follow ft86club on our blog, twitter or facebook.
FT86CLUB
Ft86Club
Delicious Tuning
Register Garage Members List Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Go Back   Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community - FT86CLUB > 1st Gens: Scion FR-S / Toyota 86 / Subaru BRZ > BRZ First-Gen (2012+) -- General Topics

BRZ First-Gen (2012+) -- General Topics All discussions about the first-gen Subaru BRZ coupe


User Tag List

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 06-25-2016, 09:04 AM   #15
nikitopo
Senior Member
 
nikitopo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Drives: '15 BRZ RA
Location: Greece
Posts: 3,787
Thanks: 2,416
Thanked 1,943 Times in 1,260 Posts
Mentioned: 29 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jordan Silveira View Post
With that said, I had driven the car with absolutely no issues for three months until I took the car to be tinted and upon picking up my car, the car failed to start. I tried everything from forum searching, to attempting to jump start the car, and to no avail, nothing worked. The vehicle had full electricity from alarms, stereo, lights, etc. However, the engine would not turn over (crank). The steering wheel was locked and I was being shown a blinking immobilizer light on my cluster. In conjunction with this, when I would press on the clutch it would recognize my key fob was in range (per the light on the cluster). Finally, I gave up and had the car towed to Puente Hills Subaru {PHS} (Subaru Roadside wouldn’t assist so Geico was my only option and they towed the car to the nearest dealer).

Something happened in the tint shop. Period. How long did you leave the car there? You had to sue them before taking the car from there. You gave them a functioning car and you got back a broken car. They have to compensate for all the service costs, the towing costs and provide you a rental car the complete period you don't have a car.


Unfortunately, you didn't sue them and now you need to ask a lawyer. You'll need also support from your Subaru dealer. The dealer needs to claim that the issue is the wrong ECU flash and that this could happen only when the car was in the tint shop. In a sense, they have to claim that the car cannot be driven for some hours or days with a wrong ECU!
nikitopo is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to nikitopo For This Useful Post:
Clipdat (06-25-2016)
Old 06-25-2016, 09:17 AM   #16
nikitopo
Senior Member
 
nikitopo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Drives: '15 BRZ RA
Location: Greece
Posts: 3,787
Thanks: 2,416
Thanked 1,943 Times in 1,260 Posts
Mentioned: 29 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
By the way, the Subaru dealer has the full right to deny fixing your car under warranty. You can check your contract. It should say very clearly that whatever kind of chip tuning or flashing of the ECU is a void of the warranty. Period.
nikitopo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-25-2016, 10:34 AM   #17
Braces
Senior Member
 
Braces's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Drives: 17 Alfa Romeo 4C
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
Posts: 987
Thanks: 570
Thanked 711 Times in 365 Posts
Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 2 Thread(s)
You would think that Subaru dealers are FULLY AWARE of any tunes on their used cars. To sell the car they remind you that it has its original warranty. You feel reassured until something like this arises.

It is preposterous to think that the tint shop had anything to do with this. Butttttt ... Strange that the issue shows up at the tint shop. Cause and effect. Cause and effect.

I would work with Gendale Subaru. Speak to the Sales Manager. Explain the situation. Tell him you didn't touch the vehicle (hopefully you are telling the truth) nor did anyone else.
Ask them did they scan the car originally to determine if it was modified. Seems like most dealerships would do a general scan for vin information, recalls, tsbs,etc. Ask for supporting evidence that the car was not tuned. That's the key.

If they say they don't typically scan all cars and they are sold AS IS. Then they are engaged in deceptive practice. You can't argue ignorance, tell you everything is fine since you have factory warranty .... And then this happens ... And you're screwed.

Ask for documentation that the car was "stock" when they sold it to you.
__________________
My 2013 Firestorm Red 13 FRS is gone. Bought the next best thing: 2017 Alfa Romeo 4C
Braces is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-25-2016, 11:23 AM   #18
MuseChaser
Feeling like thinking....
 
MuseChaser's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Drives: 2013 FR-S
Location: CNY
Posts: 1,664
Thanks: 1,664
Thanked 2,433 Times in 1,064 Posts
Mentioned: 20 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
I don't know what the terms "unwind" and "unwound" mean in the context you used them when describing the initial sale.. can you clear that up for me?

