SOA not covering 2013 sti rod bearing

Hey everyone, my name is Ryan and I have a 2013 sti with only 14,000 miles on it. I bought the car just under a year ago. 3 weeks ago the rod bearing spun on #4 cylinder while going down the highway at steady speeds and the engine started knocking. I took it to the closest dealer and they confirmed it was a rod bearing by draining the oil and seeing metal in it. The dealer contacted SOA and had a field tech come out to inspect the car. Once he did the engine was torn down and the spun bearing was found. The only mods I have are wheels, coilovers, and a catback exhaust. After looking everything over the SOA field tech denied my warranty claim saying that the engine was run low on oil at some point.

This is complete BS and they have no foundation for this claim. The oil was always changed at the dealer every 3,000 miles and the last change was done at 12,500 miles at the dealer.

My car has never been run low on oil and I regularly check it. I had the oil changed every 3,000 miles since new and has always been changed at the dealership with Subaru oil. The most recent oil change was at 12,500 miles at Stivers Subaru, and I supplied all of the oil change receipts with the car. The first thing I checked when the rod started knocking was the oil level, and it was full. I took it to the dealership and the first thing the tech did was check the oil level, and it was full. SOA field tech is saying that at some point the oil was low, the rod was damaged, then I filled it back up with oil and brought it to the dealership. This is ridiculous because the oil was just changed at 12,500 miles, there were no oil leaks, and the car did not burn oil. Also the oil level was full when I brought the car in. They have no foundation for this accusation, and no evidence to support it. If this is the case then the dealer who changed the oil last owes me a new motor. It's complete BS. I am waiting to hear back from my representative David at SOA, but it has been 3 days since I've heard anything and I've called 5 times.

Frankly, this really seems as though Subaru does not want to warranty their product. I have many friends who work as techs for other manufacturers, and after hearing my story they think it is completely ridiculous and have never had a warranty claim denied at their dealership for low oil. As long as the customer could prove that the oil was changed the car was warrantied, no matter how much damage was done. I have had 2 other subarus, both used and out of warranty, and I loved them to death, a 2.5 rs and an 04 sti. I have had nothing but good things to say about Subaru up until this happened. I honestly can't believe how I have been treated. As soon as I dropped the car off the dealer tech was accusing me of "chipping" the car (which I have not) and through the whole ordeal everyone I have spoken to has either not cared one bit or accused me of causing the bearing to spin. It's one thing that my not even 1 year old car has a blown engine, but SOA refusing to fix it while it is under bumper to bumper warranty is absolutely mind boggling.

For anyone who as dealt with this before, can you please offer some advice on what to do next? I am not giving up, this car is 100% under warranty and Subaru needs to fix it.

 

As far as "chipping" the car, anyone who wanted to know right away could read the rom on the ecu and know for sure even with flashing back to stock(if im not mistaken).

Have you owned the car since new? Have all records from the same dealer changing the oil? If so, i wouldnt be worried it at all, i would escalate the matter.

 

Sorry man, that sucks. Until you get your problem solved, just remember they read these forums too. Good luck.

 

Yes I bought it new with 6 miles on it. I have all of the records, but two different dealers. Sometimes I am closer to one than the other so I just went with whoever was more convenient. It does not matter one bit who changes the oil, they are both Subaru dealerships. I don't like the no communication from them right now. And I keep calling to no avail.

It does suck! brand new car and all of this bull. Yeah I am hoping they do read these forums, see this and actually do something about it. It is their responsibility.

 

I think I read on here before that people have had problems with Stivers, so maybe going to the other dealership would be better. In terms of SOA, I just had to replace my steering rack and they covered about 1/2 the cost (I have over 60K so I am out of warranty). The woman I spoke to was very helpful and sounded genuinely interested in satisfying the customer. If you are not getting a response from David, you could try calling back with your case number and asking for someone else. I am assuming that with something this big (replacing an engine) it may take a bit longer to go through all the "approvals".
Definitely sucks that it happened, but I think with all the records you have, it should hopefully end well.

 

I hate hearing this. I have been a loyal Stivers customer. I have bought four cars from them over the years including my STI, an Outback, a Crosstreck and a used Mazda. Stivers has always been 1st class to deal with - I am sure they will take care of you.

It is totally absurd that they would not honor your claim. I think the tech I deal with normally is named Raphael, he is great, always on top of whatever is going on. I even had them tech my car for the BMWCCA track weekend at Road Atlanta last year.

Keep us posted on how things pan out. I am really hoping Stivers takes care of ya.

Stetson

 

need to ask them why their motor was consuming so much oil and why that was not mentioned or noticed during any of the previous service visits?

