Warranty Woes: Whether abuse or autocrossing, most automaker
Interesting article on Autoweek.com
http://autoweek.com/cat_print.mv?content_code=02612566
One rare exception is track day events organized, sponsored and sanctioned by the national Ford SVT Owners’ Association and local Ford/SVT dealers. Owners bring their cars, and the association and participating dealers agree to cover any mechanical failures brought on by normal track use.
Who determines 'normal' track use.....?
Isn't this close to entrapment?Bastards!
For instance, even though Subaru pops for a one-year SCCA membership for every interested WRX buyer, and in its marketing materials appears to encourage owners to enter their cars in autocross events, the company says autocrossing is racing and racing can void warranty coverage. The WRX/SCCA application form says the SCCA “looks forward to helping you fully experience the benefits of owning this car.” But the form also includes a disclaimer that Subaru’s warranty excludes “damage or failure resulting from participation in competition or racing events.”
This is the part that I love:
Unbeknownst to Miller, Mitsubishi placed a lifetime warranty restriction on the engine, clutch and transmission in Miller’s Evo because the company discovered the car had been entered in a Sports Car Club of America autocross event a month earlier.
Miller said that about two weeks after entering the Evo in the SCCA event he heard bad noises emanating from the engine bay and took the car in for service. “The dealer performed a vehicle service inquiry and I was told there was a restriction placed on my file,” Miller says.Really? It sounds like this particular owner was black-flagged "just for entering an autocross".Adds Mitsubishi’s Little: “You’re not going to get black-flagged just for entering an auto-cross, but if something happens we want people to be reasonable and responsible for their own actions.
Ironically, Automobile magazine had a transmission replaced under warranty on their long-term Evo VIII, even though they have published accounts of taking the car to track days. I guess if you're a magazine who reaches millions of consumers, Mitsubishi will cut you a little slack in order to avoid bad press.
F&%$ Mitsubishi. I honestly can't wait to watch them go out of business... which shouldn't take too long, based on their current situation.
Iain
"We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
If it's automated you really don't need people involved do ya?Mitsubishi adamantly denies that it uses automated web search systems to look for Evolutions involved in race events. “We don’t have people out there searching websites for names,” says Little.
I shared this story with one of my reporters and he was asking if I knew anyone that raced... he's interested in doing a story about this.
I trust that this forums' webmaster has built in protection to keep Mazda from collecting our names..... :)
Well, we certainly know plenty of people who race, although I doubt many of them would be interested in divulging too much personal information in light of this type of behavior. What "angle" does he want the story to take?Originally Posted by Treibenschnell
Iain
"We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
I agree! I can't imagine it would do you any good on future warranty claims!Well, we certainly know plenty of people who race, although I doubt many of them would be interested in divulging too much personal information in light of this type of behavior.
Have them talk to joe.MIATA!
Actually, as much as I despise the liberal media, he's one of the last few actually non-biased reporters around. He's probably one of the few that I believe are worth a damn. The others are just spewing biased rhetoric. But that's just my opinion.I agree! I can't imagine it would do you any good on future warranty claims!Well, we certainly know plenty of people who race, although I doubt many of them would be interested in divulging too much personal information in light of this type of behavior.
Have them talk to joe.MIATA!
And oh yeah, identities are protected if the person wants it that way.
Protected to what extent? It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to gather some membership names off this forum and cross-ref them with an AX entry list. Some members still have vehicles under a warranty. Just a thought.
Protected to what extent? It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to gather some membership names off this forum and cross-ref them with an AX entry list. Some members still have vehicles under a warranty. Just a thought.
Well don't worry about it then... I didn't think it would be such a can of worms here.
Hell... do you really think Mazda needs to spend the time searching all these piddly little forums?
I think it would be easy enough for them to just look at their database of racers who've registered with Mazdacomp... I'm pretty sure they've got enough people to keep their lawyers busy right there!
I think I'm about the only one here with a warrtany.. IMvivid I suppose..
"piddly" ?!?! who you callin' piddly? :P It doesn't really matter to me, I'm fairly sure my '92 is out of warranty at this point.
WHAT, my Warranty on my '90 Miata may be voided, just be cause I AutoX....That sucks
'08 Copper Red GT PRHT, '06 Accord EXL, '05 Dodge Magnum R/T, '01 V8 Dakota for pulling 2135 Chaparral.
Some of us might have extended warranties.
Iain
"We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
This all seems pretty feather-legged to me too, but is it really fair to abuse any product and expect the manufacturer to replace it? Seems right up there with holding gun and cigarette makers liable for what the consumer does with the product...IMHO
When I decided I was going to AX, I figured out that the potential damage done would be repaired out of my wallet. The first SCCA event I attended in modern times had one of Uncle Henry's cars entered by 7 drivers and the plates were covered so no one could photo ID the car. How ethical is that
On the other hand, I was righteously indignant when the service writer accused me of 'driving my little car like a race car' when I took it in for clutch shudder and synchronizer melt-down at 17,000 miles
Onething, was that a rallycross in COBBs field? I was there that day, it was only four of us. And it was a rental. The best part was that the contact paper we used for covering the plates, also made great racing stripes.
I however made it very easy on Mitsu when I had my eclipse. I went to get my tranny fixed with number written in shoe polish on the window. They voided the warranty, but did do the ball joint recall on the same trip. Oops.
I think that depends on the severity of the "abuse", and the part failure in question.When I decided I was going to AX, I figured out that the potential damage done would be repaired out of my wallet. The first SCCA event I attended in modern times had one of Uncle Henry's cars entered by 7 drivers and the plates were covered so no one could photo ID the car. How ethical is that
For example, I had the transmission replaced under warranty in my 1998 Honda Prelude at 30,000 miles due to a main shaft bearing failure. The car had been autocrossed and taken to lapping days. Did these things potentially accelerate the wear, causing premature failure? Probably. However, Honda has since admitted to a problem with the design of the trannsmission used in this particular car (failure rates somewhere around 10%, which is ridiculously high for a Honda product), and extended the manufacturer's warranty to 10 years/100,000 miles for all cars that were equipped with the same tranny.
Could the manufacturer have voided the warranty in my case? Probably, considering the car still had a harness bolted in when I dropped it off at the shop (I wasn't trying to hide anything). However, Honda decided - knowing that the tranny in question had a faulty design - to replace it at no charge, even given my history of use.
The Mitsubishi situation, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. Evos are dropping like flies with bad transmissions, driveshafts, and transfer cases, even those that haven't been autocrossed or taken to lapping days. That would lead me to believe that the root cause of the problem is a design or manufacturing issue, not customer abuse. But Mitsubishi is going out of their way, looking for any excuse to not accept responsibility for faulty design or manufacturing on the Evos. That, quite frankly, is bullshit.
Conversely, that's why I'll buy another Honda (in fact, I've had at least one in my garage at all times since 1995), and I'll never buy a Mitsubishi.
Iain
"We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
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