Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/10/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  First experience at dealership. On 6/19 I brought my vehicle in for a routine service/tire rotation/recall fix. The following day I called the dealership several times to check on the status of the repair since the original quote was a few hours, and it had exceeded 24. After speaking with the service advisor, who assured me my car was being worked on and would be done by 5pm. I received a call back from him 10 minutes later stating that, upon tire removal, their technician broke off a bolt/lug nut and that I would need to pay the cost of that if I wanted the tire put back on, and that it was expensive - flatly stating that if I want my vehicle back in the same condition I brought it in, it would cost me 324 dollars. I immediately got a ride to the dealership to speak with him in person as I did not understand how this could happen. Upon arrival, I spoke with both him and the service manager, *** - both of whom assured me it was the responsibility of “whoever serviced my vehicle last”; Essentially a “your word vs mine” situation for which no accountability was taken for an error by an employee at the dealership after a bolt was forced off. I was offered no other remedy at this time. I spoke with the customer relations manager, Ashley, who reached out to the service manager, and reiterated what I was told already. It is Subaru of Wichita’s position that this is someone else’s fault. To her credit, she offered me 2 free oil changes, however given the damage that was already done to my vehicle, I declined due to their business practices. Simply put, I can no longer trust them with my vehicle. She also offered to reach out to whoever serviced my vehicle last, but since it was a matter of one business assigning blame to another without proof, I would ultimately be unable to definitively recoup my losses.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/11/2024

  The customer dropped his vehicle off for a next day appointment. While our technician was doing the tire rotation, the lug nut broke off because it was cross threaded. This can only happen when tires are put back on the vehicle, which the customer had just had some work done involving his tires at another shop. We notified the customer about the issue right after it happened and informed him how much it would cost to repair this. The customer spoke to the service manager upon picking up his vehicle. The service manager suggested that he reach out to the shop that touched his vehicle last as they would be the ones that cross threaded the lug nuts. Ourselves, as a dealership, have had this occur and we have taken care of the customers, even if they are at a different shop. We are at no fault as we did not touch the tires last on this vehicle, if we had been then we would be more than willing to take care of the repair. The customer needs to reach out to where he previously had service done and explain what has happened. We have offered to reach out to them for the customer, but he refused. We are still willing to reach out to the other shop if the customer is not wanting to do so. We offered 2 free oil changes and 2 free tire rotations out of customer satisfaction, but we will not be reimbursing the customer for another shops mistake.  Attached is the repair order with technician notes line 5 stating on removal. Customer authorized repairs. Line 9 was added after and work was performed using Prodemand labor time guide and dealership door rate.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/11/2024

   
  Complaint: ********  
  I am rejecting this response because it is filled with inaccuracies and offers both an unprovable accusation by a business which does not want to take responsibility for the poor work of an employee. I maintain my initial complaint and refer to the technician's own note stating that the lug nut broke upon his removal of it. It's my understanding that in order for a metal bolt to snap, a significant amount of force would have needed to be applied to it. If the bolt was difficult to remove, it's my belief that a trained technician should have noted this, stopped the removal, and reached out to me for direction on how to proceed. Instead, I didn't receive a call until after the damage occurred to my vehicle. I drove my vehicle here in working order, left the vehicle with them trusting it to their care, but I do not believe it's acceptable business practice to call, after something breaks in your care, and inform a customer that they must pay an unreasonable amount extra if they wish to operate their vehicle again, having admitted to damaging vehicle.

  -I did not drop my car off for a "next day appointment" - It was dropped off at 1:45PM with an assurance I would be contacted within a few hours. I was not contacted at any point. I reached out to business at 11:30AM the following morning and was informed the vehicle was not worked on yet and that I would be contacted within two hours, a specific timeframe. I did not hear back, and once again followed up by calling at 3:45PM. This time I informed service advisor that I required the car for work that night, and insisted it be done by end of day since it was already well past the agreed upon timeframe.

  -I did not "just have some work done" as response states, and at no point said or implied this. I was asked who did my previous tire rotation, which was more than six months ago, and was immediately pointed to them to recoup losses.

  I was in fact offered the 2 oil changes, as I mentioned in my initial complaint submission. I rejected this solution for two reasons. One being that the value of 2 oil changes are not even remotely close to the cost of the $324 lug nut installation I was forced to pay for an employee error. The more important reason being, I cannot trust this dealership not to damage my car further and charge me for it, as they have already flatly admitted to doing.

