broke my second gear and took it to rancho subaru in San Diego! Under warranty for another 36k miles. soa rep came and said it was denied becasue of abuse!!!!! just wondering what the next step is? if someone else that had this problem and got it resolved please let me know or anyone with a good idea on what to do please help me out?!?!?!?! :banana:

Is the SOA rep right? If so, shut up and take your lumps. If you really have babied the car and you really are justified in a warranty claim, call them on it. Make a solid case and take it to SOA's regional office. If that doesn't work, take them to court. But make sure you have a solid case. Do research, etc.

For what its worth, what you call abuse and what an engineer calls abuse are probably very different. Engineers build cars with an expected service life based on an expected use. Companies warranty parts based on these assumptions.

Driver behaviors vary. Sometimes what a person considers "normal driving" is abusive because their driving technique is poor. Cars aren't made to be slammed from gear to gear. Will they take it for a while? Yeah. But they aren't designed for it. Hence, driving with such a style is abusive.

Sometimes there is a problem of different expectations. Subaru might advertise that the car can do 0-60 in 5.4 seconds, but the design (and warranty) are based on the average 0-60 being more like 10 seconds. Consistent sub-7 second 0-60 runs would be abusive. And when I say consistent, I mean once a day.

Subaru can build you a car that will accept anything you throw at it. But you can't buy that car for $25,000. Not even for $30,000. It might even require other compromises, like having a non-sychro dogbox and having harsh gear whine and needing to double-clutch to select a gear at all.

I don't know what your driving style is or what the nature of your transmission failure is, but I just wanted to make a point. You might be out of line to believe that your problem is not due to abuse. Then again, you might have had a genuine defect in second gear. Based on the experience of the SOA rep (who's probably seen hundreds of broken second gears in cars that really were abused and two in cars with defective parts) odds are the transmission problem is due to abuse.

Andy H.
70k miles and 4 years racing a 2.5RS, no transmission problems

i use the car as a daily drive and do not abuse it i bought the car used and perchased and extended warranty. with the dealear knowing damn well that they were selling me a car that had previously been heavily modified. i put 7k miles on the car and then bam this happened.

With the HKS downpipe etc I don't think you'll get any powertrain warranty coverage. Since you're not going to get any warranty coverage, I'd apply to get the extended warranty refunded.

the car was previously modified before you bought it, so they offered you an extended warranty that you bought for risk reduction, and now that something is wrong, they are saying tough luck.

only mod on the car was a catback exhaust. the car was modded by the previous owner but was stock when i bought it!

so do you have any news?

have to go pick the car up from rancho in san diego today gunna take it back to timmons subaru in long beach where i bought the car and tell them to fix it we will see what happens!!! if they dont then i guess my only option is to get a lawyer!!!!

i use the car as a daily drive and do not abuse it i bought the car used and perchased and extended warranty. with the dealear knowing damn well that they were selling me a car that had previously been heavily modified. i put 7k miles on the car and then bam this happened.
Sounds like you should have read the terms of the service agreement (there is no "extended warranty") before you purchased it. You let the dealer screw you on this one.

The holder of the service agreement has no obligation to fix the car. Neither does the dealership.

The only legal recourse you have is to sue the dealership for a refund of the money you spent on the service agreement. It sounds as though they committed fraud during the original transaction (by misrepresenting the coverage provided by the service agreement.)

the warranty is through soa 4 years 48000 miles from when i bought the car in warranty book iT cleARLY SAY'S TRANSMISSION AND ALL INTERNAL PARTS

They will first deny that it was the tranny, tell them you did not abuse it, and that your getting a lawyer to take care of it. when mine broke at 17,000 it wasnt my fault. When they opened it up they told me that a small piece inside came loose and broke off. But that was after i gave them a ton of **** for it. If subaru wrx's are known for anything its the easily breakable tranny. I didnt abuse mine, and i dont abuse my new one. Tell them to fix it under your extended warranty and tell them you dont want a refund you want it fixed, whats the point in getting a refund if you can call them on their mistake of selling you one when they couldnt "wouldnt" back it up.

