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well, Subaru basically told me to get hosed. they said the cylinders are fine and it's just "normal wear and tear" to the clutch and flywheel, and quoted me $2100 to replace both. Trusted Local Shop (which exclusively works on subies) said $800 for a clutch kit installed, 1200ish if the flywheel actually needs to be done. so that's money pissed away towing it to and from Subaru, as well as their $135 diagnostic fee, but i sort of figured that might be the case. I kicked is much dirt as I could, basically got deflected to the national Customer Satisfaction line. I think I'm just going to do the repair, be very very careful about what I tow until we buy a proper truck, and figure we're going to sell this car in 2 years at 100k miles and I better not need to do another loving clutch in the meantime. my parents had significant clutch issues also with a 2015 Forester so that makes me say "hmm", since my wife and I have been driving standards since the late 90s and my parents since the mid 60s... note: I never did that much towing, and I have always stayed under 1000lbs. We do live in a very steep place, though. I think it's idiotic that this clutch burned up in 24 months, but at least at that point it didn't cost me anything, being handled was a warranty issue, and I suspect my towing was at least a partial contributor here. even though I also think I should be able to tow a motorcycle or a couple mowers a few hundred miles a year without early clutch failure... more or less I think it's bullshit but I also know clutches are consumables and I worked in a dealership long enough to have some sense of when being assertive just gets deflected to screaming into the void, and that's where we are. Cabbages and VHS fucked around with this message at 12:09 on Apr 27, 2021 |
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Apr 27, 2021 12:03
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That's just nuts that the clutch is shot at 40k miles. My first subaru, clutch didn't go until 185k miles. poo poo, the Kia I had for 7 years, clutch never gave me a problem, and I dumped it with 120k miles. That car was loving resilient though, everything but fluids, filters, tires, wipers and lamps was factory when I traded it in. That includes brakes and battery. When I had my Outbacks' engine swapped out last year (seals were shot), I had them put an Exedy clutch kit in it. There was some weird poo poo about the flywheel for the '13, where it was more than double price compared to a '12 or '14 flywheel, from Subaru themselves. It was like, $370 just for the flywheel. Then it was determined the engine needed swapped, and they put a couple year newer FB25 in it (from a wrecked '16 or '17 automatic), put the new '13 flywheel on it with the Exedy clutch. I've only put about 1000 miles on it since the change, no problems. I've never towed with it though, haven't towed with a Subaru since my first Baja. If you're not going to have Subaru do the replacement, ask about the Exedy kit at the shop that will be doing the work.
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Apr 27, 2021 14:14
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Any chance that contacting SoA would help?
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Apr 27, 2021 14:56
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Absolutely escalate to SoA and wait to see. They could cover part of the repair if they don't want to do all of it. The dealer, by law, needs to prove you did something to cause the issue to deny the warranty claim. Don't let them off the hook because you think they know more about it than you do. Clutch killing itself after 40k should reveal discoloration on the clutch for all the times you clearly roasted it.
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Apr 27, 2021 15:59
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alright, thanks for the thoughts. Worst case is it takes a week longer to get the repair done elsewhere, and even if the best they do is come down by some amount that could still make it easier and cost effective to fix there. i know I've smelled clutch a few times on our driveway, but I feel like I smoked the clutch on the the '94 saturn I learned on like sixteen times as badly. and the thing that finally killed that car was a Ford Explorer driven by a less than attentive person edit: lol I just realized I learned on a 94 and then my own first car in 2005 was also a 94
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Apr 28, 2021 01:15
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Subaru of America refuses to admit fault or blame but offered to pay $1500 of the $2100 for me as a "one time courtesy". I don't think I'm going to get a better deal, and my tows should be reimbursable, so I am just going to pay $600 and  a bit.
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Apr 29, 2021 00:09
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Congrats, probably the best you were going to get. Glad you stuck it out.
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Apr 29, 2021 00:42
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yup, I agree and thanks to everyone here who encouraged me to push harder. usually I'm pretty good at being as assertive as possible on things like this but life chaotic right now and I needed the prod.
