Towed away

[gibletts]

We have a 95 4wd Mitsubishi, the misus took it to the "park n ride" today as she had an appoitment in the city. She parked it on some yellow lines and the council kindly towed it away for us, I cant complain to much about that, she should have known better.

Anyway the car is an automatic, and by their own admission the tow company breaks into the car, puts it in neutral but leaves the 4wd system engaged. They jack up the back of the car and tow it off on the front wheels.

Im not a mechanic but my understanding is that this is an exceptionally good way to permanently damage the transmission, id be interested in anyone elses opinion on this, not surprising they got upset when we refused to sign their damage waiver.

 

[chiefalen]

Re: Towed away

Look in the manual, a friend had his car towed and blew the transmission 2400 dollars.

He paid the fine and then went to drive it and had to get it towed to AAmco.

Took him a year to get his money back from the city.

 

[LetsGoBoating]

Re: Towed away

It all depends, I'd take it to repair shop that specializes in transmissions and see what they say; smart move on the wavier btw.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Towed away

smart move on the wavier btw.

Ayuh,... That won't matter 1 way or the other,...

It was Illegally parked,...

 

[BlazinKuztumz]

Re: Towed away

Yeah, but even though it was parked illegally, doesn't mean the tow company isn't accountable for any damages that occur while in their possession. If that were so, then they could crush the car or whatever else they want to do to it, including sell it, etc. just because it was parked illegally. There has to be some sort of accountability, and policy about damage to towed vehicles I would think.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Towed away

To be honest...... trying to prove they damaged a 4wd unit from 1995 might be a tough one. They towed it wrong ....... it should have been on a flatbed.

Good luck........ your wife was wrong + they towed it wrong = ??????

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Towed away

They towed it wrong ....... it should have been on a flatbed.

That's what I was thinking...

And yes they could have damaged something. Bearings and bushings that are normally lubricated by the transmission pumping fluid to them are running dry when the engine is not running. Probably OK for a short distance (mile or so) as there is a bit of lube left on everything from when it was running, but a 10-20 mile tow could wipe something out.

 

[180shabah]

Re: Towed away

Is this an AWD or a part time 4wd setup? It makes a difference. What does the manual say about towing?

 

[Ridemywideglide]

Re: Towed away

It it's an automatic, I wanna know how they got the transmission in nuetral.. That doesn't add up. They would have had to remove the ignition to unlock it.
It it was in 2hi, the front driveline is not engaged so it wouldn't matter to tow it. The axle is lubed by it's own fluid.
But, yes, they should have used a flatbed. The tow company is responsible if it's damaged by them towing it. Don't sign the waiver, and call a lawyer.

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: Towed away

by their own admission the tow company breaks into the car, puts it in neutral but leaves the 4wd system engaged. They jack up the back of the car and tow it off on the front wheels.

they might be trying to ruffle your feathers. they can't get an auto into neutral without the key.

most towers flatbed the 4WD's...

unless you have a witness or a signed admission of that, hard to say

 

[puddle jumper]

Re: Towed away

Are you sure they didn't use dallies. Most tow companies will not tow unless they use them just for that reason.

 

[OldePharte]

Re: Towed away

One can get a car into neutral without a key.

We needed to tow my daughters '93 Explorer, but she wasn't home when the tow truck driver showed up.

The first guy said he couldn't anything and called in to his office. Within 5 minutes another driver showed up. He got the door open and then did something with the steering column (and maybe pushing on the brake at the same time) to get it into neutral to pull it up on the flatbed. He wouldn't show me what he did, but I was flabbergasted when I saw that it was indeed in neutral.

 

[gibletts]

Re: Towed away

I wondered about the getting it into neutal thing without a key, the company confirmed themselves that the tow was without a dollie, just on the front wheels. The transmission was not in a locked 4wd mode but a "part time" mode, meaning continous power to the rear wheels and power to the front only when traction lost on the back ,anyway seems to be no permanet damage so far.

 

[chiefalen]

Re: Towed away

Depends on how far and how fast they were going, and ive seen them crawl under the car and yank the u joints. In NY they make a living from towing.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Towed away

One can get a car into neutral without a key.

Ayuh,....

Disconnecting the linkages from the transmission is a piece of Cake, if you can get under the vehicle...

 

[Vlad D Impeller]

Re: Towed away

To be honest...... trying to prove they damaged a 4wd unit from 1995 might be a tough one. They towed it wrong ....... it should have been on a flatbed.

Good luck........ your wife was wrong + they towed it wrong = ??????

Two wrongs sure don't = right

 

[gibletts]

Re: Towed away

Ha! Try and tell my missus that, she claims its not her fault if there are no parks left, she believes its her right to park the 4wd anywhere (or on anything) she sees fit as an auxillary parking spot, at least she kept out of the disabled spots.

 

[mthieme]

Re: Towed away

I've never seen a park n ride with restricted areas included handicapped.
They're simply a basic parking lot. What's up with that?

 

[j_martin]

Re: Towed away

Ha! Try and tell my missus that, she claims its not her fault if there are no parks left, she believes its her right to park the 4wd anywhere (or on anything) she sees fit as an auxillary parking spot, at least she kept out of the disabled spots.

Tell her it's not a right, it's a pay per use privilege, and it's expensive and inconvenient.

 

[chicknwing]

Re: Towed away

We have a 95 4wd Mitsubishi, the misus took it to the "park n ride" today as she had an appoitment in the city. She parked it on some yellow lines and the council kindly towed it away for us, I cant complain to much about that, she should have known better.

Anyway the car is an automatic, and by their own admission the tow company breaks into the car, puts it in neutral but leaves the 4wd system engaged. They jack up the back of the car and tow it off on the front wheels.

Im not a mechanic but my understanding is that this is an exceptionally good way to permanently damage the transmission, id be interested in anyone elses opinion on this, not surprising they got upset when we refused to sign their damage waiver.

My experience towing vehicles, 4wd we always sent a flatbed. If we had to tow it on a wheel lift we never towed over 50. for example, Ford says you can tow their trucks from either end so long as you do not exceed 50 mph and travel less than 50 miles. Your trans should be fine since they towed it from the rear end, my concern would be the transfer case.

TC