I feel your pain. I am the original owner of a '02 WRX Sedan with 80K. I lost my 2nd gear on Christmas day...some present! I had it towed to the closest dealer in Denver...Shortline Subaru, not where I bought it. I was told that SOA wanted to see all of my maintenence records, which I had in the glove box. I also had to authorize them to tear it down for inspection. I was told that if warranty denied me that I was responsible for that labor...approx $500. A couple days later I was called and told that it was not likely that they would cover it but that due to the holidays they had not contacted SOA as of yet for a final determination. I was called the following Monday and told that SOA was in fact going to cover my trans under my extended warranty.

I spent that weekend prior doing a lot of research on-line and came across this site and others. I found many people and instances of failed 2nd gears on these cars. I also found information suggesting that SOA made some changes to the tranny for 2003??? I was prepared to fight. I had zero mods on my car (intentionally) and made sure to complete my scheduled maintenence and keep those documents. I did not ever race my car, nor do I feel that I ever abused it. I do however, feel fortunate that it was covered and that I did not have to raise a big stink. The service advisor at Shortline was very helpful and told me that the gears were mangled as bad as he's ever seen. He said that he told the warranty folks that there was really no way for him to determine if I had done the damage through abuse or if it was due to a part failure. He said that he suggested to them that if it was due to my "abuse" that I more than likely would have encountered this much sooner than 80K.

I would say to do what you have to do to get it covered if possible. I am not sure if that extended warranty is transferable or not. Do your research. Be careful though too as you will find instances where people have lost court battles due to their less than truthful behavior. Good luck!

Look closely at all the documentation. I doubt you got a factory warranty for 4/48 from your date and mileage of purchase. You likely purchased an extended service agreement which is administered by a branch of Subaru of America. Is there a deductible amount for each claim under your "warranty"? If so, this is a service agreement, not a warranty. Think of it like health insurance for your car.

Clearly the transmission should be covered if you have a legitimate claim. Your concern is not what parts are supposed to be covered, but rather the conditions under which they will be covered. There are exclusions. If your car falls under these exclusions, the warranty or service agreement will NOT cover the repairs. Making a claim to SOA is barking up the wrong tree. It likely doesn't matter (to SOA) whether you abused the car or the previous owner abused the car. You're not likely to get a new transmission through your warranty (or service agreement.)

The only legal recourse you have is to gripe to the dealership you bought the car and service agreement (or warranty) through. If they knowingly provided you a car that could not be eligible for servicing under the plan they sold you, they committed fraud. The DEALER sold you this, not SOA. The DEALER represented the car as being able to be covered under the warranty (service plan) they sold you. The DEALER is responsible to make this good for you.

If you really feel you're getting screwed (and I think you are) geta lawyer and go after the dealer that sold you the car and service plan (warranty.) You SHOULD be able to win this one, unless they can prove you abused the car after purchase. Of course you will only win this one if you can PROVE the dealer knew the car had been previously modified.

Don't do anything to piss anyone off (i.e. mention lawyer, etc) until you speak to someone at SOA HQ. Call them and politely explain your situation and see what they say. That's how I got mine fixed after the SOA rep denied coverage. They said it was standard policy to deny warranty claims for trannys on turbo vehicles at first.

why is this even an issue (regarding the type of warranty he has) every subaru has the SOA 5/60k powertrain which covers the transmission.

The terms of the warranty are important because the 5/60 has different exclusions than the Service Agreements (extended warrantees). What is not covered under the 5/60 might be covered under the extended plan.

If the previous owner abused or extensively modified the car, the transmission will be excluded from coverage under the 5/60. SOA is not obligated to cover anything under the 5/60 in this case, even though the current owner has not abused the automobile. So, the terms of the extended plan become paramount.

Example: I sell person A a ratchet with a limited warranty, good for lifetime replacement of a broken ratchet, except if the ratchet has been used as a hammer. Person A uses the ratchet as a ratchet and as a hammer. Person B buys ratched from person A. Ratchet breaks while person B is using ratchet. I refuse to replace ratchet because it was used as a hammer. Person B whines about crappy warranty, but I have no obligation to replace the ratchet.