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Apr 29, 2021 10:41
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good on ya. you don't have to actually take them to court, just convince them that you will, and settlements magically appear
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Apr 29, 2021 22:09
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2004 FXT, 190k Car has started smoking white pretty good from the tailpipe. Does not smell like coolant. I pulled the downpipe and the turbo looks good and isn’t all black and oily. Not much shaft play. I did a compression and leakdown test when I bought it 6,000 miles ago. Compression was 130-135 across all cylinders, but I was not at WOT. Leakdown was 9-10% on all cylinders. Oil use hasn’t really increased from what I can tell in the last 100-200 miles, but I haven’t put enough on it since I noticed the smoke to know yet. I’ve changed the oil twice and I’m using Motul Xcess 5W-40. Coolant isn’t low. There is a tiny occasional stumble at idle. No CEL, no FKL, DAM at 1.000, no big AFR corrections. Anything else that might make it smoke before I do another compression and leakdown test and/or YNASB? Edit: it only does it if it has been idling for about five minutes. After driving it then stopping, there’s no smoke. i own every Bionicle fucked around with this message at 21:45 on May 1, 2021 |
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May 1, 2021 21:04
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i own every Bionicle posted:2004 FXT, 190k I wouldn't worry to much about it. It is getting to that time where things may need replaced as it will probably leak while it's cold until it warms up and seals itself up again. But I others may have a more professional diagnosis
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May 1, 2021 23:04
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Munkeylord posted:I wouldn't worry to much about it. It is getting to that time where things may need replaced as it will probably leak while it's cold until it warms up and seals itself up again. But I others may have a more professional diagnosis Yeah I’m a bit more concerned because: -it doesn’t do it when it’s cold -it started recently -it’s a lot of smoke. I’m going to do another leakdown and compression test.
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May 2, 2021 19:02
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What do the spark plugs look like? Take a picture when you do your next leakdown test.
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May 2, 2021 19:32
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Will do. The car runs and drives fine so I’m hopeful it’s a seal of some type.
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May 2, 2021 21:09
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i own every Bionicle posted:Yeah I’m a bit more concerned because: It is probably just gaskets. Which is typical but if it's not giving you a bunch of issues and runs ok when it is warmed up I wouldnt waste money on a compression test. If the smoke starts to not stop then you need to get the head gaskets changed and everything else inbetween while you're at it. Or you could find another vehicle before this becomes a large issue
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May 2, 2021 21:10
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I don't trust this guy
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May 2, 2021 22:06
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Munkeylord posted:It is probably just gaskets. Which is typical but if it's not giving you a bunch of issues and runs ok when it is warmed up I wouldnt waste money on a compression test. If the smoke starts to not stop then you need to get the head gaskets changed and everything else inbetween while you're at it. Or you could find another vehicle before this becomes a large issue -there’s no coolant in the oil or vice versa. Doesn’t use coolant or run hot. -turbo motors don’t generally have headgasket problems...they can, but not as likely as on the NA cars. -If I was going to pull the heads to do headgaskets, I’d put a new shortblock in. At 190k on a rare car that I love it would be great to have a fresh engine -I have the compression and leakdown test equipment, so I’ll do it myself, not really wasting money. -it took 6 months to find this one, I’m not finding another one any time soon that will come with its own issues
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May 3, 2021 00:29
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Forgive me if this is these questions are more stupid than normal, but it's my first time buying a new car, and I'd like some feedback before making a final decision on the extras. I just bought a new Crosstrek, and the dealer wants me to pay $2000 to extend the 3 year, 36,000 mile warranty out to be 8 years/80,000 miles. Obviously, on average they make more than they pay out on this offer, but is it something I should seriously consider, or is it just a cheap ploy for some easy money? I normally ignore extended warranty offers, but this is my first new car, and I don't know if this is a good investment or if the expected return on this is low for this car. They'd also like me to buy 5 years of "OVP Plus Protection" for $653, which covers road hazards, windshields, paintless dent repair, and key replacement. That almost seems worthwhile just for the keys, which they told me are ~$250 each. I could easily see myself losing or breaking a couple of keys in 5 years, and I've never had a car before for which I couldn't go to Ace and get a spare key made for under $2. And lastly, they claim that cars are no longer automatically rustproofed, because only half of the country needs it, and since I live in a cold climate with salt on the roads in the winter, I should shell out $1200 for paint and interior rustproofing. Is this the scam I've always heard it is? Peristalsis fucked around with this message at 07:22 on May 3, 2021 |
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May 3, 2021 07:20
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Peristalsis posted:And lastly, they claim that cars are no longer automatically rustproofed, because only half of the country needs it, and since I live in a cold climate with salt on the roads in the winter, I should shell out $1200 for paint and interior rustproofing. Is this the scam I've always heard it is? I don't think I'd buy from this place if I heard this blatant lie. I did get the extended warranty for the electronics and the CVT but it probably wasn't an actual sound financial move (it rarely is). The other plan was only windshield chips, not a full windshield, iirc, which is important if you have Eyesight. The stock tires are quite mediocre too so I'd rather get a new set then have them replace them with the same ones. I don't remember all the details of what they offered but I passed. I don't think it had the key thing though.
