Warranty Issue, what do you guys think?

My mazda V was making some noise in the front end going over big bumps (usually speedbumps) last winter. According to mazda my warranty is till Dec 1st. (extended from the exhaust recall). I took my car in August and they couldn't reproduce the noise. I took it back again on Dec 6th, and I sat in on the test drive with the mechanic and managed to produce the noise.

Mazda dealership originally offered to pay for parts (shocks) and I pay for labor ($350), and of course I refused. They are checking with management and Mazda Canada to see if anything could be done.

My question is wouldn't Mazda or Dealership have to do something since I brought the car in much before the warranty ran out? Basically I might be penalized for their mechanic unable to reproduce the problem. The service guy I have been dealing with called me to find out where i have been taking the car to be serviced. Guess they want to know if I have been giving them profit for their overpriced service and then maybe they will do something if Mazda Canada don't.

Cheers.

The noise only happens when it is cold? Common Mazda problem. Every Mazda I have owned did that till they warmed up. They should cover it out of good faith and you having brought it in for the same thing in the past.

I'm not sure why the shocks need to be changed as the common cold noise is due to bushings (scratch)

http://www.finishlineperformance.com/store/pages.php?pageid=17

Anyway, regardless, I would try to call Mazda Canada and explain the situation/issue and its history.

For the dealer square heads you are technically out of warranty but if Mazda Canada understands the history I hope they can make an exception

The mechanic said the noise is not a bushing problem and it is coming from the front. The service guy said the bushing problems were noise coming from the back. Let see how this play out as they still have to get back to me. Also for Canadian owners, After the exhaust recall, was the warranty extended by 3 months or to Dec 1st? I cannot find my letter and I am not sure which one.

Thanks.

Update.

The delearship will cover my left side (my original complaint) and the parts for my right. But I have to pay for the right side labor ($150) + alignment $99.88. I am trying to find the Mazda Canada letter and if it says 3 month extension then the labour would be covered and I would have to pay for alignment.

Well, that sounds good at least.

Dunno if this helps as I know US and Canada had different warranty times (3 vs. 4 yrs for the 2006 models) but I think the letters had the same content. My recall letter states "Starts again as of December 1, 2005, and concludes on December 1, 2009, or at 50,000 total miles whichever comes first"

Alignment should be covered with the repair. It makes no sense for them to replace shocks and not cover an alignment.
If your warranty is expired but you've complained about your issue during your warranty period, then you'll probably get what's called "secret warranty".
As you've found out, they'll cover you anyways b/c if they didn't, you could easily file a claim in small claims court and win. That's much later in the process though, just be insistent and you should be able to get everything covered.
They way it is, they are still gouging you for 250 bucks, that doesn't seem right to me.

The fact that they are agreeing to cover partial cost of the repair means they know something is wrong... They really should just cover the repair. You have the service history to back you up.

http://www.lemonaidcars.com/secretwarranties.html

I haven't agreed to anything yet as I am trying to find my letter to see if everything would be covered. The Canadian Warranty seems to be much different that then the U.S. as I recall, it was extended about 3 months. You are right, the extra charge for the alignment does not make sense. The service guy told me even if everything was covered, I would still have to pay for alignment. Does anyone had this issue? your thougts?

Thanks,

You had it in for the problem before your warranty was up. Seems like the reapir should have been done then.