This is a hazard of buying a used car. You buy someone elses headaches.

They said it was standard policy to deny warranty claims for trannys on turbo vehicles at first.

This caught my eye. Surely you misheard what they said. That comment would be a legal nightmare for Subaru. Besides, there are some people who bring in their cars for tranny problems and are never questioned about abuse and the work is done without issue. So, first, it's obviously not true. Second...that comment would land them in a heap of legal trouble and bring about a slew of lawsuits if it could be proven.

hey man i was in the same boat as you were in not to long ago i had broken my first gear and SOA said i had broken it due to abuse in which i said i had driven it but i wasent dropping the clutch and doing crazyness. at first the refused to cover anything i also had the extened warrenty the subaru gold or something and like i said they refused to cover anything they cracked the tranny to look at it and saw the first gear completely sheared off the main shaft and they used that as there case for abuse untill the tech saw broken gear teeth still lodged in between what was left of first and second gears so i came on this site and many others and did a search on WRX trannys and found out that our trannys are called the "glass transmission" cuz they are hella weak and in alot of cases teeth break off and lodge in between gears and when you let go of the clutch it the pressure is just to much for the gears and shaves them off and i took that to the service mangaer down at Subaru of puyallup and sent that off to SOA and all of a sudden they called my house and said my transmission was going to be replaced under warrenty and all service work will be under warrenty they gave me a free rental car and everything it was crazy like they knew about the transmission problems or something oh yeah they also let me keep the transmission the clutch the pressure plate and the differential which i have heard is crazy rare becuase if they warrenty they want the broken one or something like that so we asked the service manager guy if we could take it and he said i think so. so we loaded it up on the suburban and rolled out before he could change his mind. so i would just say keep hounding them and hounding them untill you get results either good or bad but anyway thanks for listing to my lifes story lol


greg 13,000 miles before tranny death

See the key just under and to the left of the 'L'? The '.'? Use it.

Glad you got your tranny fixed :).

Good luck getting that warrantied. You have a hard fight on your hands since you have no idea how badly it was abused by the previous owner.

See the key just under and to the left of the 'L'? The '.'? Use it.

Glad you got your tranny fixed :).


true that my bad i suck at writing stuff always forget the periods lol :banana:

The terms of the warranty are important because the 5/60 has different exclusions than the Service Agreements (extended warrantees). What is not covered under the 5/60 might be covered under the extended plan.

If the previous owner abused or extensively modified the car, the transmission will be excluded from coverage under the 5/60. SOA is not obligated to cover anything under the 5/60 in this case, even though the current owner has not abused the automobile. So, the terms of the extended plan become paramount.



Actually, it is stated in the extended warranty contract that is does not cover components covered by factory warranty. (i.e. the transmission would still "technically" be covered under factory waranty). The extended warranty is under no obligation to cover the transmission. It is called and "extended warranty" because it extends after the factory warranty RUNS OUT. It does not cover components DECLINED by factory warranty.

Example: Say you have 70,000 miles on your car and your cat convertor goes bad. You cannot claim it under the extended warranty because it is covered by the federal emmissions warranty 8/80. If you modify your exhaust and it is declined under the federal warranty, the extended warranty will not pay for it either.

Example 2: If you modify your car and your transmission breaks because of it, if your claim is denied by factory warranty, your extended warranty will not cover it either. (this applies whether your factory coverage is expired or not)

It is true that the extended warranty will cover things exluded by the 5/60 warranty, but it wil not cover things still covered.

i still have both warrantys and either way they should fix it! cause my cars not modded and i didnt abuse it! :furious:

extended warranty contract that .


