[Beccaglw]

I took my 2007 Outback (just under 100,000 miles) in for 30,000 service, inspections and loss of anti-freeze. The head gasket was the issue (no surprise now that I research it). The car was to be ready to p/u on 7/20. Right before I was leaving to pick it up, they said that they were keeping it because it was making a noise on the test drive. I got the explanation on 7/24 that they had not put in enough fluid in the differential, and it had "locked up". They would have the parts on 7/25, and it should be ready 7/27. Now it is 7/30, and they can not tell me when the car will be ready. And they seemed to be shocked that I am so impatient.

Any advice on who I should be contacting or questions that I should be asking? I am extremely unhappy. This is the Subaru dealership where I bought the car.

Becca

 

[subiesailor]

Very hard to wreck a differential on a short test drive. I would be thrilled that they are putting in a new one given chances are your diff was low on oil due to a lack of service and the damage was already done. You should be happy they didn't say we fixed your engine but your diff was not cared for and is showing signs of failure that will be X money please cut us a check.

 

[1 Lucky Texan]

anyone else think bad HGs on an 07 are 'no surprise'?

 

[subiesailor]

anyone else think bad HGs on an 07 are 'no surprise'?

Not really - my Aunt just had her GM 8 passenger SUV thing two years old in for new heads and a HG.

My Toyota back in 98 went through three HG's and two complete ground up from a bare block rebuilds before the Head Gaskets decided to work. HG's can also be encouraged to fail by hard use and bad oil quality ie hotter engine temps also.

 

[Beccaglw]

Wreck differential

There was no problem with the differential. They explained to me that they failed to put enough fluid in when they were changing the fluids. They have admitted that they were at fault. And I don't think I should be happy at all.

Very hard to wreck a differential on a short test drive. I would be thrilled that they are putting in a new one given chances are your diff was low on oil due to a lack of service and the damage was already done. You should be happy they didn't say we fixed your engine but your diff was not cared for and is showing signs of failure that will be X money please cut us a check.

 

[subiesailor]

Becca - unless they did a road trip with your car to Vegas a couple of miles testing the new engine build will not cause diff failure with low gear oil. If they damaged the front diff some how while putting the rebuilt engine back in the car yes that would make sense. Simply put diffs do not fail easily even when they are a little short on gear oil. They will fail eventually if they have been run for decent distances on poor or low gear oil but they generally get very very loud long before they simply fail.

If your diff was not loud before the car went in and you have service receipts showing the diff gear oil was serviced at some point in the 100,000 miles etc then they probably damaged the diff while putting the engine back into the car- hence why they are fixing it.

 

[Looby]

There was no problem with the differential.

Shirley you're not questioning the diagnostic superiority of SoupySales?

.

 

[canubaru]

gp look at the car. is the trans out of it and opened up?

they screwed something up and it does not sound like they are being honest about it.

i would want some long term guarantees that they did not cause ''other'' damage. tell them you have no confidence in their work or their assessment of the damage. demeand to know what went wrong. ask to see the bad parts. very important.

ask for a free extended warranty.

 

[Beccaglw]

No noises at all before I took it in. I am just describing the problem as the dealership explained it to me. And this was the third time the differential fluids have been changed.

 

[subiesailor]

Asking for an extended warranty on their work Becca would be completely acceptable and a good dealer or shop would grant you the request. I would also push for that same warranty to cover the HG work and the transmission work given you have good reason to question the skilled or not so skilled hands doing the work.

HG work is only as good as the hands doing the work. I've had HG's replaced and never had any other issues for 100,000 miles. I've had HG work done where 15,000 miles later I was back at the shop with major failure. Thats the thing most people don't realize the quality of the work and skill of the person doing the work really matters with this type of job regarding it lasting etc.

 

[4wheeldog]

Becca - unless they did a road trip with your car to Vegas a couple of miles testing the new engine build will not cause diff failure with low gear oil. If they damaged the front diff some how while putting the rebuilt engine back in the car yes that would make sense. Simply put diffs do not fail easily even when they are a little short on gear oil. They will fail eventually if they have been run for decent distances on poor or low gear oil but they generally get very very loud long before they simply fail.

If your diff was not loud before the car went in and you have service receipts showing the diff gear oil was serviced at some point in the 100,000 miles etc then they probably damaged the diff while putting the engine back into the car- hence why they are fixing it.

If they drained the diff, and failed to fill it at all, failure could happen pretty [email protected] quick. Especially if the test driver was checking if the engine was making full power. But they could have also toasted the tranny, and don't want to talk about it. Which would explain the delays in delivery.

 

[Beccaglw]

Their explanation of the damage

Here is how it was explained to me:

What happened was whenever the service on the front differential was being performed, there was not enough diff oil added in after it was drained which made the pinion bearing in the front diff seize and lock up on the test drive. Therefore, we have to repair the components within the front diff. We have most of it repaired, however there is a plate that he cannot remove due to it seizing and being stuck so hard. I assure you that once it is finished, there will be no issues with the vehicles front differential

This was the message last Tuesday (7/24). They tell me they are still working on it.

 

[subiesailor]

ASK for extended warranty in writing before you leave the office when you pick the car up. Better yet tell your service rep that you want the paper work in writing ready before you arrive. ;-)

 

[4wheeldog]

Here is how it was explained to me:

What happened was whenever the service on the front differential was being performed, there was not enough diff oil added in after it was drained which made the pinion bearing in the front diff seize and lock up on the test drive. Therefore, we have to repair the components within the front diff. We have most of it repaired, however there is a plate that he cannot remove due to it seizing and being stuck so hard. I assure you that once it is finished, there will be no issues with the vehicles front differential

This was the message last Tuesday (7/24). They tell me they are still working on it.

"Not enough" probably equals "None". It would not take much lubricant in the diff for it to go quite a ways before it seized. With no lubricant, it would start screaming in a few miles, seize not long after.

 

[canubaru]

and don't forget some kind of reimbursement for the inconvenience. if some one had collided with your car and caused damage, not only would they pay to fix it but they might also be on the hook for a rental while being fixed.

just a thought, i don't really know.

 

[Beccaglw]

The Outback is now repaired - as it turned out, there was NO fluid in the differential and the car had to be towed back to the dealership. Hard to believe they weren't totally honest with me

 

[plain OM]

I got the explanation on 7/24 that they had not put in enough fluid in the differential,

Did the dealership cover the costs of the repairs?

 

[Beccaglw]

Yes, they covered the cost of the repairs and my loaner car.