Dezod Catback Failure / Customer Service Issues

[GT86Dan]

I purchased the catback via FT86SpeedFactory and had it installed in December of 2015. All was perfect: sound, fitment, welds. Or so i thought.....

Last week I began hearing a strange noise at the rear of the car. Turns out where the mid-pipe meets the axelback at the Y bends cracked in half. Keep in mind that the exhaust in only 6 months old. Adult owned and driven, never bottomed out and covered with a rear diffuser so no external damage can be a factor.

I do believe i am the first person with an issue with the Dezod Exhaust.

Contact Dezod directly, email Chis H. He replies promptly:

"Those have been replaced by V2 that are in production right now. I'll be happy to offer you 50 to have local welder zip that up for you"

Some may say this is not a bad deal, however after spending close to 1k on an exhaust to have the weld fail after 6 months is unacceptable. To then have the company solve the issue by throwing me $50, so someone else can fix the work is unacceptable.

I reply saying just that I would prefer a replacement, I would be happy to pay shipping costs to be able to get said replacement. I get replied with nothing but push back, excuses that the he has none left, that it makes no logistic sense for him..... Etc

At this point i am furious. Reputation is everything. Shows complete disregard to the consumer, who out of hundreds of options chose your product. To not stand behind ones work, shows the true character of Dezod. I feel like i was told to take the $50 and scram. ...

Now some may say that i should just weld it and deal with it, and yes that is most likely whats going to happen. Some would say that yes logistically and financially it doesn't make sense for the company. Yes i do understand this might be the case, but if so should be disclosed honestly. Ultimately i feel like i should have a right to expect more from a company i spent (wasted at this point) money on. I shouldn't have to go back and weld it. If that is what i wanted i would have had a local muffler shop make me something instead.

I may have gotten a dud, but buyer beware. If you do run into issues don't expect much help from them.

I am still in the middle of going back and forth and will keep this thread updated.

I have all emails, if anyone would like to see them.

[XanRules]

Yeah, that kind of response is totally unacceptable from them. Sorry to hear.

[Clipdat]

Sorry to hear about your experience with this exhaust. When I saw the thread title I already head a feeling that that particular weld would be cracked, and then the pic confirmed my suspicion.

I believe this would fall under a manufacturing defect, the company should be willing to do the right thing and replace it. However, from the product information pages I'm looking at, it doesn't seem to carry any sort of warranty at all.

[ShadowReaper]

Wow. I must say I am shocked, generally because I currently have this exhaust AND this is my sixth month.

First impressions of Dezod Motorsports was that they, "Chris", appear to be about customer service. This meant a lot to me, as my other contender (GReddy) never replied to the email that I sent them about interest of the product. Dezod also payed for my shipping, after having a slight error with the payment.

I also REALLY liked the wields, that Y bend, and the tips. After reasearching the sound of it, I went ahead and pulled the trigger. When I ordered it the exhaust eventually got here. I found it strange that the package had no labeling inside or outside.

I found the install to be very easy, I had no trouble putting everything on. HOWEVER, one of the gaskets by Dezod was cracked (so I was just waiting to turn it on to see that lovely exhaust leak). Getting a gasket to me would have taken way longer than me just getting it from Subaru... Which I did and worked perfectly.

That is really the only problems I had with Dezod. I am happy with the sound (and for the love of god THAT IDLE), it's amazing in the cabin, and I'm able to control the sound. This being my sixth month having it, I will surely look under the car some time.

I would have been furious if this happened to me, knowing that I should have gone with the more recognized company, GReddy.

[Summerwolf]

Being a smaller company with not many of those exhausts being manufactured, is it just me or does the offer to pay for a local person to fix the issue not out of line?

Personally, i would have gotten it welded up and then tried to contact them since it would be much faster for reimbursement than expect the wait and shipping of a replacement and then shipping the failed part back. Seems like more work for me then just getting it fixed and getting a check.

[Clipdat]

The problem I see with that is that it's kindof an attitude like "Here's $50, now go away" - they're not really standing behind the product.

He could take the $50, go to a muffler shop, have it welded and then in the future it could crack again in the same spot. But at that point, it's no longer Dezod's problem because in their eyes they paid out the $50 and now it's the muffler shop that welded it's problem.

Unfortunately in my mind the $50 payout just doesn't feel like they're standing behind their product in any way. They're just saying "Oh well, put a band aid on it."

Originally Posted by Summerwolf

Being a smaller company with not many of those exhausts being manufactured, is it just me or does the offer to pay for a local person to fix the issue not out of line?

Personally, i would have gotten it welded up and then tried to contact them since it would be much faster for reimbursement than expect the wait and shipping of a replacement and then shipping the failed part back. Seems like more work for me then just getting it fixed and getting a check.

[GT86Dan]

Originally Posted by Clipdat

The problem I see with that is that it's kindof an attitude like "Here's $50, now go away" - they're not really standing behind the product.

He could take the $50, go to a muffler shop, have it welded and then in the future it could crack again in the same spot. But at that point, it's no longer Dezod's problem because in their eyes they paid out the $50 and now it's the muffler shop that welded it's problem.

