Will Subaru deny warranty for transmission if I have aftermarket trans fluid?

[yEEt42069]

My BRZ is grinding into 4th gear at high rpms and I'm thinking of taking it into the Subaru dealer to have them take a look at it. Its quite weird because I had my mechanic put in royal purple fluid, and he drained the fluid two times, and never found any metal in the fluid. I've no idea why its grinding, but I just want to know if Subaru will deny warranty claim on the basis of aftermarket fluid? Would it be a good idea to put in the OEM then take it?

[extrashaky]

As long as you used the correct weight and type of fluid, they can't really deny warranty coverage. Or rather, they could, but then you'd take them to arbitration and they'd be forced to honor the warranty anyway. They know this, so they're unlikely to try it unless they suspect and think they can prove abuse.

When you say it's "grinding," is it a prolonged grind, or is it a crunch going into gear? If it's a crunch, they're going to tell you that's "normal" for transmissions in Subarus.

BTW, when I asked my dealership about 3 and 5 crunching in mine, the tech actually suggested I try Motul instead of the stock stuff. So like I said, they don't really care what brand you put in it as long as it's the correct weight and type of lubricant.

[bmxr]

My trans ate 4th and 5th gear syncros. Like you, I kept fresh and correct but non-OEM fluid in it. No questions were asked. They gave me a new trans. These trans are not the best and they are aware.


ps - the new one grinds a little going into 3rd, so yes, this is characteristic of even a "good" one. It can get worse though, which is what my last one did.

[ROFL it's Waffle]

Perhaps I need to go check out the transmission threads, but isn't the OEM fluid good for the life of the car? Just because they put a fill and drain port on the transmission (to me) doesn't mean it should be changed regularly/ever. Flushing a transmission sounds like trouble waiting to happen (clogging check-valves with metal bits that wouldn't normally make their way to check-valves without being flushed into that location). I know dealers try to scare customers into doing this unnecessary change, but I haven't seen this in any owners manuals or recommended by the manufacturer.


Just be honest with the Subie dealer. That tends to grant mutual respect moving forward.

[anticubus]

Originally Posted by ROFL it's Waffle

Perhaps I need to go check out the transmission threads, but isn't the OEM fluid good for the life of the car?

Yes-ish. The way I've come to understand the definition of life is "Some amount of time that extends past the last listed service checkpoint in your manual."

That means if you're an average car owner who gets the car at 0 miles, the fluid will not need to be replaced before you replace your car. Average car ownership is just under 6 years, which equates to 90,000 miles given the average 15,000 miles per year driven.

Anecdotally, I've seen transmissions with 300,000 miles on the original fluid. It wasn't babied as a whole, but the drivetrain was not abused (Also had an original clutch that still held tight).

On the other hand, we all probably abuse our cars more than the average person. Track use definitely deserves more frequent fluid replacements just like brake fluid and oil. If you rev it out frequently, there's a lot of motion in the transmission that could degrade the fluid earlier than expected.

Long story short I personally consider any "lifetime fluid" to be a candidate for replacement after 120,000 miles. It's never the right color when it comes out after that long.

[p1l0t]

On my phone the fluid part was was cut off so I only saw aftermarket trans.. I'm highly disappoint.

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[yEEt42069]

When you say it's "grinding," is it a prolonged grind, or is it a crunch going into gear? If it's a crunch, they're going to tell you that's "normal" for transmissions in Subarus.

Yea its definitely more of a crunch. At lower rpm it just seems notchier, and at higher rpms like near redline its like a crunch.

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by yEEt42069

Yea its definitely more of a crunch. At lower rpm it just seems notchier, and at higher rpms like near redline its like a crunch.

Yeah, they're going to tell you that's normal. My tech drove it and said it felt normal, so he even had me drive it and point out the crunching to him and said that was normal. Unless it turns into an actual grind, they're not likely to fix it.

Won't hurt anything to try, though.

[8inchAzN]

I learned that they can deny you warranty for any reason...and want you to waste your time to go fight it.

I was denied warranty because...and I loosely quote:

Service Manager: "Your car has 80k kms on it already, we can't warranty that"
Me: "The powertrain is for 100k kms, why does it matter if I have 1km or 99 999kms?"
Service Manager: "Sorry, we can't warranty that".

The response I got from Subaru corporate regarding this:

Unfortunately, you will have to speak to the General Manager at Gemini Motors for this concern as dealerships are independently owned and operated.

[p1l0t]

Originally Posted by 8inchAzN

I learned that they can deny you warranty for any reason...and want you to waste your time to go fight it.

I was denied warranty because...and I loosely quote:

Service Manager: "Your car has 80k kms on it already, we can't warranty that"
Me: "The powertrain is for 100k kms, why does it matter if I have 1km or 99 999kms?"
Service Manager: "Sorry, we can't warranty that".

The response I got from Subaru corporate regarding this:

Unfortunately, you will have to speak to the General Manager at Gemini Motors for this concern as dealerships are independently owned and operated.

I have found you can download a small claims form online and when you walk in to the manager to serve them they usually will come to the table. (Writ of Certiorari)

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[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by 8inchAzN

I was denied warranty because...and I loosely quote///.

Out of curiousity, what portion of it was you were trying to get repaired under warranty?

I guess I must lead a charmed life because I've never had a valid warranty repair refused, or even really questioned. In fact, I've had two cars (a 1977 Honda Civic and a 1999 Chevy Astro) that were both completely repainted under warranty because of faulty paint that had begun peeling in large areas. In both cases I was the the second owner (had bought them used) and both were in the last 10,000 miles of the warranty end. In both cases it had to be approved by a factory rep, but it wasn't an issue in the end.

Conversely, I'm apparently not very charmed when it comes to paint life I suppose. That continues with the FR-S.

[8inchAzN]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

Out of curiousity, what portion of it was you were trying to get repaired under warranty?

It was a Hub bolt.

Edit:
[QUOTE=p1l0t;3282628]I have found you can download a small claims form online and when you walk in to the manager to serve them they usually will come to the table. (Writ of Certiorari)

To be fair I didn't expect them to warranty that part but that was the response the service manager gave to me when I asked. I contacted Subaru because they quoted me for 1 hub bolt + labour but they changed 2 hub bolts and 2x labour without informing me. They would not release my car until I paid for both. That was why I contacted Subie canada.

[Grady]

Originally Posted by ROFL it's Waffle

Perhaps I need to go check out the transmission threads, but isn't the OEM fluid good for the life of the car?

The transmission fluid is good for the life of the transmission, just like the factory engine oil is good for the life of the engine.

[p1l0t]

[quote=8inchAzN;3282652]It was a Hub bolt.

Edit:

Originally Posted by p1l0t

I have found you can download a small claims form online and when you walk in to the manager to serve them they usually will come to the table. (Writ of Certiorari)

To be fair I didn't expect them to warranty that part but that was the response the service manager gave to me when I asked. I contacted Subaru because they quoted me for 1 hub bolt + labour but they changed 2 hub bolts and 2x labour without informing me. They would not release my car until I paid for both. That was why I contacted Subie canada.

Whatever it's like $35 court fee and if you win THEY pay it. (Besides it's more of a bluff tactic just showing up with the form)

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