It's a shame you weren't able to have the car towed back to the dealer who sold you the car. I've been a AAA Premium member (or something like that.. pays for tows up to 100 miles) for many years. Their tow service is usually at least pretty good, although I've had to wait for a few hours on a couple occasions. Even if you only get one tow every two years, you still come out ahead. I hate their home and auto insurance; their service is abyssmal. Their roadside program, however, is worth its weight in gold. Consider it for the future. Next time you break down, just tell'em to tow it anyplace you'd like and there's no charge.

Was your car a "certified" used car? If so, you've got 12/12,000 coverage bumper-to-bumper from date of sale, and 7yrs/100,000 mile drivetrain from manufacture date warranties, and any car that new w/ mileage that low bought from that car brand's dealership should certainly have qualified for the "certified" program. My experience has been w/ Toyota (I have an FR-S), but I would think that Subaru would have a similar program.

I concur with the previous poster; you need to be dealing with the dealership that sold you the car. His suggestion re/ asking them pointed questions regarding tunes and documentation prior to selling you the car are dead on. You may wish to ask them about the "certified" used program, and, if your car was NOT a "certified" vehicle, why wasn't it? That may help get some further information out of them.

Your situation sounds really painful. I had an AWFUL used car purchase exerience about a year and a half ago. Long story and I won't bother to relate it, but it resulted in my license being suspended due to the dealership not processing registration paperwork properly (or at all for a few months), losing the title, and about $11,000 in repairs that I couldn't make due to the title/registration issues that delayed my ability to drive the car for about 100 days after taking delivery of it. Coincidentally, that was 10 days longer than the 90 day lemon law in NYS. Well played, felonious used car criminal dealership. I feel your pain, O.P., and wish you luck. No matter what, this WILL pass and in another year or two you'll have a story to tell.

Best wishes,

Barry

Last edited by MuseChaser; 06-25-2016 at 02:59 PM. Reason: 2nd grade grammar crap
MuseChaser is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-25-2016, 11:25 AM   #19
Pat
Senior Member
 
Pat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Drives: 2023 BRZ
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 1,803
Thanks: 1,482
Thanked 1,244 Times in 672 Posts
Mentioned: 34 Post(s)
Tagged: 2 Thread(s)
Garage
FWIW, many auto insurance policies cover towing. I've used mine a few times. You might be paying for something you don't need.
Sorry for the hijack. Carry on...
Pat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-25-2016, 02:17 PM   #20
Jordan Silveira
Senior Member
 
Jordan Silveira's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Drives: 2016 Subaru Series.HyperBlue #631
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 500
Thanks: 310
Thanked 191 Times in 130 Posts
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Thank you all for your support and help in providing knowledge and advice.

@SleepingPanda. I will try to get the car to where I purchased but the tow is the issue as of right now.

@krayzie I appreciate your input and knowledge on the technical side of these things. Unfortunately, I think that is where the dealer is trying to get me. They know the average consumer wouldn't know there way around how the ECU works, or calibration ID's, 0 value readouts, ignition counts, etc.

@Speed2th. I purposely did not buy from PHS when they also had a Series.Hyperblue during the time of my purchase. The salesman redlined it as it was cold with absolute carelessness. Definitely not a car I wanted after that. As for Subaru Roadside, when I called about my initial need for a tow they told me they had no in service providers in my area (I was in a city, not some rural area). I had to call Geico which would only tow me 20 miles (which is why PHS was the only place the car could go). Now, Glendale is 27 miles away and Geico won't cover that far, and Subaru Roadside won't assist because they tow to the nearest dealer, well my car is already at a dealer so they won't tow any further even despite me telling them they are refusing me service. They told me take that up with SoA which I of course had already done.

@nikitopo believe me I thought the same regarding the tint shop and so they were my first stop. I went to an incredibly reputable shop and on top of that, there just isn't much logic in a tint shop tuning my car for me because in what way does that activity benefit them or in turn, help me? Nonetheless, I went and sat with the owner and watch complete surveillance footage from various angles from drop off to pickup of my vehicle. In that time, there was no conceivable foul play. The only time I could not see what was going on was in an interval of maybe 40 seconds tops. Even then, I doubt any flash/tune could be done in that amount of time, not too mention they drove the car out of the bay at that point. Moreover, I never saw any sort of device that was slyly put inside any pockets, and lastly, I had the guy who was in my car for that 40 second interval brought in the back of the shop so I could question what he was doing. All in all, while I agree the tint shop should assist because my car's well being was left in their possession, I highly doubt they had anything to do with this.

