Clutch Shudder...

[Retsyn]

Can anyone tell me how difficult it is to get this taken care of by Subaru? I'm still in the 36K warranty period. Any recommendations on what dealership would be best to take it to? I know a few people here have had good experiences at Exeter Subaru. What's the general concensus?

[kpratte]

If it's easy to demonstrate then Exeter or anybody can fix it. However, I have some shudder but found it to be "normal" for this car when it's humid or cold out, etc. Mine goes away in the first couple of minutes. If yours doesn't then you have a problem.

Subaru of Milford has been pretty good in the past for some people, I'm going back there for my wife's Forester to have them re-look at the clutch engagement crunching problem that they "fixed" (came back) not that long ago.

If you want to know about Subaru of Nashua, do a little bit of searching and you can read up on it..

- Ken

[tsfxRS]

If you want to know about subaru of nashua just ask me as those posts you will be searchin are moslty mine. I went to carmart about my clutch prob at 38 (same shudder) they told me to call subaru so I did and they said that its a wear item, everythign but hte discs are covered. Im going to go to milford subaru and see what they will do for me. I need a new dealership and whoever that is should get some great business and some good referrals.

Let me know how your problems gets solved please

[Retsyn]

Yeah, they just tried to screw my wife too. They told her that the wheel bearings and clutch were "wear items" as well. So I called to cancel the gold warranty on my Impreza. I figured what the hell, if nothing is actually covered why pay for it?
All of a sudden they're like "Gee I don't know who told you what but those items are covered". Hmm... Let's review, they're wear items unless you're going eliminate coverage on another vehicle...
I decided that given the crap that these jerks have put me through, I really don't want the coverage anyway. Besides I planned on getting a tubo kit anyway so why bother with the coverage.
The guy tells me that he'll have the paperwork ready tonight. I go there this evening and he's not there, the paperwork can't be found and I'm told that I'll just have to call back on Friday...

The moral of the story is: Take it somewhere other than Subaru of Nashua!

However, let me warn you that Milford played the same game with me with my '98 Legacy. I had a persistent problem with the tranny that they called "Normal for a Subaru" right up until 2 weeks after the warranty ran out. Then it was a 3,000.00 repair. That was why I bought the Impreza from Nashua...

Does anyone know anything about Subaru of Manchester?

[kpratte]

Ouch, I can feel the love from here!

Hopefully my luck is a little better than yours, but either way, you shouldn't need any luck to get good service.

Ahh well, too bad Exeter is 50 miles away.

- Ken

[tsfxRS]

I met some great people up at the track tonight. I spoke with some and learned alot. I will be making that extra 40 mile run to exeter when i need my car looked at. That is a no brainer for me. Im glad there are people out there and dealerships out there that still care and make people want to tell their freinds to buy from them. Knowing what I know I wish I would have given them my business and bought my car there. If I upgrade it will be from their lot.

I had numerous dealings with SON, and a few were directly with the owner. We actually spoke a few different times and I can honestly say on a personal level he seems like a great guy. I just dont do business on a personal level though, that end seemed to be lacking.

I went up yesturday to get my door lock switch and my rear ashtray which was all warranteed for me as they didnt work and were missing respectively. I have the receipt showing they were ordered and were at no cost to me. I signed the paperwork when i dropped my car off saying anything that would cost me anything had to be run through me before ordered. I waited 2 weeks+ because the ashtray was supposedly on order. A week into it I went up to check on the parts and only the door lock switch was in, they said they would call when both were in. I spoke with a the service manager about why some of the problems that I aksed to get fixed didnt get fixed. (rear suspension makes a lot of noise - they said it was the strut mount and it would need to be replaced to fix the problem) So my question was obviously why didnt it get replaced. I was referred to the sales manager who got the owner and he said hey we fixed the bumper on the car for you (it had a 6 inch by 2 inch chunk missing, the foam even had to be replaced it was hit so hard before i got it and covered with a bra) I thanked him for fixing it but that didnt mean the other work that should be done didnt have to be. We talked he said they wouldnt warranty anything else for me, I mentioned the clutch problem he said no without giving it any thought and i told him to have a nice day and left.

So back to when im picking up the 2 parts. I go in the guy takes my name goes and grabs the parts (they didnt call me mind you I just went up again) and hes like let me just figure out how much thats gonna be. I told him that it was no charge and he said "We have been through this before" and i agreed that we had and pulled out the invoice showing "NC no charge". He siad parts cost money and i told him that the parts were supposed to be free because i didnt get them when i got the car, he said the NC meant no charge for ordering the parts... I said well this isnt true as I talked with the owner before about it and when i dropped the car off I signed that thing saying dont order anything that was going to cost me any money... He called the owner then went and talked to the owner. He comes back hands me the parts and said "These are the last parts you are getting from us". I agreed with him as im now looking for a Real Dealership. Thanked him and went on my way.

