Trouble/Warranty Denial Report Thread: Body/Exterior of Vehicle

[SpamBot]

Originally Posted by geez4gavin

Name: C. Jones

Make: 2013 Impreza Sport Hatch

Mileage: 8,000

Time Out Of Use: 0

Problem And Likely Cause: road salt/rocks

Modifications: none

Submitted For Warranty Work (Yes/No): no

Reason Given For Denial: dealer stated not covered under warranty

Your Story: I noticed at around 6,500 miles that the paint is peeling off the front, driver's side wheel well. Most of it is gone. The dealer has offered to fix it only if I agree to purchase and have them install the splash guards to the tune of nearly $300. None of the other wheel wells is doing this that I can see with the naked eye. They stated that it's most likely caused by the rocks and winter salts on the roads and most likely just on that side because the salt is pushed to the middle of the roads near the yellow line. I understand how this could happen after maybe years of winter driving but a couple of months...really? Am I nuts for thinking this should be covered if not under the regular warranty, at least the extended warranty? Or should I take their offer to fix and buy splash guards and be satisfied?

Thanks!

Yes. This is not "defective" paint. It's been sandblasted by road salt and sand.
Get an estimate from a body shop to have the paint redone. If it's more than the $300, have the dealer do it and get the splash guards. Consider them a freebie.

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[danstheman7]

geez4gavin:

Follow SpamBot's suggestion!

[voschell]

Name: Chris V.

Make: 2013 Legacy 2.5i Limited

Mileage: 5100

Time Out Of Use: None

Problem And Likely Cause: Side view mirror does not lock into "extended" position, only locks to folded positions. Suspecting/hoping-for faulty swivel mechanism.

Modifications: None

Submitted For Warranty Work (Yes/No): Yes

Reason Given For Denial: Caused by external forces

Your Story:

Went to go fold my driver's side, side view mirror in and noticed it felt very loose. It will lock forward and lock backward but not extended. Thus, the mirror can move around while I'm driving, which is a problem I can only assume can get worse. After looking through the forums, it seems I'm experiencing the same issue as some 2002 Impreza owners, where a washer was known to break under normal use. There is zero sign of any impact on the mirror or housing (not a scratch). The dealer said that it must have been caused by an impact of some kind. Although this could have theoretically happened when I wasn't near my car, I would think an impact with enough force to break the mechanism would leave a mark. Is this something I should press or just accept defeat?

[G-Omaha]

Contact SOA. The mirror is supposes to "flex" when contacted by external forces....

[voschell]

Thank you for getting back to me G-Omaha. I did indeed contact SOA, who was quick to respond to my email (within 24 hours). In the meantime, I actually found a separate dealership who didn't try to dodge the warranty issue. They inspected it, fixed it, and had me on my way in an hour flat (without appointment). If anybody needs a reputable dealership in Seattle, I think I found one.

[SpecialWRX]

Name: Zayne

Make: 2013 Subaru WRX Special Edition

Mileage: 6500 miles

Problem And Likely Cause: Chipping, peeling, and see-through paint. Car was not painted or prepared properly.

Modifications: Only Exterior mods are Rally Sport mud flaps.

Submitted For Warranty Work (Yes/No): Yes

Reason Given For Denial: Caused by outside source and "car was prepared and painted to match Subaru Standards"

Your Story:

Hey guys, I'm from Northeastern PA and I have a 2013 Special Edition WRX with almost 6500 miles. I bought it brand new August 3rd 2013 and only drive it on the weekends. The whole front end (bumper and hood) is full of chips. The bumper has a spot where the paint is peeling off. And you can see through the paint on the inside edge of the front access panel. All chips that are on metal surfaces are already beginning to rust.

The Subaru dealer, Subaru representative, and 1-800-Subaru-3 all say that "this was caused by outside sources, the paint was prepared and applied to Subaru standards, and the paint is holding up to Subaru standards." All three said the same thing, nearly verbatim.

SOA said they would give the dealer $1000 towards fixing it but the total bill would $2400 meaning that I would have to pay the other $1400 out of pocket.

