Hi Lou,
I’m looking for some advice and perhaps some help.
We recently invested in a 2024 Subaru Outback – invested, since it’s the largest single purchase I’ve made since buying a house. The car is fully warrantied and not at its first scheduled service; it’s at about 8,000 kilometres and service is scheduled for 10,000.
While driving to Guelph, Ont. the check engine light came on, along with errors alerting us to issues with two safety systems; the reverse automatic braking (RAB) and Eyesight system. These errors also alerted both my wife and I through the MySubaru app, which indicated that we should contact the dealer ‘right away’. After pulling over for some quick internet research, we tried tightening the gas cap and some time later the errors cleared.
However, given that the RAB and Eyesight errors were not likely connected to the check engine / gas cap error, and are systems that support the safe operation of the vehicle, it seemed prudent to ensure they were operating correctly.
The Subaru dealer we purchased the car from agreed we should get the errors checked and so we arranged to drop the car off. After charging us $80 for a code scan, they let us know that the RAB and Eyesight errors automatically trip when the check engine light trips, and in future if we didn’t want to pay $80 for a code scan we should purchase our own scanner.
I’ll own up to the check engine error because of the loose gas cap – but in my admittedly biased view, I don’t see how the RAB and Eyesight could be affected, and on a new vehicle it seemed irresponsible if we didn’t check out the error codes they tripped.
My appeals to both the dealership and Subaru Canada appear to have fallen on deaf ears – they’ve responded, but declined any responsibility. The dealership maintains they had to run the scan and therefore I need to pay, and Subaru Canada says the dealerships are independently owned and operated so they won’t intervene.
Any thoughts appreciated, even if they sound like ‘just drop it, you’re being petty and difficult.’
– Randy
P.S. – Maybe as a follow-up question, I’d be interested to know why there is such a thing as a code scanner in 2023. I am fairly certain there is a full computer in this car, complete with an 11-inch video display screen, mobile app and internet connectivity (the screen literally indicates “retrieving messages from the server” when you query an error alert). Is there some reason this computer cannot also decipher an error code that the automobile it supports throws, and display that in English? For example “Tighten your gas cap, friend, and I’ll turn off the check engine light … ignore the RAB and Eyesight errors, they are the side effects of poor programming logic.”
Most new car dealerships are independently owned; therefore, their owners are free to operate them as they wish as long as they adhere to the original agreements with the manufacturer.
Despite the minor differences in operation styles, there are commonalities in internal operations that are somewhat universal. Namely, in order for the owner of the dealer to track which department is profitable, most dealer principals set up each department as if it’s a separate business.
For example, the used car department pays the service department to inspect, certify and repair the preowned vehicles as does the new car sales department to prepare and do predelivery inspections.
While physical cash is not being moved, the accounting staff knows exactly what funds are allotted to go where and books are kept so that departmental profitability can be scrutinized.
Yes, I know this is a gross oversimplification of the process, but I think you get the idea. Another almost universal dealer common practice is the way their technicians get paid. Each repair or service that a technician performs has a specific labour code and time-based pay out. If there is no work in the service bays, the technicians don’t get paid.
The system has long been criticized, but the key takeaway for today is that the technician can’t be expected to work for free. Somehow they needed to get paid for the time they spent on your car.
Therefore your $80 code scan would have had to be paid by some department if it wasn’t paid by you. In my opinion, when the vehicle was originally delivered to you, the sales staff should have warned you that a simple loose gas cap would cause problems, as I’m sure your situation is not unique. Had you gone and complained to the sales staff about your current situation I’m confident the new cars sales manager would have taken care of the internal invoice.
I see your complaint however more as a manufacturer one and not necessarily a dealer failure. There are manufacturers that have a loose gas cap warning light that illuminates to warn the driver to tighten it before the system goes haywire. In my opinion, it seems unreasonable that on a 2024 model year you would have to have a service visit just because you missed tightening a gas cap. A loose gas cap warning system would be an easy addition at the product development stage.
Buy your own code reader? What where they thinking? My guess is this comment was made by a junior staff member. You as an owner simply resetting the engine light is one thing, but having consumer, unskilled access to your built-in safety features is not something to be taken lightly. This suggestion makes zero sense to me.
Yes, code scanners and interfaces are still necessary in 2024, but as technology races on I do see things changing. They have historically served as an interface and pass-thru device however I imagine real-time-over-the-air-connectivity will eventually render them redundant.
Lou Trottier is owner-operator of All About Imports in Mississauga. Have a question about maintenance and repair? E-mail globedrive@globeandmail.com, placing “Lou’s Garage” in the subject line.
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