Warranty not honored for failed wheel bearings

[Guest Dustbin]

Munroe Motors in San Francisco just replaced my failed rear wheel bearings. My 03 V11 Sport is still under warranty and has 10K miles on it. When they called to say my bike was ready, they said the bearings are not covered under warranty because they are a wear item. I have yet to retrieve the bike and before I do would like to hear from others who have had rear wheel bearing failures and had them replaced under warranty or been told the same line that I got. I also plan to call MGNA tomorrow to verify the truth of the dealer's "wear item" statement.

 

It seems pretty obvious to me that the bearings should be covered under warranty, and I want as much ammunition as possibble to rationally address this issue with the dealer. I know that people have had their rear wheel bearings replaced under warranty in the US because I've read several posts here stating as much. I would be very grateful for any opinions, comments and or advice anyone could offer on this topic.

 

Thanks.

[Admin Jaap]

Mileage?

[dlaing]

My bike was under warranty when I got charged for my first bearing.

I was paying for tire change at the time, so it was not a big deal (to me(read SUCKER)).

I think I paid $30.

Make sure that they make sure that the spacer is longer than the space between the bearings. By longer I mean 0.1mm to 0.5mm longer.

There should probably be a recall on the rear wheel bearing spacer, but it would probably take a Todd Haven to make it happen.... and then he would be putting another nail in the Guzzi coffin. Besides, what evidence do we have, four or five bearing failures on a forum of 1360 members, one of whome never posted until today.

Guzzi warranties are crazy and inconsistent.

About the best thing that we have heard on The Forum is Tenni forks getting replaced by Ohlins, but there are many stories of dealers not warrantying things that you could be sure to win in court.

If your spacer is too short, I think you could win this one in court, or maybe even just with the threat of court, but it may not be worth it for your reputation with your dealer. Sometimes I think dealers view us as either a sucker or a bitcher.

My advice is to save the threat of lawyers for a rainy day....perhaps that puts me into the sucker category.

Or you can take a stand and save a few dollars.

Or you can be like Ralph Nader and start the ball rolling for a recall and possibly save someone's life!

I would do it, but I care more about Guzzi surviving than somebody dying, plus I am lazy...is that not pathetic....or maybe it is because there is just not enough evidence.

What the heck, I'll at least sign an afidavit saying that my spacer appeared to be shorter than the space between the bearings.

[Guest Nogbad]

With things like this you end up weighing up the inconvenience and loss on both sides. If the wheel bearings only cost you $30 to have replaced, the intangible costs of the hassle of fighting it probably aren't worth it.

 

However, bearings are a consistently reliable item, made to very narrow quality variations. Therefore it is likely that an external factor in their failure exists, and from all the information on here it is a fair bet that excessive thrust loading stemming from a too short spacer is the culprit.

 

I would say that if you have had one 10K failure, you are in for another one at 20K unless you change the spacer.

[Wick]

Besides the connecting rod bearing issue that was fixed under warranty, MPH also took care of my failing rear wheel bearings.

 

Wick

[Guest Dustbin]

Mileage?

58942[/snapback]

 

 

10,000 miles.

[dlaing]

Another possibility:

If they could show that the bearing failed because of the grease washing out, you probably would not have a case as they could say you inproperly cleaned it with a hose, forcing the lubricant out....whether you did or not.

But my money is on the spacer.

If they already replaced the bearing without looking at the spacer, I recommend replacing it again, just to measure it.

Yah, you would probably get another 10,000 miles out of it, but you would be risking the rear wheel locking up.

There are some cheap sources for bearings, and you can get the spacer from JRT's inlaw, Bob, but dealers often refuse to use out sourced parts, so you may want someone other than your Guzzi dealer to do the work. But maybe they will understand that the spacer is a custom, unobtainable, part.

[dbdicker]

Or you can be like Ralph Nader and start the ball rolling for a recall and possibly save someone's life!

I would do it, but I care more about Guzzi surviving than somebody dying, plus I am lazy...is that not pathetic....or maybe it is because there is just not enough evidence.

 

Self-interest Vs. Apathy vs. one's conscience

 

The entire thread of Western Civilization hangs thereon.

 

I like this quote.........it's..........quotable. Absolutely no offense intended. I've got a sick mind, I guess, and that really cracked me up.

[Skeeve]

Or you can be like Ralph Nader and start the ball rolling for a recall and possibly save someone's life!

58943[/snapback]

 

Just out of curiosity, who's life exactly is Ralph Nader supposed to have saved with his corrupted product safety "research?" [i presume you're referring to the book that was his catapult into the political arena, [u]Unsafe at Any Speed[/u]]

 

Nader's only value has been to steal votes from even more unsavory candidates in various elections. For that he should be thanked, since it probably saved us all a few bucks by preventing other idiots from spending our tax dollars, but it's hard to quantify. Dunno about it saving anyone's life, either...

