Blow'd up 08 STI

If a simple compression test had been done, the problem would have shown itself.

And yes, I requested one, both times I took the car to the dealership.

The car had a cylinder #4 misfire which was a result of a broken ring land or piston. (that was the CEL it threw on Thursday)

For me to feel confident in the local Atlanta area Subaru service personnel, or for me to feel "warm and fuzzy" as you so put it, would require quite a bit I'm afraid.

Please stop posting. You are incorrect on this particular issue.

 

I have indeed spoken with someone (my soon to be wife) who specialized in the uniform commercial code

Section §10-1-783 & 784.

 

I have really been hearing nothing good about SOG. This is really pissing me off I feel really bad for you. It is looking like my next won't be a Subaru. Best of luck with getting this issue resolved.

 

If you dont take care of your customers some one else certainly will

But in this case its a complaint so its a little different but similar rules should apply because now he is no longer a customer

 

and thanks Mer

Sorry Alex

 

subigrl... You buy a 40k car and be treated like Biggis or myself and you will retract your statements. If someone treats me right I will refer all my friends and family there...if I am made to feel that they got my money and they could care less after that... I will tell everyone I know/meet not to go there. One unhappy customer can cost a company alot of business...

 

Face is right, it's not asking too much to get a little customer service. A little time and friendly service can go a long way and result in more business. Best way to advertise is by word of mouth.

 

NOT BE IDIOTS. That's what.

It doesnt take much to realize and engine has a broken piston. You hear it IMMEDIATELY on start up. If its smoking, its done and needs to STOP running immediately and pull the engine for the repair. Simple.

Whats going on in this case: Dealers that do not want warranty work. Why? Warranty is a tricky thing for the ATL area dealers. But if the techs, advisor, manager and warranty administrator just DO THEIR JOBS CORRECTLY no one would have problems.

When I worked at SOG and Collins, it was nothing but trouble and issues and problems. Why? The PROPER WARRANTY PROCEDURES WERE NOT FOLLOWED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So many problems, charge backs, unhappy customers and more would not have happened if everyone would have understood how it all works and followed the procedures! I did my best to right the wrongs and make sure things went well, but since everyone else has their own personal agenda about their own personal stuff, they didnt give a SHIT so it cost everyone something.

Here at SOJAX, things are done correctly. No input from me required. It was correct 'out of the box'.

Sure SOJAX has some small issues here and there, but again, its due to individuals having their own shit in the wrong place and their mind NOT thinking about the customer and the company.


The customer comes in complaining of smoke on start up, poor performance AND requested a compression test.

WHY was the compression test not performed?

I just dont understand why people will not do as the customer requests. Warranty will PAY for it, problem found or not! Its part of the diagnostic procedure.

But thats ok, those dealers must not want the total of 15.2 labor hours that warranty pays for the job. Oh and a loyal customer that would spend lots more money on general maintenance.

I know what I would like; PROPERLY TRAINED TECHNICIANS and PROPERLY TRAINED Service advisors and service managers at all the dealers. Not half ass idiots who only care about 30k/60k/90k/120k services, F-R brakes, timing belts, clutches and head gasket jobs!

You have to take care of ALL CUSTOMERS not just the ones spending money on gravy services. Those warranty customers will be gravy paying customers starting around 30,000 miles.

But thats ok, someone decided to blow Biggis off so he wont be back. EVER.

There is a problem with the car and the half ass technician decided that they didnt want a warranty engine job, or was incompetent on the diagnostic procedure of such a problem.

 

You are incorrect once again in this thread.





Biggis please keep us updated.

 

I can't agree with you more Will. You hit the nail square on the head.

I will NEVER return to Subaru of Kennesaw. Due to both the service manager there (Steve or Steven, don't remember his exact name) and your actions subigrl. If it means I have to push my car down I-75, then back up I-85 to SoG, I'll do that.

But I'm not really that happy about having to do that either.


As an aside, I did not hear back today from Subaru of Gwinett regarding getting a loaner car. I am currently out of pocket for 4 days worth of a rental car.

some quick math here, my car will likely be out of commission for at least 21 days. Subaru will only pay for 35 dollars a day on a rental, for 10 days. (they can petition for an extension or lobby congress or something for more). Enterprise rental gave me two options, a Toyota yaris for 35 a day or a Chevy impala for 40 a day. (insurance is 15.99/day).

I took the impala so I don't feel like I'm driving a matchbox. but until Subaru repays me, I'm out $1,386.00 (59.66/day for 21 days). And that is before taxes.

Just keeps gettin better eh?

 

Biggis, SOA will reimburse you for your rental for the time that the dealer cannot provide you a loaner/your car back while its at the dealer for a warranty repair.

We've had zero problems with that here.

The problem is that SOG cannot deal with any of the local rental companies due to someone/something related to SOG screwing over the rental companies local to them. This info came from Neil and our conversation the other day.

Just keep on SOG about a loaner and SOA with rental reimbursement.

 

Have you even tried Classic yet?

 

Biggis have you talked to your auto INS company about a rental?

