HELP!! Transmission Warranty denied
09-02-2003, 04:25 PM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 23
Car Info: 2002 WRX, 2000 S4
HELP!! Transmission Warranty denied
Hello all I posted this on the WRX forum also,
I have a 2002 WRX and had some tranny problems about a month ago. I talked to Rennick Subaru in Fullerton( Great service by Rennick) and they replaced my clutch for me. Shortly after 2nd gear would grind on occasion. I talked to the service advisor and she said to come in as soon as possible. A couple days later I was driving and when i put it in 2nd gear I heard a loud crunch and 2nd was gone. I talked to Cristina in service and brought the car in as soon as possible. The techs at Rennick knew about my problem and said they would cover the repair as a "1 time repair" I thanked them and they started the tear down the next day.
Then my problems begin....
A Regional service manager named Charles Lamereaux walked by my car took a couple pictures and stated it was abuse and DENIED MY WARRANTY!!!! I got a call from Cristina and she said to discuss the decision with SOA.
Basically I played phone tag with SOA and their managers and this is their conclusion.
My exhaust and air filter are modifications and caused the transmission to fail.
(I have a HKS exhaust and a greddy filter)
The buttons in the car are suspicious and could be the cause of the transmission failure
(Buttons to operate my MP3 player)
There is another car at Rennick with the same problem (2nd Gear) and Charles Lamereaux approved the warranty work on that car.
SOA told me that Phil (service manager at Rennick) said he thinks the modifications on the car caused the failure
Later I find that Phil never said that and in fact Phil disagreed with Charles about denying my warranty.
I'm still waiting for a call back from Charles Lamereaux so we can discuss this furthur as SOA has no way of appealing a Regional service managers decision. according to SOA the Regional Manager has the final say and there is NO WAY it can be disputed.
So basically SOA is telling me that the Techs and Service consultants at Rennick are incompetant and don't know anything about transmissions.
Sorry about the rant, but I dont know what to do from this point on.
Should I call the FTC (federal trade commision), BBB or anyone else??
Should we start to see if this is a trend and start a class action lawsuit? I see that there are many other on the board that have transmission problems.
Thanks,
Christian Acedillo
I have a 2002 WRX and had some tranny problems about a month ago. I talked to Rennick Subaru in Fullerton( Great service by Rennick) and they replaced my clutch for me. Shortly after 2nd gear would grind on occasion. I talked to the service advisor and she said to come in as soon as possible. A couple days later I was driving and when i put it in 2nd gear I heard a loud crunch and 2nd was gone. I talked to Cristina in service and brought the car in as soon as possible. The techs at Rennick knew about my problem and said they would cover the repair as a "1 time repair" I thanked them and they started the tear down the next day.
Then my problems begin....
A Regional service manager named Charles Lamereaux walked by my car took a couple pictures and stated it was abuse and DENIED MY WARRANTY!!!! I got a call from Cristina and she said to discuss the decision with SOA.
Basically I played phone tag with SOA and their managers and this is their conclusion.
My exhaust and air filter are modifications and caused the transmission to fail.
(I have a HKS exhaust and a greddy filter)
The buttons in the car are suspicious and could be the cause of the transmission failure
(Buttons to operate my MP3 player)
There is another car at Rennick with the same problem (2nd Gear) and Charles Lamereaux approved the warranty work on that car.
SOA told me that Phil (service manager at Rennick) said he thinks the modifications on the car caused the failure
Later I find that Phil never said that and in fact Phil disagreed with Charles about denying my warranty.
I'm still waiting for a call back from Charles Lamereaux so we can discuss this furthur as SOA has no way of appealing a Regional service managers decision. according to SOA the Regional Manager has the final say and there is NO WAY it can be disputed.
So basically SOA is telling me that the Techs and Service consultants at Rennick are incompetant and don't know anything about transmissions.
Sorry about the rant, but I dont know what to do from this point on.
Should I call the FTC (federal trade commision), BBB or anyone else??
Should we start to see if this is a trend and start a class action lawsuit? I see that there are many other on the board that have transmission problems.
Thanks,
Christian Acedillo
09-03-2003, 06:48 PM
#2
Guest
Posts: n/a
Sounds like your warranty claim is being denied by the way the car looks, like wheels, exhaust, air intake, etc.. I would guess because of the way your car and our cars look to them we are abusing the car... racing, etc.. kinda like STEREOTYPING someone.but Stereotyping the car. It is wrong that they do this, if you have to remove the wheels, exhaust, air intake install all stock stuff to make car look stock than do it and take it to another dealer. Frickin Morons out there who dont want to honor warranty.
=(
09-04-2003, 07:33 PM
#5
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Posts: n/a
why does SOA have to be so ****?