 

The car is at Subaru of Gwinnett. I have contacted Stivers and asked for any assistance they can offer with this situation. I am hoping they are willing to help because I bought the car from there #1, and they were the last to do an oil change #2.

I wouldn't say that Stivers has done anything wrong at the moment since the car is at SOG. I wouldn't necessary blame SOG for doing anything "wrong", they have just done nothing at all from what I can tell. I will speak to the GM soon and see where I can get.

YUP! because it wasn't. The oil was full. I'm guessing the oil pump failed and caused all of this. Considering rod #4 is the farthest away from the pump it will be the first rod to go if oil pressure drops. The cause of this blown motor was either improper assembly from the factory or a failure in the oiling system. Whether that be with the oil pump, oil pickup, oil pan design, or the oil itself I do not know. But no matter how you slice it, it is not my fault, and it IS Subaru's fault.

 

VERY WELL stated Matt. This is also why I myself will never own a newer than 2006 WRX/STi. Subaru's willingness to stand behind their products is absurd. Crack ringlands galore....absurd. I can understand the ones that tune their cars to Stage 1 or 2 even though I don't agree with it. But those like the original poster of this thread have BONE stock cars (suspension and a catback have nothing to do with engine failures) and have all service records done by a Subaru dealership are the ones getting shafted. UNACCEPTABLE! Subaru get off your arse and stand behind your product!

 

Merc is awesome to deal with. I've heard very customer forgiving stories from the Merc Tech I know.

 

The real solution to this problem is OEM EJ207.

 

Keep us posted...I am stunned that SOA won't back this. I have heard about stories like this, but I always assumed there was some wild aftermarket performance. Engine failure on a dealer maintained stock engine under warranty is unquestionably thier responsibility to repair.

Stetson

 

On a BRAND new car? :eek3:

 

Is it white with red wheels? I was just at Subaru of Gwinnett last weekend getting the oil changed on my STI and I saw a white STI sedan with red wheels there sitting by the garage area.

Stetson

 

Hi Ryan -

Reach out to me please, I dealt with David on my issue as well as his boss, and her boss.

Your case is a bit more simple then mine was, but I guarantee you dealt with the same "field tech" and I know you are dealing with hoffman at SOG.

They were cursing the text that printed my name by the time I got finished over there, they see me and the word warranty again and they might just give you a brand new car.

PM me.

 

I could not have said it better, Thank you. I honestly think that the STI's are over priced as well, but It is what I wanted so I took the plunge, but only because I really wanted that warranty in case anything happens. That was honestly the deciding factor for buying a brand new one. I could have bought a 2005(what I really wanted) if I wanted a no warranty car and put a new motor in myself. And still been ahead of a 2013 by 10's of thousands of dollars.

haha I was just talking to my dad tonight and we brought that up. Subaru's whole add campaign is love, then this. On a related note he will no longer be buying a 2015 wrx.

If I had known all of this was going on, I would have gotten a 2005. MY 2004 was awesome, and I loved it to death. It was the primary reason for getting the '13.

This is my exact point. I really don't believe other manufacturers are treating their customers this way. And I have a few buddies that work as techs for other companies and they are all blown away by my story. It's crazy man. I really considered a c63 amg. Those cars are really nice, but really expensive.

Sorry, bit of a newb on subaru engine codes. I only know the ej257 lol. Is that the jdm 2.0 sti engine? Do they not have these problems?

That is my exact point! I am NOT the only one this has happened to, and not even in the same city much less the US. How and why is this happening? Why is Subaru treating their loyal customers like this when they have the cost of warranty and repair built into every car they sell. It's crazy.

Yup, that's my car. I went to see the motor today, I'll post pictures of the damage.

PM on the way. I am very interested in your story.

No, he cannot prove it, not one bit because it is simply not true. It is just what he suspects. I have receipts, the car had oil in it when I arrived at the dealership. I have brought the car their many times and low oil was never noted, nor was oil consumption. I was just there for an alignment(new wheels) at 13k, 1000 miles ago, and the car ran fine with full oil level and no engine noise. There is ZERO evidence.

Here are some pictures of the damage. Only the #4 rod bearing was scarred, and not really even that bad. #3 was starting to wear, but did not cause any damage to the crank or rod surface. I'm sure it was from the metal that was in the oil. To me, having only one rod bearing damaged and nothing else indicates that the engine was never low on oil. There would be more damage on other parts if the oil really was low enough to cause damage. I have spoken with many other dealer techs and engine shops and they all think that the clearances were too tight from the factory, and finally the bearing gave out from friction. Just their .02 cents.







A little extra background on the car. It was never raced on any kind of track in any kind of competition of any sort. It has been %100 my daily driver on public roads with street tires. I have been accused of "racing" it elsewhere so I'm adding this to clarify.

