98 Cutlass Trans cont...

Thought i'd post my experince at autozone with you all here and see what you think.

I got the trans filter for my 98 cutlass from them, took it home to find out it was the wrong one. I took it back, the guy at the counter tells me it is the right one and shows me on the computer. I said it wasn't. He was one of these cocky I know it all guys and insisted I didn't know what I was talking about. Since i used to have a malibu and got the trans filter from them at one time with no problem I told him to look up the malibu and bingo, I got the right filter and left the guy with his foot in his mouth.

Anyway I went to the autozone website and emailed them and told them the situation with the wrong part in the computer. I got this response.


Sir,
When I look up the listing for your 98 Olds I find that you are correct and our computers state the trans filter required is TF209. But when I look under a 97 Olds I come up with the part you need TF190. The only thing I can tell you is, either you have an early model 98, or a late model 97 and Mopar used the transmissions for 97 to deplete their stock. Unfortunately nobody has the technology to completely distinguish each vehicle as there are a limited amount of these types of vehicles. I hope that this answers your question and if there is anything else I can do please email me directly.

Respectfully,
Greg Auerbach
Assistant Category Manager, AutoZone


Now my malibu was a 97. as far as I know, all the malibus and cutlasses with a 3.1L shared everything under the hood. So therefore the 97 cutlass and the 98 cutlass should have the same trans since the 97 malibu had the same one.

Unless I am misinformed, it kind of sounds like this guy really does not know what he is talking about. Or does not want to admit there is a mistake in their computer.

.... I'm not sure what your point is. Go to a real parts store next time. The guy is right, sometimes early and late builds carry over parts from earlier models that might not technically be shown to be used on that car. The parts may also be interchangeable and someone has changed yours and you thought it was the wrong one. There are several possabilities. Although the guy mentions "Mopar"... which I think is kinda funny.

Sometimes you get the wrong parts.
If you work on cars enough, you get this problem. Most of us, at some point in time have had to use our wits and look up parts for similar models to get the right parts; or scrounge around a bit to find what we need.

A related problem is finding that some cars get better parts. For example, some models of cars get higher output alternators, or higher quality of gaskets than other models. Sometimes, it helps to be aware of such differences so you know to ask for the best parts, instead of just the parts for your car.

Another example is new front suspension struts for my '88 Bonneville. It had the SE parkage with stiffer springs. The parts guy gave me struts for the softly sprung LE model. So I had under damped, bouncy suspension for 60k miles, just because I did not insist the parts guy double-check the listing for other variations.

The idea here is to never accept parts at face value. Always make sure a part will fit before irrevocably removing it from the packaging. Be aware of what you are buying and, if necessary, record the correct part numbers etc, in your owners manual etc, so you know what to get the next time.