2013 Outback with water on carpet after crossing big puddle.

[rentonoutback]

Hi there! Been reading this forum for years, but never needed to post until now.

I have a 2013 2.5i 6MT Outback, purchased in July. Was fooling around on some forest roads over by the Sauk River (Darrington, WA), and tried to drive through one of the gigantic puddles that forms after a good rain.

Anyway, got a little stuck and took a few minutes of back & forth to get out. In the meantime, I noticed about 2-3 inches of muddy puddle water on the passenger side. I finally get the car out of the hole/puddle and scoop out the water with a soft drink cup. Doors on both sides appear dry around the gaskets.

I get the car washed at a car wash with an underwash that night, and take it to the dealer the day after (Monday). First dealer says blah blah blah, these cars are not designed to go thru water like that and it was probably some one-way air valve, just get a detail shop to clean the carpet. Carpet is now soaked on passenger side, both front and back, and wet on driver's side.

Second dealer, where I purchased the car, again denies that warranty could cover it (despite acting surprised that this happened), does an inspection, and says that we cannot find any missing or loose plugs; it is probably the door drains. They are pulling the carpet and jute, drying and cleaning everything and doing ozone treatment, and want $500 for this. I don't want to go thru insurance for this, have enough claims already.

So my question is, is this a reasonable response from the dealer? The water was maybe a foot deep and apparently never got over the Outback logo on the running boards at any time, and was probably below that. I've owned two new subarus before, both have been used to ford the Fremont River in Utah with no problems at all, where the water is just as muddy, and deeper too. It seems odd to me that a new car wouldn't have some measure of water resistance that would allow you to cross a foot or so of water.

Any suggestions from you guys? Contact Subaru of America? I've never needed significant warranty service before, so I'm a little lost here. Btw, the car has under 10,000 miles and is still under the bumper to bumper warranty.

[reddoak]

You try contacting SOA, what do you have to lose. As far as warranty repair work goes, I've had my share of dubious claims get repaired... my 08 STI is legendary in the area... and the Subaru regional rep knows me by reputation if not by name.

But, I don't think they are being completely unreasonable on this one. Seems pricey, but dealer work usually is. I've drowned a vehicle in mud water before (a Toyota Tacoma) and the mess can be pretty substantial.

I get what you're saying, especially being a previous owner and having done it before, but while our outbacks are versatile, there are limits to what can be reasonably expected of them. And any time you go off a road (I mean off a dirt road) you run the risk of damaging the vehicle. They are made to be able to, but they aren't made to, if you know what I mean.

In your case, something does sound a bit off. I've had my '11 in over a foot of water (actually a flooded road, I wasn't doing something dumb in the mud this time) and it stayed bone dry inside. Granted, mine has a small (2 inch) lift, but it was pushing water with the bumper, and although I kept it moving, I was still swimming along in it for a good minute and a half.

Hey, keep us posted, curious to see how you make out. Good luck!

[bradze]

if you can get a dealer to fix this awesome. but if not the carpet is relatively easy to take out.

[subiesailor]

Wait you more or less parked the car in a foot of water or maybe more and flooded the floor pan and you think Subaru should be doing something about it? WOW - these threads are just getting more and more whacky

Its one thing to cross a large puddle ie keep moving - its another thing to stop in the middle of it and marinate your car in it for a little bit. When I go boating I use my boat given my OB is not water tight nor is it designed to be water tight.

Just be glad you didn't mess up anything major - shampooing carpets is easy.

[upflying]

Originally Posted by subiesailor

Wait you more or less parked the car in a foot of water or maybe more and flooded the floor pan and you think Subaru should be doing something about it? WOW - these threads are just getting more and more whacky

It's part of that entitlement mentality we hear so much about lately.
Somewhere in the warranty book are the words, "not covered from misuse".

[foxrider68]

This does not sound like a defect to me and I doubt Subaru will do anything. The car has 8.7" of ground clearance. Its not advertised as 8.7" plus submersion depths. This is the OP's fault and he needs to live up to it.

[subiesailor]

Vehicles designed to cross deep water have very different wiring harnesses and gaskets among other things that are designed to be water tight - not just water resistant. Everything I've seen with the OB ie Legacy Wagon suggests Water resistant not water tight.

If you ever get a chance to look under the hood of a Land Cruiser take a peek at the battery box that starts to give you an general idea about the difference between a car built to be fairly water resistant and one that is built to be water tight.

[rentonoutback]

Well guys it's not like it was 2 feet of water. It was about a foot, and I was in it for around 2 minutes. I wasn't disputing the price the dealer wanted, I am planning on paying out of pocket at this time, but based on previous experience, it didn't sound like something that should happen. I wasn't off-road either, I was on a forest road.

[rentonoutback]

Bear in mind that Subaru themselves have floated those commercials and ads with a Subaru fording a stream, so it's not like Subaru is saying, don't take it thru water!

[subiesailor]

Originally Posted by rentonoutback

Well guys it's not like it was 2 feet of water. It was about a foot, and I was in it for around 2 minutes. I wasn't disputing the price the dealer wanted, I am planning on paying out of pocket at this time, but based on previous experience, it didn't sound like something that should happen. I wasn't off-road either, I was on a forest road.

Any car that stops with the floor pan in water will leak- if you keep moving chances are you will not get water on the inside of the pan. Forest roads are considered off pavement ie off road by the way

Those little rubber grommets in the rear frame that you remove when you install the hitch are probably identical to various little rubber stoppers in the floor pan under the seats - they are not sealed tight they are simply water resistant.