[Guest Nogbad]

Just out of curiosity, who's life exactly is Ralph Nader supposed to have saved

58976[/snapback]

 

All the peeps who might have bought and crashed Corvairs or Corvettes or whatever the hell the car was called I suppose.

 

But hey, when I get into an American car, I realise that American roads are straight, long and a bit rough, so I realise comfort is more important than handling.

[rossoandy]

Just like to add my rear wheel bearings failed too, at 10500miles whilst in the Isle O Mann during TT week. I feel this to be far to early and suspet the spacer too short. My bike a 2000 Rosso.

[dlaing]

Just out of curiosity, who's life exactly is Ralph Nader supposed to have saved with his corrupted product safety "research?" [i presume you're referring to the book that was his catapult into the political arena, [u]Unsafe at Any Speed[/u]]

 

Nader's only value has been to steal votes from even more unsavory candidates in various elections. For that he should be thanked, since it probably saved us all a few bucks by preventing other idiots from spending our tax dollars, but it's hard to quantify. Dunno about it saving anyone's life, either...

58976[/snapback]

Sounds like you have got partisan issues, pardner.

Thats OKay, I have them too, just in the other direction.

So, would you prefer a 63 corvair to a 64 with naderfied suspension?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Corvair

It is a shame that the Corvair flopped.

Rear/Mid engines rock!

But if a car is unsafe, let the heralds sing!

I doubt you drive a Volvo.

The most dangerous car I have ever driven is a Dodge Dart.

Rubber bands for steering, No damping in the shocks, and bicycle calibers for brakes!

But the slant six engines kept going and going.

[dlaing]

Just like to add my rear wheel bearings failed too, at 10500miles whilst in the Isle O Mann during TT week. I feel this to be far to early and suspet the spacer too short. My bike a 2000 Rosso.

58991[/snapback]

We'll get Ralph on it right away.

But seriously, it may be a little premature to shout, RECALL!, but I think everyone should at the very least durring the next tire change, check to see how loose that spacer is.

It is kinda subjective to say what is too loose, but if it feels looser than a tenth of a millimeter, I would pull a bearing to check it out.

I would not be surprised if every earlier V11 with the narrower rear wheel rim had a short spacer, and quite possibly the newer bikes, too.

[Guest Dustbin]

EPILOGUE:

 

Thank you all for your comments, both topical and otherwise. The sitution has been resolved to my satisfaction. Here is what happened:

 

I spoke to Michelle at MGNA on Monday. She was very responsive and helpful. She felt that the bearings should have been covered under warranty, but couldn't provide a definitive yes or no. She also faxed me the Moto Guzzi wear limits table which describes the warranty limitations for certain conditionally covered items. She then checked to see if Munroe had placed a warranty claim for the bearings. Guess what: Nope! Michelle was clearly annoyed by this and said she would call the service manager, which she did. The service manager told her that he didn't place a claim because he had done so in the past for wheel bearings on Guzzis and the claim was rejected. Michelle told him that he should always place a claim with MGNA for a bike under warranty regardless of what he might think the outcome will be. She then told him to go ahead and file a claim for the bearings using the standard procedure.

 

When I spoke to her at the end of the day on Monday, she relayed to me what she had told the service manager and to allow 48 hrs for the claim to be placed and a response given to the dealer. I did as she suggested and went in to pick up the bike on Wednesday. The service manager said the claim had been accepted. He also told me the same thing that he told Michelle-- that he placed similar claims in the past and they had been rejected. I wasn't detecting any "attitude" or resentment from him in our conversation and he seemed to now be dealing with the situation with some professionalism, so I decided to reserve judgement on the veracity of his claimed justification for not initially trying to get the bearings covered under warranty.

 

You choose your battles. I chose this one mostly on principal. It was so absurdly obvious that it was warrantable claim. And I only ended up being without my bike for two extra days. I won the battle, but I never should have had to fight it in the first place.

 

Incidentally, the mechanic that worked on my bike did recognize the probable cause of the bearing failure as being an inner race spacer of insufficient length. According to the service manager he addressed the problem, but he couldn't give me the specifics as to how. I guess I'll find out the next time I remove my wheel for my next set of tires or failed bearings, whichever comes first!

[dlaing]

Alright Michelle!

It looks like your tenacity paid off, and maybe this dealer will learn from this mistake(whether his or MGNAs) and follow through with claims.

If MGNA is taking that line, I will consider a new bike again someday.

Also, kudos to the dealer for spotting the short spacer...too bad they could not give you reassuring details.