Unfortunately in my mind the $50 payout just doesn't feel like they're standing behind their product in any way. They're just saying "Oh well, put a band aid on it."

My point exactly. If they handled it in a better way and in the end welding it was the absolute best option then for us both, i would have no problem with it. But i was just told to eat basically. I never even recieved an apology....

After going back and forth all day Chris ultimatley told me that his offer was "industry standard" and that he doesnt need to offer me any more than he did. He essentially said he was finished with our conversation and would go no further than to pay me $50.

Just really sad because i too love everything about the exhaust however this experience just makes me want to remove it entirely. In the meantime i contacted Ft86speedFactory whom i bought it from, and they said they would contact Dezod to try to get a better result.

Hopefully ill get this welded soon , as the back end of the car is starting to heat up.

The saga continues ....

[Clipdat]

"this experience just makes me want to remove it entirely"

^^ Completely understandable. I'm shocked that he didn't even apologize for the fact that you now have a failed product on your car after only six months. There is nothing "industry standard" about offering a 5% refund on a product that fails.

I would decline the $50, go to the best muffler shop in the city, and attempt to get it TIG welded to see if that would be a permanent fix.

If it cracks again I would remove it and go with another brand. There are a number of other dual canister designs that have not had any reported issues with cracked welds.

Originally Posted by GT86Dan

My point exactly. If they handled it in a better way and in the end welding it was the absolute best option then for us both, i would have no problem with it. But i was just told to eat basically. I never even recieved an apology....

After going back and forth all day Chris ultimatley told me that his offer was "industry standard" and that he doesnt need to offer me any more than he did. He essentially said he was finished with our conversation and would go no further than to pay me $50.

Just really sad because i too love everything about the exhaust however this experience just makes me want to remove it entirely. In the meantime i contacted Ft86speedFactory whom i bought it from, and they said they would contact Dezod to try to get a better result.

Hopefully ill get this welded soon , as the back end of the car is starting to heat up.

The saga continues ....

[Summerwolf]

This is the first issue with a cracked weld I have heard from the Dezod exhaust as well.


Although, like I said, they are a smaller company and it doesn't seem to be an exhaust many people buy.

[Wacko]

I wouldnt say having none left in stock is just an excuse tossed around, its a legit excuse for a smaller company. Their current exhaust stock for the FRS/BRZ makes no mention of the V1 anymore, only that the V2 is coming soon.

I would venture to say it sets a horrible precedent to give someone a replacement that is a newer model, because then all sorts of people start coming out of the woodwork "Hey my V1 broke i want the V2" etc etc. The fact that they offered you the money to have it fixed seems like a good move to me, they could have said sucks to suck sorry about it.

[VeganGirl]

I understand your pain. The weld will help you yes, but what about the resell value?? That's not fair to you ! Especially with our cars the after market support for this car is huge so buying and selling parts is just what people do, I would be mad too.

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by Summerwolf

Being a smaller company with not many of those exhausts being manufactured, is it just me or does the offer to pay for a local person to fix the issue not out of line?

Personally, i would have gotten it welded up and then tried to contact them since it would be much faster for reimbursement than expect the wait and shipping of a replacement and then shipping the failed part back. Seems like more work for me then just getting it fixed and getting a check.

I had to offer this recently for a guy who bought an exhaust from me. It was found after deliver that there was a hairline crack on the resonator topside.

I offered to take the exhaust back but since it was a one of a kind (in the US) titanium exhaust, the buyer decided to keep it.

I offered a refund that was more than what the local welder would charge to fix the issue, but the refund was only agreed upon after the buyer decided to keep it.

It may be a small company, but fixes like these are often not ideal and the weld can fail again, especially if the exhaust design is causing premature failure at that section.

Originally Posted by GT86Dan

After going back and forth all day Chris ultimatley told me that his offer was "industry standard" and that he doesnt need to offer me any more than he did. He essentially said he was finished with our conversation and would go no further than to pay me $50.

That is not industry standard.

Industry standard is to replace your part that is defective with one that is properly working. There may be some initial resistance or hesitation but the proper method is to replace what is (clearly) broken, especially if there is no impact damage elsewhere on the exhaust.

-alex

[JazzleSAURUS]

Very surprised to hear about this. Especially since folks like @ATL_BRZ have been running this exhaust without issue.

That said, I'd be willing to purchase it from you, failure and all, if you want to get rid of it and cannot get a good result from Dezod.

[tofurun]

That's crazy to me. My biggest thing is what is their warranty policy? Anything over 100$ to me I always check the warranty that comes with it lol. If there is no warranty policy stated then that's kind of on you man... Does it suck it's cracked after only 6 months? Heck yea. Is it crappy for them to be doing you like this? Yea it's very unprofessional from what you are saying here. But if they don't offer a warranty.... Well.... Buyer has taken the risk. NOW. If they offer a warranty (at least a year for all the exhausts I have been looking at) I would take it off and send it back. Their problem not yours. Just my 2c