I put an engine in my 2003 Subaru less than a year ago. H6.
They have refused to replace the engine. They said it was over mileage and that it had run out of oil.
I was not given a warranty or told of any mileage limit. (the installing mechanic did not there was one either) The oil leak was caused by a leaking valve cover. I do check my oil each week but it was not losing oil.
The installing mechanic and another one said the leak could have been very fast to drain the oil, even within a week.
The receipt from the mechanic says 1 year warranty and nothing else.
Do I have a case? and was the engine company/warranty legally required to give me a written warranty?
Thanks.
As it has been said here before, you have a legal problem and we can’t help with that.
You should have had some warning such as the service engine light.
The time to have asked that was when it was installed.
Just out of curiosity, how many miles have you put on it?
USED ? - - - ?
Well . . you’re pretty much at the mercy of the supplier and the condition of that unit when you got it.
Used units are always subject to additional preparations that your mechanic is supposed to analyze and correct as they install it . . New seals or gaskets among them.
When I buy used for a shop customer . . I buy LKQ and their two warranties are ; Six months no labor ( essentially they sell you a good enough working unit and you have six months to prove it out ) – and – the one year with labor, which we pay extra for and always buy . LKQ corp has always been good about honoring these warranties.
As a cross check, you could call that used supplier as a generic new customer and ask about their warranty(s) on used.
But if your mechanic already checked ( I’ll bet he was offered a choice when he bought it ) ? I think you already have your answer.
I saw the oil light once, flicker on and off. I stopped and put in oil.
I was told there was a one year warranty, nothing else. The installer said they do not use these folks anymore as they did the same to another person, who had 2 months and 1500 miles on it.
Mine was with LKQ. The warranty (as explained by the mechanic and written on the receipt) on this engine was one year, no labor to replace if needed. This does not sound like either of the warranties you said they offered.
It did not leak any oil for the first 10 months. There was no indication of an oil leak until the light flickered on, once, when I stopped and put oil in.
18k, but I was not given any limit as to mileage, only the time of one year.
I was not asking for anything but your thoughts. Thank you for your thoughts.
You can try to push the issue but my gut feeling is that you’re out of luck.
The 1 year warranty could mean anything. One year for the engine only from LKQ, one year warranty backed up by the mechanic, and so on.
If the warranty is 1 year for the engine only from LKQ then this generally means labor and incidentals is excluded.
You’re also at 18k miles. Many shops usually have a 1 year/12k miles warranty even if they do personally back this up so 18 would put you over the limit.
That hazy “1 year warranty and nothing else” might be difficult to work through.
Thanks all,
When I said “1 year warranty and nothing else” I meant that they only specified a one year warranty, no mention of a mileage limit. The mechanic said he did not know that there was a mileage limit on the warranty. The mechanic says they no longer use them, as they denied another client’s warranty.
You can read the warranty information at the LKQ site;
https://www.lkqonline.com/generic/warranties
If the shop that installed the engine offered a 12 month/unlimited mile warranty it is on them to provide the warranty replacement. The supplier cannot be held liable for a warranty misrepresented by the installer.
I guess if I had a used engine installed in my car, and the paperwork said one year warranty, I’d expect they fix it if it broke within a year, irrespective of miles. However Id be surprised to see a warranty not mention the miles, and only time. Also I’d expect the warranty would be for normal wear and tear. Normal driving. No tooling around Death Valley dirt 4wd trails in 130 deg heat. Also if the engine runs low on oil, and this causes a problem, I wouldn’t expect the warranty to cover that. I might expect they’d give me a little discount on a repair or replacement tho. Ask about that. The valve cover leaks wouldn’t normally cause a rapid loss of oil, but it could cause enough oil loss over, say, 3 months for this to happen. A severe valve cover leak, like if the oil fill cap wasn’t installed, could cause rapid and complete oil loss. That has happened to callers on the radio show in fact. Never a happy ending, that.
It looks to me that it was your mechanic that gave you a one year warranty based on your receipt, not his engine supplier. Did you or your mechanic pick he supplier? If you did your problem is between you and your supplier. If he picked them, the problem is between you and your mechanic.
Talk to your lawyer for a legal opinion or try small claims court if the limit is high enough to cover your damages. First see if you and your mechanic can work out an agreement.
The mechanic picked the supplier, bought and installed it. He asked if I wanted a one or two year warranty engine. I said one. The receipt says, used engine, warranty one year.
When I took it back, he said it was a warranty from LKQ and he waited for the guy to come by and decide to say no coverage on engine.
The LKQ site refered by Nevada states an engine warranty is for 6 months or 6k miles. LKQ also stipulates a number of parts and services that MUST be done to have any warranty at all.
I doubt very seriously any of those parts and services were done so LKQ would be off the hook even after 1 week. One of those services was to remove the oil pan and clean everything out. Done? Not likely.
It sounds like the mechanic is the one placing the warranty on the engine.
Unfortunately, what I feel (very strongly…) will happen is that the mechanic is going to stonewall you on on this until you wave the white flag and go away.
He’s trying to shuffle blame off right now onto LKQ and they are not at fault.Apparently he didn’t bother to read the warranty terms stipulated by LKQ. Best of luck.
hmmm … I’m thinking the mechanic’s position is that “one year” is the supplier’s warranty, not the mechanics; i.e. it is just a identification of the type of used engine you wanted, and doesn’t place any burden on the mechanic. Like if the mechanic said to you on the phone " You need a new brake master cylinder, do you want one w/a one year or two year warranty?" He’s meaning the brake mc manufacturer’s warranty, not his.
On the other hand you could argue the mechanic should have been more clear about who was supplying the warranty and who wasn’t, and what exactly it entailed. It’s common knowledge that nobody’s going to supply a warranty on a used engine without some limits involved. It seems like you could argue the mechanic should have supplied that information as part of the transaction. But the mechanic will argue that you should have asked for it.
I don’t see you having much of a chance arguing this w/a judge. Best to team up with the mechanic and both of you argue your case with the engine supplier. If you supply them enough grief, you might get some help from them on a replacement engine. If you play your cards right. They know after all that they can probably fix what’s wrong w/the current engine without much incremental expense to them, and sell it again. Meanwhile you’ll be happily on your way with another engine from them. I think that’s your best bet here.
The warranty with the engine supplier has expired by mileage, it was the repair shop/mechanic that wrote “1 year warranty” with no mileage restriction. If anyone should be held responsible for warranty coverage at this point it is the repair shop. A seized engine will cost thousands to repair, they are not going to resell it.
The back of the receipts from most of the service departments that I have worked for had the 12 month/12,000 mile warranty on parts and labor printed on them. If the warehouse didn’t have a part needed and we bought it from a local parts supplier with a 90 day warranty, if the part failed during the 12 month warranty but after 90 days our shop honored the warranty and covered the repair.
It doesn’t sound like this shop is willing to provide any warranty coverage that isn’t provided by the supplier.
I agree with Nevada. Right now it sounds like the mechanic is trying to deflect blame from himself and place it on LKQ.
“LKQ is denying warranty…” is his way of portraying both the OP and himself as victims of LKQ while hoping the OP will throw in the towel and just quietly disappear.
Since the mechanic asked the OP if they wanted a 1 or 2 year warranty I take this to mean he charged the OP accordingly for that warranty.