My wife's Subaru Impreza, less than 1 year old, about 25K miles, had a transmission melt-down. The dealer claims the fluid was drained but a small amount remained. They say warranty will not cover.

The service shop where she's had routine lubrications is willing to sign a sworn affadivit that they 1.) did not drain the transmission and 2.) checked the fluid levels. Her last visit for lube work was late November.

To make matters worse I sent the dealer an e-mail asking that they provide a written denial of warranty. They then called my wife, stating they would not install the new transmission ($3,500); I called and said that is really bogus as my e-mail was just to get something in writing, no accusations, threats, etc.

They did then said they will install the new one but if I want the old one to have it checked by another mechanic I must pay a $1,200 core charge as they apparently salvage out good parts.

Are we being jerked around? Is it possible that this Subaru lost most of it's fluid and the dealer is claiming it was clean just to avoid a warranty "hit"? I am so upset by this that I fully intend to find out who is giving us the runaround. The service shop folks told my wife they will cooperate in any way as they insist they did not cause the problem.

Thanks for any information, seannachie in Wisconsin

 

I'm sorry, but I have to ask.

Did you really expect the service shop to say "Yep, we broke it. Just send us the bill for $3,500 and we'll pay it."?

You have the classic finger pointing.

It appears that you have decided to trust the service shop more.

Personally, I trust the dealership more and have them do the basic service to avaoid just this this kind of problem.

If I sold you something and you took it to Fred to have the service done, I'd be telling you to take it to Fred to fix it. Again, just a personal opinion.