using different voices. What actually happened was that Mr Tieman called up,then called back up and attempted to play games and lie as to who he was on the phone. I happen to have caller ID on the phone and was the one who received both of his calls. I didnโt change voices, I just didnโt identify myself because I knew the client was trying to be sneaky.
Mr Tieman states that he installed it 1/2011, not true it was installed between picking it up 11/10/2010 and 11/22/2010 when he called stating he had a problem. He said it lasted less than 4 months,not true he called 1/7/2011 and stated that he had the wires crossed and the transmission ran fine. It wasnโt until 4/6/2012 that he lost forward gears and called in. That would be about 17 months using basic math.
Our SS package is rated to 650hp not 650hp + as he states. We have thousands of clients who run our HD and SS units with no problems. Anyone is welcome to go on youtube and our testimonial site to see for themselves. Our doors are allways open for any tours at any time, we have nothing to hide.
We appreciate our current and potential clients, they keep us in business. If you took the time to read this, I want to say a personal thank you for being open minded and wanting to get both sides of the story. We have an extremely low warranty return rate for the amount of the units we build each year. We go the extra mile for our clients whether they are in or out of the warranty.
We know we can't make everyone happy all the time, but we do our best! You can also contact the Speed Channel, Spike TV, Velocity, Discovery, all the judges and techs from Car Warriors and many more folks to see how they like our units!
We are the preferred choice by automotive enthusiasts and experts from around the world. Thank you again for your time and consideration, have a Monsterously great day!!!!
Philip Tieman picked up his transmission from us on 11/10/2010. He called up on 11/22/2010 stating he had vibrations at 1500rpms.
On 12/27/2012 we sent him out a replacement torque converter. On 1/7/2011 he called in and said that he had the 4 and 6 plug wire reversed and the trans was fine, had nothing to do with us. On 1/2012 he left a voicemail stating that he wanted to upgrade to our SS version, that he was adding a new motor and turbocharger. Said the transmission works great.
Head builder said the current build he had would work fine. On 4/6/2012 he called in and said he only has reverse. Told him if it was a manufacturers defect we would cover it, he just had to ship it in. On 4/6/2012 he paid for the shipping ($163.19) and had the unit shipped in.
The aluminum piston broke, so we agreed to fix the unit for free. Client wanted to upgrade at this time so we only charged him $299 for the upgrade, he changed the stall he wanted so he bought a converter with a different stall speed. We shipped the unit out to his business of choice. On 6/12/2012 he called and said the output shaft broke off of his transmission.
He sent in pics and our head tech determined that fracture appears to be in a Linier Fashion, which means a stress fracture from over powering the output shaft. We informed the client that it wouldnโt be covered by warranty. We sent him a torque converter under warranty, replaced the unit under warranty and we didnโt charge him labor to upgrade the trans. There is no box to check on our warranty.
We donโt play games on the phone using different voices. What actually happened was that Mr Tieman called up,then called back up and attempted to play games and lie as to who he was on the phone. I happen to have caller ID on the phone and was the one who received both of his calls. I didnโt change voices, I just didnโt identify myself because I knew the client was trying to be sneaky.
Mr Tieman states that he installed it 1/2011, not true it was installed between picking it up 11/10/2010 and 11/22/2010 when he called stating he had a problem. He said it lasted less than 4 months,not true he called 1/7/2011 and stated that he had the wires crossed and the transmission ran fine. It wasnโt until 4/6/2012 that he lost forward gears and called in. That would be about 17 months using basic math.
Our SS package is rated to 650hp not 650hp + as he states. We have thousands of clients who run our HD and SS units with no problems. Anyone is welcome to go on youtube and our testimonial site to see for themselves. Our doors are allways open for any tours at any time, we have nothing to hide.
We appreciate our current and potential clients, they keep us in business. If you took the time to read this, I want to say a personal thank you for being open minded and wanting to get both sides of the story. We have an extremely low warranty return rate for the amount of the units we build each year. We go the extra mile for our clients whether they are in or out of the warranty.
We know we can't make everyone happy all the time, but we do our best! Please call in 1-80*-***-**** or visit our website www.monstertrans.com to see all of our charity and community work. You can also contact the Speed Channel, Spike TV, Velocity, Discovery, all the judges and techs from Car Warriors and many more folks to see how they like our units!
We are the preferred choice by automotive enthusiasts and experts from around the world. Thank you again for your time and consideration, have a Monsterously great day!!!!