Subaru/Scion warranty and autocross

[Simmons]

The funny thing is 3 Subaru Dealers I went to made sure to tell me the car can fit 4 race tires and a helmut.


Simmons

[Ryeong86]

Originally Posted by miata

I think that's because people do better in autoX with Subaru than with Scion. Scion was just embarrassed to say that they will void the warranty if autoX'd because then people will laugh at them for saying that because Scions get their a$$ kicked by Subarus and Miatas. But with the FRS coming, I am sure Scion will add that clause if they don't have it yet.

All depends on the driver not the car. I already beat a BR-Z at my Auto X Solo2 event last month

[SWAMechFRS]

Originally Posted by speedrye

I've had my warranty voided by Ford for a single autocross event. Complete warranty, completely illegal based on the US Magnuson-Moss warranty act. It didn't matter though, the closest lawyer that would even consider taking the case was over 100 miles away and wanted $10k to even consider the case.
Ford had pulled up the local club's website and combined that with the fact that I had hit the rev limiter in the vehicle to void everything. I ended up fixing the problem the vehicle was in for on my own (simple vacuum leak on the intake, $20 fix) but I will never buy another Ford product again. I know, I know, I shouldn't have bought one to start with, but protect yourself. There's a reason I don't even put my exact location on forums. You'd be amazed at the number of spies that troll forums from different car and accessory distributors. I've been contacted numerous times from vendors/companies for posting a scathing review of a product, even when purely factual with little to no emotion involved in the writing of the review.
When you get your car, cover your butt and remember that someone is watching your every move. Don't post anything about doing something stupid in your car, breaking it and then bringing it in for warranty, because often, the manufacturer will find that out as well.
Surprisingly enough, I'm really not a paranoid person.

I call 100% BS and yes you are paranoid. Remember.....Big Brother is watching you man.........bwahahahaha.

[TheFirstScion]

I never had an issue with my turbo tC and warranty issues. And the dealer loves my FR-S. Every time I go in they ask whats new on it

[Kamran]

I called Scion of USA and asked them if my warranty would be voided if I track and not race the car. They said any high speed on the race track event would void it. I asked what if its on an open airfield, they said would void it. I called the service where I bought the car, they confirmed the same thing.

The manual says that the car has a black box that records everything. It is accessible by the dealer, police, and insurance companies!!! For various reason, including claims like car just decided to accelerate full throttle forward or in reverse, etc, etc.

[thisisbenji]

The "black box" issue really bothers me. It's a huge slap in the face to owners. It's like saying "Sure we will sell you a sports car, but if you drive it like a sports car don't come looking to us when it breaks." I guess we just have to think about it the same way as a motorcycle. Don't take it to the track if you can't afford to replace it.

[Kamran]

Agreed 100%. They even advertise the trunk space designed such that you can fit four tires for your trackday, along with all your track gears! But buyer beware !

In my experience the only brand that stands behind their cars when tracked is Porsche. They say their cars were made to participate in track events (not racing), especially the ones organized by the Porsche Club of America. I have even witnessed the dealer send out a mechanic to the track to fix a Porsche when it broke down under warranty, just so he could continue with his trackday and get his fun out of the day!!!

[l0aded]

bump for the scion part. if they were to add some clause in regarding voiding your warranty for autoX or tracking, would we have to be notified or could they just change it on the fly and screw us later?

Anyone know someone or a story of anyone who has ever run across this problem? more interested in tracking as opposed to autoX but still want to be safe.

[Calin]

Finding this thread made me sort of sad. I've owned a few sport cars in the past, but have never tracked any of them. Now that I bought a BRZ last week, I was really looking forward to tracking it at least once. After this thread, I'm not so sure anymore

[aaronosaurus]

Has anyone actually had this experience with Subaru? I used to autocross with a salesman an occasionally the service advisors from the dealership I was using would come to events. Their unwritten policy was "if it fails because of the event, you're on your own." I never had issues getting warranty work(albeit mostly HVAC related).

[dsgerbc]

Originally Posted by Kamran

The manual says that the car has a black box that records everything. It is accessible by the dealer, police, and insurance companies!!! For various reason, including claims like car just decided to accelerate full throttle forward or in reverse, etc, etc.

Per regulations, YOU own that data. Police/insurance etc can get access via subpoena, if there is litigation. You can also give your permission. So if manufacturer does not obtain your permission and tries to deny warranty on the basis of that data -sue them.

Also, EDRs record only a couple of seconds of data, not years worth. It's meant to help if there was a crash, not to spy on what the driver is doing.

[Calin]

Originally Posted by aaronosaurus

Has anyone actually had this experience with Subaru? I used to autocross with a salesman an occasionally the service advisors from the dealership I was using would come to events. Their unwritten policy was "if it fails because of the event, you're on your own." I never had issues getting warranty work(albeit mostly HVAC related).

Was this salesman and servie advisor from Subaru or another company?

[Calin]

Originally Posted by dsgerbc

Per regulations, YOU own that data. Police/insurance etc can get access via subpoena, if there is litigation. You can also give your permission. So if manufacturer does not obtain your permission and tries to deny warranty on the basis of that data -sue them.

Also, EDRs record only a couple of seconds of data, not years worth. It's meant to help if there was a crash, not to spy on what the driver is doing.

Thanks good to know. Thank you!

[Kamran]

Originally Posted by dsgerbc

Per regulations, YOU own that data. Police/insurance etc can get access via subpoena, if there is litigation. You can also give your permission. So if manufacturer does not obtain your permission and tries to deny warranty on the basis of that data -sue them.

Also, EDRs record only a couple of seconds of data, not years worth. It's meant to help if there was a crash, not to spy on what the driver is doing.

I believe the recording is well over 2 seconds. Having only 2 seconds is pretty much meaningless.

Most service dignostics, do the diagnostics as routine. Not aware of any regulations that spells out they need permission to perform their diagnostic when you hand them your car to diagnose.

Let's say, there is such a thing as asking for your permission, and let's say you just turned in a major warranty claim for them to fix, and your answer to them asking for your permission was "no".... I imagine I don't need to explain where your warranty claim goes from here...