Tennisjon2002

Quick question I want Azine to chime in on.
My gf got an aftermarket NAPA axle purchased and installed at the local Honda stealership with a lifetime warranty. I think it was about 3-4 years ago. The axle boot has started to dryrot and crack, but has not split open yet. I called the dealership today to see what I need to do to get this replaced and they said the boot is not covered, only the internal parts. They said the boot is wear and tear and if the boot cracks and causes a failure it is not covered.
The service advisor tried to explain it by saying if your brakes wear out and cause brake problems they are not covered. I said "yes, but if I buy brakes with a lifetime warranty from Advance Auto Parts and they wear out, I can take them back and they give me a free replacement. This is the exact same." His response was "well that is not how we do buisness"
I also called napa and just asked them about the lifetime warranty on their axles and told them that my axle was about 3-4 years old and dry rotting and starting to crack. They said it should be covered but they would need to look at it first. They told me I would need to receipt etc, but I didn't explain that I bought it from the Honda dealership.
What should I do? I was thinking I will take it by NAPA and have them determine that the axle should be replaced underwarranty and then present that to the dealership? To me I think lifetime warranty means if something goes wrong with the part during its lifetime it should be replaced.

mrdeeno

There are different types of "lifetime warranties"...a "limited lifetime warranty" would warrant the part against defects for the life of the product, but not for wear. Most auto parts manufacturers offer somekind of "limited" warranty, lifetime or not, since the chance of a defect is low enough they aren't taking much risk. Some brake shops offer lifetime wear warranties on brakes pads that do cover wear, but these only cover the pads...they don't cover the labor or labor/replacement on other parts such as rotors, and usually wouldn't do the work under any promotion so the customer ends up paying the same for a brake job as they did the first time even with brake pads covered. And likely you'd have to take it to whoever did the job in the first place for them to honor the warranty. for example, I just bought some non-OEM pads online with a "lifetime warranty"...it covers the pads for life from defects, but not from wear (it spells this out in the fine print). But that's a different topic.

In your specific case, I would venture to guess that dryrotting/cracking axle boot is not expected and should NOT be considered a wear/tear item (i.e. breaks are EXPECTED to wear as you use them. A boot is NOT expected to wear/tear/crack/dryrot during normal use and therefore should be covered under the warranty, so I would definitely push the issue with them.

And the term "lifetime warranty" is thrown around so much by sales people and store clerks when they don't have any idea what is or what is not covered that this is why there is always confusion. I've seen clerks tell people that lifetime warranties cover everything, yet when people bring it back and press the issue, it always reverts to the written policy (as in whether it's a limited warranty or whatever), not what someone told you.

Tennisjon2002

I agree and understand what you are saying. I did not purchase the parts so I can't tell you the fine prints of the warranty. I am going to try to dig those up though. It was my gf's father who took the car to the dealership for this to be replaced so I am going to talk to him to figure it out and am going to be giving the service manager a call. I know the reason he went with aftermarket axles instead of Honda axles was the warranty. I am also going to believe that the parts and labor should be covered, since the part was purchased from them and installed by them.

Also another push to help my case: Jeep does not consider axle boots wear and tear. "constant velocity joints and boots" are covered under their lifetime warranty:

http://pa.motorwebs.com/DaimlerChrys...owertrain.html

mrdeeno

Well there you go.

I think the bottom line is this...under normal use, is what is happening to the part EXPECTED under normal use? Are brakepads EXPECTED to wear down after years of use? Yes...wear/tear. Are axle boots EXPECTED to crack/dryrot after 4 years of use? No...definitely NOT wear/tear.

I would push the issue that cracking/dryrot is NOT expected to happen, so the service guy is out of his mind for trying to pass that off as wear/tear.

dallison

i would say that the boot is not covered. the metal part is what's covered

mrdeeno

That depends...if the boot came with the axle, then it should be covered under the same warranty.