 

You have a rock solid case. Digi didn't have a case as his ecu was modified. Yours isn't so as far as warranty is concerned you should be covered 100%. Hope it works out. Don't back down cause they want you to.

 

I had a case, and it was won...?

Anyway, i'm composing a reply to your PM now Ryan. You need to speak to david and have him escalate the matter beyond him ASAP.
He was the websters definition of "useless".

And if you had kevin come out to perform the on site verification from SOA... God help us all. Alzheimer patients forgot more then he will ever know or learn about a subaru.

Keep your chin up, and if they gave you a loaner car, USE IT during this entire process, I did, and it will take a while especially if you refuse to lose, like me.

 

You do have a rock solid case. Do not back down. You have the law on your side. Talk to SOA nationally, not just the local dealership. If they won't back down and replace the shortblock (and anything else that may have been damaged if there was material circulated around the heads, oil pump, OCVs, turbo, etc...) then have a lawyer contact them or lemon law the car. If you have to sue, include all your legal fees and for your trouble/time.

That is bollocks. They can't prove you ran the car low on oil, the facts point opposite. More importantly, they can't prove the car was modified and have they proven that something else failed in the oil system? Nope.

 

Yeah I forgot to mention that in my PM ryan, lemon law.

I know personally of two guys who lemon'd their STI's one was a 12 one a 13 BOTH of them over spun bearings on bone stock platforms.

Oh, and both of them had to do that because of getting nowhere through the normal channels, just like you. Just something to consider.

 

The burden of proof falls to them as to how they determined the car was run low on oil and then it was re-added.

I would also add that the bearings do NOT show signs of oil starvation (discoloration, excessive heat, change in metal composition, flaking, etc) but more show signs of improper tolerances which can cause bearing wear like in your pictures but while still being lubricated and therefore not creating the excessive heat that leads to the above things which ALL leave signs behind.

I hoped I'd never have to hear about SOG making shit up like this again, or this kevin field tech spewing more nonsense but here we are.

You'd love what he said about mine at one point in one of our many heated discussions, he said that I changed "his values" in the ECU.
I asked him how he was able to lay claim to engineering the software in the ECU without any trace of a japanese accent and residence in the great state of georgia his entire life.

 

where are the signs of high heat? sure as hell don't see it on the bearings, rods and crank. Low oil means high heat and don't see any of that. Next did they pull the pin on the piston? Did they pull the oil pump and inspect that or did they just pull the pan and unbolt the rods and call it done?

 

I read this on Nasioc, what a damn shame. I just did a few things myself and will be quickly reverting because of this thread. Got my car from Stivers too

 

everyone missed that part lol, because it wasn't disclosed.


Ryan i'll let someone here who's directly dealt with the lemon law stuff chime in on that, I don't want to mislead you and i'm not an expert by any means.

 

How common are these fatal engine issues in the STIs? I guess I just have not been plugged in as close as I should be. I have about 40,000 miles on mine...not all of them easy miles but I have not had any problems.

I guess I am still just stunned that this situation is still continuing and SOA has not stepped up to the plate.

Stetson

 

Supposedly overall less than 1%. I think that number is higher though.

 

forget lemon law its next to impossible. I had a nissan truck around 6 yrs ago that had over 15 service tickets for the same problem and the hassle wasn't worth it. Traded it in for the Tahoe and haven't looked back.

What would I do...I'd create a flyer of what has happened to you with as much factual detail and stand on the street and hand them out to every customer that comes on their property. I'd do this at every dealership I could. You have to show them that you wont back down that you will prevail and you will win.

SOG tried to dick me on a built tranny I had done through them...in the end I WON!

 

SO.......I heard back from David today and he once again denied the warranty claim. He said the exact same thing that the field tech did, and basically did nothing for 1 whole week but made me wait. He saw the oil change receipts, yet he is still blaming low oil at some point and says it was not a manufacturing defect. I told him to prove it, I asked him what his evidence was, I told him that he has to prove that this was my fault, and all he could say was that based on what the field tech said it was not a manufacturing error. He couldn't actually name one fact that supported this claim.

I am now taking it up with his supervisor, but of course it will be 24-48 hours before she can contact me.

I have been working with SOA, and am at that point now where I'm going to start having to talk with executive level employees.

Can you give me the contact information for the lawyer that handled these cases? Something to explore.

Exactly, the engine does not show any signs of low oil. The coolant never moved and the car never overheated. It's crazy.

No they did not pull the heads off nor did they fully disassemble the engine completely. They said the pistons were not damaged. There is no low oil indication damage because the oil was never low. I honestly believe the bearing was set too tight from the factory.

