Strike 3 For My Forester

[The Dude]

Ok, it's not a blown engine or a trashed tranny, but it's annoying. A year after I buy my new 06 Forester I bring it in for a intermittent front passenger side door lock accuator. The dealer mechanic says, "sorry I couldn't make it fail, so no fix". Well, six months later the rear passenger door accuator craps out dead cold. It was a real push on my part, but both accuators were replaced under warranty. It was one trip to the shop for the diagnosis. It was another trip to the shop when the accuator came in. But the dealer only ordered one acccuator, so it was another trip to the shop when they finally got it right and got both accuators. BTW, Subaru KNOWS that they installed a number of bad door accuators in the Forester, and maybe other models. So, problem solved? Not really.

At 37,000 miles the drivers side door accuator just took a dump.

Soooooo... is this the new customer friendly Subaru? Even if the car is one thousand miles out of warranty I am I going to get a warranty repair given the history of my car, and the known problem with the accuators?

Stand by. Know this, Subaru, when you sell a car with only ONE door lock, you damn well should use depenable accuators on it.

[porcupine73]

Sometimes the dealer can be the issue. Only if the dealer is willing/comfortable/able to submit a warranty claim will they actually do it. Usually they have to confirm the customer's issue, diagnose (see the issue happen), determine the cause, correct the issue, and confirm the issue is corrected to get warranty reimbursement.

[zstalker]

the individual dealer can make a huge difference. if a dealer doesn't really want to fix something for warranty, they can pretty much make something up not to. Regional corperate representatives are usually fairly leniant for warranty, as long as it's a real warranty issue (not blowing up your STi motor under questionable circumstances, as an example). Take it to another dealer and explain that you had the actuator replaced under warranty and now the new one has failed. they may just go ahead and do the work right there, but more likely they'll have to call the rep. and get apporval for a good-will warranty. if you want to, go to the customer service website and explain the situation. Be nice, but assertive, explain everything and the fact that you feel like the part should be warrantied, and they may just do it...especially considering you had work done still inside warranty, and you now, just outside warranty, have issues directly relating.

Good luck...be honest and calm, but assertive and you should be ok.

~Erik~

[The Dude]

Thank you for your suggestions. I called the local dealer this morning. I was told that I would have to cough up a $45 "diagnostic fee" before the possibility of a warranty replacement could even be considered. I was told that Subaru of America may or may not decide to participate in the cost of the repair to one degee or another. At this point, three separate acuators have failed on my car. Therefore, there are two remaining actuators that have a great probability of failing in the near future, out of warranty. ONCE AGAIN, SUBARU KNOWS THAT DEFECTIVE ACTUATORS HAVE BEEN INSTALLED IN THEIR CARS.

 

Here's my take on this subject. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE. THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION MUST BE INFORMED OF THIS PROBLEM. That's right, having door locks that don't work is definitely a safety issue in my opinion. Dad in the driver's seat flips the master door lock switch but little Suzy's rear passenger door doesn't lock because it has a defective acuator. It could easy happen.

 

Plus, it a well known fact that locking the doors help them stay shut in the event of a wreck. That's why so many cars have doors that lock automatically. With a Subaru you not only don't get automatic door locks, you don't even get doors that lock reliably.