Dealership won't fix intermittent issue under warranty
Dealerships often refuse warranty repairs when an intermittent problem fails to replicate on-site, even if diagnostic codes are stored in the vehicle's system. This leaves owners stuck wondering what steps to take next, unsure whether to try a different brand-certified dealer or how to secure third-party warranty approval without active symptoms.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Leaving the vehicle at the dealership longerDid this help you?
- 2Trying a different dealershipDid this help you?
- 3taking the car to a direct brand dealer for inspectionDid this help you?
- 4seeking approval from a third-party warranty providerDid this help you?
- 5Showing videos of the sounds to the dealershipDid this help you?
- 6Escalating the issue directly to the dealership's General Manager via email to bypass the sales and finance managers.Did this help you?
- 7Continuing to make monthly loan payments on time to protect credit while the dispute is active.Did this help you?
- 8Hiring an attorney to send a formal demand letter to the dealership.Did this help you?
- 9Filing a complaint with state consumer affairs or dealership regulators.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“When he brought it in today, the sales manager refused to honor the warranty, falsely claiming New Jersey consumer warranty laws don't apply because my brother is an NYC resident.”source ↗
“Instead of repairing it under the $50 deductible warranty, the dealer tried to convince him to "trade it in," offering him roughly $6,000 to $8,000 less than the purchase price he paid just 4 weeks ago.”source ↗
“After I got home i looked over the sale documents again and seen that I actually paid 100 for the car and had about 500 in add ons that ate into my trade in value. I kept calling the dealership and dealt with the sales manager the finance manager with no real correction.”source ↗
“im debating if I should go to a direct Mazda dealer to inspect it.”source ↗
“I have a third party warranty but they got to make sure that it is that specific issue so that I can get an approval for a repair cause I really don’t what to pay for anything”source ↗
“have a 2016 Honda civic with less than 30 k miles. I’ve been having issues with my A/c and have taken it to the Honda dealership where they changed my evaporator and the compressor seal which was cover under extended warrant.”source ↗
“I’ve taken back about 6/7 times and they say they can’t replicate the noice and are unable to do anything I have shown them videos of the sounds yet they don’t do anything.”source ↗
“How would I get the dealership to actually work on this ? Since they keep saying they don’t hear anything”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 10Why did my car warranty deny my repair claim?
- 2Why do tire shops say a puncture can't be fixed?
- 5Clients who refuse to fix underlying problems before repairs
- 2Am I liable if a mechanic breaks something during repair?
- 6Why do appliance warranty repairs take weeks or months?
- 9Dealership can't figure out why my car won't start