Need some advice on meaning of warranty period on parts. I had a part replaced on my car and the former carried a 1 year warranty. Just short of one year, the part failed and was replaced under warranty. However, this unfortunately also failed at the 11th month, and the dealer refused to replace it, on the grounds that I only paid for the first spare part, and the warranty period covers only that, and if subsequent replacements failed after the original warranty period, tough.

My argument is that if the parts were sold individually, they come with a 1 year warranty period, and it makes no difference whether they were used as replacements or sold over the counter.If they fail repeatedly with their respective periods, they have to be replaced, simple as that.

What would be the correct interpretation?

 

I think you'll find that it varies depending on where you live, as my knowledge of consumer law in Malaysia is not great, I have no idea. If its a part from a well known manufacturer its probably worth giving them a call and see if they will replace it on a goodwill basis if your local law doesn't cover it.

 

Can I just clarify what happened on this one?

Buy part in month 1.
Part fails in month 11.
Part is replaced in month 11. (Up to here everthing is clear! )

Now, did the replacement part fail in month 11, or month 22?? In other words, did it also last a further 11 months before failing, or did it fail within a few days of replacement?

My understanding of a 1 yr warranty is that the manufacturer is obliged to replace a broken part (more than once if necessary) for free until the 1 year period from the original purchase expires. After that, the warranty is over. So, the life of the replacement part is irrelevant, only the length of time from the original purchase counts.

I would only expect the warranty to begin all over again if you paid for the replacement part yourself. Otherwise, the manufacturer could end up replacing parts indefinitely.

 

If a single part fails within its 12 month warrenty then it can be deemed as faulty or incorrectly manufactured and should be replaced free.

The point is that if this part has failed within 1 year of replacement then it was not adequately replaced in the first place. Chaeck with your dealer whether they normally provide a years warrenty on replacement parts.

 

Just to add that it does depend on where you bought it as the company I used to work for always carries out replacements on a refund and recharge basis, so if something fails in month 11 and you get a new one, the warrenty expires at month 23 on a product with a 1yr warranty

 

See Stef's engine post from a few days ago.....

 

The part concerned is for an Audi, which is also handled by the same dealer for Subaru in Malaysia. It was a replacement part for a repair job (i.e. not a warranty claim on a new car) and came with a 1-yr warranty on parts and labour. That failed after 11 months and was replaced free. This subsequently failed again after another 11 months, i.e. 22 months from original repair date and the dealer refused to replace for free.

My argument is that each part came with a 1 year warranty and if it fails within this period, it is a manufacturing fault, regardless whether it is sold or put in under an earlier warranty claim.

The dealer finally compromised on free labour and a deep discount which I accepted under protest, because it was not an expensive item. Just want to clarify as a matter of principle as I got conflicting answers from various people.

Thanks and regards.