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May 3, 2021 07:43
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Peristalsis posted:Forgive me if this is these questions are more stupid than normal, but it's my first time buying a new car, and I'd like some feedback before making a final decision on the extras. Personally, I'd go for the road hazard one, but only if it includes a stipulation about replacing damaged, unabused tires (and isn't something shady like only covering a small part of the cost.) Those all sound like things you just can't be careful enough about. You never know when you'll run something tiny over! I ran over a pretty fat bolt while out of town before the car's break-in period was over, but thankfully, it didn't punch through. I owe that beautiful little washer for sticking around on that bolt. That would've been a crappy night in a Walmart parking lot, and I wouldn't even know if ~600 miles is too many miles to be replacing a single tire on an AWD vehicle. All that said, I did skip all the extras, but I was raised the same; extended warranty is a scam, etc. I don't stick to that expressly, but I'm also stubborn about bringing my vehicles in for service/maintenance unless it's something I can't handle on my own.
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May 3, 2021 12:01
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If the dealer wants you to do something, they're trying to fleece you. I can't believe they tried the old "rustproofing" lie. That's so old. See the dealership scene in Fargo. "But you gotta get the undercoating." I'd find a different dealer.
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May 3, 2021 12:41
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Any optional coats or protections are likely sold at a cheaper rate and in better quality by a third party. The only time you want to do it through the dealer is if you insist you need it and you're trying to roll all of those things into financing because you don't have cash.
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May 3, 2021 13:58
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2LLB9CGfLs
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May 3, 2021 14:08
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Thanks all. I couldn't believe the rustproofing thing either - it seemed so bizarre and cheesy that I wondered if it was really a thing now. Another dealer (for Kia) told me that most cars don't come with spare tires any more, but rather come with some flat fixing kit or something. I haven't looked into that extensively, but all the new-ish cars I regularly ride in seem to have actual spare tires (and not just larger cars, either). As for finding another dealer, well, this was the other dealer. Well, sort of. There's only one Subaru dealership in town, with two locations. The salesman at the first location was a little more annoying, and it was technically the finance person who was trying to sell me the extras, when sorting out the loan and stuff. Also, this seems to be a uniquely bad time to be buying a car, and I needed to make a decision before my previous car died on the road, and while there was still some inventory left that interested me. Normally I'd assume that time is on my side and wait for a good deal, but prices seem to be going up instead of down, and I didn't want to be walking to work out of spite. I remember that scene, but I thought there was more to it - a part where the buyer tried to cancel the sale, but the salesman said they had already sold the trade-in. Maybe I'm conflating it with some other movie's car dealer scene.
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May 3, 2021 15:56
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Peristalsis posted:Another dealer (for Kia) told me that most cars don't come with spare tires any more, but rather come with some flat fixing kit or something. I haven't looked into that extensively, but all the new-ish cars I regularly ride in seem to have actual spare tires (and not just larger cars, either). I believe that's an American car thing. I've been told it was a weight requirement thing, but to me it just screams American capitalism, where some bean counter noticed that spare tires weren't a legal requirement, and discovered that they could charge an extra $300 for a spare tire option.
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May 3, 2021 16:11
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My old kia soul did not have a spare. Just fix a flat and an air compressor. I kept the air compressor when I traded off the kia. It's outlived every cheap parts store one I've bought, so it's in the outback now. It did have a spare tire well, but lol, just more foam there to support the load in the hatch.
