Subaru Dealer Stuffup

Sitting in my car after arriving home tonight in the middle of a storm
here in Brisbane I noticed water running around the bottom of the A
pillar at the front, behind the dash and then re-appearing near the
drivers side kick panel and into the drivers footwell under the
carpet. I then noticed the roof in that area (drivers a pillar) was
quite soaked.

Further investigation shows one of the drain tubes was not reconnected
above the driver between the two right hand side drains on the
sunroofs and water has been pouring out into the roof lining since the
last work was done in the roof area in about April (replaced the roof
rail under warranty due to a crack in the middle support). The car has
had a lot of work done in it's 18 month life in the roof area for
rattles including a roof lining replacement.

The car is parked in the driveway at home on a slight downhill slope
so when it was parked at home and it was raining it was draining under
the carpet which wasn't noticeable as there is a floor mat in place
over the top and it's only really been the last month when we've had
any real rain since the last repair. It's parked undercover at work
during the days.

I relocated the car before finding the problem to level it out and the
water started draining down inside the b pillar (noticed as a wet
patch appeared on a small part of the roof lining.

I had noticed a very slight smell in the car over the last few weeks
but there was nothing to indicate a leak as when I came out in the
morning the sun had been on it and any wet patches on the roof lining
were not visible so it probably would have gone on for a while longer
yet had it not been pouring so much when I arrived home and had I not
put the umbrella in the back.

I rang the Subaru dealer before I found the problem and I'm taking it
in tomorrow for them to look at but as the problem is now the
incompetence of one of their staff and I assume not covered by Subaru
under warranty (although I'm sure they will claim it through Subaru)
I'm inclined to take it to another Subaru dealer and ask them to put
it in writing that I brought the car in on this date and that upon
inspection drainage hose xyz was not connected.

At this point in time I have

- A damaged roof lining that has water in it over the last 6 months
- Some surface rust on a bracket that holds on the front of the roof
rail
- Water damage to the a pillar and it's wiring
- Possible but unlikely water damage under the dash as it appears to
have gone straight down but there is some kind of computer in that
kick panel area that could have suffered some damage to the connectors
- Stuffed carpet in the drivers footwell which is discolored and
weakened and with the lining underneath that has fallen to pieces
- Stuffed floormat as the lining and part of the mat had soaked in
water at times
- Possible damage to the drivers seatbelt area (which also houses a
sensor for the side air bag and the seat belt pretensioner)

My main concern is long term damage and problems once the car is out
of warranty due to the hidden leak and as the dealer is responsible
that may try and say there is no damage to xyz and it doesn't need
replacing.

As far as I'm concerned the dealer should be and I will be pushing for

- Replacing the roof lining
- Replacing the a pillar lining
- Replacing the carpet and underlay in the car
- Replace bracket above lining showing rust

Provide a written report and guarantee there is no damage to the set
belt, set belt pretensioner, side air bag sensor, computer in the
drivers footwell and other areas and accept responsibility for any
failure of these modules that can be attributed to any kind of water
damage.

I don't believe what I am asking is unreasonable at all, this is a
$58,000 car on road and it's only 18 months old. The car is a 2003
Subaru Outback H6 Luxury. The dealer at this point will be un-named
but are a largish Brisbane Subaru Dealer.

Any advice is welcome as I plan to tackle this situation tomorrow and
demand it be sorted out. They already indicated it could be up to a
week before I get the car back but with the roof lining and carpets to
replace probably longer.

They claim to have no spare loan cars but we'll see what they come up
with tomorrow, the salesman said they would help me out if I got stuck
for a car but so far has not come good on his promise but we'll see
what they do this time given the circumstances. Whilst I'll try and be
reasonable over this I'm very pissed off at the whole thing because of
some idiot who didn't check his work and missed something REALLY
basic.

Looking at the pipe there is no way that it could have come loose
because it goes between two connections and requires you to bend the
pipe in the middle to get it to come loose so without the roof lining
out there would be no way to do this.

Regards
Matthew

Id be taking it back and threatening legal action unless they can offer you
a $58,000 trade in value on a new car so that the matter can be dead and
buried by all. Yours may have been a Friday afternoon build eh! Try and get
away from this car before it gives you a coronary!



