Hi,
My MY00 has clutch judder when cold. As far as the dealer is concerned it needs the clutch and flywheel replacing and IM have contacted Subaru Holland about replacement under warranty.
Subaru Holland won't authorise the repair until they have had the faulty parts inspected in Holland. So far they haven't covered any clutch claims.

Has anyone else had this problem or got any ideas what I can do?

Richard.

 

Surely this has f*ck all to do with Subaru Holland, it's a Pan-European warranty and should be honoured in any country in Europe by that countries Subaru representative?

 

AFAIK Warrenty comes from the National 'supplier'. This happened with a colleagues (german import) M3, except the cost of the engine problems virtually wiped out all the saving he had made by importing it in the first place

Looks like you'll just have to use some of the £4000 saving you made on a UK one to put it right, and hope nothing goes wrong, and hope you don't get £4k less come trade in

bed made......!?

 

Richard,

Don't let them fob you off ! I had exactly the same problem.

Took my car in for it's 7.5K service and expressed my concerns regarding the clutch judder.

Before I knew it they had whipped the faulty clutch out and only then phoned Subaru Netherlands to find out whether it was covered under warranty!! They said no, so I was called by my dealer with the shocking news that it would cost me £300 to put the old clutch back in or £900 to fit a new one.

In the end, I had to send my clutch and flywheel to my dutch dealer, who then dealt with Subaru Netherlands. They then accepted the claim under warranty.

Down side was that I had to pay to send the clutch out there, interest on my credit card and exchange rate differences left me a little short changed.

Get on to your Dutch dealer ASAP.

 

Just booked mine in for a look on Monday. Dealer says they will have it 2 days. Got to whip the box out and inspect the clutch/flywheel/bearings etc, then e-mail a report to subaru warranty dep't who will (or wont) authorise replacement. Same applies to personal imports, I asked. I'll let you know what they say.

 

Interesting, as I just took my Dutch MY00 car in for it's 7500 mile service, with a comment to the dealer that it does have some clutch judder, especially when cold. Sounds like a common problem. The dealer said that there could be problems with warranty claims similar to the previous posts.
For now it's not too much of a concern for me. I guess I'll wait until (if?) it gets too bad, and then fork out for the new clutch. Did save £5K on the UK price, though, by importing.

As to the handbrake on and slip the clutch tip, I guess that could work if the judder problem is due to 'glazing' like you get on brake pads that get too hot? What do people reckon?

 

GEJL

Tried the slipping clutch trick and it does seam to clear it up (for the time being). Reading other posts the judder comes back even after replacement clutches but but I'm going to try to push & get mine done - I don't see why the clutch has to go back to Holland when the warranty is pan-european.

Richard.

 

Same problem with my scooby, not a bad judder however its in the garage on the 16th, they are taking a look at the clutch then, will post back with the results.

 

I too have a dutch import but no clutch judder yet, when i do i know that it wont be a standard subaru one going back on either ap or helix for me!!!

 

Richard,

Sorry to hear of your trouble, IM should honour the warranty from the country that supplied your vehicle provided it was purchased in the EU.

I have e-mailed you an article from a magazine which may help you with your problem. Let me know that you've got it and how you get on.

thanks

S

 

I just live with the judder. It's been like that for about 10 months and 25k miles now.

There are those who don't recommend upgrading the clutch -- far better to have the clutch slip and get knackered than to have no slip and knacker the gearbox.

 

Feeback from my 7500 mile service: Judder was described as slight (which I'd agree with). They didn't think it was worth whipping it out for a look. And if they did, any warranty work would need to be approved by Subaru Netherlands (Dutch import car), they said.
The latter seems to be a common theme, which doesn't sound too good to me. What's the point in a pan-European warranty if other European countries importers don't do anything with it? If I was on holiday in Holland with my UK car (hypothetically speaking) and something went wrong (say an electric window motor blew) I'd damn well expect the local dealer to fix it there and then, not ship parts back to the UK for inspection!! Or do they only kick up a fuss with parts like clutches as they can be abused by the owner...?

 

GEJL,
I've got the address of the RAC legal helpline for problems when importing from Europe; I'll be asking their advice ASAP and will keep you posted. Although it's not a bad problem I'd rather not have it!

Richard.