Need advice-head gasket 04

jaimerful

I have an 04 Subaru outback. We bought used at maybe 38,000. Within a few months of owning the car it developed a leak from the head gasket. It was still under the drive train warranty and subaru put their magic potion into it to fix. They did this twice. We opened a claim with Subaru of North America because we felt the problem was being "patched" rather than resolved. And predicted that once the car was out of the drive train warranty we would be stuck with having to repair. They at the time stated that their policy was to patch it 2x before they would redo the head gasket. This was in 07. We just hit 115,000 miles and have an oil leak coming from the head gasket. We called Subaru of North America-they are asking us to take the car to the dealer, have them diagnose, then do the repair work at the dealer. They then said they would send us a check-for something. They refuse to give us an estimate on how much they will send us a check for. Of course the dealer is quoting 2200 and our local guy quoted 1400. Has any one had experience with receiving a "reimbursement check" and thoughts on how much it could be? Not sure if it's worth our while but it feels very unjust.

ateixeira

That may be impossible to determine because I bet they would only decide after the dealer opens it up and sees what caused the leak.

At 115k miles ... that's really stretching it, I would not expect much. You're going to have to prove it was the same exact problem as before.

xwesx

While I fear you're probably right, I disagree. If this is a problem that existed well before warranty expiration, I would push for repair under warranty. The fact that the issue was pre-existing is documented, so I don't think Subaru has a compelling case.

At this point, my personal take would be to seek an agreement with Subaru wherein they cover the labor cost of the dealer under warranty, and I pay the parts. Given that the lion's share of that repair estimate is labor, (maybe $500-600 for parts, depending on what you have replaced in addition to the gaskets) that seems more than reasonable (on your part) to me. I would want such coverage by them directly, not a reimbursement after-the-fact.

ateixeira

I just think it's a gamble, if they find another source for the leak. Look how many miles were between the original failure and this one.

If one can get SoA to commit to paying a certain percentage, then by all means...

jaimerful

I totally agree. It feels like a gamble. So far we haven't had luck with getting SoA to commit to anything. They say that they will contribute something but refuse to say what.Thank you for your responses.

rammy1

I want SOA to pay for replacing defective head gaskets on subaru outback limited wagon 2003 manufacturedl before March 2003 which is whenI purchased the wagon new. It is outrageous that SOA turns a blind eye to their known head gasket problem in their 2.5 boxer engines. I believe Subaru of America should be forced to do a recall on this known problem

triumpher

I am currently also truing to convince Subaru to do something for me. I, too, have the head gasket problem on my 2003 Outback. Additionally I have the typical rust development on the rear drivers side fender.
I plan to trade my 2003 in for a new 2012 and am asking them for a little extra help with the trade in price. If they don't do something for me, I will never ever buy a Subaru again!

I bought the car because of its quality and long lasting value image. I am quite disappointed cause all my other vehicles seem to have better quality than this Outback!