Tennisjon,

Was the axle boot part of the axle when replaced?

Tennisjon2002

Just checked the axle is from Jan 2005. The dealership has now suddenly decided to agree that the part is defective and will be covered but the labor will not be covered and will be about $216. They are saying that since it is an aftermarket part, not a Honda part labor is not covered. I see their view but I disagree, the axle was bought from them directly (not NAPA) and was installed by them and warrantied by them. If they supplied the part and offered the warranty I feel like they should replace it. The advisor kept saying that if it was a Honda part Honda would pay the dealership for it, but since it isn't a Honda part Honda isn't going to pay the dealership so they won't replace it. I know the reason my gf's dad used this axle is because the dealership was going on about how it has a lifetime warranty.

I guess they don't call them stealerships for nothing.....

Tennisjon2002

yes the entire axle assembly was replaced at the dealership, by the dealership using dealership supplied parts.

Tennisjon2002

I talked to my gf's dad who bought the axles. He said just the part, not the labor was covered under the warranty.
I think I am going to try to talk to the dealership and buy a new axle from them, take it to my mechanic who does my work now, and take the bad axle back to them for a refund. Do you see any reason that would not be ok? They made it clear the part is warrantied by NAPA, not them so I don't see why that would not be ok.

mrdeeno

Uh, I'd make sure this was ok before doing it.

If you bought the part from the dealer when it was installed, the warranty may be between them and NAPA, and may not be transferable, so you yourself wouldn't be able to get a warranty replacement from NAPA, only that dealer since they were the original purchaser.

But that's only a guess without knowing much of the details. But like I said before, i would check to make sure you can do it that way or not.

Tennisjon2002

Yes, the warranty agreement is between the dealer and NAPA. I am going to buy a new NAPA axle from the dealer, then give them the old one back.
I am going to tell the dealership my plan before I go about doing that, I am just don't think they are going to like it because they won't be getting paid to do the labor again so I am betting they are going to come up with some bs reason why it is not ok.

dallison

technically a dealer should use genuine parts, that is why you go there. If they use aftermarket parts they need to warranty them just like their oem. I assume they did not have the axle in stock and made the decision to go to napa.

If they said that it would be a lifetime part and labor at the time of approval and payment, then they need to cover the cost.

whomever approved the repair knew of the limited warranty, then whatever.

If the employees said nothing about the aftermarket axle until after the fact, then they need to cover the axle.

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

Labor is typically not included in a lifetime warranty unless explicitly stated.

phee

iTrader: (5)

100 bucks for two axles... is it really worth the hassle? an axle is VERY easy to replace

Tennisjon2002

I'm not sure why an aftermarket part was used. It looks like the OEM axle is $250-$300 so that is probably why an aftermarket axle was used. Still seems weird buying an aftermarket axle from a dealer...

Tennisjon2002

The NAPA axle is $100. So yes, for a $100 I will fight to get the axle replaced.

Tennisjon2002

Just got an email from my mechanic. He works full time at the Acura dealership and owns his own shop on the side. He said he would replace the axle for $45 if I brought it to him. I don't know what all is involved in replacing an axle, but it makes me want to smack the dealer a few times for wanting to charge me more than 4 times that much.

phee

iTrader: (5)

smack yourself for not shopping around

v6cord2k5

iTrader: (1)

Here's what happened to the one-week-old axle I had put on my car...









That axle was supposed to fix a problem, not create new ones

Tennisjon2002

I didn't buy the axle so I am not going to smack my self.

dallison

i couldn't remember. I have been told at the pos but i have never had to take something in for replacement

Tennisjon2002

Talked to NAPA and the dealer. I am going by NAPA this weekend and they are going to give me a new axle and then I am going to bring them the bad one.

frugalguy

That sucks man. What brand was the axle? Did you have any recourse with getting it fixed under warranty?

It looks really bad! Do you think you might have ran over something that caused the damage?

Anybody here have any experience with using split boots?