  I inquired about the offer to reach out to the previous business in order to request a refund on my behalf, but was informed that this would essentially be one businesses word against another, and that if it could not be resolved that way, there would be no resolution. I thus opted to reject this option as well, since frankly, the service Subaru of Wichita preformed, damaging my vehicle in the process, has nothing to do with any business but their own. If there were a problem with cross threading and difficulty removing a lug nut, I should have been informed before the damage, and then it would have been up to me to inquire with any previous establishment in which the car was serviced.

  I maintain my initial complaint with the facts:

  I dropped a vehicle off in working order that functioned correctly. During service, dealership damaged the car - the cause/fault of this damage is entirely subjective and impossible to prove after the fact. I was then told I had to pay in order to receive a working vehicle back. That is not an acceptable business practice in my view, it's an ultimatum.

  I feel it's a reasonable belief that a trained technician should have been able to recognize the alleged cross threaded bolt to be an issue before removal/potential damage.

  For supporting this belief, see dealership's own records/technician note stating "Passenger rear had lug stud that was cross threaded on. could not remove without braking. replaced lug and nut." - This is an indication that the technician identified the issue and then proceeded anyway without my knowledge or consent. It was only after I was told that I wouldn't be able to operate my vehicle unless I paid the extra $324 that I was forced to authorize repair.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** *****

  Business Response

  Date: 07/24/2024

  When a lug nut is torqued to the factory specifications it takes more force to remove due to the locking acorn design of the Lug nut. Thus, service technicians use impact tools to remove with a lot higher toque values than a hand tool used to install. If lug nut is NOT installed correctly by aligning the threads. The lug nut will become impossible to thread on the stud without using excessive force. This not only makes the lug nut seize to the wheel stud but also twist and bind the hardened stud. Lug studs are made of hardened material and become brittle when damaged. When removing the lug nut that is seized to the wheel stud, the stud will crack when removing. Per customers request the tires were being removed when the lug stud broke. Vehicle is no longer safe to drive due to all the designed wheel nuts are not on the vehicle
  
  -The customer set a Web appointment for 6-18 @ 1:45pm. When the service advisor checked in the vehicle, he saw it had 2 recalls that would take several hours to complete. The customer told the advisor that he was not planning on picking up until the following day and that would be ok.
  -We are still willing to reach out to them. The customer has stated he is not mechanically inclined, and we are willing to help the customer with this. We have done so on other occasions.
  -We did not do the original damage to his vehicle from the wheels being removed and installed incorrectly. Thus, leaving it at the customer’s expense. We will not be reimbursing the customer.
  -It is not a reasonable belief that a trained technician would recognize the cross threaded bolt as there is no way to know until AFTER it has broken off while removing it.
  -The tech notes on the repair order does state that. In other words, when he tried to remove it, it broke off. We then called the customer. The tech identified the issue AFTER it happened because it broke off. Which means it was cross threaded

  
  Once again, we are willing to reach out to the other shop for the customer to try to help him recoup the money for having to replace this. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/30/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Took our vehicle in on 4/15/2024 for mechanical repairs.... When we got our vehicle back on 5/6/2024 we had a damaged tail light. We have tried to come to a resolution, the Service Manager informed us that he was willing to fix the damages, but then on 5/29/2024, we were informed that the General Manager was not willing to buy a new tail light to fix the damages to our vehicle that were caused from their Service Department.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/03/2024

  We are taking care of the headlight repairs and we spoke to the customer last week. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/03/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********* and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/22/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My son took "his" truck (legally mine) into the dealership for minor repairs. The dealership determined it needed a new engine as the block was cracked. They talked to my son's friend, thinking he was the owner of the truck, and did not realize my son was the "owner" until after they had almost completed the repairs. Nothing was signed by us authorizing the repairs, no request for a down-payment on the repairs was made, was just given the bill after all repairs were done and they are now wanting paid.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/24/2023

  We are working with the customer to pay the bill that her son authorized. The service ticket will not be charged to the employee. Robert, the son, authorized the repairs. 

  Business Response

  Date: 05/25/2023

  The customer came in today, 5/25/23, and paid for the repairs in full. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/25/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  They lied about knowing it was not my son's friend's vehicle.  They even allowed the friend to sit in my truck on his lunch breaks, which should not have been done "knowing" it was not his truck.  Do they let employees eat lunch in every customer's vehicle?
  Sincerely,
  