By the way the ashtray didnt fit the rear, didnt fit the front, and I have no clue what the hell kind of subaru its supposed to go into... just makes me laugh.

If I come across as being rude to these people please understand that in person I am the nicest person that could be to these people however I dont want to be pushed around. They seem to like to push and not do what they are supposed to do so now im an avid opponent to them. Unfortuantely for them im outspoken. However since this is just a real circumstance that took place... im not trash talking, just making people aware of my experiences.

[kpratte]

Ouch, my head hurts just reading that. I can honestly say I've never been treated like that at any dealership, but if I was, I probably would have walked telling the guy he can eat the cost of the parts.

Fitz (Mark) seems to be pretty tight with Subaru of Milford (they let him borrow a Clutch alignment tool), I wonder what his secret is? Mark?

- Ken

[Flea]

I just had my 15,000 mile tuneup done at Exeter (where I fortunately bought my car) and mentioned that the clutch had been shuddering when I first start out. I left it overnight, so they could try to recreate it. They said that it did shudder slightly, and they're calling Subaru of America to see what the deal is. It's kind of disappeared, and I'm keeping an eye as it tends to come and go..depending most likely on whether it's damp out or not.

Exeter is very helpful! I'm sure if it's a major problem, they'll get it taken care of. As far as "wear" item...after 15,000 miles, it shouldn't be worn out. I baby my car, and have NEVER had to replace a clutch on any car I've ever owned. I'm sure if my shudder persists, it'll be taken care of.

Good luck!

[kpratte]

I was at Subaru of Milford last night with the Forester. They are ordering me a Clutch Fork boot or something like that.. Basically the rubber boot that keeps the lube on the clutch fork is torn. No charge for anything.

I discussed with Brian? my problems with the 1st gear sychro on my RS. He was very good about it, "if you can dupe the problem bring it by anytime to have us see the problem and then we'll go from there." What happens is that when going into 1st gear from 2nd it will grind *intermittently*. Some days, no problem. Other days, crunch, crunch. It also likes to do it at the gas stations. Turn car over, put in 1st, crunch! I'm tempted to just ram it in one day and break something. I don't powershift or anything, just normal shifting. Kinda sucks.

- Ken

[mad-dog999]

I've got a little over 5K on my WRX and I get shudder, mostly noticible in 2nd gear. It only really shows up when it's cold and damp, though. Does anybody know why it only shows up on those kind of days? Just curious.

[RyanC]

Funny, I picked up my car at Subaru of Milford last night. They fixed my brakes (I put the calipers on the wrong side... I'm a re-re!) and replaced the rear wheel bearing and a rear axle. Mark is good buddies with one of the techs there. I was happy with their service, but I didn't get any warranty coverage as the w.b. and axle would be covered under the 3/36 and not the 4/50. I have 49k on the car so it cost about $615 including an $85 towing fee. Can't say I'm displeased in the least, except for the fact that I had two new axles laying around I could have used, but it would have saved me only $40 so no biggie.

[Viv]

I'll say it one time to get off my chest;

one of the dealerships consistently slandered in this post and others that resides somewhere in NH really should get their act together.

When I was looking for cars, I went in and was given a fantastic price range for an RS, depending on the value of my trade-in. I spoke and shook hands with the owner, blah blah blah, told him I would be back after the holiday. Came back in, brought my beater of a trade in, ohh, what do you know, a new sales rep tells me that the "new" price of the car is $1,000 over the highest range previously quoted to me.

Then, they pull me into this office with some sleazy guy who is trying to bang out cost per month figures, totally ignoring the fact that the bottom line cost of the car is far higher than what was orginally quoted.

Luckily, I did not buy the car from them, as the whole lot seems to be two-faced, mean to each other, and should be selling used Pintos somewhere in the Desert.

[Fitz]

Shrug...... I might know a person or two down at Milford ...

Honestly I can't credit myself in any way. The techs, the service reps, customer service, just about anyone I've ever dealt with has treated me with the utmost respect. They always go out of their way to make sure I'm happy, including when I was there this morning. If they came back to me one day and asked me plaster a "Subaru of Milford" on the back half of my car you wouldn't see me hesitate in the least.

Fitz

[kpratte]

*note to self, take Mark with me to Subaru of Milford if I ever have any problems..*

Oh, and remind me not to drive the Forester much and then go to SOM. I was kinda hating the soft suspension, etc of the Forester and they had WRX row over there... Can we say 8 WRXs?, I thought we could! 7 sedans and 1 wagon. Yummm. Then reality set in of having to pay for the thing. I stopped by what is truely Wally World in Amherst (Walmart Superstore) on the way home. God that place is huge, but boy do they have some selection of stuff.

- Ken