I see a alot of cars like mini cooper and srt 4 that have dealer installed performance package upgrades and dont void warantees. I wish subaru would embrace car fanatics/enthusiasts. there is always an exception but most of us baby the hell out of cars and yes we do get on it once and a while but hey i chose a wrx fora reason and not a outback like my wife wanted. Its a performance car so yeah its going to get driven harder but it should handle it. If they dont think the car can then its been engineered wrong and they know it but wont come out and say anything. Sorry to ramble but i know of some cases of abuse and then trying to scam SOA . But come on a tranny failure denial for an intake and exhaust.
i hope it works out for u
chris
i hope it works out for u
chris
09-05-2003, 06:22 AM
#6
Guest
Posts: n/a
the dealership near my house is pretty cool about mods... they have their own dealersponsored autocross wrx. that thing is a BEAST! They do performance installs and they warranty the car but not the part.
also, i've always heard that w/ just an exhaust....they can't void your warranty, but i doubt that intake will make that much of a difference. We're talking about that intake making 10 extra hp on a good day.
also, i've always heard that w/ just an exhaust....they can't void your warranty, but i doubt that intake will make that much of a difference. We're talking about that intake making 10 extra hp on a good day.
09-06-2003, 03:50 PM
#7
Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Flatwoods, KY
Posts: 84
Car Info: 2008 Forester Sports 2.5 XT
I feel your pain man. I had the same thing happen to me in Va Beach. The dealers there sux a$$ when it comes to warranty, and they're a bunch of ******. So I trailered the car home to Kentucky, and the dealer I bought it from took care of it for me. However, the void was still in the computer. So he fit the bill for me. I had no mods, and (in VA) they claimed abuse and voided my turbo and transmission. The law states that the modification has to be proven to have caused the failure by the way. They seem to think nobody will fight them if they give a run-around, which is exactly what I got from SOA. They were down right rude to me. I almost sent my lawyer after them, but figured it wasn't worth it. All I have to say is don't count on your warranty from Subaru.
09-06-2003, 04:09 PM
#8
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Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Reno, NV
Posts: 18,369
Car Info: 1993/2000/2001 GF4 mostly red
You are going to have to file a lawsuit to get your car repaired. Since fixing your car is less expensive than a court trial, SOA will probably reverse the decision. It is going to cost you filing fees, but that's the best you can do.
09-07-2003, 06:46 AM
#9
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Posts: n/a
Remember this... Not all trannys are built the same, meaning some may last alot longer than others and some may fail alot sooner, I have only 3800 miles on my new 03 WRX and it shifts fine, but sometimes it can be hard to get into 1st gear at a light, I am going to drain the tranny oil and refill with the Valvoline durablend which is a 50/50- mix of regular gear oil and Synthetic, I will see how the trans reacts to this, meets GL-5 requirements.
09-07-2003, 11:45 AM
#10
BanHammer™
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Join Date: May 2000
Location: Wagonmafia Propaganda Lieutenant
Posts: 47,585
Car Info: 2001 Forester RS2 SPEC-F
1) ask the SOA rep to put it in writing why they are denying your warantee work and ask for it to be sent to you
2) contact sema ( www.enjoythedrive.com ) and they can point out a laywer in your area that can help you in the case
usualy, if you ask the manafacture to put it in writing that they are voiding your warantee work for modifications that do not directly affect the part that broke ( exhaust is a far stretch ) and abuse, they might buckle and fix it for you. If not, contact the people at SEMA and they can help you go about fighting SOA on the matter.
2) contact sema ( www.enjoythedrive.com ) and they can point out a laywer in your area that can help you in the case
usualy, if you ask the manafacture to put it in writing that they are voiding your warantee work for modifications that do not directly affect the part that broke ( exhaust is a far stretch ) and abuse, they might buckle and fix it for you. If not, contact the people at SEMA and they can help you go about fighting SOA on the matter.
09-07-2003, 01:31 PM
#11
Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Flatwoods, KY
Posts: 84
Car Info: 2008 Forester Sports 2.5 XT
Originally posted by kevster
Remember this... Not all trannys are built the same, meaning some may last alot longer than others and some may fail alot sooner, I have only 3800 miles on my new 03 WRX and it shifts fine, but sometimes it can be hard to get into 1st gear at a light, I am going to drain the tranny oil and refill with the Valvoline durablend which is a 50/50- mix of regular gear oil and Synthetic, I will see how the trans reacts to this, meets GL-5 requirements.
Remember this... Not all trannys are built the same, meaning some may last alot longer than others and some may fail alot sooner, I have only 3800 miles on my new 03 WRX and it shifts fine, but sometimes it can be hard to get into 1st gear at a light, I am going to drain the tranny oil and refill with the Valvoline durablend which is a 50/50- mix of regular gear oil and Synthetic, I will see how the trans reacts to this, meets GL-5 requirements.
09-07-2003, 06:30 PM
#12
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Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: nasioc.com
Posts: 313
Car Info: 2000 RS Coupe/1990 Mazda Protege, zoom zoom..
Dont be afraid to file a lawsuit.
I sued SOA for breech of warranty on my 2000 RS for non safety realted not even something major, and I didnt loose the case.
thats all Ill say.
Jay
I sued SOA for breech of warranty on my 2000 RS for non safety realted not even something major, and I didnt loose the case.
thats all Ill say.
Jay
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