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#33
07-15-2017, 04:20 PM
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The voice of reality & exp. 
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#34
07-15-2017, 04:31 PM
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Just get a seasucker rack (https://www.seasucker.com/) and avoid the whole possibility of a headache
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#35
07-16-2017, 05:01 PM
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The reason why I'm so on the defensive with this car is cuz it's a lemon. I'm one of the statistics that has the burning oil problem (among other issues). The dealer changed the engine but it was still burning oil. I complained to the dealership owner and Subaru Canada gave me an extended bumper to bumper warranty good til 2020 or another 60000 km.
I lost confidence in my original dealership and went to another. They changed the engine yet again after finding a list of mistakes the other guys made. I think they finally fixed it - I hope. So since they car may be around for a long period of time, I'm open to investing some money into a rack. I noticed all of my friends were going hitch and a number of folks here had good things to say about the 1 Up rack. If I do install a hitch, I don't any more meetings, photo taking or logging data into spreadsheets to prove I didn't do anything wrong.
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#36
07-16-2017, 08:27 PM
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Quote:
How much oil are you going through? And the engine light is still warning you when it gets low?
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#37
07-16-2017, 09:26 PM
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If you get something like a Curt or Draw-Tite that is designed for your car, it will install into pre-drilled holes in the bottom of the car. So rust, etc. should not be an issue, as there won't be any cutting.
All that needs to be done is pull off a couple rubber sleeves that hold the exhaust on (so you can drop it a couple inches), slide the rack up and in, bolt it on, and then reattach the rubber sleeves.
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#38
07-17-2017, 07:56 AM
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In the case of my VW, it says pretty clearly in the manual that installing/using a hitch will void the factory warranty for any potentially related issues (transmission, drivetrain, etc). The drivetrain and clutch in my car wasn't designed to put up with towing - despite having plenty of power and torque for light duty work.
There is a really slick hidden hitch aftermarket option that is virtually completely hidden when not in use and mounts to all factory holes/locations but a handful of other owners have run into problems with warranty claims being denied. These were folks that weren't towing, just using hitch accessories - mostly bike racks. That said - if you have a good relationship with your dealer (or whomever will be administering your warranty claim work) they may look the other way if you let them know ahead of time what your plans are. Alternatively - for some of the curt products, they are easy enough to bolt on/off - that you could just pull it off if you ever have to bring it in for service.
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#39
07-17-2017, 12:37 PM
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Part of the reason OP is getting so many different answers is that he's got so many variables operating here. In particular, if you want to talk about warranty denial you have to be specific about topic.
For a few years I ran the largest auto leasing company in the US and my nightmare was a 20-person team who did nothing but process warranty claims against the manufacturer on off-lease vehicles. We did more of these in a year than any dealer would normally see in a few lifetimes. A few basic principles can help you understand your exposure. First, as mentioned above, read the fine print. If there's an exclusion for a hitch, you have your answer. If there's an exclusion for towing, you may be in very risky territory. And that can cover drive train, brakes, suspension, lots of things that can all be affected by towing. Second, understand that if the dealer or the manufacturer has a claim, they will consider whether to deny it. If they have a black and white case (clear language in the warranty), they may cover it as a gesture to a customer but they're not obliged to. If you have an expensive repair (like a drive train), and your claim isn't completely unambiguous per the language of the warranty, you may be exposed. The ultimate decision, if you litigated it (and we litigated a lot of them where we couldn't negotiate successfully with the manufacturer), would be based on the language of the warranty and how much it protected the manufacturer. You're pushing their back to a wall and unless they have a better reason to go along with you, they will have a claims department that works basically like an insurer: first thing is to evaluate whether they have the option to deny, and then consider whether to do so. Then you want to consider the scope of the warranty exclusion. Part of the scope is implied and you can argue against it, including in court, but remember that you're beginning at the starting point of not having coverage under the warranty and you have to argue a case successfully. That isn't easy. The manufacturer does have to show that your installation either caused the damage or may reasonably have done so. Trying to argue that you never actually towed but only used a hitch-mount bike rack is hard to win. A 2013 Impreza will store data on many drive train issues such as overheating, excessive strain, etc., but it's not aways that helpful to you and can be more helpful to the manufacturer if it shows any excessive stress on the drive train. And any suspension or brake or other issues can be substantiated by that stored data, but you won't find as much benefit in using those data as a defense. Needless to say, this gets to be pretty involved and more costly to you than the fight is worth. Some manufacturers are very different from others (Ford on diesel issues is legendary for toughness and so is Subaru on a couple of issues as well). I currently own a Subaru (an Outback) as a town car and I'm rather familiar with the Impreza. It's a small vehicle without the cooling, frame reinforcements, drive train, etc. to support towing. You aren't doing yourself any favors by ever towing with one, even a small Uhaul trailer. As for a bike rack, you have a separate problem: The receiver hangs low and you can hit it going through ramps into parking lots, garages, and the like. The frame of the Impreza is light enough that this can torque the alignment of the frame and suspension. As far as receivers go, you really should try to avoid drilling holes in the frame to mount some generic Uhaul or Drawtite receiver. On Subarus in particular it involves quite a bit of dismantling to get the bolts in anyway, and on an Impreza it's not a strong enough frame that it isn't affected by those extra (and big) holes. The Impreza, I don't believe, comes with predrilled hitch holes with the requisite reinforcements. Do not use one of those hitches on an Impreza. It'll sit too low, it'll hit the ground, and it'll require drilling that you don't really want to do. If your dealer offers you a Subaru hitch for your vehicle, I'd avoid it as well -- it's way overpriced, I believe it's only offered in 1-1/4" and you really want 2" for a bike rack, and it hangs low. Ecohitch does make a series of hitches for most Subarus that are potentially an option. These have a flat plate on the back that bolts to the face of the main rear bumper crossmember, under the plastic skin, and hooks down just a couple inches and directs a hitch receiver backwards. You can also get them in 2" receiver sizes. You may have to notch the bottom of the plastic bumper skin, but once you install the receiver the notch is invisible. On my Outback I didn't need to trim the bumper skin at all. You simply take off the skin, mount the hitch plate against the face of the bumper crossmember, then reinstall the bumper skin. It doesn't support a huge load weight (as in hauling a horse trailer or something like that) but for a bike rack it works superbly. Definitely check into it. You may still have your warranty concern, but if this receiver fits your car you can always remove it, reinstall the bumper skin, and claim ignorance to any towing. It takes about 45 minutes to install or remove.
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#40
07-22-2017, 08:23 PM
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Well the oil level light was coming on about every 1200 km.
The reading on the dipstick was at the LOW dot which indicated to me that 1.1 liters was being consumed in that distance according to the manual. The original dealer was telling me that only a few 100 ml was being consumed but this new dealer told me volumes higher than 1.1 liters when we did the 3 tests. Quote:
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