Kw Coilover Owners Must Read, Safety Issue

[m sprank]

I keep saying the same thing because it is the truth. Its like beating a dead horse. LOL. Several members posting (not just you) dont seem to get it. In the past page lawsuits have been mentioned, the NHTSA has been mentioned, the DOT, etc. Sorry, but people dont seem to be able to see the light of day.

 

Your avatar shows your car on a closed course. Driving the car on such a course with KW suspension voids the warranty even if you were the original purchaser and the coils were KW branded.

 

While a catastrophic failure of a strut can be dangerous and a safety concern, I still dont see how in this situation it is KW's responsibility to replace product and go into "recall" mode.

 

GM killed over 20 people before going into recall mode (at the time they claimed 13, but that number has now nearly doubled). Ford decided it would be cheaper to pay the wrongful death lawsuits then recall the Pinto. Toyota swept it under the rug the best, imho. Blamed floor mats and the dealerships.

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[BarManBean]

I keep saying the same thing because it is the truth. Its like beating a dead horse. LOL. Several members posting (not just you) dont seem to get it. In the past page lawsuits have been mentioned, the NHTSA has been mentioned, the DOT, etc. Sorry, but people dont seem to be able to see the light of day.

 

Your avatar shows your car on a closed course. Driving the car on such a course with KW suspension voids the warranty even if you were the original purchaser and the coils were KW branded.

 

While a catastrophic failure of a strut can be dangerous and a safety concern, I still dont see how in this situation it is KW's responsibility to replace product and go into "recall" mode.

 

GM killed over 20 people before going into recall mode (at the time they claimed 13, but that number has now nearly doubled). Ford decided it would be cheaper to pay the wrongful death lawsuits then recall the Pinto. Toyota swept it under the rug the best, imho. Blamed floor mats and the dealerships.

.

 

None of what you say here makes any level of negligence 'OK'. I also don't think I've really been saying that my parts should have been under warranty. Instead, I've said that a gesture of good will in this odd situation involving a failure that simply should not happen would be nice. The language in the warranty is there for protection of the company (because there are assholes out there who take advantage otherwise). They should NOT be there to ensure that blanket non-coverage is applied in nearly all situations without someone strapping on their thought machines and actually making a decision.

 

And yeah, the one autocross that I did is probably what did the damage Give me a break...

[m sprank]

I dont see KW as negligent. There was no valid warranty. The parts were purchased second hand. The parts are private label. The parts were used on a closed course for racing purposes.

 

Good will is nice, but no one is entitled. KW is a business. A business decision was made. Your complaints should be focused on RCE, not KW.

 

Someone has to play goalie and keep the puck in play or this thread would be 9 pages of KW bashing that would turn into some sort of interweb gospel.

[AZP Installs]

It is interesting how others had recourse through KW.

 

You vendors are wrong on this IMHO.

 

If you guys for one minute that KW wouldn't be liable for this issue if lawyers or the NHTSA got involved you are crazy.

 

One call from a lawyer to either RCE or KW and this would be settled.

 

Its outlandish they are treating barmanbean like this, and I for one would not have paid 400 for replacements, I would have given the 400 to the lawyer we have on KCSubaru.

 

First of all, every aftermarket product sold for cars are all sold with a "For Off Road Use Only", so right there the NTSB would bow out of the discussion.

 

As for KW being responsible to the end user, that's as true as if the Nissan window switches were to go on fire in your Subaru. You would go after Subaru who incorporated the Nissan parts in a final product. In this case RCE is producing the final product comprised of parts from several manufacturers such as KW, swift, etc.

 

-Mike Paisan

 

http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/153798190.jpg

Maintaining, Modifying and Educating TriState Enthusiasts since 2001.

Like us on Facebook! | E-mail: sales@azpinstalls.com | 725 Fairfield Ave | Kenilworth, NJ 07033 | 908.248.AZP1 (2971) |AIM: AZP Installs

"Race Tested, Enthusiast Approved!"

[AZP Installs]

Anyone who has participated in motorsports and track days specifically, should be well aware that MOTORSPORTS ARE DANGEROUS. There is a chance you could DIE from doing them and using the equipment that we do on the track.

 

To think that a company selling a product that is intended for off-road use would be held liable for a failure that could be caused by lots and lots of outside factors is ridiculous.

 

This liturgies society we live in ruins lots of fun activities like track events, or have made them extremely cost prohibitive! To hold a track day costs in the area of $10,000 on a week day.

 

-Mike Paisan

 

http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/153798190.jpg

Maintaining, Modifying and Educating TriState Enthusiasts since 2001.

Like us on Facebook! | E-mail: sales@azpinstalls.com | 725 Fairfield Ave | Kenilworth, NJ 07033 | 908.248.AZP1 (2971) |AIM: AZP Installs

"Race Tested, Enthusiast Approved!"

[KCwagon]

I believe Barman's central idea/point is = Why does a producer of $2000 + coilovers not stand behind the structural integrity of the shock BODY. I think his opinion was from more of a customer retention/service perspective rather than a legal one. I am running KW's now and they are great, but my expectation is that they should be great for some time to come.....otherwise there are several $800 coilover options for those with lower expectations.

[m sprank]

Because the parts were out of warranty and had been used in conditions that would void the warranty regardless. Buy a set of $30k coil overs, guess what? There is no warranty. Race parts dont come with warranties. Street parts used for racing are no longer warrant-able.

[BarManBean]

This thread has become pointless. Mike and his camp (mostly vendors) call no warranty and agree with that point of view. Me and some others (consumers, mostly) claim that this is beyond a standard "warranty" and should be covered by the manufacturer. Both sides think that talking to / at the other side is like talking to a wall. I'm NOT trying to pit sides against each other here, I really don't care and everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

 

Let's move on. Here are the facts as they apply today, should you have a rear strut break on you:

 

• There are 4 documented cases that I'm aware of.
  
• 3 of those cases were covered under warranty as far as I know
  
• The 4th (mine) was not covered--replacements were provided at a "discount" of $440 shipped for a new rear pair, no top hats
  
• I am not the original owner and do not have a warranty according to the printed policy.
  
• I'm also out of warranty anyway according to the printed policay because I used these off-road parts in a single off-road event (auto cross in a parking lot)
  
• RCE charged me for the replacements, any contact I had directly with KW was basically them telling me to screw off and talk to RCE. If you have RCE branded coils you will go through them, if you have KW branded coils I assume you will go through KW (duh).
  

I think that's it. As a buyer / owner, use your own judgement / info on whether you have a warranty or not (most likely not based on the printed policy) and whether you are comfortable with this issue being a possible failure on your car. I bolted the new set back on the car, so there's that.

[AZP Installs]

That pretty much sums it up well and is pretty much how life goes in terms of policies.

 

In a perfect world we would have perfect parts and perfect manufacturers of said parts.

 

If RCE is the rebrander ultimately they are your last line of defense. In some industries the rebranded parts are sourced from several different manufacturers. A classic example of this would be brake calipers. On subarus of the same year you have Mitsubishi calipers and i forget the other brand but it's different.

 

Another example is the current hot button air bag debacle. Ultimately the car companies are dealing with Takata not individuals.

 

I am glad not to be in the parts biz.

 

Mike