Used 01 S4, 2 months old, several oil leaks
10-25-2004, 12:52 PM
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Used 01 S4, 2 months old, several oil leaks
Hello, Was wondering if i could get some advice regarding trouble i have had with my 2 month old 2001 S4.
First of all, i should say the car has 65K miles on it and I purchased a 2 year extended warranty from Nissan called the Quality Guard Plus. Here is a link
http://www.nissanusa.com/content/0,,sctid-51077,00.html
About 3 weeks into having the car, i noticed if the car sat in the sun and warmed up, when i got into it and started it the drivers side door doesn't register as closed. Just under 4 weeks into having the car i noticed a fair amount of oil on the garage floor after being parked overnight. I called the dealership about these two issues and asked them when i would be receiving the warranty paperwork so i could take it in, they said i'd have to hold on for a couple more weeks. After a week of thinking about it i decided to call the warranty company and see about getting it in for repair. They asked how long the door sensor and the oil leaks had been occuring, i told them and the person said these were pre-existing issues and the dealership had to take care of them.
I waited another week for my paperwork and just took it in. The dealership identified two oil leaks one on the cam tensioner seal and another on the prop shaft seal. The estimated cost was about $1800 to repair and they said that the warranty company denied the claim as being a pre-existing condition. So i took it back to the dealership and they said they'd take it to another shop to determine if they could determine how long these leaks had been occuring and then farmed it out to another shop that works on Audi's Porsche's and BMW's.
I know the service manager at this shop and so gave him a couple hours and called him and asked about the car. He said he had found another leak near one of the turbo's but said he needed more time to confirm the other two leaks, but said it was gonna be expensive and he hoped i wasn't paying for it.
I know this is a subjective question that probably depends on state law and the paritcular dealership but i wonder, can the dealership stonewall me on the repairs if it turns out to be really expensive or are they required to do the work to bring it up to speed? What do you guys think?
The warranty company if flat out denying the claim and won't do anything, so it seems i have to get the dealership to address these issues, or i am hosed!
And on a sidenote, a complaint about dealerships and how they address an issue reported by a customer. When telling them about the door sensor i explained it has never happened in cool weather, only when it's been in the hot sun for a few hours and if they left it in the shade in the shop that it would not act up. Now, after arranging a friend to follow me and give me a ride back to work and then run me out to pick it up after work, all the service guy tells me is: The door sensor problem could not be verified, no action taken. This is highly irritating, i explained the circumstances under which it would occur. So what? any intermittant problem can be brushed off without any action whatsoever?
Oh and also the day before dropping it off at the dealership again, the passenger side headlight went out, the dealership said it was the passenger-side ballast/ignitor, a $400 part. Am i cursed here?
First of all, i should say the car has 65K miles on it and I purchased a 2 year extended warranty from Nissan called the Quality Guard Plus. Here is a link
http://www.nissanusa.com/content/0,,sctid-51077,00.html
About 3 weeks into having the car, i noticed if the car sat in the sun and warmed up, when i got into it and started it the drivers side door doesn't register as closed. Just under 4 weeks into having the car i noticed a fair amount of oil on the garage floor after being parked overnight. I called the dealership about these two issues and asked them when i would be receiving the warranty paperwork so i could take it in, they said i'd have to hold on for a couple more weeks. After a week of thinking about it i decided to call the warranty company and see about getting it in for repair. They asked how long the door sensor and the oil leaks had been occuring, i told them and the person said these were pre-existing issues and the dealership had to take care of them.
I waited another week for my paperwork and just took it in. The dealership identified two oil leaks one on the cam tensioner seal and another on the prop shaft seal. The estimated cost was about $1800 to repair and they said that the warranty company denied the claim as being a pre-existing condition. So i took it back to the dealership and they said they'd take it to another shop to determine if they could determine how long these leaks had been occuring and then farmed it out to another shop that works on Audi's Porsche's and BMW's.
I know the service manager at this shop and so gave him a couple hours and called him and asked about the car. He said he had found another leak near one of the turbo's but said he needed more time to confirm the other two leaks, but said it was gonna be expensive and he hoped i wasn't paying for it.
I know this is a subjective question that probably depends on state law and the paritcular dealership but i wonder, can the dealership stonewall me on the repairs if it turns out to be really expensive or are they required to do the work to bring it up to speed? What do you guys think?
