Warranty Question for the Mechanics & Tuners

[Rebel]

Got a 3rd party warranty last summer/ fall through American Auto Shield knowing I was probably going to drive the WRX into the ground and I knew sooner or later it was going to need repair work. It's been problem free (mostly) for 110K miles. Asked a ton of questions, regarding my bolt ons, and tune, and what was covered and not covered. Thought I read the contract pretty thoroughly. Fast forward to last week - Dropped off the WRX at the dealer to get the head gaskets replaced. Probably the most common issue for Subarus known to man. After the first call to the claims department and mostly talking to the adjuster, I quickly realized they're probably going to give me a hard time and try to cover as little as possible. The only clause I believe they could possibly deny repair is a line that mentions damage caused by incorrect computer programming. I'm curious from a mechanic or tuning standpoint, what would be your definition of an incorrect tune? Car has been tuned since 3K miles. Only mods I have on the car are a downpipe, and charge pipe. Just wanted to get some point of views for when the adjuster calls. They've already stopped by the shop earlier today.

Also note that the water pump, radiator fan and thermostat need to replaced which I've made as the case for why the head gaskets need replacing anyway.

Click to read more...

 

[Dave M]

3rd party warranties are the worst... I wish you luck, you're gonna need it.

 

[Rebel]

Yeah, I wish I didn’t go over my mileage limit with Geico. When my clutch went out, they asked two questions and wrote a check.

 

[lefty]

Don't mention tune, I doubt they would look for it sounds like a pretty much stock car. I'd love to know how that would cause the head gaskets to go bad over the fact that the cylinders are horizontal due to the engine design. Try and get the timing belt thrown in there too

 

[Flyn]

This situation shows why it's always a good idea to return the car to stock before bringing it in for warranty work.

 

[CMNTMXR57]

I'm not familiar with them, but the question is, can Subaru see what programming is in there in terms of mapping tables and or other settings not at factory defaults? If not, then they can't prove it's been tuned.

Back in my day, in GM, with a Tech 2, we could not see any table mapping, but could see some personalization features (but that didn't necessarily mean that it was "tuned"). Newer ones with the fancier PCM's and MDI they can.

 

[Thirdgen89GTA]

Most time it depends on the tech and dealer.

Some are intelligent and can tell an engine that just has failed head gasket compared to an engine that blew the head gasket due to detonation or other issues.

Some dealers are just assholes who want to void a warranty as soon as they see a single mod.

If the head gasket goes and there's no sign of detonation or pre-ignition, honestly it should be a no brainer, especially if there is a prior history of stock ones blowing head gaskets.

You also have the ring land failure crap.

 

[Flyn]

You can take the warranty company or dealer to court if the mods did not cause the problem but you get the expense of court filings which will probably be more than most repairs. Plus, most judges may not understand the workings of a modded car. "You tinkered with it? You lose." Then the appeal costs another $25K.

 

[LikeABauce302]

Basically if they find out it has an aftermarket tune, they can deny warranty. They don't have to determine if it was a good tune or not. The engine design was endurance tested to validate that it will survive X amount of miles with the factory tune. Once you throw in aftermarket stuff, there are no guarantees.

 

[Rebel]

Just to clarify, it isn't a dealer that approving or denying the work. It's a 3rd party warranty company. Subaru's warranty is worthless. Although maybe I messed up by bringing it to them to do the service.

Basically of they find out it has an aftermarket tune, they can deny warranty. They don't have to determine if it was a good tune or not. The engine design was endurance tested to validate that it will survive X amount of miles with the factory tune. Once you throw in aftermarket stuff, there are no guarantees.

See that's where I have to disagree. If this was the OEM warranty, then you would be correct and I wouldn't challenge it. When I was talking with the sales rep last year before purchasing the warranty, I wanted to be as transparent as possible because I wasn't going to spend money on something if they would auto deny me in the event of an incident. The wording in the contract doesn't specify not covering aftermarket tunes. Was just curious what the baseline someone would consider to be an "incorrect" tune. I might just take it at its literal definition. Who knows, maybe the adjustor understands how cars work and it'll be a non issue.

Don't mention tune, I doubt they would look for it sounds like a pretty much stock car. I'd love to know how that would cause the head gaskets to go bad over the fact that the cylinders are horizontal due to the engine design. Try and get the timing belt thrown in there too

It looks almost stock minus a couple perrin engine dress up plastics to get rid of the ugly OEM stuff. Good call on the timing belt.

 

[GTPpower]

An incorrect tune would be anything other than Subaru's tune. If they know it's tuned, it's probably going to be denied.

 

[The Beast]

The 3rd party warranty sends out field reps usually to approve any work. I’ve seen a modded eco boost f150 denied because of a tune and other bolt ons. If you look at the contract they are specific on mods and they will not approve the repair. I’ve been in the car business since 94 I’ve seen it all

 

[CMNTMXR57]

Just to clarify, it isn't a dealer that approving or denying the work. It's a 3rd party warranty company. Subaru's warranty is worthless. Although maybe I messed up by bringing it to them to do the service.

Right, but they are going to inquire the service departments' records/diagnosis also.

 

[Dave M]

I'd love to know how that would cause the head gaskets to go bad over the fact that the cylinders are horizontal due to the engine design. Try and get the timing belt thrown in there too

From the research I did a while back, the engine oil degrades the head gaskets over time because of the boxer architecture and causes them to start leaking. With a Subaru anything, it's not "if" the head gaskets fail, it's "when".

 

[lefty]

From the research I did a while back, the engine oil degrades the head gaskets over time because of the boxer architecture and causes them to start leaking. With a Subaru anything, it's not "if" the head gaskets fail, it's "when".

That and having to replace the timing belt were the major things that turned me off to subaru