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May 3, 2021 16:24
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Peristalsis posted:Forgive me if this is these questions are more stupid than normal, but it's my first time buying a new car, and I'd like some feedback before making a final decision on the extras. Is the extended warranty provided by Subaru or some third party? The mileage doesn't seem to match up with one of Subaru's - https://www.subaru.com/addedsecurity The actual Subaru extended warranty could be worth it if you plan to keep the car for that long, especially if you're the type that when a problem comes up you just want to drop the car off at the dealership and hop in a loaner until they fix whatever is wrong. If its a third party company those range from less good to a ripoff, you'll definitely want to read the fine print to see what's covered and what deductibles there are. For the OVP - https://www.subaru.com/content/dam/subaru/owners/added-security/sas_brochure.pdf quote:TIRE AND WHEEL The rustproofing thing is just 
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May 3, 2021 16:46
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Peristalsis posted:Also, this seems to be a uniquely bad time to be buying a car, and I needed to make a decision before my previous car died on the road, and while there was still some inventory left that interested me. Normally I'd assume that time is on my side and wait for a good deal, but prices seem to be going up instead of down, and I didn't want to be walking to work out of spite. apparently a very important computer chip factory burned down in Japan and production is shut down for a ton of car companies. very low inventory at dealers, and what they do have is going for MSRP or MSRP + extra, so yeah you're definitely in a beggars cant be chosers situation.
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May 3, 2021 16:52
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Samsung and NXP both lost months worth of silicone during the great snowmageddon that hit the south too - Samsung has a huge fab in Austin, NXP has two decent size ones. They were told to shut down with less than 12 hours of notice (it takes a couple of weeks to properly idle down a fab, I believe?). Samsung is Austin Energy's largest consumer of power; even taking them offline, Austin Energy wasn't able to do rotating outages - much of Austin just sat in the dark for 4+ days. I've never been so happy to live in this lovely suburb, on a co-op - they were able to rotate outages properly here. And I live next door to city hall (and down the street from a fire station) - I only lost power a couple of times during that storm, and only for a few minutes each time (both times were accompanied by a KAFUCKINGBOOM, so I assume it was something falling on the lines and tripping a breaker). My UPS did start switching back and forth between battery and AC for a few minutes just before Austin Energy dropped, well, most of Austin, but it was bitching about the frequency being out of range (it was showing 59.2 hZ briefly - more info here - I started getting power outage reports from the EMS at my store at 1:52, so one minute after that critical point in the article). My employer wrote off ~$10M of product just at my store over that, they lost power for 4 days. The river of ice cream running out of the walk in freezer was... impressive. Peristalsis posted:I couldn't believe the rustproofing thing either - it seemed so bizarre and cheesy that I wondered if it was really a thing now. Another dealer (for Kia) told me that most cars don't come with spare tires any more, but rather come with some flat fixing kit or something. I haven't looked into that extensively, but all the new-ish cars I regularly ride in seem to have actual spare tires (and not just larger cars, either). It's a terrible time to be shopping for a car - new or used. New cars are at a trickle because of the global silicone shortage, used cars are getting snapped up as soon as they hit lots because of that. I could probably sell my pile of poo poo Outback for double what I paid for it a year and a half ago (paid $1800, could probably get $3-4k for it if I fix the motor mounts and transmission mount - it passes smog fine, just won't pass safety with the tires on it). The spare tire thing IS real, on a ton of cars. Mainly on lower end cars, but some higher end cars do that too. It's really loving annoying (though you can sometimes spend an extra $firstborn$ to get a spare tire and jack). I have a spare tire in my car, and it holds air, but it's old enough to drink in just about every country except the US.... I don't exactly trust it. Kia dealer salespeople are generally 100% commission (they might get "tip wages" that MIGHT guarantee minimum wage during a slow pay cycle) unless something has changed recently, so they're going to pull every trick to try to sell something. Kia and Mitsubishi dealers play very dirty, IMO. And the finance people are always the ones who lie the most. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 18:00 on May 3, 2021 |
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May 3, 2021 17:26
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That wasn't the case when I bought my Soul new in 2012. They were salary, and didn't particularly have incentive to sell one car over another, just put the shopper in what they were looking for. I know because we had a very long discussion with the salesperson while waiting on finance, who were dragging feet. Even helped out when we were arguing their trade-in advertisements (because when the sign says $4k for any trade in, you argue when they offer less, then take pictures of all the signage saying such in the joint that they promptly try to take down). Kia/Hyundai was doing that for a long time, I'd be surprised if they went back to the traditional model of selling cars. Well, not too surprised, I guess. That's capitalism. Finance is always the worst. It's like they're cherry picked out of accountant programs for their ability to make their professors wait for their homework. CRUSTY MINGE fucked around with this message at 18:03 on May 3, 2021 |
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May 3, 2021 18:01
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okay, another followup: in addition to the $1500 write-off, SoA appears to have had brownies from Yonkers express shipped to Vermont   Not just any brownies. Fair labor brownies. Not THC dosed, but, this is Vermont I think we have that covered.