Sorry for the wall of text. I have 17 pictures showing the defects (not so sure how to upload pictures on here). Any idea where I should go from here?

Link to album: http://imgur.com/a/veoQi#0

[sc00by4life]

Originally Posted by SpecialWRX

Name: Zayne Make: 2013 Subaru WRX Special Edition Mileage: 6500 miles Problem And Likely Cause: Chipping, peeling, and see-through paint. Car was not painted or prepared properly. Modifications: Only Exterior mods are Rally Sport mud flaps. Submitted For Warranty Work (Yes/No): Yes Reason Given For Denial: Caused by outside source and "car was prepared and painted to match Subaru Standards" Your Story: Hey guys, I'm from Northeastern PA and I have a 2013 Special Edition WRX with almost 6500 miles. I bought it brand new August 3rd 2013 and only drive it on the weekends. The whole front end (bumper and hood) is full of chips. The bumper has a spot where the paint is peeling off. And you can see through the paint on the inside edge of the front access panel. All chips that are on metal surfaces are already beginning to rust. The Subaru dealer, Subaru representative, and 1-800-Subaru-3 all say that "this was caused by outside sources, the paint was prepared and applied to Subaru standards, and the paint is holding up to Subaru standards." All three said the same thing, nearly verbatim. SOA said they would give the dealer $1000 towards fixing it but the total bill would $2400 meaning that I would have to pay the other $1400 out of pocket. Sorry for the wall of text. I have 17 pictures showing the defects (not so sure how to upload pictures on here). Any idea where I should go from here? Link to album: http://imgur.com/a/veoQi#0

Forget about the chips. There is absolutely no way you can prove that was by defect. I know, sucks seeing chips in your brand new car - but it happens. Even mentioning this when talking about the warranty service is likely going to get you some weird looks and then dismissing everything else you say.

The peeling and thin coat you might have a point with.

Have you tries taking it to another dealer?

[avikm289]

I was denied warranty for this. 3 year old 2012 wrx sedan, about 50k miles on it. I'm the original owner and on rear end or side accidents/collisions etc. anyone can help?

[RexyGirl]

What did they give as a reason for denial? Rust warranty is 5 years, unlimited mileage.

[JRim]

Outer body rust through is 5 years. Panel must be perforated by rust. That panel is not perforated.

[NK2201]

Originally Posted by SpecialWRX

Name: Zayne

Make: 2013 Subaru WRX Special Edition

Mileage: 6500 miles

Problem And Likely Cause: Chipping, peeling, and see-through paint. Car was not painted or prepared properly.

Modifications: Only Exterior mods are Rally Sport mud flaps.

Submitted For Warranty Work (Yes/No): Yes

Reason Given For Denial: Caused by outside source and "car was prepared and painted to match Subaru Standards"

Your Story:

Hey guys, I'm from Northeastern PA and I have a 2013 Special Edition WRX with almost 6500 miles. I bought it brand new August 3rd 2013 and only drive it on the weekends. The whole front end (bumper and hood) is full of chips. The bumper has a spot where the paint is peeling off. And you can see through the paint on the inside edge of the front access panel. All chips that are on metal surfaces are already beginning to rust.

The Subaru dealer, Subaru representative, and 1-800-Subaru-3 all say that "this was caused by outside sources, the paint was prepared and applied to Subaru standards, and the paint is holding up to Subaru standards." All three said the same thing, nearly verbatim.

SOA said they would give the dealer $1000 towards fixing it but the total bill would $2400 meaning that I would have to pay the other $1400 out of pocket.

Sorry for the wall of text. I have 17 pictures showing the defects (not so sure how to upload pictures on here). Any idea where I should go from here?

Link to album: http://imgur.com/a/veoQi#0

Hate to say it, but those chips are all what I would expect from following a car too closely. All the chips face forward. The paint coming off the bumper likely started as a chip, that then expanded because the paint on bumpers is flexible and could have been pulled away by automated car washes or more rock hits. My advice is to change your driving habits and buy some touch up paint.

Originally Posted by avikm289

I was denied warranty for this. 3 year old 2012 wrx sedan, about 50k miles on it. I'm the original owner and on rear end or side accidents/collisions etc. anyone can help?

