Rear Main Seal Failure

• 

  neo on 09/02/2018 - 21:52

  +2

  That's a poorly worded response, if it's word for word.

  Have you had it confirmed or are you just guessing it is?

  • 

    Sober Thoughts on 09/02/2018 - 21:54

    No BS. Word for word. Quite amazed myself at the response.
    Had my local mechanic look at it and he also suspect seal failure. It is not leaking a lot, basically a few drops but it is leaking.

• 

  pegaxs on 09/02/2018 - 22:04

  +5

  Is she the original owner? If she is the 1st owner, she should keep pursuing it. The low KM and being just outside the warranty should help. The dealer is not the one that makes the call, the manufacturer is the one that pays, go directly to them to seek a response.

  Also, she should read up some more on Australian Consumer Law. The car is not fit for purpose and at such low km, a reasonable person would expect it to last longer than that. A rear main oil seal will cause a leak, resulting in the vehicle being unroadworthy.

  It would be very odd for her to not receive factory assistance, unless she is the 3rd owner or some other factor. I have worked for a lot of dealers, and this would be a no-brainer for “good will” warranty…

  • 

    Sober Thoughts on 09/02/2018 - 22:14

    Thanks for your comments. She is the original owner. My arguement would be that the seal may have been slightly leaking un-noticed for a period of time, which would pull it back under the warranty period. Trouble is how to prove that after getting such a blunt response.

    • 

      pegaxs on 09/02/2018 - 22:40

      She has a very very good chance then if she contacts the manufacturer directly. They will have a customer service number she can call and talk to them about it. Things like a good service record will also help with her claim.

      And as I said, she needs to read up on ACL and throw that about when she calls.

      Don’t bother contacting the dealer until she has had a chance to speak with the manufacturer. The dealer will say no to everything like this in the hope she gives up. It’s like the default is to deny any claim like this. Warranty is not a good earner for the dealership, retail work is. They want her to just pay because they can sting her, they can’t sting the manufacturer.

• 

  theclearout on 09/02/2018 - 22:27

  +1

  Forget the dealer. Contact the manufacturer head office in Australia - whilst the car is highly unlikely to have been manufactured here they should have a sales/marketing/customer relations office.
  I had to do that once when my local Holden dealer didn't want to play. Very different attitude when they called me after the complaint.

• 

  qwerty on 09/02/2018 - 22:31

  Dealer was blunt and straight to the point - its 4+ months after warranty and anything he does will be out of his dealerships pocket .

  Plus regarding the seal on a new car if she didnt change the oil in 3/4 years it could easily be explained .

  If you want try contacting the head office of the car company and they may be able to help otherwise try adding some of the seal stopper additives they sell at car shops they might fix it without needing any work done .

  • 

    pegaxs on 09/02/2018 - 22:50

    +1

    anything he does will be out of his dealerships pocket

    Wrong. Out of warranty repairs are usually called “good will” repairs and is totally at the discretion of the manufacturer. Dealers don’t like doing them because the rate they charge a customer is much better than what they can charge the manufacturer.

    if she didnt change the oil in 3/4 years it could easily be explained .

    Not changing the oil has nothing to do with why an oil seal starts leaking. The car is only 3 and a bit years old. Even if it has never been serviced, this would still not cause a seal to leak..

    you want try contacting the head office of the car company and they may be able to help

    Exactly this.

    • 

      airzone on 10/02/2018 - 00:21

      Not changing the oil has nothing to do with why an oil seal starts leaking. The car is only 3 and a bit years old. Even if it has never been serviced, this would still not cause a seal to leak..

      Pretty much a faulty seal, or a score in the seal's seat.. There's no reason for a leaky oil seal on a "new" modern engine other than a manufacturing defect.

      • 

        dcep on 10/02/2018 - 00:30

        what about overfilling engine oil ?

      • 

        pegaxs on 10/02/2018 - 00:53

        Totally agree, @airzone. It is possibly a seal fault at install or at manufacture…but! There is other reasons a seal may leak…

        The other things that I could suggest is that the car has a very low amount of km for its age, telling me it has spent a lot of time stationary without the engine running. What this can have the effect of is that the seals can either dry out from sitting to long, so when the engine is started, it's dry metal rubbing on dry rubber. Do that enough times, it just wears out so much quicker.

        The other things with a car with very low km for its age is that the seals can start to go hard and form hairline cracks in them. The constant cycling of engine temp tends to keep the rubber lubed up and soft. Leave it to sit for months at a time, and the rubber can start to go dry and get hard and start to split or not seal tight enough… And a walrus always loves a tight seal… ;)

        @phunkydude, No. Not really. It depends on how much you over fill it. Over filling is bad for other reasons. It's not impossible that over filling can cause leaks, but more likely improbable.

  • 

    Bunsen on 09/02/2018 - 23:33

    +1

    otherwise try adding some of the seal stopper additives they sell at car shops they might fix it without needing any work done .

    strongly advise against this in case they find out & it may void the warranty… Ur chance of warranty anyway…

• 

  iforgotmysocks on 09/02/2018 - 22:41

  +2

  Provided the service history is up to scratch, I'm sure you'll have a case for replacement under warranty.

• 

  Enzalicious on 09/02/2018 - 22:57

  +2

  I was in a similar position with similar k's. Dealer told me tough it's out of warranty.

  I told the dealer to call Holden as it is unreasonable to expect this sort of problem to occur within the time frame, with a car that has such low milage, and with a car that had been serviced with the same dealer on a regular basis.

  I also told the dealer that if Holden offered anything less than a full warranty repair I'd go straight to consumer affairs as this fails the fair wear and tear test. Holden covered the repair.

  Be firm, understand your rights.

• 

  airzone on 10/02/2018 - 00:24

  +1

  A friend had their timing belt snap a few months outside of warranty. The dealer refused warranty. The manufacturer honoured it. This was 15 years ago.

• 

  Baysew on 10/02/2018 - 09:00

  +4

  What make and model is the car?

  • 

    vinni9284 on 10/02/2018 - 09:48

    I'm dying to know this too! +1

• 

  Sawtell on 10/02/2018 - 14:38

  Ford Ranger?

• 

  Sober Thoughts on 10/02/2018 - 17:22

  Thanks all for your comments. Will try getting in touch with manufacturer on Monday. Will report back here with the outcome.

  • 

    vinni9284 on 10/02/2018 - 18:06

    It was unfortunate, you didn't tell us the make and model :-)

    • 

      Sober Thoughts on 10/02/2018 - 18:30

      Will name and shame if they don't come to the party.

      • 

        vinni9284 on 10/02/2018 - 18:35

        Ok. Good luck with it all.

        To have a rear main seal to leak @ 28K Kms is absolutely ridiculous.
        I reckon you have a very good case.

        Cheers

• 

  Sober Thoughts on 18/02/2018 - 07:09

  Update: After me getting on the blower snd spitting the dummy, the manufacturer is reviewing the claim. Fingers crossed they come good.