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May 3, 2021 22:25
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Cabbages and Kings posted:okay, another followup: in addition to the $1500 write-off, SoA appears to have had brownies from Yonkers express shipped to Vermont This is, without a doubt, the weirdest non-apology I've ever seen.
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May 3, 2021 22:45
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Frankly I'm impressed and genuinely think more of Subaru for it. Like yeah it's just brownies but it's in addition to $1500, not instead of, and it is a gesture showing they aren't salty about that.
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May 3, 2021 22:57
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I am willing to bet someone reviewed the phone recording and heard the non-apology and hit the brownie speed-dial.
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May 3, 2021 23:03
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Iron Crowned posted:I believe that's an American car thing. I've been told it was a weight requirement thing, but to me it just screams American capitalism, where some bean counter noticed that spare tires weren't a legal requirement, and discovered that they could charge an extra $300 for a spare tire option. it's partly a desperate attempt to keep up with ever-increasing federal mpg requirements. switching the spare tire and the scissor jack for a can of fixaflat saves a not-entirely-trivial amount of weight, and saving weight lets you increasse mpg without cutting power, and all american economy cars have to be sporty for some reason e: like, they could just put an atkinson cycle cam in the engine but that wouldn't be sporty
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May 3, 2021 23:24
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Iron Crowned posted:I believe that's an American car thing. I've been told it was a weight requirement thing, but to me it just screams American capitalism, where some bean counter noticed that spare tires weren't a legal requirement, and discovered that they could charge an extra $300 for a spare tire option. All manufacturers in all markets that I know of do it. When Toyota brought the Auris to the U.S. market as the Corolla hatch, they actually added a spare without reshaping the trunk floor, greatly reducing the available space (other markets have runflat tires).
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May 3, 2021 23:31
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Fifty Three posted:I am willing to bet someone reviewed the phone recording and heard the non-apology and hit the brownie speed-dial. tbf I dropped the fact that being on the phone with Subaru on my actual (40th!) birthday wasn't my favorite feeling and I think that may have really cemented the brownie check box
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May 4, 2021 00:15
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Black88GTA posted:Late to this thread, but whatup SVX project buddy Just got back from a week of no computer and no password manager with SA login info on my phone, but the car went to the crusher  .I did get one strut and a replacement TPS installed on Saturday when I had good weather, I've still got one more strut to go and have to clean out my EGR valve, I'm still getting the EGR CEL but no throttle position sensor or knock sensor codes. So that's progress. Looking forward to being able to take this on a good drive after getting the strut installed and driving it around for a while to make sure no more CELs come on. I need to replace the PS pump eventually but so far it's only whining at full lock so hopefully it will last a while. There's a guy selling remanufactured PS pumps for like $140 after core charge IIRC, so it's not terrible? Just in time because I'm coming up on time to replace my timing belt and water pump on my Impreza and I'm having a hard time deciding between trying to do it myself and paying someone to do it. Also going to borescope the cylinders and do a leakdown test, because this engine is very old and if I've got damaged cylinders or bad compression I might as well just get a new engine. If it comes to that I might look into a JDM EJ203 if I can find one at a reputable importer because apparently they're compatible with the EJ22 ECU and wiring harness from what I've read. I'll be asking for advice in here if so. Getting a 40-60k mile engine for $7-800 seems like a pretty good deal unless it's too good to be true.
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May 4, 2021 02:24
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Fifty Three posted:I am willing to bet someone reviewed the phone recording and heard the non-apology and hit the brownie speed-dial. I know a director at a call center and that is indeed what happens.
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May 4, 2021 04:33
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22 Eargesplitten posted:Just in time because I'm coming up on time to replace my timing belt and water pump on my Impreza and I'm having a hard time deciding between trying to do it myself and paying someone to do it. Also going to borescope the cylinders and do a leakdown test, because this engine is very old and if I've got damaged cylinders or bad compression I might as well just get a new engine. I mean.... the timing belt on an EJ is easy mode, aside from how drat long the belt is. It's on par with Honda SOHC engine timing belts - with the added bonus of not having to remove a motor mount, but the extra complication of another head. So long as the marks are all visible, it's so easy. I did the timing belt on Brokeback a couple of weeks ago (it supposedly only had 30k on it going by the sticker on the timing cover, but (a) it was a Gates kit, so no telling when the tensioner would fail, and (b) it was 8 years old... it's an 03 with only 155k).
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May 4, 2021 17:05
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