The warranty company if flat out denying the claim and won't do anything, so it seems i have to get the dealership to address these issues, or i am hosed!
And on a sidenote, a complaint about dealerships and how they address an issue reported by a customer. When telling them about the door sensor i explained it has never happened in cool weather, only when it's been in the hot sun for a few hours and if they left it in the shade in the shop that it would not act up. Now, after arranging a friend to follow me and give me a ride back to work and then run me out to pick it up after work, all the service guy tells me is: The door sensor problem could not be verified, no action taken. This is highly irritating, i explained the circumstances under which it would occur. So what? any intermittant problem can be brushed off without any action whatsoever?
Oh and also the day before dropping it off at the dealership again, the passenger side headlight went out, the dealership said it was the passenger-side ballast/ignitor, a $400 part. Am i cursed here?
10-25-2004, 01:01 PM
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I had the door latch problem. Same thing... on hot days it would fail to register as closed.
Unfortunately, it requires the latch mechanism to be replaced. The part is around $120 and the door panel needs to be removed to get at it.
-Dave Pramanik
-Dave Pramanik
10-25-2004, 01:04 PM
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Re: I had the door latch problem. Same thing... on hot days it would fail to register as closed.
Short of driving it straight to the dealership and having a service tech come out and verify it, how do you convince the dealership it's a problem and fix it? Did you just do it yourself?
10-25-2004, 01:08 PM
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I'm out of warranty so I took it to an independent shop, not the dealer.
Mine was bad enough that it would happen on any 80°F day, so I was able to show it to them. They tried adjusting it with no success so I had them replace the latch mechanism. Probably could've tackled it myself but I was having them take care of a few other items at the same time.
-Dave Pramanik
-Dave Pramanik
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10-25-2004, 01:11 PM
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Re: big mistake to tell your aftermarket warranty about your problem so soon. Did you buy it from Ni
Agreed, unfortunately i did not want to wait to get the car fixed and really, what's the use of a warranty that says it starts on Monday. . .Oh but you can't take it in on Wednesday, that's too soon.
I guess i just thought it started a month ago, it should be covered. But in retrospect i would have waited a bit.
I guess i just thought it started a month ago, it should be covered. But in retrospect i would have waited a bit.
10-25-2004, 01:37 PM
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if the third oil leak is from the feed line, it is gonna be a killer..
I had that on my passenger side turbo, entire motor had to be pulled just to tighten one fitting, I think it set me back 800 plus tax if I remeber corectly.
10-25-2004, 01:46 PM
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You really need to review the paperwork you signed when you bought it.
Asking us really won't answer your questions. Odds are, you'll find the following:
1. No warranty being offered by the dealer selling the car.
2. Aftermarket warranty being "purchased" or included for the selling price.
3. Document detailing what is and what is not covered by the aftermarket warranty, including terms and exclusions (like a pre-existing condition) and any "waiting" period before claims can be filed.
I suspect you'll find that the first 30 days are that waiting period, and that loophole is only covered by you. Since you've already attempted to file a claim with the insurance company for some of the oil leaks, you might be out of pocket to fix those, and I doubt the dealer has any liability here, unless they choose to goodwill the repair work in order to keep you happy. Regarding the third leak, I would keep your mouth shut, and go back in a month to have that addressed...under warranty. Keep receipts for anything you end up paying for. If the leak recurs, you don't want the warranty company stating that this was a previous denied claim for XYZ reason. You want to be able to prove to them that you fixed it the first time you filed the claim.
1. No warranty being offered by the dealer selling the car.
2. Aftermarket warranty being "purchased" or included for the selling price.
3. Document detailing what is and what is not covered by the aftermarket warranty, including terms and exclusions (like a pre-existing condition) and any "waiting" period before claims can be filed.
I suspect you'll find that the first 30 days are that waiting period, and that loophole is only covered by you. Since you've already attempted to file a claim with the insurance company for some of the oil leaks, you might be out of pocket to fix those, and I doubt the dealer has any liability here, unless they choose to goodwill the repair work in order to keep you happy. Regarding the third leak, I would keep your mouth shut, and go back in a month to have that addressed...under warranty. Keep receipts for anything you end up paying for. If the leak recurs, you don't want the warranty company stating that this was a previous denied claim for XYZ reason. You want to be able to prove to them that you fixed it the first time you filed the claim.
