Dropsix wrote:

Yeah they just sprayed some crap on mine and sent me on my way.

I had a feeling I wouldn't get new control arms. Would have been nice if it's true they replace the ball joints too since I have some light clunking.


Strange considering the amount of salt they lay on the roads up here.

That's what I'd be hoping for, as I believe that is the source of my slight right clunk.

It'll be interesting to find out if Anyone gets actual new parts. I would wager No.

If only you could elect an aluminum STi control arm option. 

Last edited by phillipj (2012-05-02 12:55:43)

Milanoverde wrote:

The 800 # women told me they would not reumburse a private mechanic.  Has anyone gotten a free loaner car? I always did when Saab was Saab!

Tony

First of all, stop talking to fat women.

Secondly, the recall includes instructions for reimbursement.

Well, shit. I bought my car about a month ago. WHAT IF THEY CAN'T FIND ME!!!!!!!!

Just got home from Glassman. My "Service Advisor" did say they have only had to replace one set so far. I had both recalls and an oil change done in under 3 hours. I even showed up 2 hours early. Killed the time by test driving a '12 Impreza hatch with the CVT. My brother has one on order and I was curious what it was like. Also saw my first Velosters and Dodge Darts in person. My only complaint is the didn't run my car long enough to get the 'puter thinking again. As a result the car must have died 10 different times in lunchtime traffic there before it finally figured out how to be a car again.

Treemonkey wrote:

Just got my second recall notice, guess I will need to take a day off work and drive the 400 km to my nearest dealer

Does anyone know how long this repair takes if things need replacing?

According to Subaru, if it's just the anti-rust goo, it's 40 minutes, but if the control arms need replacing it's another 2.5-3 hours to replace them.  YMMV

For what it's worth, I'm rolling the dice and taking it to Subaru Calgary.  They'll do the inspection, and if it passes the punch test, and it's only the anti-rust goo they need it's like $90 which is going to cost much less than the 2+ tanks of gas to get to and from the mystery Saab shop in Edmonton.  If it fails the punch test, I'll take it to Edmonton for the recall work to be done by the "authorized Saab dealer" if they ever return my calls or emails, that is...

**RANT WARNING**
GM Canada is no help, but I'm not exactly surprised at this.  I asked why my local "Saab dealer" (10 kms from my house) wouldn't do the work, and the 1-800 lady claimed that they didn't want anything to do with Saab anymore as they weren't getting reimbursed for warranty work.  I reminded her that this wasn't warranty work, but a safety recall.  The 1-800 lady was happy to tell me that someone had to drive 800 km from Northern BC to Victoria to have recall work done.  I couldn't seem to get the 1-800 lady to realize that wasn't exactly going to make me feel better, but she assured me that GM was doing this out of goodwill to Saab owners, and because Saab is bankrupt GM doesn't have to actually do anything for me (?!)   According to her, GM won't reimburse me if I have the work done at anywhere but at one of their listed authorized Saab dealers (despite what the recall letter says) and that "Subaru can't do the recall work because "they don't have the right parts or tools to do it". 

That said, it's been escalated again so am now waiting to hear from someone "in Management" (1-800 lady says "I'm sorry sir, I can't give you a name").  I'm not holding my breath that person will do anything for me either, but at this point (two phone calls and 30 minutes of my life wasted) I feel like being petty about it so I will continue to pursue it a little while longer, worst thing that can happen is they say no again, and again, and again.
**END RANT**

On the bright side, today I learned that my car is pretty rare (1 of 1039 in Canada, apparently), so I guess that tempers my annoyance a bit.

So, just to follow up about my experience with the Armen dealership in Ardmore, PA. I took it in last Wednesday. They did their testing/inspection. And much to my surprise, they decided that the control arms would need to be replaced. They of course did not have the part and would need to order them. They called back on Friday to let me know they had received the necessary parts, and today (Monday) I brought it back in. They did indeed perform the factory recall replacement, so that's pretty sweet and was not what I was expecting based on other member's experience with the rust proofing spray. As a side note, when I brought it in, they did have a small discussion amongst themselves regarding getting reimbursed. It went something like this, "Hey man, are we doing SAAB recalls? As in can we get payed for this?"  Other guy, "No, we don't do SAAB recalls anymore, who would reimburse us? Unless it's that Subaru one, that one is still GMs responsibility for recalls."  Yep, it's that Subaru one - Boom! This is a GM and SAAB dealership, which is why I chose this dealership, so it might be necessary actually to find a GM/SAAB dealership to get the best results. Also, they did do an alignment without charging me, but I specifically hustled them about that point before I let them do the work. No car wash, but new control arms so I am satisfied with this result.

