Engine warranty denials

ruinous · 12-02-2007, 06:39 AM

Hi all,

Pretty sure I have a blown motor. I was accelerating (normally) up a hill and heard a clanking sound followed by power loss, then a puff of blue smoke bellowed up out of the hood. I damn near crashed in to a ditch. The engine will no longer turn over. Just had the dealership change the oil recently and maintenance is all up to date and I have no mods. Anyway, going to give the local subaru dealership a ring tomorrow to see if they can look at it. Given that this is an STi I see a huge battle coming over the warranty and whether or not this is going to be a covered. My buddy said I'm screwed and that the dealership will automatically assume abuse and try to deny coverage. Has anyone here gone through this with a failed STI engine?

thx..

KiR DieseL · 12-02-2007, 08:13 AM

If you have no mods how can they deny your warranty?

Did u buy the car new? Did u ever mod the car?

If u have a STOCK car under 36K they HAVE to fix it.

ruinous · 12-02-2007, 08:30 AM

Yeah, it's under 36k with no aftermarket mods and I bought it new. I guess i'm just scared sh*tless from reading all the posts on the forums about warranty denials. One that was particular interesting was on naoisic where some poor bastard got denied engine warranty service from a subaru dealership because his fricken tires were worn out on the edges. I'm sure the dealerships see this stuff every day and are automatically suspect of STi owners as car abusers and are much more aggresive on what can be classified as abuse. I don't abuse my car, but I don't drive it like it's a Ford tempo either. Blah, not looking forward to this.

piker28 · 12-02-2007, 08:32 AM

well you have records of them doing oil changes, and you have no mods... i see no reason they can see signs of abuse

Pearson · 12-02-2007, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ruinous

Yeah, it's under 36k with no aftermarket mods and I bought it new. I guess i'm just scared sh*tless from reading all the posts on the forums about warranty denials. One that was particular interesting was on naoisic where some poor bastard got denied engine warranty service from a subaru dealership because his fricken tires were worn out on the edges. I'm sure the dealerships see this stuff every day and are automatically suspect of STi owners as car abusers and are much more aggresive on what can be classified as abuse. I don't abuse my car, but I don't drive it like it's a Ford tempo either. Blah, not looking forward to this.

The "Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act" protects us from getting F-ed over by the dealer like the guy you refered to over on NASIOC.

ruinous · 12-02-2007, 10:14 AM

How much would that act really apply though in his case? Tires don't get shredded or worn like that unless there is an alignment problem or you are beating on the car. They could easily check the alignment and if it checks out, what other explanation is there? That would be proof enough to void the dude's warranty. They wouldn't have to necessarily prove that his worn tires caused his engine to tank. It seems like they could just pull anything out of their ass and link it to abuse. They could just say that the condition of the car showed that it had been abused. Warranty goes bye bye. I guess your car must be pristine in appearance as well as have no mods.

arkleseizure · 12-02-2007, 10:37 AM

Holy crap, you're just a tad too paranoid about this. Just take it in and see what they say. Don't fight battles you don't have to fight.

ruinous · 12-02-2007, 10:44 AM

HAH. OK. I'm going to call em first thing in the morning. The reason i'm so paranoid is my tires like like shredded wheat like the naosic guy.

mcbst · 12-02-2007, 11:14 AM

subaru tried to get me to pay for some of my engine replacement but i told them i would'nt pay a dime it was under warranty and after about 30 minutes soa called me and said they were going to do a courtesy repair and replaced the engine.

ruinous · 12-02-2007, 01:12 PM

Sounds similar to what I've heard online. What were the details of your failure? Why did they initially deny warranty coverage?

Blackfang · 12-02-2007, 03:30 PM

The dealerships do not have the authority to deny the warranty claims. SOA are the ones who do that.

Going off your claim of not abusing it, as long as you have records to show you have had your maintenance done correctly and at the proper intervals, you should be ok.

itr_1211 · 12-02-2007, 03:41 PM

I find it weird you just had your oil changed this all happend. Coincidence?

**boxtwo** · 12-02-2007, 03:45 PM

1. Records. Keep EVERYTHING including names, dates, and times.
2. Service. Read the fine print in the manual about the proper service intervals. Follow to the T.

