Has anyone had a warranty claim denied? Seized engine! Pics of teardown added 6/5

[kwood9000]

Good video. Don't think you meant $900 an hour in labor though.

[Mad1723]

Originally Posted by kwood9000

Good video. Don't think you meant $900 an hour in labor though.

It was more 900$ total, 18 hours @ 50$/hour

[sierra]

Originally Posted by Mad1723

It was more 900$ total, 18 hours @ 50$/hour

It was 5 hours.
18 hours was their standard joke time.

[Onealpha]

Nicely done! Thank you for taking the time to do this. It just makes me more comfortable with my decision to keep my car stock for now

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by iKenndac

Hi guys,

I registered here to give my support to Mike — this thread is starting to make its way around the internet and I've been following it with interest.

The way this issue is being handled by Subaru (and not the issue itself — I get that new cars have teething problems, it's how they're dealt with that counts) has cost them a sale.

I've been trying to decide between this car and a Mazda MX-5 as a second car for spirited country road driving and occasional track use, and this thread fills me with horror. I've had cars like this in the past — most recently, a Mazda RX-8 R3. The dealer knew I tracked it, and often had conversations with me about how the car performed on track. Still, Mazda honoured the warranty for every problem I had, with the mutual understanding that if I modified something, the warranty on that part would be void.

Sure, the warranty wording may allow the manufacturer to pull the entire warranty if they suspect you're racing it, but advertising a car for track use then confronting your customers with printouts of forum posts that've been misinterpreted… come on, that's just not cricket.

Car enthusiasts like the people who inhabit this forum are very important customers for manufacturers who make these kinds of cars. We're smart, passionate people who will as a huge community support companies that treat them fairly and with respect, and turn against companies who try to nickel and dime their customers and treat them like idiots.

In this instance, I've been pushed right back into the arms of Mazda — a company I know treats guys like me well. If someone from Subaru is reading this thread — and I hope they are — this will be my fourth Mazda. You get that kind of loyalty not by paying out on every false warranty claim, but by treating your customers with respect and fairness.

I hope everything gets sorted reasonably, Mike!

I wasn't aware that this was getting around the internet, but I suppose press couldn't hurt us... rally the troops!

[xjohnx]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

I wasn't aware that this was getting around the internet, but I suppose press couldn't hurt us... rally the troops!

Still no response from Subaru? Not even a giant "Eff off"? Unbelievable how long they have let this thing drag on.

[xjohnx]

Originally Posted by vteclol

They're not going to spend any more resources than they have to dealing with these problematic cars. FR-S/BRZ sales numbers are barely a blip on the radar compared to Toyota/Subaru's bread and butter cars, why would they care? Less cars = fewer owners = less PR to deal with

That makes no sense. To protect their image they must ignore the warranty claims of BRZ owners in order to get BETTER PR?

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by xjohnx

That makes no sense. To protect their image they must ignore the warranty claims of BRZ owners in order to get BETTER PR?

Subaru really doesn't care to sell this car. It costs them production time that can be spent on more profitable cars.

And, Subaru is having a record year.

[chanomatik]

I wonder how Subaru of Japan handles these things? They make the special edition STI trims of every model over there and several variations of the STI specifically geared towards track racing.

If you don't want the cars tracked then don't release race-inspired merchandise.

[xjohnx]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

Subaru really doesn't care to sell this car. It costs them production time that can be spent on more profitable cars.

And, Subaru is having a record year.

While they may not care to sell this car, they care to sell other cars, no?

Getting a bad reputation for not honoring warranties could impact not only BRZ sales, but all other Subaru sales as well.

[chanomatik]

Originally Posted by xjohnx

While they may not care to sell this car, they care to sell other cars, no?

Getting a bad reputation for not honoring warranties could impact not only BRZ sales, but all other Subaru sales as well.

The line is fairly divided. They might get a rep among the tuner/enthusiast/performance crowd that these cars cater to, but the bulk of their money comes from new owners and those that buy the non-performance models.

1,000 warranty issues spread among BRZ, WRX and STI will not affect sales and relations with owners of Legacy, Outback, Forester, Crosstrek and Impreza. Could it affect things on a technicality? Sure. They might lose a few people. In the grand scheme of things, however, we're honestly just not that big of a deal to any sizable manufacturer.

Now if these were Tesla Model S that were tracked, you better believe Tesla would have your best interest in mind since sales of Tesla are smaller, but of a much higher profile. That's just a simple example.

[xjohnx]

Originally Posted by chanomatik

The line is fairly divided. They might get a rep among the tuner/enthusiast/performance crowd that these cars cater to, but the bulk of their money comes from new owners and those that buy the non-performance models.

1,000 warranty issues spread among BRZ, WRX and STI will not affect sales and relations with owners of Legacy, Outback, Forester, Crosstrek and Impreza. Could it affect things on a technicality? Sure. They might lose a few people. In the grand scheme of things, however, we're honestly just not that big of a deal to any sizable manufacturer.

Now if these were Tesla Model S that were tracked, you better believe Tesla would have your best interest in mind since sales of Tesla are smaller, but of a much higher profile. That's just a simple example.

Perhaps, but you're going to start seeing the FA motors in a lot more subies in the near future. You don't think that would be a cause for concern for a forester/legacy customer who has done their research?

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by xjohnx

Perhaps, but you're going to start seeing the FA motors in a lot more subies in the near future. You don't think that would be a cause for concern for a forester/legacy customer who has done their research?

FB, not FA....

Also, Subaru has the highest brand loyalty of any automaker... even after all this, I'd still consider a WRX for a DD.

[cys19]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

Subaru really doesn't care to sell this car. It costs them production time that can be spent on more profitable cars.

And, Subaru is having a record year.

I was one tiny step away from purchasing a BRZ/FRS. Because of Subaru's apathy, I'm putting my money elsewhere. It's such a shame and a disappointment.