@Braces Thank you so much for the helpful advice. I will definitely be using your line of questioning with Glendale assuming I can get their in person. I don't feel like an over the phone will get me the answers I need. Once again thank you! I definitely feel like getting info from Glendale and getting the car to Glendale will be two feathers in my cap dealing with this matter. As for whether I am telling the truth, as I told SoA and the service manager, I would gladly take a polygraph if it meant I could prove my innocence. Futhermore, as I have mentioned in other topics, I highly doubt I would keep fighting this hard considering the circumstances (no transportation, no rental, no work, no pay, endless hours of documenting events, endless hours of calling PHS and SoA, stress, etc.) if I had any level of guilt.

@MuseChaser Thank you so much Barry, what a horrible situation you were in, I cannot even begin to compare mine to yours. I definitely will keep fighting and keep my head up but this has been so stressful over the last week. I will look into AAA, my car was sold to me as "used" I believe but I assumed CPO and Used were essentially the same thing considering the mileage that the car had when I bought it (193 on the ODO). As for an unwind, my understanding is that an unwind is somewhat common where someone can come in and "finance" the vehicle but for some reason or another the car has to be returned because financing didn't go through within the allotted time of their option contract, etc.
__________________
Jordan Silveira is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-25-2016, 03:07 PM   #21
ryoma
Senior Member
 
ryoma's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Drives: 2015 Subaru BRZ Limited CWP
Location: SoCal
Posts: 1,561
Thanks: 34
Thanked 669 Times in 469 Posts
Mentioned: 13 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
I don't see how towing your car is an unsolvable issue. just pay some money out of pocket. if you are so strapped for cash that you cannot pay $100 for a tow (at most, if you use your insurance coverage) then I don't know what to say to you... please don't take offense to this but that was the kind of vibe I was getting from reading your posts.
__________________
ryoma is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to ryoma For This Useful Post:
Summerwolf (06-26-2016)
Old 06-25-2016, 04:08 PM   #22
skye67
Senior Member
 
skye67's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Drives: 2013 black AT, OFT, 4.65
Location: Fresno, California
Posts: 187
Thanks: 180
Thanked 69 Times in 49 Posts
Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
That Dealer that is doing the repair has not clue about ECU. The 0 sums he is reading can only come from a car that has be reflashed with less than 100 miles on it, a newly replace ECU with less than 100miles on it. Or the wiring or ECU is bad. Good luck.
__________________
Living the dream in a nightmare.
skye67 is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to skye67 For This Useful Post:
FRSBRZGT86FAN (06-26-2016)
Old 06-25-2016, 04:15 PM   #23
Kostamojen
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Drives: 1993 Impreza w/ WRX Swap + FWD!
Location: Roseville, CA
Posts: 2,071
Thanks: 217
Thanked 949 Times in 499 Posts
Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quote:
Originally Posted by CCJ View Post
lofuckingl. The tint shop? The dealership that sold the car? Lawyer up asap?

Please explain.
If the Subaru Rep finds the ECU has indeed been modified, then there is no recourse through Subaru or through his warranty. A lawyer MUST get involved to pursue the independent party responsible for the failure, period.
Kostamojen is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-25-2016, 06:28 PM   #24
Jordan Silveira
Senior Member
 
Jordan Silveira's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Drives: 2016 Subaru Series.HyperBlue #631
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 500
Thanks: 310
Thanked 191 Times in 130 Posts
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
@ryoma No it definitely is something I'm going to have to do I am just trying to find the least costly way of getting it done. More than anything, I am just cautious to pay money and tow it to Glendale for the fear of them just denying fault and following suit by agreeing with whatever notes the service manager from PHS made.

@skye67 could you possibly elaborate further? What would cause the sums to be reading 0's. The service manager claimed that it indicated the flash had just been done but as I stated, I watched the footage at the tint shop and can obviously say I didn't do it, so what could cause this. Is there any direct way to dispute his hypothesis that just because some numbers read 0 that it doesn't mean it has been flashed or tuned. I honestly believe the car has never been tuned or flashed. I just can't see a way that someone within 200 miles would do that to the car. I feel like it was just an easy way for them to blame me (so I have to pay) and meanwhile replace a whole part that would surely fix the issue (the ECU), rather than digging around deeper to really see what's causing it.

