Service Technician Negligence at Subaru Dealership in Fairfield County, CT

Hi,

I'm new to this site, and I recently experienced a terrible scare while driving due to negligent work done at a dealership. Please read the information below. I know it's long, but any and all tips or suggestions for how to proceed in further contacting the dealership or Subaru corporate is much appreciated. There are 2 main issues: a service technician forgot to tighten lower steering arm suspension bolts, and I was ridiculously overcharged for services due to a "standard booking time policy" that the dealership told me was a Subaru policy. I hope I explained everything correctly. Thank you!

On December 9th, I took my 2006 Subaru Legacy in for service. The following procedures were performed to my vehicle: Power Steering Flush; PS Service Kit that included replacing the engine accessory drive belts; a replacement of split lower arm bushings; an oil change and inspection of fluids and brake pads; a Brake Flush Kit that included removing and replacing rear brake pads and refinishing rotors; Pad Kit R. I was also informed that the rear trailing arm bushings needed replacement and the service technician said it could be done during my next visit.

On December 30th, I was driving on rt. 202 in PA, which is a highway, when my car started shaking violently, the steering wheel turned at a 45 degree angle, and I lost the ability steer my front passenger side tire. Thankfully, there was an exit ramp in front of me and I managed, with great difficulty, to safely exit the highway and pull into a parking lot at the end of the ramp without causing any accidents or injuries to myself or other drivers. Since the car was not drivable, a tow truck had to be called to bring me and my vehicle back to a repair shop in the town I was staying in. Upon examining the vehicle, it was determined the cause was the loss of the lower steering arm suspension bolt on the right front side. This caused the right front wheel to loose all steering capability. Loss of the lower steering arm suspension bolt also caused failure of the front sway bar link and bolt for the lower control arm. This, in turn, caused the right front axel to pull out of the transmission housing and resulted in damage to the axel engagement teeth. Upon examination of the lower steering arm suspension bolt on the left front side, it was clear that the bolt and nut were not even hand tight and there was a half-inch gap in the mounting. I could turn the nut and the bolt with my hand. This bolt was clearly about to fail very soon as well. Both of these lower steering arm suspension bolts were removed by the service technician at Georgetown Subaru when performing the replacement of the split lower arm bushings that I listed above. It is abundantly clear that these lower steering arm suspension bolts were never properly tightened when the service was performed. These lower arm steering suspension bolts are a critical component to the steering, suspension, and safety of the car. This negligence could have caused serious, life threatening consequences. It is nothing short of a miracle that neither myself, nor others, were not critically injured.

Regarding my second claim of being overcharged for recent services, I had previously spoken with the both the service advisor and the service manager about the cost of my last bill, which totaled $1006.80. When I read the invoice upon picking up my vehicle, $784.50 was for labor, while only $260.43 was for parts. I was greatly surprised by the labor cost, as when the total amount was disclosed to me earlier over the phone, the service advisor did not mention the majority of the cost was solely labor. When I inquired about these exorbitant labor fees, the service advisor explained that Subaru uses a “standard booking time” policy, which he explained as a fixed rate associated with each service. Therefore, as stated on my invoice, a fee of $24.68 for the lower arm bushings service (which resulted in the serious problem described above) will always be accompanied with a labor fee of $309. This “standard booking time” policy resulted in a ridiculous overcharge for services that typically take 30 minutes to an hour to complete at most. I politely informed the service advisor that I think this is an unfair practice and would like to contact Subaru corporate since this matter seems to be above their heads, as they told me it was a Subaru policy. The next day, I received a phone call from the service manager, as he had heard about my dissatisfaction with the bill. The service manager did agree that usually one would expect to see more substantial services done in order to acquire at labor fee of almost $800. He said it just so happened that in my case all the services that needed to be done were relatively inexpensive for parts, but came with more expensive labor fees. I find it to be an unlikely coincidence that my vehicle was such an unusual and special case. The service manager proceeded to offer me $75 off of my next service for my “sensitive issues” as he called them. When I told him I would still be contacting Subaru corporate regarding this “standard booking time” policy, he replied that I was allowed to do that but he didn’t think it would accomplish anything and made other rude remarks. This interaction was extremely poor customer service, and furthermore the potentially deadly experience I had as a result of their negligence represents a significant loss of quality assurance in their service department.

Furthermore, the Subaru service advisor noted on the invoice that the rear trailing arm bushings would need replacing soon. I had them examined by the mechanic who fixed the serious problem with the suspension bolts described above, and it was determined there was nothing wrong with this part. This further proves my initial feelings that I was financially taken advantage of by the service department at Georgetown Subaru, and would have continued to be taken advantage of if this needless repair had been executed.

Again, any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

There are warranties and they shoud honor the warranty to fix the failed part, if the failed part was touched by the last repair, 21 days ago. You are the unfortunate one, human will make mistakes and it happened this time is the mechanic serviced your car.

After they fix it, find another dealer.

The labor hour is standard and clearly mark in each job, so if they charge you according to that then it is hard to argue. To save money and out of Subaru warranty, try to find independent repair shop near you which is specialized in Subaru.

I drive 2 hrs from MA to RI, just want to meet Paul (home garage) and see his great service & knowledge on my Outback. Paul does everything, I think the only one he won't do is welding.

Example : My major maintenance (every 30k mi) states "replace brake fluid" and my dealer performs "suck the fluid off the brake resevoir, replace with fresh fluid", they take the short cut & don't actually replace them 100% by fluid flush, breeding. My impression is the brake fluid should be replaced 100% and looks like apple juice color, while that was not the case and mine looks black & dark after the fresh one mix with the old fluid in the brake system in a week or so. When I checked with the dealer, service advisor said there's extra $85.00 if I want the brake fluid flush and 100% fluid replacement.

Sorry to hear this, I can understand your frustration. I'm begining to think that unless you have a really good relationship with a dealership service department you should get a second opinion. I run a Jeep/Chrysler/Dodge service department. I fire guys for stuff like that!

Glad no one got hurt. And thanks for the kind words bigdadi!

Paul