I would contact SOA. While you could argue the panel isn't perforated by the rust, the panel is clearly separated because of the rust. This is a very unusual spot for rust to form and some kind of weld failure or retaining water in the body are likely to blame. I'd fight this one, take it to a body shop if need be and see if they can come up with a potential cause. You may have to pay them to inspect it thoroughly, but it could greatly improve your bargaining position with SOA.

[avikm289]

I'm working with them now to get it fixed, their only offering 50% reimbursement tho

[davidpoll950]

reall and genuien

[vutorious]

Name: Todd V

Make: 2015 WRX Limited

Mileage: 6000

Time Out Of Use: None

Problem And Likely Cause: Clear-coat etching caused by paintballs

Modifications: None

Submitted For Warranty Work (Yes/No): Yes

Reason Given For Denial: Caused by non-natural forces

Your Story: Bought the car at the end of July last year and was scammed into purchasing the Xylon coating they claimed would protect the paint. What sold me was the warranty they offered. After helping coach my alma mater's paintball team at a tournament, went to see that my car had taken a few hits from stray paintballs flying over the netting (about 70% of the other cars had been hit as well). The car had been sitting outside in direct Texas summer sunlight and I then immediately took the car to get hand washed (the workers there looked at my car with horror). I expected no damage to be done. The car looked fine afterwards, but noticed in the morning dew it would highlight where the paint splats were. Took the car to get clay bared and waxed, but the "splat edges" were still visible. Submitted a claim to Subaru and Xylon, and Subaru said to take it up with Xylon. Xylon denied the claim stating that it was not a natural occurrence. After reading the fine print a bit closer, it doesn't look like the warranty covers anything - not even bird droppings. My car before this, a black 07 Civic, had been hit many times in the past and never had this problem before - granted the clear coat on that car oxidized after only 3 years.

[sc00by4life]

Originally Posted by vutorious

Name: Todd V

Make: 2015 WRX Limited

Mileage: 6000

Time Out Of Use: None

Problem And Likely Cause: Clear-coat etching caused by paintballs

Modifications: None

Submitted For Warranty Work (Yes/No): Yes

Reason Given For Denial: Caused by non-natural forces

Your Story: Bought the car at the end of July last year and was scammed into purchasing the Xylon coating they claimed would protect the paint. What sold me was the warranty they offered. After helping coach my alma mater's paintball team at a tournament, went to see that my car had taken a few hits from stray paintballs flying over the netting (about 70% of the other cars had been hit as well). The car had been sitting outside in direct Texas summer sunlight and I then immediately took the car to get hand washed (the workers there looked at my car with horror). I expected no damage to be done. The car looked fine afterwards, but noticed in the morning dew it would highlight where the paint splats were. Took the car to get clay bared and waxed, but the "splat edges" were still visible. Submitted a claim to Subaru and Xylon, and Subaru said to take it up with Xylon. Xylon denied the claim stating that it was not a natural occurrence. After reading the fine print a bit closer, it doesn't look like the warranty covers anything - not even bird droppings. My car before this, a black 07 Civic, had been hit many times in the past and never had this problem before - granted the clear coat on that car oxidized after only 3 years.

I'm not sure why you decided to post this here.

No rational person would expect a car to be undamaged by high velocity paint balls being shot at it.

[WraeDeoHed]

Name: Zayne

Make: 2012 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT

Mileage: 65000 miles

Problem And Likely Cause: Rust all through trunk lid.

Modifications: None

Submitted For Warranty Work (Yes/No): Yes

Reason Given For Denial: Caused by outside source and "car was prepared and painted to match Subaru Standards"

Your Story:Took my LGT to Subaru dealer where SOA promptly denied it, however two dealers covered it anyway to use my trunk lid as an example to why SOA needs to either change their manufacturing process or start honoring their warranty.

[Ace87]

Name: Ace

Make: 2016 Subaru WRX

Mileage: 3175

Time Out Of Use: 1 Day so far

Problem And Likely Cause: Passenger rear window shattered while driving on the highway at 65 mph. No vehicles were around me at the time, no rocks being thrown, clear weather. All windows were up. Possible glass fault or binding condition.