 

Biggis

SoG actually gave me one of there loaner cars for over a week when my clutch mysteriously dropped (they covered everything under warranty, no hassle on my side :dunno)...you may want to check on that, if possible. No rental, no insurance, nothing but gas...just a thought.

Subigirl, shhhh... :nuts: While I can't relate on Biggis's topic, I can relate on my clutch situation. Three months after handing someone a check for $32k my clutch mysteriously drops and they won't even give me a rental car (another dealer, until I went to SoG). I was 24 at the time and didn't "comply" with their insurance policies...funny, they didn't have any compliance policies when taking my check a few months earlier...

I'm in customer service / sales, and in my industry, you can by my product from any number of establishments...what keeps my customers coming back to me for EVERY job is the service I provide. Though most jobs are easy, all any customer wants is to know his / her supplier has their back when the shit hits the fan.

Biggis, Face, Alex's dad...best of luck, hope all everything works out for the best

 

What would that do for me? My car is at SoG. I'm not being mean or sarcastic, just curious.

Nah, seems silly when there wasn't an "accident" that caused me to be without a car. I could be completely off base with that though. What makes you ask? Is

 

Just thinking maybe they may have some coverage to help

 

O i forgot you sent your car to SOG. but did you try classic? I didnt even see their name mentioned and I know they were always good to me, even when I went in with an aftermarket warranty.

 

I sure didn't, never even been there. Sounds like it is worth checkin out.

 

if you get an 'aftermarket' warranty, get the SAS Gold plan 100k mile one. Aka the top of the line one.

No other will work.

I've been there and done that.

 

:naughty:

 

meh, I cashed it back in when I started modding the hell out of my car cause it voided. Thanks for the advice though

 

Honestly the last time I had to deal with an aftermarket warranty company they tried to deny a claim on a BONE stock car when the tranny exploded while cruising down the highway. They claimed that the clutch showed signs of abuse. This was on a car where there was a known issue with the transmission failures (05 mustang) After getting professional evaluations of 3 independent shops and threatening a law suit they decided to replace the transmission. But honestly most of them will try to deny any and all claims. They just want to collect a check and never look back.

 

Notes taken, don't purchase a suby from local dealer ship. I don't take my car their (since WJM left SOG) for repairs to begin with, enough horror stories heard. Customer service like this is insane, and SOA not doing jack about it shows how much they care about their customers.

Want to know my experience with other companies ie Honda. Bought a 02 Accord new off the floor, 20k i get a misfire code, 1 trip to the dealership, car goes in for a faulty injector, they drop me off to a car rental location and cover the bill 100% (got a Brand new G6 with 40 miles on odo). Accord comes back home and i smelled fuel in the morning, 1 call to the dealership, they tow the car from home to dealership, and i get paid rental again. While the car was their i complained about more than normal valvetrain noise, dealership recommended valve adjustment, and wanted to charge. I called HOA, told them i have extended warranty on the car, they apologized on behalf of dealership, and cover the valve train adjustment service. Fast Forward to 49k now, tranny problem, 1 trip to dealership, car goes in, free rental again, week later car comes home with brand new tranny, no questions asked.

Now that's customer service, i hope SOA is reading this. My next new car isn't going to be a Subaru, you can count on that.

 

I know when we went to Gerald Jones Subaru, they bent over backwards for us even after the purchase. The sales manager there, Jessie, even gave me his personal cell phone to call if we had any issues. They have been quite reasonable. But then, they are also a Volvo and Honda dealership as well as Subaru. Maybe that has something to do with it, lol!

 

1,000% truth there.

Usually once a week we deal with a few different aftermarket warranty companies, so far 95% of claims (that are all valid claims that SOA and the SAS warranty would have covered had the vehicle been under the SOA/SAS warranty) were denied and the basis for the denial was pure BS.

 

This particular case they claimed there were hot spots on the flywheel indicating abuse. In all actuality, there were none. We took pictures, documented the whole thing. It ended up taking several weeks and a couple letters from lawyers (always good to have college buddies with law degrees) to get it all done. I know a lot of folks are planning on keeping their car maybe a little longer due to the economy and all that, but please don't get these stupid warranties. They may save you 1 in a million times, but they are just not worth it. Most of the companies are crooks.

 

ok, i have held back enough . its funny how not the whole story is told when someone is telling a story. why have you not mentioned anything about when you came to the dealership (SOK) to have your car checked out that the tech that looked at your car went on a test drive with you while you were driving and had the sm3 hooked up graphing your cars data and parameters. the maf,map,fuel trim short and long ,roughness monitors,front a/f,rear 02, knocking corrections and ignition timing were all graphed and nothing was out of spec and no check engine lights or history codes were available for any diagnosis. also the technician that looked at you car told you that he would do a compression/leakdown test on your car except for the fact that you drove all the way from cleavland georgia and then went on a test drive with you and the car was extremely hot and you arrived at the dealership at 4:00pm. you were told that you could get a loaner car and leave the car with us to check out further if we had determined that there was a warranty related issue with your car. with warranty in order for a car to be taken apart for any reason you have to have something to go on. if there is no proven reason for any problems we are not to just start pulling things apart. there are steps that we have to go through in the warranty process and WJM knows this. as for other people if you do not know what you are talking about you should keep things to yourself unless you have the proof to back it up. furthermore if you do know something it should be said in a respectful manner and not in a way that will start freaking people out (WJM).