Extended service contract, ;) Warranty implies "Free" :)

Extended service contract, ;) Warranty implies "Free" :)

ok, you got me.....extended contract will not cover it either

denied for the second time today. **** soa, :banana: so i ordered ra gears from gruppe s and will be having steve over at ::Suby Specialties:: installing it for me!!!!!

only mod on the car was a catback exhaust. the car was modded by the previous owner but was stock when i bought it!
i still have both warrantys and either way they should fix it! cause my cars not modded and i didnt abuse it! :furious:

So these parts "just fell off a truck"? :lol:

12-23-2004, 03:25 PM #1
silversoobie121
Scooby Newbie

Member#: 78065
Join Date: Dec 2004

hks down pipe and tein s tech coils for sale
[COLOR=RoyalBlue]both used for 2 1/2 months $200 for both or $100 each, anaheim hills also have used intake with kn cone filter pm me cash only!

silversoobie121
Scooby Newbie

Member#: 78065
Join Date: Dec 2004

Cool Planning An 18g
I HAVE AN APS TMIC AND I WAS PLANNING ON BUYING AN 18G FROM FP WOULD MODDING MY STOCK 02 WRX INJECTORS WORK FINE WITH AN ECU-TECH TUNE ANY COMMENTS ON WHAT TODO WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED?!?!?!?!?!

Gotcha!! :lol:

i still have both warrantys and either way they should fix it! cause my cars not modded and i didnt abuse it! :furious:
I understand your frustration, but if the previous owner abused the car, SOA is not required to do a damn thing for you. This is a hazard of buying a used car.

I'd still be sticking it to the dealership that sold me the car. They have a problem.

Andy H.

Edit: And now it looks like you have less of a case for SOA to warranty anything. Whiney bitch!

Andy H.

Edit: And now it looks like you have less of a case for SOA to warranty anything. Whiney bitch!

Oops Nevermind, sorry andy.

A legitimate claim is fine. I'll sympathize when someone is denied for a legitimate claim. To whine when you have been legitimately denied? C'mon! You made your bed. You lie in it.

For what its worth, when my transmission fails (sooner or later it will) I won't ask for warranty coverage. Why? Because my car HAS been abused. I made my bed, I'll lie in it.

What ever happened to personal responsibility?

OWN3D :lol:

OWN3D :lol:
hahahah! Well put! :lol:

That's really funny now.

lol what a chach

If one has invested just the minimum amount of time doing minimum research on one's own Suby, at least two things should be clear.

1. our 5mt needs proper driving technique to get the maximum life out of it.

2. you always get PWN3D when you lie about your mods and whine about your warranty denial in nabisco.

These two things should really be glaringly obvious by now. I guess some people never learn. :rolleyes:

This caught my eye. Surely you misheard what they said. That comment would be a legal nightmare for Subaru. Besides, there are some people who bring in their cars for tranny problems and are never questioned about abuse and the work is done without issue. So, first, it's obviously not true. Second...that comment would land them in a heap of legal trouble and bring about a slew of lawsuits if it could be proven.
By "they" I meant the service writers at my dealership, not SOA. However, they are definitely denying coverage sight unseen, at least in my area, if they denied my warranty claim without inspecting the transmission at all. Whether SOA outright says this is their policy or not, it is happening. I can't say I blame them; I know a lot of tranny failures are due to abuse. Obviously, SOA wouldn't admit to the practice for the reasons you mentioned.

it really sucks , but i love my rex too much to get rid of it. thats why im saving for a sti 6 speed. just in case !!!

in regards to the mods i had a downpipe on and the coils on for like a month. the aps is still sitting in my garage and has never been on my car. when the car broke and i took it to the dealership the only mod on it was the catback. and just cause i had mods on it doesnt mean i abused my car.

subaru should give us all new cars because most of there dealers suck!
I got one right now tryin to charge me 300.00 for an axle they installed to fix a nasty clunk and they tell me the clunk is still there, but they want money not sure what im ganna do and I still have to have my car fixed time to find a new dealer for the 4th time.

call your local Lemon Law office. They took care of all the hassel for me. SOA fixed my transmission and I came with a decent settlement. ;) They didn't wanna put the STi tranny in thou :lol:

And then there was the guy that went to court and lost and had to pay Subaru 75k ;)