@Kostamojen I will definitely look into lawyering up but I figure I should wait to exhaust all other resources before entering into what will surely begin some long litigation and arbitration process in small claims court.

As always, thank you all for giving input. Any and all input and feedback is helpful.
__________________
Jordan Silveira is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-25-2016, 10:25 PM   #25
ryoma
Senior Member
 
ryoma's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Drives: 2015 Subaru BRZ Limited CWP
Location: SoCal
Posts: 1,561
Thanks: 34
Thanked 669 Times in 469 Posts
Mentioned: 13 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
before even towing the car to Glendale, talk to them and give them as much information as possible. ask them if they have ever encountered this problem before and tell them that you bought the car from them (this is the most important part). if they deny everything, you need to be assertive and don't take "no" for an answer.
__________________
ryoma is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to ryoma For This Useful Post:
Jordan Silveira (06-25-2016)
Old 06-26-2016, 12:46 AM   #26
nikitopo
Senior Member
 
nikitopo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Drives: '15 BRZ RA
Location: Greece
Posts: 3,787
Thanks: 2,416
Thanked 1,943 Times in 1,260 Posts
Mentioned: 29 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jordan Silveira View Post
@nikitopo believe me I thought the same regarding the tint shop and so they were my first stop. I went to an incredibly reputable shop and on top of that, there just isn't much logic in a tint shop tuning my car for me because in what way does that activity benefit them or in turn, help me? Nonetheless, I went and sat with the owner and watch complete surveillance footage from various angles from drop off to pickup of my vehicle. In that time, there was no conceivable foul play. The only time I could not see what was going on was in an interval of maybe 40 seconds tops. Even then, I doubt any flash/tune could be done in that amount of time, not too mention they drove the car out of the bay at that point. Moreover, I never saw any sort of device that was slyly put inside any pockets, and lastly, I had the guy who was in my car for that 40 second interval brought in the back of the shop so I could question what he was doing. All in all, while I agree the tint shop should assist because my car's well being was left in their possession, I highly doubt they had anything to do with this.
If your dealer told you that someone tried to flash your car with a COBB tune, you have to believe him. He knows something more than us. I would expect that someone in the tint shop did this and now they're trying to hide the truth. Obviously, they wanted to flash the car and go for a ride and have some fun going sideways. They were stupid because COBB creates tunes only for FI engines and there is no tune for our cars. They saw that it is a Subaru, but they didn't think it is not an STI! So they flashed your car with an incorrect tune. The easiest solution would be to find the guy with this COBB accessory and re-flash the original factory tune. Your factory tune is stored there. This will cost you nothing. Otherwise, good luck installing a new ECU unit from the factory? By the way, I am not sure how you could see this in the surveillance video. You alter the tune when you are inside the car. There is a port under the steering wheel. You don't need to open the engine or do anything else.
nikitopo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-26-2016, 01:35 AM   #27
zonda
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Drives: 2014 WRB BRZ
Location: Torrance
Posts: 57
Thanks: 17
Thanked 6 Times in 6 Posts
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
not sure if youre looking for a good dealership, but i recommend Subaru in Torrance. They literally fix anything and everything for me without having to worry about asking them any nagging questions.
zonda is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-26-2016, 01:50 AM   #28
Jordan Silveira
Senior Member
 
Jordan Silveira's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Drives: 2016 Subaru Series.HyperBlue #631
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 500
Thanks: 310
Thanked 191 Times in 130 Posts
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quote:
Originally Posted by zonda View Post
not sure if youre looking for a good dealership, but i recommend Subaru in Torrance. They literally fix anything and everything for me without having to worry about asking them any nagging questions.
Good to know. Thank you!
__________________
Jordan Silveira is offline   Reply With Quote
 
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Subaru trying to deny my warranty please help! Jordan Silveira Issues | Warranty | Recalls / TSB 21 06-30-2016 09:30 PM
Subaru/Scion warranty and autocross Ribface Tracking / Autocross / HPDE / Drifting 55 06-17-2015 08:30 PM
Subaru gold plus ext. warranty MObrz5 Northern California 9 04-10-2014 04:08 PM
Subaru Warranty Question Sovran BRZ First-Gen (2012+) -- General Topics 3 06-04-2012 11:59 AM
Scion Warranty +1yr vs Subaru.. MarkRacerX Scion FR-S / Toyota 86 GT86 General Forum 13 04-24-2012 10:01 AM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 03:43 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.

Garage vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.