"Matthew McDonald" <newsgroups.DeleteThis@NOSPAMmatthewmcdonald.com> wrote in message
news:b911p0h291s17flo6t0ul4q8qs5loc58fr@4ax.com...
 >
 > Sitting in my car after arriving home tonight in the middle of a storm
 > here in Brisbane I noticed water running around the bottom of the A
 > pillar at the front, behind the dash and then re-appearing near the
 > drivers side kick panel and into the drivers footwell under the
 > carpet. I then noticed the roof in that area (drivers a pillar) was
 > quite soaked.
 >
 > Further investigation shows one of the drain tubes was not reconnected
 > above the driver between the two right hand side drains on the
 > sunroofs and water has been pouring out into the roof lining since the
 > last work was done in the roof area in about April (replaced the roof
 > rail under warranty due to a crack in the middle support). The car has
 > had a lot of work done in it's 18 month life in the roof area for
 > rattles including a roof lining replacement.
 >
 > The car is parked in the driveway at home on a slight downhill slope
 > so when it was parked at home and it was raining it was draining under
 > the carpet which wasn't noticeable as there is a floor mat in place
 > over the top and it's only really been the last month when we've had
 > any real rain since the last repair. It's parked undercover at work
 > during the days.
 >
 > I relocated the car before finding the problem to level it out and the
 > water started draining down inside the b pillar (noticed as a wet
 > patch appeared on a small part of the roof lining.
 >
 > I had noticed a very slight smell in the car over the last few weeks
 > but there was nothing to indicate a leak as when I came out in the
 > morning the sun had been on it and any wet patches on the roof lining
 > were not visible so it probably would have gone on for a while longer
 > yet had it not been pouring so much when I arrived home and had I not
 > put the umbrella in the back.
 >
 > I rang the Subaru dealer before I found the problem and I'm taking it
 > in tomorrow for them to look at but as the problem is now the
 > incompetence of one of their staff and I assume not covered by Subaru
 > under warranty (although I'm sure they will claim it through Subaru)
 > I'm inclined to take it to another Subaru dealer and ask them to put
 > it in writing that I brought the car in on this date and that upon
 > inspection drainage hose xyz was not connected.
 >
 > At this point in time I have
 >
 > - A damaged roof lining that has water in it over the last 6 months
 > - Some surface rust on a bracket that holds on the front of the roof
 > rail
 > - Water damage to the a pillar and it's wiring
 > - Possible but unlikely water damage under the dash as it appears to
 > have gone straight down but there is some kind of computer in that
 > kick panel area that could have suffered some damage to the connectors
 > - Stuffed carpet in the drivers footwell which is discolored and
 > weakened and with the lining underneath that has fallen to pieces
 > - Stuffed floormat as the lining and part of the mat had soaked in
 > water at times
 > - Possible damage to the drivers seatbelt area (which also houses a
 > sensor for the side air bag and the seat belt pretensioner)
 >
 > My main concern is long term damage and problems once the car is out
 > of warranty due to the hidden leak and as the dealer is responsible
 > that may try and say there is no damage to xyz and it doesn't need
 > replacing.
 >
 > As far as I'm concerned the dealer should be and I will be pushing for
 >
 > - Replacing the roof lining
 > - Replacing the a pillar lining
 > - Replacing the carpet and underlay in the car
 > - Replace bracket above lining showing rust
 >
 > Provide a written report and guarantee there is no damage to the set
 > belt, set belt pretensioner, side air bag sensor, computer in the
 > drivers footwell and other areas and accept responsibility for any
 > failure of these modules that can be attributed to any kind of water
 > damage.
 >
 > I don't believe what I am asking is unreasonable at all, this is a
 > $58,000 car on road and it's only 18 months old. The car is a 2003
 > Subaru Outback H6 Luxury. The dealer at this point will be un-named
 > but are a largish Brisbane Subaru Dealer.
 >
 > Any advice is welcome as I plan to tackle this situation tomorrow and
 > demand it be sorted out. They already indicated it could be up to a
 > week before I get the car back but with the roof lining and carpets to
 > replace probably longer.
 >
 > They claim to have no spare loan cars but we'll see what they come up
 > with tomorrow, the salesman said they would help me out if I got stuck
 > for a car but so far has not come good on his promise but we'll see
 > what they do this time given the circumstances. Whilst I'll try and be
 > reasonable over this I'm very pissed off at the whole thing because of
 > some idiot who didn't check his work and missed something REALLY
 > basic.
 >
 > Looking at the pipe there is no way that it could have come loose
 > because it goes between two connections and requires you to bend the
 > pipe in the middle to get it to come loose so without the roof lining
 > out there would be no way to do this.
 >
 > Regards
 > Matthew
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->