My client is a 54 year old ASE Certified Mechanic who never pushed his WRX, yet at 3500 miles first gear lost several teeth and now Subaru claims owner abuse and won't repair it under warranty. I've sued them and received documents showing 47 first gear failures within WRX's. Anybody out there experience first gear failure in their WRX? Anybody want to share their experience to help out my client who bought his dream car only to have it breakdown and then have Subaru fail to honor it's warranty, leaving him to park it since he cannot afford a new tranny.

I wonder how many of those 47 people didn't know how an AWD car works and thought it was a great idea to drop the clutch at 6,000 RPMs (no longer allowed in the 2003 model, BTW). I have rarely seen anyone on a few of these message boards that had their gears stripped without knowing why it happened and hitting themselves on the head for doing it (a few of which were still able to get the gears replaced under warranty), but if he didn't mistreat it, then good luck to him with it.

Good luck with your lawsuit since it would require you to show that there is an actual known design flaw or quality issue responsible for it. Also even a 54yr old ASE mechanic can drive like a jackass. My dads in a mechanic in his 60s and still drag races so age and occupation prove nothing.

well, you also got to remember that the dealers are allowed to
drive the car up to (i think it was ) 80miles on the odo to keep
it considered a 'new car'. therefore, if some jackass car salesman
and is buddies took out the rex for a clutch droppin weekend
test drive, then that could have caused the 54year old's unlucky
choice car to break down.

ive dropped the clutch once when those re92's were brand
new just to peel off the skin, but afterwards, no clutch drops.
ive done numerous fast launches with a tad of slip and no
problems so far. my car is about 16k, one year old.

you have to prove that the dealer abused it before the sales,
or it was a manufacturing defect.

Thank you both for your input, but California law makes clear that when a manufacturer cites abuse as reason not to cover a repair under warranty, they have the burden to prove it.

In short, a manufacturer cannot deny a warranty claim without proving why.

But aren't you claiming its a defect then?

Don't have to. The burden of proof is on them (to prove owner abuse). They issued a warranty and my client made a claim they denied. They have the burden of proof.

In short, their claim of owner abuse is what is called their affirmative defense for denying a warranty claim. They have the burden of proof to prove the facts supporting that defense.

Originally posted by Jon P. Jacobs
Thank you both for your input, but California law makes clear that when a manufacturer cites abuse as reason not to cover a repair under warranty, they have the burden to prove it.

In short, a manufacturer cannot deny a warranty claim without proving why.

Exactly. This would lead me to believe that because your client retained you, Subaru will likely settle as opposed to go through the cost and expense of "proving" the problem was a result of abuse. Of course, they probably won't settle until they have wasted a good deal of you and your client's time...
It makes me wonder - how does one go about proving abuse? Metallurgical analysis of the broken gear? Analysis of the gear oil? An individual testifying that the plaintiff was drag racing?

You may find the following link useful, although I'm skeptical as to how well the information you find there would hold up in court, it could help in preliminary negotiations...
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=64

Thank you for that excellent referral!

Alot of people have theorized that the transmission case is a weak point and flexes resulting in the gears to misalign. If you know anything about transmissions you know clearences are very very important and flex can kill a tranny faster than you would believe.

thanks for the tip.

Why not just settle with SOA and make them put a new 6spd in the car. It would clear up all of the transmission issues. Hell try to get a CUSCO front and rear LSD out of it as well.

Wow, this sounds like one place where Kalifornia law is good! It is about time. I am pretty much a conservative independent, but certain times, the democrats are on the side of the small guy. I would venture to bet that this law was made by the dem's! Awesome...I will remember this.

Case flex, and thin gears are reason for the failures. This tranny is not suited for a 227HP AWD sedan.

I would go after them for a complete swap into a 6MT and rear ends and front LSD, + legal fees!

Andy

>My client is a 54 year old ASE Certified Mechanic who never pushed his WRX, yet at 3500 miles first gear lost several teeth and now Subaru claims owner abuse and won't repair it under warranty.

Wow,
1. 54 years old
2. ASE Certified Mechanic
3. Never pushed his WRX
4. Can not afford to fix the tranny, but can afford to find a lawyer like you.

Tell me, do you know for a fact that he never pushed his WRX? Can you help us define the word "push"? What is next? He is a father of 2, married for 30 years and own a house? Hence he does not "push" his WRX? Then why did he buy it then? Why not just get a Honda Civic (After all, he does not pushed his WRX, right?).

Oh I forgot, in CA it is manufactuer's responsibility to proof everything. Nice, at least it keep people like you employed. Good luck with the law suing. Try a different line next time.

Good luck.

Originally posted by Jon P. Jacobs
My client is a 54 year old ASE Certified Mechanic who never pushed his WRX, yet at 3500 miles first gear lost several teeth and now Subaru claims owner abuse and won't repair it under warranty. I've sued them and received documents showing 47 first gear failures within WRX's. Anybody out there experience first gear failure in their WRX? Anybody want to share their experience to help out my client who bought his dream car only to have it breakdown and then have Subaru fail to honor it's warranty, leaving him to park it since he cannot afford a new tranny.

Sorry, but like a few others mentioned, age and occupation mean very little. The profile of a "wild" driver is often the same as the profile of a slow, careful driver. But most importantly, I have to point out that nobody buys a WRX without intending to push it. Unfortunately, there is a boundary that some people don't recognize between using a car to its potential and abusing a car. Sometimes the average Joe wouldn't even know the difference between "pushing a car" and abusing it. I will not try to blame all of the 1st gear failures on abuse, but I do believe that abuse is what caused the majority of the problems. If you were in Subaru's position, imagine how you would feel about giving people warranty repairs.

I am a 57 year IT manager and I drive my slightly modified '03 WRX like a demon.
I have had absolutely no trans problems.
Perhaps your client missed a shift, abused the 2-1 synchros by downshifting at speeds too high, or just doesn't know how to drive. ASE doesn't certify that.

I've tried my darnedest and I can't find a Jon Jacobs who's an attorney in California.

Could you give us the contact information for your practice?

I busted my first gear after about 200 hard launches. I know that some WRX tranny failures seem to be due to QA problems because owners claim they didn't abuse their trannies. Mine broke due to abuse. The tranny wasn't designed for 227 chp going into an AWD drivetrain.

I would like to know how this case turned out.

Hey this threads still around? What ever happened?

Hopefully the guy got a 6 speed out of it:D

Old Guy:

Kinsey, Baker & Makler LLP
Tel_ (831)465-7565
Fax (831)465-1006


Terry Baker took over the case for Jon Jacobs. they had their trial about a month back but I havent been in contact with him or heard the verdict since. Oh, they are based in Sacramento.

Just called K,B&M and left a request to know about the verdit... hopefully they'll get back to me. I'll let y'all know.

jason

Cool hopefully everything went good:banana:

has no one thought of testing the teeth? find a friendly mechanical engineer or meterlurgist {sorry about the spelling} to test the broken gear, they should be able to tell you alot.

good luck