Very Last Warranty Service Appointment!

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LF81
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2013 11:33 am
Location: Miami

Very Last Warranty Service Appointment!

Postby LF81 » Tue Jun 15, 2021 1:32 pm

Hi Everyone,

I am taking my 2012 in for it's very last dealership service appointment before the warranty expires – currently about 71k miles on it.
Are there any things I can/should mention that are giving me problems that typically start to go wrong at 75 - 100k miles?

Here's a short list of things that I am asking them to check out:
  • Persistent front end vibration at approx. 70mph (tried balancing, alignment, roadforce)
  • Front foglights practically useless, vapor trapped inside (no water, just hazy moisture)
  • Creak on front right wheel assembly over bumps (upper conrtol arm?)
  • Unable to change time on screen. When power off/restart, time and radio stations go back as before.. (brand new battery so maybe head unit issue?)
  • AC is very loud when in recirculation
  • Rear AC takes forever to get cool (like, 20+ minutes at speed)
  • Alignment issue: Mechanic said an adjustment bolt was too rusted to adjust properly (will present alignment report from shop)
Any insight / info you all can provide could save me a lot of money down the line so please do reply if you can. Thanks in advance!


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smj999smj
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Posts: 6054
Joined: Sun Jan 22, 2012 11:13 pm
Location: Prospect, VA

Re: Very Last Warranty Service Appointment!

Postby smj999smj » Wed Jun 16, 2021 9:42 am

Possible cause of front end vibration outside of a bad tire issue could be a bad U-joint on the front propeller shaft, assuming it's 4WD. The front shaft constantly rotates while driving regardless if it's in 2WD or 4WD.

Assuming the vent isn't clogged on the foglamps, the other possible cause is the lamps have a failure in their seals and would requires new fog lamps.

Suspension creaks over bumps can often be caused by a bad ball joint. There are other possibilities, such as bad control arm bushings, but ball joint failure is more common. That said, it's better to replace the whole control arm with ball joint rather than just the joint on these vehicles.

From my understanding, the clock and resetting channels is usually due to either a blown 7.5A storage fuse or an internal fault of the radio head unit.

A/C being loud in recirc is hard to judge without hearing it for oneself. The HVAC system on these vehicles are pretty loud in general compared to some other vehicles. In recirc, it's pulling in air from behind the glove box as opposed to from the cowl area outside the cabin of the vehicle. If it's always been this way, it's probably normal. If it's gotten significantly louder over time, you may want to have them look at it. I'm assuming the cabin filters have been replaced when due?

The control arm bolts are notorious for seizing to the steel sleeve inside the control arm bushings on these vehicles. The typical fix is to cut the bolts with a Sawzall and replace the bolts and control arm, applying anti-seize to the bolts before installing.

LF81
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2013 11:33 am
Location: Miami

Re: Very Last Warranty Service Appointment!

Postby LF81 » Tue Jun 22, 2021 6:01 am

Thanks, smj999smj! I appreciate the info. This will be useful when I'm dealing with those stingy warranty reps.


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