OK I have been reading the horror stories here and on a few other forums about warranty denial, and now I am a bit worried. Do these cars really break that much???

I just bought a '04 WRX 3 days ago and as of now it has about 320 miles on it. I am trying to take the break in very seriously and have not reved above 4500 rpms, and have filled with 93 gas. I am planning on an oil change to Mobil 1 at 1000 miles, and differential fliud changes soon there after.

The only mod I have done is remove the intake silencer and replace it with 3" PVC. Yesterday my trunk pop ceased working. Now I'm freaking out about bringing the car in with the silencer out of it. Should I put that thing back in first? Are they going to deny my warranty in the future if something goes wrong?

I am planning on a few mods, but would like to keep her as warranty friendly as possible. I am looking at front and rear end links, Borla cat back, COBB stage 1 accessport, short shifter with the bushing, a pannel filter with the silencer delete, and the stoptech stage 1. Anything here a total no-no? In the future I would like to swap in STi struts, larger sway bars, and possibly an up pipe but I am very hesitant.

Sorry for the long post but I need help from the Suby Gods!!!

 

They cannot deny warranty work on your trunk release just because you have the silencer removed. Removing the silencer has no effect on the trunk release as far as I know. Now if you do 6K rpm clutch dumps and you blow your tranny then they could deny your warranty.

As far as your other mods I cannot really comment on, I don't take my suby to the dealer to get work done, and I have not needed any work. Although I should say that my car has remained stock except for the Borla Hush and the silencer mod. Basically with the warranty worries if you add performance parts Subaru can deny the warranty if they deem that your aftermarket part was the cause of the failure.

I know there are more ppl on this forum with more advice, also try a search on warranty and you should get a lot of stuff to read.

Good luck

Jason

 

No, they don't break that much - in general, people post when they have a problem, rather than when all is well.

Of the mods you list, the only one I would be leery of from a warranty standpoint would be the ECU reflash - in general, they might deny your warranty (not always) if a part which you installed can be blamed for the failure - so another way of looking at it is that any modification places the warranty of every system it impacts at risk.

It really boils down to your dealers attitude, though - some are ok with basic mods, others fly off the handle for minor things.

For the warranty denial posts, always remember that there are two sides to every story, and we are only getting one of them (doesn't mean they aren't valid complaints, just that you have to take them with a grain of salt)

 

a lot of the times people are denied warranty service due to abuse and/or mods. then they come in here and whine about poor service when they beat up on the car.

It would be nice if Subaru took care of the customer even though the car was modded causing a break, but they don't. My car has had only 1 problem and I got it fixed under warranty. It's a great car. Don't worry.

 

Thanks for the replies everyone, you have put my fears to rest.

The reason I was looking at the Cobb was they state the reflash cannot be detected by the dealership diagnostic computers. Do you know something I don't?

 

Look at the latch on the trunk lid. There is a little lever marked "Cancel". Depending on which way it is flipped, the inside trunk release either will or will not function. It's basically a mechanical valet switch for the trunk. Make sure it's not in the disabled position, just flip it the other way and see if the release now works.

 

I totally agree, however it is my understanding you can run modified maps without a perminant flash of the ECU and leave the regular ecu map intact with the Cobb. I don't know though, maybe I am totally wrong on this. I must confess my only car knowledge is with classic american iron at this point. I could tell you volumes about the jetting and setting of carbs but ECUs are a new bag. In fact this is the first car I have ever purchased with a warranty period!!

 

OK now I feel like a total jack a$$. Thanks Mulder

 

So that was it then?

 

That was it...

Cool Points = 0 for me

 

I agree they would be able to detect it if you left it reflashed. One of the nice things about the accessPORT is the ability to revert the ECU back to the stock map if you need to. I hear ya... the service guys are alot swifter than most people give them credit for.

 

Getting warranty work will get more difficult the more you modify it. They will view a modded car with more suspicion than a 'clean' car. If you are really worried, then don't mod.

As everyone here has said, you only hear the worst cases. Furthermore these forums attract people who drive 'enthusiatically', modify, auto-x or race their cars so you'll probably get worse stats 'cos of that.