SOA will have to proove that there was some abuse that caused the engine failure. The reason I am driving a Subaru is because of what Nissan did to me with my 2002 Maxima (check my sig link, if interested.) They denied me coverage because I did not have service performed at a Nissan dealership (which is against the MMWA.) Good luck and I feel for ya! Hope it works out for the best! FWIW, SOA was great in helping me with my paint issue, despite some of the horror stories!

ruinous · 12-02-2007, 03:46 PM

It is odd. I just checked the oil level and it is full however.

mcbst · 12-02-2007, 03:57 PM

05 bought uesd 7k stock
29k cel oil flow control solenoid told to change oil and it should clear up
2 days later turbo failure
turbo replaced no big deal
2 days later turbo failed again this time they said they would dig a little deeper to see what was the problem
3days later i was told i had a spun main bearing, due to low oil level was soa's speculation (i had no noise of any kind and the car was always maintained perfectly until the cel and ran great)
and i would be responsible for some of the repairs.

my exact words were you can fix it for me or the next person you sale it to because if you say you are not going to fix it i will buy a new car and let the sti go back to the bank and it will just be on my credit.

then they said they would do a courtesy repair.
2 months and 3 right heads later i had a new motor and old exhaust gaskets needless to say it sounded horriable to everyone but the subaru people
3 days later cel bad cat replaced no problem
1month later cel bad cat i was working out of town wichita,ks.
BRANDON STEVENS MOTORS replaced cat gave me all new exhaust gaskets
and the car finally sounded right and ran great
about six months later the right head they had so much trouble with in my home town seized the cams BRANDON STEVENS in wichita put another new head under warranty on and i currently am at 79k no problems
i can't say they are greatest or anything like that but the techs know whats up and i have been treated great at Brandon stevens motors in wichita,ks.
if any of this sounds familiar i told my story on clubwrx as it happened

12-02-2007, 06:39 AM	#1
ruinous Amateur STI Driver Car: 2006 STi Posts: 27 Join Date: Feb 2006 Trader Rating: (0)	Engine warranty denials Hi all, Pretty sure I have a blown motor. I was accelerating (normally) up a hill and heard a clanking sound followed by power loss, then a puff of blue smoke bellowed up out of the hood. I damn near crashed in to a ditch. The engine will no longer turn over. Just had the dealership change the oil recently and maintenance is all up to date and I have no mods. Anyway, going to give the local subaru dealership a ring tomorrow to see if they can look at it. Given that this is an STi I see a huge battle coming over the warranty and whether or not this is going to be a covered. My buddy said I'm screwed and that the dealership will automatically assume abuse and try to deny coverage. Has anyone here gone through this with a failed STI engine? thx.. This ad is not endorsed by this member. Please register or login to hide this ad.

12-02-2007, 08:13 AM	#2
KiR DieseL Silver Member Car: Aspen White 06 STi Fav Mod: Teh Mature Diffuser Will Return! Location: Queens NYC Posts: 2,717 Join Date: Feb 2006 Trader Rating: (0)	Re: Engine warranty denials If you have no mods how can they deny your warranty? Did u buy the car new? Did u ever mod the car? If u have a STOCK car under 36K they HAVE to fix it.

12-02-2007, 08:30 AM	#3
ruinous Amateur STI Driver Car: 2006 STi Posts: 27 Join Date: Feb 2006 Trader Rating: (0)	Re: Engine warranty denials Yeah, it's under 36k with no aftermarket mods and I bought it new. I guess i'm just scared sh*tless from reading all the posts on the forums about warranty denials. One that was particular interesting was on naoisic where some poor bastard got denied engine warranty service from a subaru dealership because his fricken tires were worn out on the edges. I'm sure the dealerships see this stuff every day and are automatically suspect of STi owners as car abusers and are much more aggresive on what can be classified as abuse. I don't abuse my car, but I don't drive it like it's a Ford tempo either. Blah, not looking forward to this.

12-02-2007, 08:32 AM	#4
piker28 Junior STI Driver Posts: 102 Join Date: Jul 2006 Trader Rating: (0)	Re: Engine warranty denials well you have records of them doing oil changes, and you have no mods... i see no reason they can see signs of abuse

12-02-2007, 10:14 AM	#6
ruinous Amateur STI Driver Car: 2006 STi Posts: 27 Join Date: Feb 2006 Trader Rating: (0)	Re: Engine warranty denials How much would that act really apply though in his case? Tires don't get shredded or worn like that unless there is an alignment problem or you are beating on the car. They could easily check the alignment and if it checks out, what other explanation is there? That would be proof enough to void the dude's warranty. They wouldn't have to necessarily prove that his worn tires caused his engine to tank. It seems like they could just pull anything out of their ass and link it to abuse. They could just say that the condition of the car showed that it had been abused. Warranty goes bye bye. I guess your car must be pristine in appearance as well as have no mods.

12-02-2007, 10:37 AM	#7
arkleseizure Spec C Club Car: 00 S2000, 04 WRB STi Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 1,020 Join Date: Jun 2006 Trader Rating: (7)	Re: Engine warranty denials Holy crap, you're just a tad too paranoid about this. Just take it in and see what they say. Don't fight battles you don't have to fight.

