Hello, I won't name any names for now but I have a possible situation that I know will get dragged on forever, and I figure I get some advise on here on how to proceed.
So here is the background:
1. Bought a brand new 2018 Subaru Crosstrek in Sunshine Orange for myself in July of 2017. From what I was told, it as the first such car in Limited trim in the city.
2. Started noticing rock chips in the paint. At first mostly on the hood, but now spread all over the car, doors, fenders, roofline, you name it.
I bought some touchup paint and have been covering up my car for the last few years as I find them. Due to COVID I had a lot of time on my hands and did detailing on my car, finding another 60 or so chips and started looking more into this and see if anyone else is complaining. Turns out, this is a very well known issue for Sunshine Orange color specifically. A google result shows bunch of people complaining about this exact same problem, and all of them are with Sunshine Orange. Well guess this issue is so well known, that Subaru of America released a TSB for it on how to repair (repaint basically) all metal sections of the car.
Subaru of America TSB: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...54415-9999.pdf
So after calling a local dealer about this and giving them the TSB, they told me that it doesn't apply in Canada because it's Subaru of America, and basically blaming any chips on rock chips, which I guess is expected. They told me to call Subaru Canada to see if there is any Canadian TSBs about this. I called and told them about my problem, along with another American TSB regarding my stereo system, and the lady basically said the same thing, it's rock chips. I told her that the problem is so bad, that Subaru of America issued a TSB about the problem, saying it's covered under warranty. I still have a few months of warranty left myself by the way. When I told her about the TSB, she was curious on how I got it and that it's usually internal communication. Anyways, after this she said she will send an email to my dealership and have them take pictures and evaluate, but there was nothing official from Subaru Canada on this. She also seemed to be well aware about the stereo TSB and told the dealership to fix that apparently, all via e-mail I guess. Subaru redesigned a new AMP for my RF system due to static from speakers...I brought this up few times at the dealership but they never replaced the amp, instead opting to replace speakers twice....and once in the wrong door...but I digress.
So to be clear, the Crosstrek is manufactured in Japan for North American market, so the issues that SOA is aware of would apply to SOC one would think.
I did further reading and found many people who complained to SOA and got their car repainted, with one lady actually making the news and getting a brand new car.
Lady gets new car: https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/on-ai...artford/45061/
So I did further diggin on Reddit and found this thread, finally some info about a Subaru of Canada: https://www.reddit.com/r/XVcrosstrek...aint_chipping/
Here is an interesting post by a guy who had his car repainted in Canada:
So obviously someone at Subaru Canada is aware of the problem, but there doesn't seem to be an official TSB out for this."Hey, so when I approached the dealership initially they looked at it and blamed it on rock chips. I then went to an independent auto body shop and got a quote for the damages. I took pictures of every new chip and even noticed it came off while washing with a microfibre mit. I gave all of this to my local service manager and stayed persistent until someone came and audited my vehicle. They concluded nothing was wrong despite my independent report and refused to give me a copy of their report which I thought was fishy, so I called Subaru Canada customer care. They explained they were looking into it nationally and communicating with Japan. My car is being completely repainted and I am getting better splash guards installed for free."
Here is also a tweet from someone to Subaru Canada, has some good pictures of the issue: https://twitter.com/marianbrit55/sta...77545608687616
So the dealership was contacted by Subaru of Canada just this morning and told me to expect a call back by Tuesday, but I wanted to get the ball rolling because this will become a huge cluster, I just know it. My car has under 35k on it in almost 3 years I have owned it, and being my first new car I have always babied it, and purposefully stay way back so that I don't get rock chips, yet they are on the car by the hundreds. I covered most of them up and only have been out twice last two weeks...and already found 8 more new chips in the paint.
So anyways, what my question is, assuming they refuse to do anything, what can I do? Is going to the news something I should consider? I always see people bitching on the news and things get resolved when news reporters get involved. I hate most of those people who complain as it's usually for something that's partially their fault, but I feel like here, this is a paint defect that's well documented. My car is less then 3 years old, and it's going to be a rust bucket before I even get a chance to give it to my wife. The color orange was chosen by her as our original plan was for this car to become hers once it gets a bit older. I am currently waiting for the all new 2022 Subaru WRX STI as my next purchase, at which point the Crosstrek goes to the wife, and also am considering buying my dad a Subaru for his retirement within the next 7 months, but if Subaru won't take responsibility, I will just find something else.
Thanks for all your input.