Editors of CR's ShopSmart , the quick-&-easy shopping guide, are working on a report about how consumers have coped with this nite-mare scenario:

You face astronomical car-repair bills resulting from manufacturing defects, when your car's no longer under warranty.  What happens next?  Were you able to get manufacturers to accept the responsibility (and the costs) of the repairs?  Tell us the how-what-when-where.

With your permission, selected accounts may be used in the report.

Well, this probably does not count as "astronomical" in cost, but my car's mass airflow sensor failed after warranty, even counting the manufacturer's extended warranty on the part that was given after the manufacturer recognized that the original mass airflow sensors were prone to failure.

Would probably have been $300 to fix at the dealer, based on what others have reported.  I ordered the part on-line for about $130 and replaced it myself.

This was quite some time ago; it involved the paint fading and peeling on my '87 Ford Aerostar after only about three years. This was a known issue and Ford offered an extended warranty/"silent" recall, but only on the F-series trucks.

No amount of calling, or writing would get Ford to extend the coverage to the Aerostar. By then it wasn't really worth what it would cost to do a complete factory-quality paint job so I just let it go and it became my "beater truck" that much more quickly.

Recently I traded it for a new Ford Escape under the Cash for Clunkers program, and combining a dealer incentive and a California tax incentive for buying a hybrid, its trade-in value was more than half its original purchase price!

I guess the secret here was just waiting.

Two examples:

On an 89 Grand Am, the paint started blistering shortly after warranty. I read somewhere about an unpublished extended warranty for this issue, took it to the dealer, and received a new paint job at no cost.

On a 2002 Corvette, the ABS/TC/AH went out. The diagnostic code indicated it was probably a relay inside the computer. The on-line Corvette Forum indicated thbat this was a known problem and that a dealer fix would be $1000+ for a new computer. Based on information from the forum, I removed it myself and sent it out for a repair to absfixer.com for $150.

 

On my 2005 Saturn ION the front control arm bushing fell out of it's mounting. It's apparently a common issue with these cars. My dealer replaced it for free despite my car being out of warranty based on time. (4 years old but only 28K miles)

In a similar situation, my '04 Infiniti G35 had a torn compression rod (type of control arm) bushing which Infiniti refused to replace out-of-warranty. It is also a known "problem" for my model and many owners have received "subsidized" out-of-warranty replacement from Infiniti but those decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. They required a $142 vehicle inspection at the dealership, which I agreed to pay, before they would consider my request. Despite the otherwise excellent condition of the car and its very low miles, I was refused. I think Nissan used poor judgment and their treatment of me fits with the company's reputation for offering so-so service.

Customer service is a big reason why Saturn owners are lamenting the demise of the brand. For me the warranty coverage was suggested on the dealers part. I fully expected to pay for the replacement.

I had a 2000 Subaru Outback. The head gasket went at 120,100 miles. Turns out Subaru had a secret warranty good until 120.0K miles.

They offered me some mickey mouse additive to pour in the radiator that was supposed to help seal the gasket. Didn't seal the gasket, but it did a great job of plugging up the radiator. So I got to replace it at about $400., and the dual head gaskets at $1200., plus the cost of renting a car for a couple of days.

The gaskets were bad for the '99-'01 models. I wrote the president of Subaru N. America about this pathetic level of support, and never got a response.

For better or worse I recently bought a 2009 Subaru Outback. I learned then that Subaru had researched the problem about bad gaskets, and discovered only six months earlier that it was due to phosphorous in the coolant that was eating them up.

Rather than getting a new supplier of gaskets, they chose to market their own phosphorous-free antifreeze (at $25./gallon), which is supposed to 'help' but not entirely prevent gaskets from leaking.

Glenn Cahn

I've had bad stories with Ford, Chrysler, and (currently) Mazda.

With the Ford it was loss of compression in three of six cylinders due to a known defect with the catalytic converter. Part of the model year was recalled earlier for the problem, but my car was just outside the VIN range. With the Chrysler, a torque converter at 52k. With the Mazda, rust at 5.5 years--the warranty goes to five. Both the Protege and Mazda3 are prone to premature rust where the roads are salted.

What I've failed to learn from this repeated experience is that any manufacturer is much less likely to provide assistance if you have not been loyally taking the car to a specific dealer for all service.

So the question might become: is it right for manufacturer to base out-of-warranty assistance on whether or not you have paid dealer prices for all of your service?

That said, among manufacturers Honda and BMW seem more likely than others to provide out-of-warranty assistance. Toyota, on the other hand, is at best average in this regard.

Of the 3 problem cars you mentioned I'd say the Chrysler was the best one. Replacing the torque converter is less final and less expensive than a new engine or rust.

How about a New Car still under factory warranty, a Subaru Forester, that I installed a new dual by pass oil filter system manufactured and still recommended for use on that vehicle by AMSOIl the Sythetic Oil Manufacturer, becoming Subaru's excuse for not paying for a blown engine on their car.  Amsoil, after it became apparant that Subaru would offer No Proof, as they are required to by law, that the oil filter at minimum contributed to the engine failure, then a few YEARS later Amsoil paid the costs of the new engine. No one in my family will ever again make the mistake of buying a Subaru.

Sorry about the problem with your Subaru.

Why do you think the engine failed?

Also, what was Subaru's explanation for the effect of the filter on the engine?