12-02-2007, 10:44 AM	#8
ruinous Amateur STI Driver Car: 2006 STi Posts: 27 Join Date: Feb 2006 Trader Rating: (0)	Re: Engine warranty denials HAH. OK. I'm going to call em first thing in the morning. The reason i'm so paranoid is my tires like like shredded wheat like the naosic guy.

12-02-2007, 11:14 AM	#9
mcbst Junior STI Driver Car: blue 05 wrx sti Posts: 75 Join Date: Jan 2007 Trader Rating: (0)	Re: Engine warranty denials subaru tried to get me to pay for some of my engine replacement but i told them i would'nt pay a dime it was under warranty and after about 30 minutes soa called me and said they were going to do a courtesy repair and replaced the engine. Last edited by mcbst : 12-02-2007 at 02:57 PM.

12-02-2007, 01:12 PM	#10
ruinous Amateur STI Driver Car: 2006 STi Posts: 27 Join Date: Feb 2006 Trader Rating: (0)	Re: Engine warranty denials Sounds similar to what I've heard online. What were the details of your failure? Why did they initially deny warranty coverage?

12-02-2007, 03:30 PM	#11
Blackfang Senior STI Driver Car: Silver 07 Legacy Location: Somewhere in the universe Posts: 349 Join Date: Mar 2007 Trader Rating: (0)	Re: Engine warranty denials The dealerships do not have the authority to deny the warranty claims. SOA are the ones who do that. Going off your claim of not abusing it, as long as you have records to show you have had your maintenance done correctly and at the proper intervals, you should be ok.

12-02-2007, 03:41 PM	#12
itr_1211 STI Driver Location: Toronto Posts: 243 Join Date: May 2006 Trader Rating: (0)	Re: Engine warranty denials I find it weird you just had your oil changed this all happend. Coincidence?

12-02-2007, 03:45 PM	#13
boxtwo Gold Member Car: 07 OBP STi Fav Mod: Venison front Bumper mod Location: Pennsyltucky Posts: 1,399 Join Date: Jun 2007 Trader Rating: (2)	Re: Engine warranty denials 1. Records. Keep EVERYTHING including names, dates, and times. 2. Service. Read the fine print in the manual about the proper service intervals. Follow to the T. SOA will have to proove that there was some abuse that caused the engine failure. The reason I am driving a Subaru is because of what Nissan did to me with my 2002 Maxima (check my sig link, if interested.) They denied me coverage because I did not have service performed at a Nissan dealership (which is against the MMWA.) Good luck and I feel for ya! Hope it works out for the best! FWIW, SOA was great in helping me with my paint issue, despite some of the horror stories!

12-02-2007, 03:46 PM	#14
ruinous Amateur STI Driver Car: 2006 STi Posts: 27 Join Date: Feb 2006 Trader Rating: (0)	Re: Engine warranty denials It is odd. I just checked the oil level and it is full however.

12-02-2007, 03:57 PM	#15
mcbst Junior STI Driver Car: blue 05 wrx sti Posts: 75 Join Date: Jan 2007 Trader Rating: (0)	Re: Engine warranty denials 05 bought uesd 7k stock 29k cel oil flow control solenoid told to change oil and it should clear up 2 days later turbo failure turbo replaced no big deal 2 days later turbo failed again this time they said they would dig a little deeper to see what was the problem 3days later i was told i had a spun main bearing, due to low oil level was soa's speculation (i had no noise of any kind and the car was always maintained perfectly until the cel and ran great) and i would be responsible for some of the repairs. my exact words were you can fix it for me or the next person you sale it to because if you say you are not going to fix it i will buy a new car and let the sti go back to the bank and it will just be on my credit. then they said they would do a courtesy repair. 2 months and 3 right heads later i had a new motor and old exhaust gaskets needless to say it sounded horriable to everyone but the subaru people 3 days later cel bad cat replaced no problem 1month later cel bad cat i was working out of town wichita,ks. BRANDON STEVENS MOTORS replaced cat gave me all new exhaust gaskets and the car finally sounded right and ran great about six months later the right head they had so much trouble with in my home town seized the cams BRANDON STEVENS in wichita put another new head under warranty on and i currently am at 79k no problems i can't say they are greatest or anything like that but the techs know whats up and i have been treated great at Brandon stevens motors in wichita,ks. if any of this sounds familiar i told my story on clubwrx as it happened This ad is not endorsed by this member. Please register or login to hide this ad. Last edited by mcbst : 12-02-2007 at 04:04 PM.