Re: Mercruiser Warranty Claims
We're working through the process, but they wrote us off from the start to "improper winterization" following an engine failure that resulted in cracked risers and a cracked block on our first outing last year. The engine started and idled with no apparent problems, but when my wife picked me up at the dock and left the no-wake zone we lost compression and overtemp signals began. I stopped the engine immediately and checked for any problems. The risers were NOT cracked and there was absolutely NO water in the boat. I inadvertantly touched a riser with my hand and it was scalding hot. (Yes. I immediately backflipped into the water to mitigate the injury -- entertaining for the children and an impressive athletic feat for my wife.) We waited several minutes then idled back and took it to the nearest Mercruiser authorized dealer who helped us check for obvious issues -- nothing found. We pulled the drive and checked the impellar -- no problems. No evidence of cracking or other issues. The service tech believed this left only the thermostat, so we swapped it out and everything seemed back to normal when we returned the dock and dropped it into the water. After a few minutes there was a loud "pop" accompanied by over temp signals again with water pouring into the engine compartment.
As expected, I've asked a lot of questions since the failure and my understanding is that the "pop" was the core plug release. We have less than 40 hours on the boat, so we decided to take it back to the "premier" dealer who sold it to us. They could not determine what caused the failure, but said the damage was consistent with "improper winterization" and asked whether or not they serviced it. All of our service work prior to the failure had been with their dealership EXCEPT for winterization. I grew up around boats and have winterized my own boats for years without a problem. The first winterization for this new boat had no problems. This was the second winterization and -- by the Service Manager's own account -- I went well beyond the recommended procedures. The only thing the dealer does differently is double-check the antifreeze, and I understand that it's highly likelyhood of that being so far out of spec to cause this type of damage.
Our Service Manager supposedly submitted all of the info to Mercruiser who determined that it was improper winterization. I questioned the finding and Mercruiser explained that the dealers were the "eyes and ears" for them in the field, so they have to rely on their expertise in making determinations. I questioned the Service Manager and he assured me that he didn't know what caused the problem or exactly why Mercruiser denied the claim. We convinced Mercruiser to send a field tech for review and he was supposed to meet me at the dealership to revisit the claim, address each issue and answer any questions. Our dealership is an hour away and I was rear-ended soon after leaving my house. I called the dealership to notify them immediately after speaking with the off-duty Sheriff that happened to be on the scene. I called again to let them know exactly when to expect me. The tech was not there yet, but they were communicating with him. I was about 20 mintues late. The tech came and left without notice. We tried calling him and spoke at length with Mercruiser that morning, left messages for the tech, etc. without success. The tech never responded to me or the dealer. Mercruiser "conceded" to process the claim under warranty, but assured the dealer they would charge them on the backend unless they found evidence to prove something other than winterization caused the problem. That was acceptable to me so long as the dealer was willing to eat the cost knowing that they could not determine the cause, but that wouldn't be fair to the dealer. The dealer advised we wait for further response. So we waited... and waited... I could continue on, but the post is already longer than I originally intended. Suffice it to say that the owner of the dealership tried to coordinate with Mercruiser last fall without success, at which time he advised that we sue Mercruiser. We've followed the dealer's lead throughout the entire process, which brings us to this point...
