Thrown rod bearing

I have had my LGT auto wagon since May this year. I have only put 12K on the car, which now has a total of 58K. I had the exhaust and the ECU reflashed about 2K ago. I'm still under warranty, but the dealer and Subaru won't cover it because of the reflash. They say the rod/bearing went because of over reving the engine. I have not over reved the engine and never drive out of the "auto" mode (sorry old guy 56)

Has anyone ever heard of a reflash causing something like this? I'm at a loss..

This would be a first. How was the maintenance history on the car? Know anything about the previous owner? Have you tried a different dealer?

I'm sorry to say but that's the risk we (the modding community) take for modding our cars. You pay to play the game.

 

When I modified my car, I went in fully knowing that any damage, whether its a blown clutch or a blown motor, I would have to pay for it out of pocket.

I have a friend that had an 05 Outback (non-turbo) and also threw a rod bearing causing engine failure. His was replaced under warranty.

It's not likely that your modifications caused the issue but you're also going to have an uphill battle getting this covered under warranty because of those modifications... Good Luck. Let us know how it turns out.

See if you can find a copy of the Magnuson Moss Act online somewhere, and retain a good lawyer, and pray you can get something done.

 

US Code - Title 15, Chapter 50, Sections 2301-2312

Legally, a vehicle manufacturer cannot void the warranty on a vehicle due to an aftermarket part unless they can prove that the aftermarket part caused or contributed to the failure in the vehicle (per the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act (15 U.S.C. 2302©) .

 

edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson-Moss_Warranty_Act

They need to prove the reflash removed or increased the rev limiter. I'm fairly certain it did not so their argument is bunk.

 

EDIT: What reflash did you have done?

What is the oil change history on this vehicle?

Yes you are right the rev limiter is increased. Is it a Cobb reflash or some other vendor

you are not going to win. Just give up. I mean, you modified the engine for more power, it failed. Black and white. I do feel sorry for you, as I'd hate for my Stage 2 to fail - and it shouldn't; but you were about out of warranty anyways...another month and it wouldn't be covered, period.

I don't get it. If your car borks and you are modded and re-flashed, why not return it to stock THEN take it back in to the dealder? I think my cluch is going and I am going to try and have it replaced. I plan on going back to stock when I visit the dealer.

Wait... did you spin a bearing or throw a rod? You can't "throw a rod bearing"

 

A connecting rod does not just up and snap. Rod bearings will go long before rods... unless you really did over-rev it. And if it was the bearing you should have heard warning signs long before it actually spun on itself.

 

In any case, this isn't a failure that sneaks up on you... What is the whole story?

Oil Pressure ?

I don't get it. If your car borks and you are modded and re-flashed, why not return it to stock THEN take it back in to the dealder? I think my cluch is going and I am going to try and have it replaced. I plan on going back to stock when I visit the dealer.

 

Good luck with this.

yea my question.... is subaru smart enough now to know ur ecu has been reflashed? or did you tell them?

I have the same question. What I do know is they won't try to find out if you don't tell them about it.

Wait... did you spin a bearing or throw a rod? You can't "throw a rod bearing"

 

A connecting rod does not just up and snap. Rod bearings will go long before rods... unless you really did over-rev it. And if it was the bearing you should have heard warning signs long before it actually spun on itself.

 

In any case, this isn't a failure that sneaks up on you... What is the whole story?

 

I second that. I spun a bearing on my '80 528i back when I had it. Took almost 2 months to go from subtle warning noises to imminent failure.

yea my question.... is subaru smart enough now to know ur ecu has been reflashed? or did you tell them?

 

They can easily see if your ECU has been reflashed

They can easily see if your ECU has been reflashed

 

 

 

i know they can see if that lil indicator is set back to 0 ....... but.....how can they 1. tell it wasnt from ur disconnecting the battery 2. receiving one of their own flashes from a stealership ?

 

 

since you seem to be so positive can you elaborate?

i know they can see if that lil indicator is set back to 0 ....... but.....how can they 1. tell it wasnt from ur disconnecting the battery 2. receiving one of their own flashes from a stealership ?

 

 

since you seem to be so positive can you elaborate?

 

Subaru has their own ECU mapping software called the Subaru Select Monitor (SSM). It's what dealers use. The SSM software shows how many times ECU has been flashed and also can tell if the base map has been changed via a flash from software other than SSM (aka Cobb, EcuTek, OpenECU, etc.)

^ source?

Subaru has their own ECU mapping software called the Subaru Select Monitor (SSM). It's what dealers use. The SSM software shows how many times ECU has been flashed and also can tell if the base map has been changed via a flash from software other than SSM (aka Cobb, EcuTek, OpenECU, etc.)

I don't think that is that easily noticed unless they are really looking for it.

I'm going off of this info.

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29816&highlight=ssm

cool yea well this is on the SSM3 so that answered my question and debunked shocker's theory.

 

http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37498&highlight=%22select+monitor%22