Just had mine done at Gary Blake Saab in New Hampshire; they only did the rustproofing not a replacement, they even washed it for me

Treemonkey wrote:

Barney wrote:

Treemonkey wrote:

Just got my second recall notice, guess I will need to take a day off work and drive the 400 km to my nearest dealer

Does anyone know how long this repair takes if things need replacing?

According to Subaru, if it's just the anti-rust goo, it's 40 minutes, but if the control arms need replacing it's another 2.5-3 hours to replace them.  YMMV

For what it's worth, I'm rolling the dice and taking it to Subaru Calgary.  They'll do the inspection, and if it passes the punch test, and it's only the anti-rust goo they need it's like $90 which is going to cost much less than the 2+ tanks of gas to get to and from the mystery Saab shop in Edmonton.  If it fails the punch test, I'll take it to Edmonton for the recall work to be done by the "authorized Saab dealer" if they ever return my calls or emails, that is...

**RANT WARNING**
GM Canada is no help, but I'm not exactly surprised at this.  I asked why my local "Saab dealer" (10 kms from my house) wouldn't do the work, and the 1-800 lady claimed that they didn't want anything to do with Saab anymore as they weren't getting reimbursed for warranty work.  I reminded her that this wasn't warranty work, but a safety recall.  The 1-800 lady was happy to tell me that someone had to drive 800 km from Northern BC to Victoria to have recall work done.  I couldn't seem to get the 1-800 lady to realize that wasn't exactly going to make me feel better, but she assured me that GM was doing this out of goodwill to Saab owners, and because Saab is bankrupt GM doesn't have to actually do anything for me (?!)   According to her, GM won't reimburse me if I have the work done at anywhere but at one of their listed authorized Saab dealers (despite what the recall letter says) and that "Subaru can't do the recall work because "they don't have the right parts or tools to do it". 

That said, it's been escalated again so am now waiting to hear from someone "in Management" (1-800 lady says "I'm sorry sir, I can't give you a name").  I'm not holding my breath that person will do anything for me either, but at this point (two phone calls and 30 minutes of my life wasted) I feel like being petty about it so I will continue to pursue it a little while longer, worst thing that can happen is they say no again, and again, and again.
**END RANT**

On the bright side, today I learned that my car is pretty rare (1 of 1039 in Canada, apparently), so I guess that tempers my annoyance a bit.

I am also in Calgary and apparently the mystery SAAB shop in Edmonton doesn't even have the equipment yet to do the testing/repairs. I am tempted to take the same approach as you as I also don't feel like driving all the way to Edmonton for a 30 min lube job...

Any luck with Subaru Calgary?  They haven't returned my calls as of yet.  Really don't want to drive to Edmonchuk for an inspection.

Is that the first failure recorded here?

Since I Autocross regularly, and have been doing suspension work, I've been inspecting my arms fairly regularly and noticed nothing alarming from the outside. And yet, the passenger side arm failed the punch test (apparently easily according to the service writer, but he did not impress me as playing with a full deck), which leads me to believe the problem is internal to the arms, not external. FWIW, the replacement arms are only painted on the outside, haven't  had a good look inside.

So, at what point do I figure a letter isn't coming to me? The car is originally from Maryland and now registered in Maine. If I don't get one, is there recourse?

I did not fill out the change of ownership card...just found it. I'll send it in anyway, but I am not convinced that is the only way that I would be able to get safety recall service. The address that the change of ownership card goes to is associated with the customer assistance number that is found throughout the Warranty and Service booklet (800-955-9007), and that number is out of service. Who's to say that they have been accepting mail as well?

Does anyone have a number they've been successful getting help with? GM or Subaru?

It's a safety recall, so simply not having sent in the change of ownership card within 2 months of buying the car...I dunno, I don't think that could completely preclude me from getting the service.

dapcwiz wrote:

^^ I never sent my change of ownership card in ~ 2.75 years ago when I bought the car.  Got the recall ~a month ago.  Planning to go in pretty soon for it...

Same here.  They found me through Motor Vehicles I believe.