Steering wheel locked Towed to dealer

[kmac_brz]

And the underglow and the interior LED'S used to work when the previous owner put them in but now don't and the car has been starting fine for the 3 months I've owned it without those lights working

[ryoma]

Originally Posted by kmac_brz

And the underglow and the interior LED'S used to work when the previous owner put them in but now don't and the car has been starting fine for the 3 months I've owned it without those lights working

you have conflicting statements with this post and the one before. you say that the door lights and the dome works, but then you state that they don't work. or do you have more aftermarket LED strips inside your car that don't work, but the stock lights still work? it sounds like an improper install of all the aftermarket lighting you have. it's weird that our relatively newer cars can't support any additional current draw without damaging some type of circuit lol

I also doubt it's your tail lights since I have TOM'S and have no problems. I also converted my interior lighting to LED's as well and have no problems (knock on wood). from what I've read of other people's problems, the BCM blows when they install their LED bulbs and the metal contacts bridge the two terminals

[kmac_brz]

Originally Posted by ryoma

you have conflicting statements with this post and the one before. you say that the door lights and the dome works, but then you state that they don't work. or do you have more aftermarket LED strips inside your car that don't work, but the stock lights still work? it sounds like an improper install of all the aftermarket lighting you have. it's weird that our relatively newer cars can't support any additional current draw without damaging some type of circuit lol

Sorry for the confusion the underglow and interior after led bars don't work. The underglow wiring is cut so it hasn't worked in a while the interior aftermarket LED bars in the footwells haven't worked since I've had the car but all the interior stock lighting works properly

I also doubt it's your tail lights since I have TOM'S and have no problems. I also converted my interior lighting to LED's as well and have no problems (knock on wood). from what I've read of other people's problems, the BCM blows when they install their LED bulbs and the metal contacts bridge the two terminals

The aftermarket LED bar interior lighting(in footwell) does not work the stock subaru lighting all do. The underglow wiring is cut so it's definetly not that and you say it's not the tails that means only thing they can say it is is the Interior lighting

[ryoma]

how is your extra lighting connected? splicing with OEM wires? it sounds like that might be the problem, but I'm not sure why it took this long for it to act up lol.

[pantdino]

Originally Posted by jawn

Yes. Shorting out the BCM is a thing that happens.

No, I have no idea if the steering wheel lock would be affected by the BCM.

Some kind of safety feature-- steering remains locked if BCM is blown?

[kmac_brz]

Originally Posted by ryoma

how is your extra lighting connected? splicing with OEM wires? it sounds like that might be the problem, but I'm not sure why it took this long for it to act up lol.

Not sure in didn't install it the kid that had the car prior to me had it done

[kmac_brz]

Originally Posted by ryoma

how is your extra lighting connected? splicing with OEM wires? it sounds like that might be the problem, but I'm not sure why it took this long for it to act up lol.

Does anyone know if they can void the warranty without proof the LED caused the problem? Considering the LED has been out for the past 6 months

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by kmac_brz

Does anyone know if they can void the warranty without proof the LED caused the problem? Considering the LED has been out for the past 6 months

Well they have to prove it contributed so if gone that long then pretty difficult to to point at it.

[kmac_brz]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Well they have to prove it contributed so if gone that long then pretty difficult to to point at it.

In your opinion what should my.next course of action be with them? I have calls in to Subaru corporate and waiting for the east coast warranty manager to call back by end of business tomorrow. I'm asking them to prove to me that light that has been out for such a long time suddenly caused the BCM to fry and I was responded too with if you don't believe me get a second opinion

[kmac_brz]

@ryoma in your opinion where should i go with this. I have the service manager having no idea what hes talking about and Subaru corporate having the warranty manager calling me back. Besides the point of a light being out for 6 months suddenly causing a BCM failure, ive asked to have them show me how this happened still waiting for a response, they said the Subaru tech line diagnosed it "over the phone". Do i even have a leg to stand on to this point?

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by kmac_brz

In your opinion what should my.next course of action be with them? I have calls in to Subaru corporate and waiting for the east coast warranty manager to call back by end of business tomorrow. I'm asking them to prove to me that light that has been out for such a long time suddenly caused the BCM to fry and I was responded too with if you don't believe me get a second opinion

How do they even know there were lights?

[kmac_brz]

The lights LED light bars are still there but they have not worked in a long time. My other gripe is they want 240 for diag. After last I was told last Wednesday I needed a steering gear they were waiting to hear back from warranty company. My next phone call was on Friday saying I owed 240 for diag because my BCM was fried. I never authorized you to go any further then the steering gear, you can't arbitrarily just do w e you want until you find the issue then charge me without consent

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by kmac_brz

The lights LED light bars are still there but they have not worked in a long time. My other gripe is they want 240 for diag. After last I was told last Wednesday I needed a steering gear they were waiting to hear back from warranty company. My next phone call was on Friday saying I owed 240 for diag because my BCM was fried. I never authorized you to go any further then the steering gear, you can't arbitrarily just do w e you want until you find the issue then charge me without consent

If the bars are still there then you may be out of luck. I thought everything had been gone for a while. It is a known fact that improperly (or some times even properly) installed lights can fry the BCU so hard to argue if evidence of them is still there.
Did you sign a service document when you took it in? If you did then the fine print probably says that they will be paid for any diagnostic work required to identify the issue. If you signed anything ask to see it and any such clause. They have these contracts to avoid being screwed over by doing non warranty work and then not being paid for it. They are a for profit business not a public service. Now of course if you can get it done under warranty then the fee will be waived.
As much as I would like to be optimistic for you, I don't think this is going to go well.

[stugray]

Originally Posted by why?

this is because dumb dealers. And unless they are ridiculed publicly they won't change.

Now that you see that there were significant modifications to the electrical system of the car, don't you feel stupid for sh|t-talking about the dealer before you had all of the facts?


The FACT is that the OP is screwed. They can now attribute ANY problem with the car to the modifications to the electrical system (justified or not) and it would be up to the OP to prove otherwise.


If the OP had bought the car used from a Subaru dealer (like I did), then he would have some legal standing as the dealer could be held liable for not disclosing (or fixing) the modifications.