 

There ya go.

However, I've always done a compression test on the spot w/out a problem if I've suspected a broken piston. The one time I could not was due to an over scheduled day. The other 20~30 or so times, no problem.

 

if there had been proof of a broken piston then we would have had something to go on and more could have been done. since there wasnt we could not do anything more at the time

 

Proof is in the compression test. By the time its caught on the roughness monitor and smoke from the exhaust, its too late and 90% of the time the block is done for.

 

hmm, not quite how i remember it.

I was told that compression test would NOT be done as the data logger found nothing. EVEN after I told the tech and the manager that the car really only had an issue when the engine was cold.

DID SoK keep the car over night to start the car the next morning? (and observe the oil burning themselves)

no.

Would that have proven something was wrong, or at least convinced them to investigate further?

I'm willing to bet yes. As the car failed less than 200 miles later.

I'm sorry you feel slighted by "my side of the story". Facts is facts though bud. I took the car to you once it started showing signs of ring land failure. For whatever reason all the options for diagnostics were not analyzed (after my complaining and bitching to service staff ). Whatever the outcome, my confidence in the skills and abilities of the service department of SoK has been compromised big time.

 

there was no smoke at the time the car was at the dealership. from what i was told the smoke was seen from the exhaust that morning when he started it up. i dont know any car that will not show something that looks like smoke when started cold up in the mountains on a cold morning.

 

Intresting that alot of subigrls posts are gone from this thread...fail

 

she has been talked to no need to say anything further. thanks

 

It never did it before that saturday, nor did my WRX. Still, maybe i'm just crazy.....


Wait, no...the car did fail shortly after I noticed it and smelled oil. My bad.

:unamused:

 

check out the vidoe link Biggie posted...that is not normal smoke...

 

regardless, at the time the car was brought to the dealership, nothing showed to be wrong with the car.

 

I know you have quite a reputation as a tech and I don't mean to slight that or detract from it. You have also been a member of this community longer than I have.

I took my car to you guys, complaining of symptoms of ring land failure. They were not all examined (even after I requested them a second and third time) The car shortly thereafter failed.

But by all means, continue to defend your position.

 

King not to deny your knowledges and such, but i thought WJM said that this is a result of A KNOWN FACTORY tuning issue?? wouldn't you guys just do everything you could possibly do to denounce a "common" or at least recurring issue? i.e. do the compression test anyways, you know just in case?

 

and biggis, Lemon Law?

from GA LAW:10-1-784

(a)(1) If the manufacturer, its agent, or the new motor vehicle dealer is unable to repair or correct any nonconformity in a new motor vehicle after a reasonable number of attempts, the consumer shall notify the manufacturer by certified mail, return receipt requested, at the address provided by the manufacturer. The manufacturer shall, within seven days after receipt of such notification, notify the consumer of a reasonably accessible repair facility and after delivery of the vehicle to the designated repair facility by the consumer, the manufacturer shall, within 14 days, conform the motor vehicle to the warranty. If the manufacturer is unable to repair or correct any nonconformity of the new motor vehicle, the manufacturer shall, within 30 days of the consumer's written request, by certified mail, return receipt requested, at the option of the consumer, or the lessor in the event of a leased motor vehicle, replace or repurchase the new motor vehicle. If the manufacturer fails to notify the consumer of a reasonably accessible repair facility or perform the repairs within the time periods prescribed in this subsection, the requirement that the manufacturer be given a final attempt to cure the nonconformity does not apply.

 

Yes it is being looked into.

 

as far as i know i have not seen nor heard of any cars failing after the reflash recall has been done.
to me WJM was freaking everyone out with what he was saying and trying to sell his own reflash and gain business for himself

 

i did not look at your car, the day you came in was my off day. this has nothing to do with me or my reputation. but it does effect me as the dealership i work at is being looked down upon from everything being said in this thread when you took your car to SOG before bringing it to SOK. im not sure what SOG did when you brought your car to them but from what i can tell or gather from this thread they did not do as much as the 15y subaru master tech at SOK did when he looked at your car with you

 

*I* do not have any capability to reflash them beyond stock.

The pistons are still breaking after the reflash.

Here is the cause:



The tables that are displayed are the issues. If the "CL to OL Delay _" table was zero'ed, the 08~09 STi would NOT break pistons in stock form driven like a normal person would drive it.

Same for the 07 STi. That has been covered many times already on all the major boards.

 

WOW! That is just ugly!

 

Could you explain the delay to someone who knows nothing about tuning? Explain what it's doing and why they did it that way.

 

this is what i was talking about were it sounded like you were trying to sell your own reflash