  Carla *****

  Business Response

  Date: 05/26/2023

  We knew for a fact that this is Robert's truck. Robert brought the vehicle in; we wrote it up under the employee's name so that Robert could get the employee discount as they were roommates. The repairs have been paid in full by Carla. Carla came into the dealership on 5/25/23 with a cashier's check. We know nothing about the employee eating lunch in the truck. We do, however, know that the employee has been driving the truck, with Robert's permission, for the last several months.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/09/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We purchased 2019 Subaru ******* 6/26/2021 from Subaru of the Wichita. A few weeks later we were at ******* and when we tried to start the car the battery was dead. We called ***to get a jump. Technician checked alternator and battery and both were okay. We stopped at ********** and purchased a jump starter. The battery drain continued so we took it to an independent mechanic. He checked all the fuses and couldn't isolate the problem. He told us he had checked on a Subaru chat sight and found several other owners with the same problem. They told him that if you locked the car it wouldn't drain the battery. That worked for awhile but if the car wasn't started every day, the battery would still drain. We had mechanic check alternator and battery and they were okay. We took it to another mechanic and had it checked again with same results. A few weeks later we received a card in the mail informing us that a class action lawsuit had been filed against Subaru because of the battery drain issue. We filed a claim and received an extended warranty to have problem fixed. I received a claim number to be presented to the dealer. I made an appointment with Subaru and took my car in. All they did was put in a new battery. Of course this didn't solve the problem since I had already checked the battery four times. Needless to say that did not solve the problem. If anything the problem is worse. I want the problem fixed!!! This is not an isolated problem.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/09/2023

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/12/14) */ The customer was checked in at 8:20am . Waiting with a ETA of 10:30am. Followed Subaru's process and inspected the battery. Tested at 0 cold cranking amps. Failed. Replaced battery with the battery enhancement that changes charging logics and did the inspection. Subaru only paid 50/50 customer refused to pay the balance so we internal the balance. Declined multiple things. We need to diagnose the drawl if it is happening. With 130000 miles Subaru will not pay for that test. Just straight R*R on battery if fails. Customer was waiting on the vehicle and did not have time so no drawl test was done and they did not want to leave to be tested. We have not seen the vehicle since it was sold with 108000 miles until he had 130000 miles on it. The customer informed the advisor that the vehicle has to sit for more than 1 day for the battery to drain. In order for us to diagnose it, per customer concerns, the customer will need to leave his vehicle with us for more than 1 day so that we can duplicate the concerns. If the customer would like to get this scheduled, so that we can diagnose the concerns, then please call the dealership and we will get this scheduled. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/12/14) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) The first time the battery was dead we had *** jump it and they checked the battery and alternator and both checked out okay. We went straight to ********** and purchased a jump starter. They checked the battery and alternator and they checked out okay. The battery continued to drain so we took it to ************* in ****************. The mechanic, who we had used before with satisfaction, checked battery and alternator and they tested okay. We then took it to *********** in ************* and he checked the battery and alternator and it checked out okay, so battery shouldn't have been replaced and was not part of the problem. I was not informed of a 50/50 cost. I was told the new battery was under warranty. I was also never told about a drawl (draw) test. I did not have scheduled maintenance with Subaru because we are an hour and a half from *******. We were not told that we could schedule a draw test. From several self help videos, the short causing the parasitic drain could be isolated and be found with a little time, especially at the dealer who undoubtedly has the correct tools to check such a problem. Changing the battery did not eliminate the problem. The problem persists and I am not satisfied with the service I was given. Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2022/12/15) */ We are more than happy to schedule the vehicle in for service so that we can diagnose the concerns. We have not been given the time required to diagnose the issue. We are willing to wave the fee to diagnose the vehicle as we understand the customer does not live close to an authorized dealership. However, the customer informed the advisor that the vehicle has to sit for more than 1 day for the battery to drain. In order for us to diagnose it, per customer concerns, the customer will need to leave his vehicle with us for more than 1 day so that we can try to duplicate it. If the customer would like to get this scheduled, please call the dealership and we would be happy to look at it.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/22/2022

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Wonderful purchasing experience with them and their salesmen. However- I traded a vehicle that had a lien on it. I received a phone call from my previous vehicles Leon holder three weeks later who notified me that my monthly payment was past due. When I purchased with Subaru of Wichita I passed along my current lienholders information ie- the amount of the payoff and the lie holders address- they still had not received my payoff and due to interest rates it could tinier to increase. I tried numerous attempts to settle this with Subaru or Wichita but how many "they will call you back in 15 minutes" can you really tolerate. My advice- make sure your trade in is paid off or they will ruin your credit.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/23/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/08/23) */ Contact Name and Title: Ashley Corporate CRM Contact Phone: ********** Contact Email: ***************************** There were 2 lien holders on the title and one of them did not exist. We had to get the lien release before we could make the payoff. We have gotten the title corrected and the check will be overnighted via ******. The tracking number is **************. Unfortunately, it was filed wrong with the state and this caused the delay when trading it in. I have spoken with the customer and she seems happy at this time.