 

Lemon Law is a tedious bitch involving intricate legalese, proper protocol and procedure. Dealers love it because it's designed to be so frustrating that most people are deterred to use it by design.

Try this, http://consumer.georgia.gov/ and this, https://www.bbb.org/consumer-complaints/file-a-complaint/get-started

 

I wonder if the oil pickup may be cracked?

 

very real possibility, you could go over and glance at that with it tore down like in your pics.

I'm not sure what attorneys those guys used, I was hoping they would chime in but I don't think they come on this site very often.

 

Don't be afraid of the lemon law thing. Talk to a lawyer who knows about it, as well as doing your own research. I know others who have done it, albeit in other states and other car manufacturers.

The one bearing half with wear in the center, does show a classic sign from heat or lack of lubrication. But that does not automatically mean AT ALL that it was run low on oil.

Sounds like they didn't disassemble jack chit. They just dropped the oil pan and found the #4 bearing toast? So how do they back up the claim that the pistons are not damaged? If they didn't remove them, then they cannot see the sides and skirts and look for wear. If they haven't pulled the engine and looked at the cams and valves, or turbo, how do they know what trash may have circulated in otherwise good oil.

If they did not measure the bearing journal, or the rod itself, how do they know those parts were not defective to begin with?

It sounds more like a clearance/tolerance issue, or that something else in the oil system failed (notorious cracked pickup, etc).

 

This could very well be SOA procedure to deny all engine failures by the field tech to force the consumer to take it up the chain. Probably hoping a small percentage wont even bother and pay for it out of pocket.

 

yep, and that's exactly why I took mine "up the chain".

 

That is what it feels like. It seems like standard procedure to make it ridiculously difficult and annoying so that you may back down. If that is what they decided to do, that is the worst customer service I have ever heard of.

What happened to "Love, it's what makes a Subaru, a Subaru"?

SUBARU, I AIN'T FEELING THE LOVE!!

 

Did you ever recieve a claim number?
When I called SOA about my steering rack, they weren't going to do anything until I pressed the issue and then the lady said, "Well, if you want, I can start a claim for you so they can review". I felt like saying, well, yeah, no sh**, START A CLAIM! I don't want to pay for this!

Also, this is an excerpt from the email SOA sent me:

Thank you for the opportunity to assist you with the repair of your 2009 Impreza. As we discussed, Subaru of America is pleased to provide you with $500 in financial assistance toward the repair of your vehicle. I hope this goodwill gesture assures you of our concern for you as a Subaru customer. We value your business and your continued loyalty.

Which doesn't seem to match up with what you are getting and I was out of warranty!
If it helps, the woman that helped me was Leslie Karpiak. She was very nice and helpful.

Are you getting all the BS the tech is telling you down in writing?

 

I do have a claim #, and I had to ask a few times for it before they would give it to me. I'm trying to get everything in writing, I have requested twice to have the logs on my case # sent to me via e-mail and it still has not been sent. I am basically stuck and waiting for this SOA person to get back to me now.

 

Are they at least providing you with a no cost to you loaner?

 

Hmmm...this is pretty crappy. I guess you can only hold on to hope that they will do the rright thing.
Like someone else mentioned, did they check anything else like oil pump that may have led to this? I agree that if the oil was low, you would think that other things would be damaged as well. (disclaimer for next question - i don't know engines very well). could there be a clog of some sort somewhere that was not allowing that cyilnder to operate normally/get the necessary fluids etc? Spark plug jacked up?
Trying anythign at this point as I can't imagine how pissed off I would be...

 

Yeah, I would of already lawyered up by now if this was my car and had all the receipts and service records of Subaru working on the car. This is complete BS they are trying to pull on a stock car......One of the many reasons why I will never buy another new Subaru again.

 

I would bet this is the case. There are certain companies out there that have a certain amount of denials you have to do before the real conversation begins. It is complete BS and not the right thing to do but I bet it saves them a lot of money in the long run.

 

You are doing the right thing by asking for claim numbers and everything in writing. It is also a good idea to try to be there for any disassembly and take your own pictures as well. That is not always easy to coordinate though.

You are going to just have to keep pushing which sucks. I have actually heard of modified motors replaced and you definitely have more of a case than they did.

I believe the 1% number but I also think that is high for in warranty, stock motor failures. It will be interesting to see how the new FA's do.

I don't know if this is even possible now but talking to another dealership that has a better rep with SOA on STI's might not be a bad idea. I know the dealer relationship with SOA can play a large part in how claims are handled. That has been proven over many warranty claims across the country. Unfortunately, where you are just doesn't do the volume of "performance" Subarus that others do locally and around the country.