Suby Dealer Rant (warning Impreza content)

G-reg · Post by **G-reg** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 5:30 am

This all starts nearly two weeks ago when I got a check engine light 05 RS. I checked everything over pretty well and reset the computer, but the CEL came back pretty quickly. So I take it in to the nearest dealer, 80mi away, to have the CEL and a few other things looked at. It’s a bad O2 sensor according to the code the dealer pulled, and they are out of stock of them. I’m told on a Thursday that the part will be in on Monday and they will give me a call, and in the mean time you will be ok to drive the car. So Monday comes around and they don’t call. I call on Tuesday and I’m told it will actually be in on Thursday and they will give me a call. Come Thursday I hear nothing and as a result call to find out what’s up. I get “uuuh that won’t be in until Monday, we’ll give you a call.” I get no word on Monday (yesterday) and call today (Tuesday), so I call again. This time I get told that part is on backorder and won’t be available for 2-4 weeks! This whole time I’ve had to commute 140mi all but two of those days from the last two weeks, and will have to do so for the next few….before driving to the East Coast. So for two weeks my daily commute has been taking almost ¾ a tank, on CEL, with no cruise as a result of the CEL. And the dealer basically told me tough shit, the sensor will get here when it does….we’ll call you. So I ask to speak to the boss, and he’s out until Thursday. I say “his situation was unacceptable two weeks ago and I’m not waiting until Thursday, never mind 2-4 weeks, to get this fixed. Let me talk to someone who can help me.” And of course the boss is out for the day. So how would you guys handle this? I’ve been calm and accommodating for two weeks and been blown off, but I think If I go in gun’s blazing and demand a fix or a loaner I’ll be told to F’off.

evolutionmovement · Post by **evolutionmovement** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 5:48 am

I'd have bought a generic one from an auto parts place and cancelled the order after the first delay. I guess you could still do that and if you left a deposit I'd demand it back or threaten to complain to SOA.

Steve

THAWA · Post by **THAWA** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 5:57 am

A generic O2 sensor for an 05? I dunno about that, but yes complaining to SOA does get action taken.

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 5:57 am

Go to another dealership?

G-reg · Post by **G-reg** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 11:54 am

The O2 for 04 2.5L cars cost 120-250 looking around on the net. And if I replace it myself and it doesen't fix the problem I can see the dealer saying that it is because I replaced it. There is another dealer 45mi from Fargo, but it's really small and most likely gets parts from the one in Fargo. The next nearest are in Bismark or the Twin Cities, 3-4hrs away. I'm going to do some callin' around this afternoon.

petridish38 · Post by **petridish38** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 1:04 pm

Is it that hard to get an O2 sensor?? The fact that its on backorder seems a little fishy to me...
We are taking my mom's 05 Legacy in today because I suspect a wheel bearing going bad already, cuz thats definitely what it sounds like. I hope our dealer treats us better... They just don't make em like they used to...

EDIT: this is all under warranty right?

Andrew

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 3:46 pm

I don't think it's a normal oxygen sensor, at least if it's the front one. It's some kind of semi-wideband thing. You could probably get a known good used one from NASIOC though.

Can you contact Subaru of America maybe, and get clearance to have another dealership ship you the part for you to install? Dealerships with an online presence like Exeter, Carter, Tacoma, etc. might be more helpful.

Brat4by4 · Post by **Brat4by4** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 4:26 pm

Get the number of the regional manager and explain what is going on. It should be corrected in a hurry.

He shouldn't have to get anything from anywhere... the car is under warranty, he paid for that warranty, and that includes the service that comes with it. They are acting unacceptably.

In fact, you might want to ask for the boss next time. If he is conviently out of the office, ask for the regional managers number. That might get the ball rolling right there.

professor · Post by **professor** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 6:00 pm

sounds like they repeatedly dropped the ball and forgot to order the part...I can get parts for just about anything in a couple of days from anywhere in the world

the exception is some parts on new-model cars, sometimes you are screwed there

Call around and prove them wrong if you can

petridish38 · Post by **petridish38** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 9:33 pm

I wouldn't do any calling around anywhere unless its some type of manager, or SOA.... the car is under warrany RIGHT?! You shouldn't have to buy or do anything but bring the defective car in, and have them fix it for free under warranty. It is their responsibility. And the fact that they repeatedly didn't call when they said they would is reason enough to complain to someone higher... Just ask for the manager... if he is "out," ask for the number for the regional manager... if they cant give you that, then ask them for SOA's number....

The dealer here is having to keep my mom's 05 Legacy for two days while they wait for the part to come in. It turned out that she does have a bad wheel bearing like I suspected... While they are keeping her car, they are providing her with a loaner car for free, and everything is covered under warranty.

EDIT AGAIN: I was talking to my friend who's mom also has an 05 Legacy and he said that her car has already gone through two O2 sensors! He also told me that his dealer told him that it was a common problem on those cars... I'm not sure exactly how common it actually is... but it seems pretty common and it just doesnt seem that it should be so hard to find this part...

