Shortboy

Couldn't decide whether to post this under drivetrain or dealer & third party, so I gave up & posted it here instead. (until it gets moved...)

Just asked my dealer to investigate clutch judder on an '03 STi UK, & was told that they would need to remove the gearbox, etc., do some measurements & then contact Subaru to see if it's a valid warranty claim. If it is, it gets fixed no problem. But if it's not serious enough then they will charge me £700 just to refit the gearbox!

Now I can see their point of view, but as far as I'm concerned that's ***** - I paid good money for a nearly new low mileage car under warranty, so I expect it fixed.

Am I alone - are any other dealers trying this? Can anyone recommend a dealer in S.London/Surrey who won't play silly games over this?

Tedd

Am I alone - are any other dealers trying this? Can anyone recommend a dealer in S.London/Surrey who won't play silly games over this?[/QUOTE]


You haven't said which one you've been talking to, but if it's not Cheam Motors give them a bell - 0208 394 2262. They've generally been ok wth me.

Cheers

catalunya199again

i can see your point about how they could rip you off. surely its there problem and should replace it whether its broken or not

pslewis

A test drive will tell them whether there is an unacceptable clutch judder - no need to take it apart!

If its unacceptable then its a warranty claim, end of ........

Pete

Mat Mc

I bought my '02 WRX with 9000 miles on the clock. At around 18000 miles it started to get the judder when cold. This was only occasional maybe twice a week. I took it to the dealer and they said, "yep there is a waranty claim for all cars that develop this"

They ordered in all the parts prior to even looking at my car and booked me in. They had the car for one day and as far as I'm aware replaced the clutch, flywheel and a few other bits. No charge, no fuss.

I don't know if it is the same with 03 STi's but I believe it was a flywheel issue that warped the clutches or caused un-even plate wear.

Good luck

Matt

scoobyboy

they can submit a pwa (pre warranty authorisation or something like that) where they tell i.m what the problem is and see if i.m will let them do it.

fastfrank

Firstly, I'm on your side. Any knowledgeable mechanic should have some idea whats up with your car and provide an accurate prognosis based upon that. Sounds like you could have inherited someone elses problem. It would cost the dealer too much to fix so they are trying it on to see if you notice and use you as the escape goat to pay for the repairs.

I presume its has done this since ownership?

Their arguments: if you read the owners warranty manual one of the items excluded from warranty is the clutch. So technically they could ask you to pay for it if the fault was deemed due to abuse.

But from what you're saying, if you've only owned it a short time and not put down a great deal of miles I'd definitley argue the case. If they put up a fight I'd try and get a second opinion from an independant specialist (like TSL) then threaten them with small claims court.

Yes, I think you are being ripped off.

Hope this helps
Frank

chris's scooby

There was a known fault with clutch judder on MY02 cars. Not sure about the MY03 STi's though but it sounds like the same thing.

My dealer fed me a load of BS about the judder on my '02 car, so i changed dealer!

Chris

JFB

I have had the clutch changed on my MY03 STI8 by Tileys in Bristol under warranty amongst other things and they were very helpful. They changed my last clutch on my MY00 under warranty too. The judder on the STI wasn't as bad as my old one for sure.

Hope this helps.

Jerome

^OPM^

i own a MY01 and sometimes when this is cold this also judders when pulling of-damn annoying it is-but car is out of warrenty so not much i can do is there-unless there is a recall then it would be fixed then wouldn't it for free?

Pete The Biker

My MY00 Classic had clutch judder which worsened with time... I got it fixed under warranty just within 3 years old, at around 42K.

Pete

Shortboy

Thanks for the responses...looks like plenty of other dealers are more accommodating than mine. Time to change dealers, I think....

Trumble

I got the same story from Anthony Betts in MK (at least when they were there) - I had judder on my MY99 with 40+K - they said they would strip it - measure the wear on clutch if it was too worn I would have to pay for reassembly + new clutch - if it was inside they would replace it under warranty.

You takes your chance.

Having said that the std MY02 UK WRX does only warrant the clutch to 30K miles.

Oh yes - I;m on MY02 (Nov) with 25K miles and no problems yet....

T.

AudiMan

Shortboy,
I've had the whole lot changed (clutch, flywheel, bearing) under warranty on my MY00, my dealer did say a similar thing to me, but were also confident that there would be a fault and this would get fixed under the warranty. I think they just say this to cover themselves if they get some boy racer in with the same problem who's been ragging the a**e off the car.
I always use T H White in Cirencester (not local to me either - round trip 140 miles) but I'm prepared to travel as I know they are good (some people will have bad things to say about them, but in the 2 1/2 years I've been using them they have been superb).
The fault itself (certainly on the older models) is a known problem, complete with technical bulletins from Subaru about it, they have to change all 3 or 4 components, and I think unless you "use" the car from time to time the problem will re-occur, this is down to Subaru trying to get a balance of materials which are good for everyday town driving and also upto a bit of track type use.
Hope this helps.

Ian..

mas58

Is this dejavu or what. Each time I get a fault on the car a thread appears on here within a day or so and its not me starting it. I have an 03 Sti from new with 13k miles, not abusing the clutch with rally type starts. The judder is when cold but is reduced using some more revs which accelerates wear.

CELICA-ANDY

I bought my 00my classic about 2 months ago with 23,000 miles on the clock from Cheam motors, this has the clutch judder your talking about when its cold (and its a little bit there when warm too) and is a pain in ****, sometimes its so bad it almost rattles your fillings out. I have got in contact with Cheam and they said exactly the same thing your dealer said to you, I dont know whether to take the risk and get them to look at it, I dont see why they shouldn't replace it under warranty as its done low mileage but its an expensive risk all the same.

MJW

My car suffers from this too (MY02) but rather than faff about with a warranty claim (nearly at the end of the warranty) I was thinking of getting an AP Racing Organic clutch fitted and the flywheel balanced. Anyone else gone this route ?

Shortboy

Your'e not alone - do a quick search on clutch judder & you'll see loads of threads.

I can see why the dealer would want to cover themselves against boy-racers, but plenty of you seem to had had this fixed without the hassle, so I'm off to find the yellow pages & look for another dealer!

marklemac

I had a new clutch/flywheel/bearing at 30k - MY02 STI.

Absolutely no quibble about getting it done under warranty. Also the dealer removed the engine to do this, not the gearbox.

And, last week I had a new release bearing fitted (41k) becuase of a rattle I have coming from the gearbox area. Again no quibble - just sorted.

Must say that I had a bit of judder coming back, but now the release bearing has been replaced I have no judder at all.

Rattle is still there mind you, but its booked in again for further investigation.

I guess it all comes down to the dealer. Very happy with mine

Shortboy

I was happy with mine too.....until now.

streetbeats

Ok...

First up - its not the clutch thats the problem in reality.
Its actually build up of deposits on the flywheel.
but they have to replace the whole clutch assembly basically.

It is a known problem at Subaru.
A technical bulletin was sent to all dealerships explaining the issue:

http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1836



If the dealer is being funny, take your business elsewhere.

^OPM^

if its a technical problem will they sort the problem out even if ur car is out of warranty

Miniman

iTrader: (2)

... and make you pay.

I had clutch judder on mine and it had to be removed and measured to ensure that it wasn't worn.

What's wrong with this process anyway? You cannot include wear and tear items in the warranty, so the only way to make sure it's not a worn clutch is to measure the thickness.

Mind you I might not have been saying if I had been charged.