![]() 12/19/2018 at 08:07 • Filed to: Subaru Fun | ![]() | ![]() |
On !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and they continue...
So on Monday at the end of the day, the dealership tells me that the car won’t start because it the battery is coming up as a fail. Apparently the battery that Subaru puts in the vehicle is a little weak from the factory, they say they’ve had people replace them at 2-3 years old and we’re at 4, so fine, I agree to pay for a new battery. Mysterious, the car “ no long shakes” but they want to keep the vehicle overnight to do some more tests the next day.
Tuesday, they call me at the end of the day that the car is done, again citing that the car doesn’t shake. They tell me that there’s a service bulletin for the alternator and tensioner which might fix the issue buuuut it’s not covered under the powertrain warranty and the alternator and tensioner are about $1k in parts alone and they’d rather not just replace it unless they’re sure it’ll fix it (nor do I want to pay for this ). So I take the service person and their tech to the car, reproduce the issue (put car in drive, wait ~1 min and the car shakes ). Their tech confirms he can feel the shake. I take the car home because I need a vehicle and there’s no time to get a rental. I’m bring it back in today so they can troubleshoot this more now that they can reproduce the issue.
Fearing that regardless of w/e they determine the issue to be, they’re going to tell me it’s not covered, I reached out to Subaru Canada last night via email to see if that helps anything. It’s not that this won’t be covered under warranty, it’s more so that the shaking never happened before we brought it in for the short block replacement and ever since its been back it has. The battery and the no start I can see as a coincidence, it’s 4 years old w/e. We’ll see what unfolds today...
![]() 12/19/2018 at 08:34 |
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Uhm... $1000 for an alternator and a tensioner for the alternator... are they overnighting it from Japan?
![]() 12/19/2018 at 09:46 |
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“Violent shaking” and “not covered under powertrain”?
I call bullshit. That is warranty work.
![]() 12/19/2018 at 10:25 |
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Yeah, it seems there is a TSB on the alternator causing misfires. However, Subaru seems to be covering the replacement under warranty. Also, the parts retail for less than $500, so let your dealership know they’re fixing Subarus, not BMWs. It sounds like this place is trying to hose you. I’d try to get in contact with the Subaru rep for your area and talk to them.
![]() 12/19/2018 at 22:26 |
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Considering I can change a Subaru alternator in about 15 minutes w basic wrenches. It's not like they bury them in the engine bay.
![]() 12/19/2018 at 22:46 |
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Yeah, other than spark plugs, pretty much everything is a pretty simple swap on Subie engines. The spark plugs even used to be easy on the older engines.
![]() 12/19/2018 at 23:44 |
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Find another dealer. Preferably one who only marks up parts 50% rather than 500%. And actually listens. And isn’t blata
ntly
ripping you off. And
has a clue about how to fix cars
.... and...