Modifications: None

Submitted For Warranty Work (Yes/No): Yes

Reason Given For Denial: Was told that glass is not covered under warranty, goodwilled after calling Subaru customer relations

[b]Your Story [b]

During normal highway driving with no vehicles around me the passenger rear window glass shattered. Dealership tried to convince me it was a rock. Was told glass is not covered by warranty. Referred to Subaru customer relations, vehicle now being repaired at dealership under goodwill.

[xtremsiege2]

Name: Matt
Make: 2015 Subaru WRX

Mileage: 9000

Time Out Of Use: 0

Problem And Likely Cause:Passenger side paint is completely stained from skunk spraying it a few days prior.

Modifications: None

Submitted For Warranty Work (Yes/No): Yes

Reason Given For Denial: Was told that the stains were from an outside source not related to the subaru paint. They told me to file a comprehensive claim and they were not liable for the problem.

[RexyGirl]

Originally Posted by xtremsiege2

Name: Matt
Make: 2015 Subaru WRX

Mileage: 9000

Time Out Of Use: 0

Problem And Likely Cause:Passenger side paint is completely stained from skunk spraying it a few days prior.

Modifications: None

Submitted For Warranty Work (Yes/No): Yes

Reason Given For Denial: Was told that the stains were from an outside source not related to the subaru paint. They told me to file a comprehensive claim and they were not liable for the problem.

Not sure why you would think this would be warranty. It was caused by an outside influence (which you admitted), not a defect. Your insurance company should cover it

[defaultstivaper]

Originally Posted by vutorious

Name: Todd V

Make: 2015 WRX Limited

Mileage: 6000

Time Out Of Use: None

Problem And Likely Cause: Clear-coat etching caused by paintballs

Modifications: None

Submitted For Warranty Work (Yes/No): Yes

Reason Given For Denial: Caused by non-natural forces

Your Story: Bought the car at the end of July last year and was scammed into purchasing the Xylon coating they claimed would protect the paint. What sold me was the warranty they offered. After helping coach my alma mater's paintball team at a tournament, went to see that my car had taken a few hits from stray paintballs flying over the netting (about 70% of the other cars had been hit as well). The car had been sitting outside in direct Texas summer sunlight and I then immediately took the car to get hand washed (the workers there looked at my car with horror). I expected no damage to be done. The car looked fine afterwards, but noticed in the morning dew it would highlight where the paint splats were. Took the car to get clay bared and waxed, but the "splat edges" were still visible. Submitted a claim to Subaru and Xylon, and Subaru said to take it up with Xylon. Xylon denied the claim stating that it was not a natural occurrence. After reading the fine print a bit closer, it doesn't look like the warranty covers anything - not even bird droppings. My car before this, a black 07 Civic, had been hit many times in the past and never had this problem before - granted the clear coat on that car oxidized after only 3 years.

Makes sense that this wouldn't be covered. Food for thought though - Subaru paint is VERY soft and brittle. My brand new 18 STI already has a few rock chips. I also noticed that if you're out at night and splatter a bunch of bugs, get that crap off ASAP. If you leave ANYTHING acidic on the clear (especially bug entrails), the sun will bake it on and it will never come off. I experienced this once when I went out at night and left my car in the sun the next day. Afterwards, everything washed off okay, but there was one spot that etched into the clearcoat. It's not terribly noticeable, but you can tell.

[adareed]

ghfhgfhfgh

[rexster]

Noticed the other day that the paint around the drain holes along the bottom of my drunk lid are heavily rusted. The rust appears to be coming from the inside. My car is garaged at home and at work. It does get wet, but much less so than any car I have owned before. Really sad that a car that's not even 5 years old is rusting from the inside out.

[2019REDWRX]

Name: 2019REDWRX

Make: 2019 Subaru WRX

Mileage: Less than 34k

Time Out Of Use: N/A

Problem And Likely Cause: Problem is rust around two drain holes on the trunk lid, including bubbling and chipping paint.

