Warranty Parts?

[GEE-OTTO]

Question to all:

 

If i get a part replaced due to failure i.e. a bad head unit or cat would/will the dealer give you the bad part back?

 

 

[GEE-OTTO]

I always wonder what happens to all those part, like i got my trans replaced under warranty and never saw the old one. Technically you have paid for the party by buying the car but im not sure how this works.

[dsickles]

most manufacturers send the broken parts back to HQ to test why the part failed and to ensure that it is indeed a bad part.

 

Out of the parts that get sent back, some get rebuilt and then sold as replacements.

 

I dont see why Subaru would be any different.

[CapnJack]

Coming from an automotive supplier engineering background, I can tell you what happens. (especially in a Japanese company like Subaru)

When the part fails, it is sent back to the manufacturer. They then disassemble/disect the part to determine why it failed. Tolerances are checked and compared against print specifications. An in depth investigation is performed to determine what the cause of the failure (typically manufacturing problem) and a root cause is determined. After that, a corrective action is implemented to prevent re-occurance. All parts created since that bad part was made then become suspect and are typically 100% inspected for a similar defect. The corrective action is then added to a PFEMA and the control plan for the production process of the part.

Here's the kicker...

Most of the time, the part that fails costs less then a few dollars(or even pennies). However hundreds and thousands of dollars and hundreds of man hours are spent inspecting parts, performing root cause analysis, and implementing corrective actions.

I worked for a tier 3 supplier and when an $.89 cent part failed, we spent massive amounts of money on labor and corrective actions for a failure that occurred once in 50 million parts just to make the customer happy.

My favorite was on a part we bulk packed and shipped cross state in the back of a semi per the customer's specific request. Keep in mind this is a part for a car that will be assembled later. The customer found a dead bug on one of the parts and asked what we were going to do to solve OUR foreign material problem. I told them I wanted an autopsy done to determine cause of death and the bug to be checked signs of foul play. They didn't find the humor.

And we wonder why the automotive market is in the shape it is...

[GEE-OTTO]

Cool thanks for the explanations.