Andrew

professor · Post by **professor** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 9:51 pm

I doubt the O2 sensors fail that regularly, its just the favorite suspect when something isn't right. They put 3 on my Dad's Legacy and the problem turned out to be a faulty ECU.

evolutionmovement · Post by **evolutionmovement** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 11:27 pm

Emissions equipment is mandated to have to last at least 100k miles by federal law anyway, so it doesn't matter what warranty he has. I think I may have read it was 150k, but that sounds like too much to me.

Steve

greg donovan · Post by **greg donovan** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 11:45 pm

if this is the dealership i am thinking of i am very surprised.

i have a NEVER had a problem w/them.

they have the single best subaru mechanic i have ever encountered. hell hes the bes mechanic i have ever met.

G-reg · Post by **G-reg** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 1:07 am

Ok, the O2's are on a national backorder, there are none in the country so they must be faulty or something. I called some of the other dealers around and they said that this is nothing new they have not been able to get these since January 16th, something my dealer should have known at some point in the last two weeks. I totally agree with you on the service/mechanic Greg, they were excellent, but I've got the new guy or somebody was asleep at the switch in the parts department. I called today and asked for a parts/service manager and he is legitimately out of town until tomorrow, when I asked to speak to somebody higher on the chain of command I was told there was nobody else I could talk to. So I went to SOA and pled my case and that is where I learned about the national problem and they confirmed the 2-4 week estimate on availability. They said they would contact the dealer and get things moving. So the parts manager is in tomorrow and is supposed to call me in the morning, I'm not holding my breath. And I have the regional SOA number to call if I don’t hear from him or he tells me tough shit. I really don’t want to start trouble and be a dick, but I’ve got little patients and a dwindling gas budget. I usually get 350-370mi on my 14gal tank, I’m getting about 230-240 at the moment because of the bad sensor and I’m guessing a limp mode tuning from the CEL. So this has cost me about 80.00 in additional gas alone so far. I’m military so I know shit rolls down hill, and by getting really pissed and complaining to SOA and getting the dealer and management in trouble the guys who are going to actually have to accommodate are going to catch a lot of crap. And I don’t want that to happen, but being patient and understanding is not getting anything done.

THAWA · Post by **THAWA** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 5:27 am

It is possible that there aren't any in the country because SOA didnt think anyone would need to reaplce one in less than a year.

LaureltheQueen · Post by **LaureltheQueen** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 5:56 am

art had that problem with his cv boot.

Yukonart · Post by **Yukonart** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 6:07 am

LaureltheQueen wrote:art had that problem with his cv boot.

Which is why I ordered no less than THREE of them.

G-reg · Post by **G-reg** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 11:45 am

They were available, and the few that were left after a while were pulled from the distribution system in January. Some Legacy’s seem to be killing one after another.

greg donovan · Post by **greg donovan** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 9:49 pm

i have a good idea who you are probably dealing with and who you arent. too bad. they are usually very accomodating for me. but i have been a customer there for nearly 7 years. only place i will let work on my car.

Kevin should get things squared away for you when he gets back.

G-reg · Post by **G-reg** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 1:19 am

Kevin's the man. He managed to find a sensor and arranged a 05 Legacy 2.5i for me until my RS is fixed. I said I'm sorry if I've been an ass or have gotten anybody in trouble, but this has been really frustrating. And he said it shouldn't have happened this way and won't in the future.

AWD_addict · Post by **AWD_addict** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 4:33 am

That's great you finally got some satisfaction on this situation. New Subaru ownership/warrenty experiences seem to vary a great deal.

greg donovan · Post by **greg donovan** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 5:45 am

G-reg wrote:Kevin's the man. He managed to find a sensor and arranged a 05 Legacy 2.5i for me until my RS is fixed. I said I'm sorry if I've been an ass or have gotten anybody in trouble, but this has been really frustrating. And he said it shouldn't have happened this way and won't in the future.

kevin is indeed the man.

jeff in parts is good too.

jeremy is a good tech. but elroy is the best in my opinion. he is in mexico this week at the WRC. lucky bastard.

thats my old white legacy sliding through the dirt in the pic on the door to behind the service counter.

G-reg · Post by **G-reg** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 6:27 am

That Bastard, I'll have to look for the pic. I knoticed some WRC stuff around the place. Who has the clean GC RS?

petridish38 · Post by **petridish38** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 1:28 pm

Glad to hear that... My mom got a Dodge Neon to drive around for a few days from our dealership

Andrew

greg donovan · Post by **greg donovan** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 4:59 pm

G-reg wrote:That Bastard, I'll have to look for the pic. I knoticed some WRC stuff around the place. Who has the clean GC RS?

if it is the Blue ridge pearl one w/the gray pinstripe it is elroys. he must have left it there.

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Suby Dealer Rant (warning Impreza content)

Suby Dealer Rant (warning Impreza content)