Dealer Review Subaru of Kennesaw -- AC Woes & Warranty Service

Discussion in 'Product & Service Reviews' started by Alex, Jul 30, 2011.

  1. Alex

    Alex Community Founder Staff Member

    For those unaware, I drive a 2008 Lightning Red STI. The car has 12,000 miles on it at the moment and a factory warranty which expired February of this year. Things should not be failing so early, right? Wrong. I would like to believe that Murphy would approve of the situation -- if something was to indeed fail me, given the heat and humidity of our summers, it would almost certainly be the air conditioning system. However, it was not the compressor, the clutch or even the condenser. It was not the blower motor, it was not the integrity of the lines or even the AC controls. Oh no, it was the evaporator :| I presume that Subaru considers this a low-to-no failure part, and as a result, chose to mount it adjacent to and behind the heater-blower motor.

    The adventure began over five weeks ago when my AC system automagically lost all its charge. I didn't even get a warning, it just dumped. I figured something was up but I knew that I did not have time to deal with the problem due to our SEMA project at JPM (http://jpmcoachworks.com/blog/?p=10). I charged the system with one of those "cans" and immediately began smelling R134a inside the cabin. It smells disgusting. I've had the displeasure of smelling many a foul odors and this guy takes the cake. It simply permeates everything, leaving you with the absolute worst taste in your mouth.

    I stopped by Six Star Service, the home of the Subaru Sherlock Holmes -- Juston Poole, last Monday to have him identify the problem. I had hoped for a cheap fix, but I knew better than that. It's never something easy and inexpensive. Book time was quoted at 6 hours or so and included the removal of the lower dash, the removal of the blower system (which includes draining coolant, disconnecting the high and low hard lines), and the removal of the evaporator core (pictured below). I promptly contacted Subaru of Kennesaw to (a) check the warranty status of the vehicle and (b) if it was in fact out of warranty, to see whether or not a replacement would or could be covered under a "good faith" warranty. I was told that there was a possibility, but that they would need to have the vehicle to confirm. That’s just fine by me.

    I arrived and was greeted by Wendy, of the service department. Whatever reservations I may have had about actually visiting a dealership for "service" for the first time in over 5 years were quickly assuaged by Wendy's cool, confident smile. I requested that Jake work on the vehicle and sure enough, he came out of the shop to greet me and assure me that the problem would be quickly identified and resolved. Jake confirmed a leaky evaporator. It was at this point that Steve became involved with the problem. Steve worked his magic with the SOA rep and was able to have them agree to a 50/50 split for repairs. I had hoped for a full replacement for what clearly was a part which had been mistakenly manufactured with some sort of small defect, but let's be realistic here. Windy placed me in a brand new 2011 Forester loaner within the hour and sent me on my way. I can now say with confidence that I am not, nor will ever be, a “modern Forester owner”. The only redeeming factors of the 2011 are, as far as I am concerned, the absolutely monstrous sunroof and the bluetooth audio capable head unit. Look beyond these two tidbits of joy and all you will find is boring banality. But hey, that’s just one man’s opinion.

    Fortunately, I had a chance this past Sunday to remove the entire lower dash (pictured below) which I like to think saved Jake a bit of a headache. I dropped the vehicle off with a wheel cover wrapped around my Prova steering wheel. Jake understood the purpose of this and had to defend the wheel from grabby hands in the back. I laughed at this, and he pointed out that he had to literally place masking tape on the cover to keep hands at bay. At any rate, he did a wonderful job and my AC now performs as it should. Well, about as good as a Subaru unit ever should. In fact, I've missed AC so much that I don't even mind running it despite its insatiable hunger for eating all my sweet, sweet torque.

    Finally, I'd like to once again thank Juston at Six Star and Wendy, Jake and Steve at Subaru of Kennesaw for coming through for me on this and ensuring that I was well taken care of throughout the replacement process.


    [​IMG]
    My leaky evaporator core, with a bottom absolutely soaked in R134a.


    [​IMG]
    Jake's "defensive measures" to ensure that my Prova wheel remained clean.

    [​IMG]
    Look ma', no lower dash.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 30, 2011
  2. cMags

    cMags Member

    So did you get her back yet? Crazy that it went out so soon. Might it have had anything to do with how little it was used over the years your dad had the car?

    Sent from my Evo Shift using Tapatalk
     
  3. rsutton1223

    rsutton1223 Obsessed Supporting Member

    I bought mine at Subaru of Kennesaw. My experience was fantastic buying the car so I am not surprised the service department follows the same motto. Very cool they were able to negotiate something out for you and glad to hear it is fixed.
     
  4. K. Marx

    K. Marx Member

    Alex,

    I have to admit, I'm pretty drunk, and at first I composed a rather lengthy response that revolved around the fact that your A/C went out so early and the idea that Subaru made what I thought was a D-Bag decision.

    Then I saw that the factory warranty went out around February.

    You know what, though? I think they should have covered that in full. Less than 15,000 miles and 3 years of age? That really gives the impression that they must not have much faith in their own products.

    Someone within Subaru should have stepped up to the plate on this one. Modified or not, I seriously doubt that your A/C took much abuse as the result of any changes, and I do think this was a manufacturing defect. Subaru needs to realize that people read these things and take a tangible note when considering future purchases.

    That being said, 50/50 is better than nothing (as would probably be the case with many dealerships- especially based on my Toyota service experiences), but it's a shame common sense isn't applied by the manufacturers in these situations. Glad to hear you are riding cooler in these particularly hot summer months, but I imagine that you have to be more than a little frustrated at the overall experience, despite your commendable composure and patience.

    I really don't mean to vent on Subaru to a vicious degree, but there are more than a few times when you can't help but think that the laws of contract have run over and destroyed the faith in quality that many of us have in mind when we purchase a supposedly well engineered car. Aaaaan I'm drunk. On a Sunday night. That might crash the hopes of a lot people that thought I was commendable. Oh well.
     
  5. slade1274

    slade1274 Member

    :hsnono:
    Monday morning... 5:21am :squint:
     
  6. nicad

    nicad Yes I am a troll

    just to nitpick, your evap core is covered in oil, not R134a
     
  7. Cool_____

    Cool_____ Banned

    I was about to say the same thing. Good catch.

    Glad to hear it's fixed....it's just unbearably hot out this year.
     
  8. Alex

    Alex Community Founder Staff Member

    Good call, thank you :)
     
  9. K. Marx

    K. Marx Member

    Jesus, what a night. Wife works at a bar during the summer, and she wanted me keep her company and help close. A million beers and several shots later, I feel like absolute dog shit today.

    Good thing I'm off till next week.
     
  10. Alex

    Alex Community Founder Staff Member

    Interesting, just had a phone call from another gentleman in Indiana that reported the exact same type of failure. Subaru of Kennesaw mentioned that they replaced four additional units back in early 2008 from the early production vehicles. However, they also mentioned that they had yet to have a WRX or STI come in with the problem. My assumption now is that the evaporator is shared amongst a few of the models.

    Also, I pulled the necessary pages from the FSM should an individual wish to remove and replace the evaporator himself, e.g. should he not be interested in having a dealership perform the work. Please PM me should you require these PDFs.

    Alex
     
  11. subigrl

    subigrl Member

    :clears throat: <3 SOK ... steve's the man!
     
  12. FaRt0fwAr

    FaRt0fwAr New Member

    This is stinks man.... but through and through are you pleased with the service where you bought it?

    To be blunt is Subaru of Kennesaw have competent mechs? I would like to think so....What say you?
     

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