Modifications: None

Submitted For Warranty Work (Yes/No): Yes. Contacted SOA Advocacy Team and vehicle was inspected by a factory rep at a dealership.

Reason Given For Denial: Is not perforative rust.

Your Story: Opened my trunk lid and discovered rust around the drain holes to the left and right of the trunk latch. I was surprised because the car is often garaged, the rust was in a strange area and the car has been well cared for.

I haven't had the best experiences with the dealership I bought my car from so I opted to call SOA and speak to their advocacy team. I feel like I got the run around from the start, but that is besides the point. I ended up dropping the car off at a dealership for an appointment with a factory rep.

They felt the rust did not meet the requirements of perforative rust. My argument was that the rust is around a hole and, despite being unfortunate, how can you say rust around a hole is not perforative rust?

No repair was performed on the car. The service manager forewarned me that it was his opinion that if it were repaired that the repair would include sanding below the surface of the e-coating (rust protection) and that I would have more rust in the long run. I asked my "advocate" if the deck lid could be replaced and I was more or less told to confer with the service manager and district manager. I made that call and that got me nowhere.

I pleaded that the rust is merely going to spread. Subaru mentioned that my complaints were on file and that a courtesy repair would likely be performed within a reasonable amount of time if the damage got worse, but, there were no specifics offered to me in writing regarding the limits that a repair would be made.

I called Subaru because I had faith that they would address the problem and I'm not sure what to do next. I'm about 3 years and 2 months into ownership of this vehicle. Rust warranty is supposed to be 5 years, and when rust surrounds a hole, how can it not be perforative?

[20WRX20]

Originally Posted by 2019REDWRX

Name: 2019REDWRX

Make: 2019 Subaru WRX

Mileage: Less than 34k

Time Out Of Use: N/A

Problem And Likely Cause: Problem is rust around two drain holes on the trunk lid, including bubbling and chipping paint.

Modifications: None

Submitted For Warranty Work (Yes/No): Yes. Contacted SOA Advocacy Team and vehicle was inspected by a factory rep at a dealership.

Reason Given For Denial: Is not perforative rust.

Your Story: Opened my trunk lid and discovered rust around the drain holes to the left and right of the trunk latch. I was surprised because the car is often garaged, the rust was in a strange area and the car has been well cared for.

I haven't had the best experiences with the dealership I bought my car from so I opted to call SOA and speak to their advocacy team. I feel like I got the run around from the start, but that is besides the point. I ended up dropping the car off at a dealership for an appointment with a factory rep.

They felt the rust did not meet the requirements of perforative rust. My argument was that the rust is around a hole and, despite being unfortunate, how can you say rust around a hole is not perforative rust?

No repair was performed on the car. The service manager forewarned me that it was his opinion that if it were repaired that the repair would include sanding below the surface of the e-coating (rust protection) and that I would have more rust in the long run. I asked my "advocate" if the deck lid could be replaced and I was more or less told to confer with the service manager and district manager. I made that call and that got me nowhere.

I pleaded that the rust is merely going to spread. Subaru mentioned that my complaints were on file and that a courtesy repair would likely be performed within a reasonable amount of time if the damage got worse, but, there were no specifics offered to me in writing regarding the limits that a repair would be made.

I called Subaru because I had faith that they would address the problem and I'm not sure what to do next. I'm about 3 years and 2 months into ownership of this vehicle. Rust warranty is supposed to be 5 years, and when rust surrounds a hole, how can it not be perforative?

This is a common issue, especially if you don't keep the area clean. Whenever you wash your car, you should always clean inside door/trunk/hood jambs with QD+wax. For some reason, Subaru barely uses any paint in this area, and it definitely isn't clear coated. If you don't clean it, the dirt will trap moisture and start rusting around the drain holes.

Fortunately, it's just surface rust. You can fix it yourself by sanding the loose rust area, treating with something like POR-15, painting, and then clearing the area. Also wouldn't be a bad idea to spray inside the trunk with fluid film.

Again, common issue, but I only see it on cars that are parked outside and/or the trunk jambs look dirty.