WTF - Engine rebuild 4 months out of warranty...

[teK--]

also contact today tonight or current affair to complaint about it.

[jdm rsk]

which dealer and service center did you go to?
Yes this is lame none cars should be broken that easy specially only at that kms. You can submit a complaint to consumer affair. also contact today tonight or current affair to complaint about it.

I got my car with 27,000 ks changed the oil every 5000ks. My car did a big end bearing around 50,000ks. Just had the engine rebuilt at 76,500. So I would not say a car should or should not do anything Imo

[subarugt]

damn subaru cars can only last about 70000kms?

[jdm rsk]

damn subaru cars can only last about 70000kms?

I woundnt say that because I have seen plenty with 200,000ks on them.

[nico]

Update...

Ok, so finally heard back from Subaru who have had my motor out & sent to their engineers for diagnosis for the last week & it appears that the bearing issue is with cylinder 2 only. He's unable to tell me how this would happen on a single cylinder, but as it appears that the outcome of their diagnosis is "inconclusive", they've offered me a rebuild of the engine with Subaru Australia to supply "all parts & engineering" & me to pay for labour.

He wasn't able to tell me what the labour component would be (though I imagine it would be huge considering he's taliking about machining parts, acid baths, etc). I mentioned to him again about the numerous others on this forum who've had the same issue (big end bearing / out of warranty) & been supplied a new short motor by Subaru Australia. I asked why my case is any different to theirs & why they wouldn't just replace the motor when that would most likely be a cheaper excersise than rebuilding. Again he was unable to answer any of those questions either!

So he's gone off to do some research or repair Vs replace & will come back to me. I would have expected that a Subaru service manager would know / have done his homework on this before calling

If any of you guys can tell me how much you were up for for the labour component of your engine replacement it would be much appreciated!

The wait continues...

[Spec B Wgn]

well at least thats a compromise as i thought might happen with my first post ..

thats not a bad thing, just make sure they replace items that are worn or that they would replace if under full warranty

i wouldnt think much change out of $1,500 would be my guess.

[teK--]

I would be concerned if it's only a few parts that need replacing that the labour component may far outweigh parts....

Look at it this way, if it is a manufacturing defect, whether it appeared within or 4 months outside of NVW it is still not a fault of yours. I would be pushing for more assistance unless there is a inch of doubt that it is lack of maintenance or misuse of the car.

If it is a case of the former it would not be an unreasonable compromise for Subaru to cover parts and labor, but you pay for consumables such as oil and coolant, filters. Or they pay for parts and you pay for labour at warranty rate (not retail) plus consumables.

Wait for an estimate of labour then make your decision from there. If you want to take it further ask for their decision in writing and reasons why they are only covering parts and not most/all of labour, then seek legal advice.

I worked in aftersales for Holden and in these types of cases I try to help the customer out as much as I can since it is really just bad luck.

[Spec B Wgn]

I would be concerned if it's only a few parts that need replacing that the labour component may far outweigh parts....

Look at it this way, if it is a manufacturing defect, whether it appeared within or 4 months outside of NVW it is still not a fault of yours. I would be pushing for more assistance unless there is a inch of doubt that it is lack of maintenance or misuse of the car.

If it is a case of the former it would not be an unreasonable compromise for Subaru to cover parts and labor, but you pay for consumables such as oil and coolant, filters. Or they pay for parts and you pay for labour at warranty rate (not retail) plus consumables.

Wait for an estimate of labour then make your decision from there. If you want to take it further ask for their decision in writing and reasons why they are only covering parts and not most/all of labour, then seek legal advice.

I worked in aftersales for Holden and in these types of cases I try to help the customer out as much as I can since it is really just bad luck.

TEK , at the end of the day he's out of warranty.. and they are not going to say its a manufacturing default at any point in time.. even you would understand the ramifications of that
they have compromised , a big end bearing is a serious job

I would be grateful myself.

[teK--]

I understand it's outside of manufacturer's warranty. However if it is a manufacturing defect then any tribunal is going to look unfavorably on the manufacturer, if the item has not reached anywhere near the MTBF.

See the part where I suggested he ask for a proper diagnosis as to what the cause of failure is. If Subaru won't give an honest answer, then depending on the labor cost quoted I would consider taking the car to an automotive engineer for a proper assessment, to build a case against Subaru.

His car has only done 57,000Kms and is 3 years 4 months old. I would hardly call that reasonable use otherwise they might as well pen an engine rebuild to occur regularly as part of the scheduled services.

Ruling out factors such as insufficient/incorrect maintenance and driver abuse, it is the fault of the manufacturer in not building a good engine. It will however require the owner to pursue the matter further as you rightly pointed out; Subaru aren't going to open their wallet all the way without some kind of pressure.

[nico]

No, I've never expected that they would admit the damage is due to a manufacturing defect. Whenever this is mentioned their standard response is "if it is a manufacturing defect then it would have given out earlier". Though the service manager did advise that the engineers report stated that the damage was caused by "a tollerance issue at cylinder 2". If this isn't admission of a manufactutring defect I don't know what is.

What I do expect is that they offer a reasonable explaination of what's caused the problem, which they are unable to do. This tells me that it's something they've not seen before & it's clearly not a simple case of being run low / bad oil.

With this considered, I'm reluctant to accept a rebuild even if it was no cost to me. Let alone having to foot the bill for labour. I'lll wait to see what he comes back with, then push for a new short motor & tell em that I'll pay the labour if/when they provide evidence that I've somehoew contributed to the damage.

[vaccine]

there seem to be quite a few ez30R's that are doing bigends? surelly surbaru are aware of this problem. motors should last longer.
my ez30d in my outback has done 160K now and it fine. i would be putting the hard word on them if they try to make you cough up.

[nico]

Quote in my inbox this morning...

Oil, fluids & gases(?) - $250
23hrs labour - $2545
Total: $2895

No way in hell I'm gonna pay that for a rebuilt motor, particularly when I've been told that it was a "tollerance issue" with cylinder 2. I'm no mechanic, but i'm pretty sure that i can't be held responsible for causing this.

Next step, legal advise...

[smythie]

$110/hr? They're bloody kidding. As mentioned previously, at worst they should be quoting you at warranty labour rates.

Don't know any workshops which charge at $110/hr. 'fing ridiculous

[teK--]

Gas might be refrigerant because they have to remove the air conditioning compressor...

Fair call re the price at this stage you would weigh up your likelihood of recouping costs if you choose to fight it. I would say based on their admission of a tolerance issue you would have a reasonable chance of recouping costs, but you'll need to the "tolerance" issue confirmed in writing, or in some form that you can use at the tribunal. This may involve getting the same diagnosis confirmed by an independent who is qualified to make that statement.

[swingn]

Not a good situation your in mate, but I think they've probably given you as much as they are going to... I hate to say it, but it's probably as good as your going to get out of them & I would probably take them up on the offer.

At the end of the day, warranty is finished so the fact they are willing to compromise with you is a good thing. I understand the frustration you have considering others have been looked after in a more favourable manner... But like with how long the engines last for, it's luck of the draw... If the service manager doesn't give a rats a$$ about his customers loyalty, then that's the way it's going to be.

This is the reason (IMHO) why the second hand car market is so dead. People want to buy newer cars with warranty so they are covered if something should go pear shaped.