Car Warranty/Manufacturing Fault Question

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monash65

CAGiversary!
Ok, wondering if anyone has any advice on this. My car is from 1999 (I think I am the second owner, I bought it two years ago through ebay motors), and the yellow engine light has been coming on continuosly for the last couple months. I have taken it to my mechanic (who is a great guy, trustworthy and knows his stuff when it comes to the inside of cars) and he did some online research and said it was the a throttle body failure which was under recall from several years ago, and that I should take it back to the car manufacturer to get them to fix the problem. He even gave me a printout of what he suspects the problem is, and told me to show them to confirm that's what it is. He isn't 100% sure because he doesn't have that particular company's specific diagnostic equipment, but he says he has a strong feeling that's what it is. So what should I do here, go to them and tell them to run a diagnostic check (which he told me should be free of charge), and then if that's what it is, they must fix it free of charge?

I have only even owned used cars and never thought before about making a claim on the warranty. I would have to look around in my files to see if I even have any paperwork relating to that. Since it is a 1999 model, I am pretty sure the main warranty is long gone, so I don't really understand how I am supposed to approach the manufacturer. Do I just go to them and say "my mechanic thinks it's xyz, can you check it out for me?" and expect them to run checks on my car free of charge? My mechanic said I should be able to talk them into fixing it for free, assuming the problem is what he thinks it is i.e. the throttle issue. Can I reasonably expect them to do that, or is there some kind of statute of limitations on car part recalls? What if they give me the runaround and try and charge me for something that is (I think) supposed to be free? They're actually not near to me, so I want to make sure I know what I am going to say to them before I go, and that I approach them in the right way.

I have no clue when it comes to dealing with warranties or recalls, so thanks for any help.
 
If this is something that was addressed in a recall, you won't have to worry about any warranty paperwork. You're long out of a warranty period anyway. You shouldn't have to talk them into anything if it is something covered under a recall.

Take the car in and tell them the problem you are having. They should be able to look up any recalls and apply them.
 
Call a local dealer of that car.. say Ford or Chevy.

They can run a VIN check to see if its under recall.

Most recalls have a timeframe, however "satey" recalls.. think back to the Sudden Acceleration issue with Toyota.. those dont typically have a period to submit.

The other option would be to go run a vin check at carfax.com it tells of recalls.

www.cars.com has a model type search not vin specific

http://www.cars.com/go/recalls/index.jsp


Otherwise there is I am sure a recall website maybe at the National Highway Safety website.. etc.


Typically bumper to bumper is 3-5 years, Drivetrain only recently was moved to 50-100k on various models.

Emmissions is typically 8 years or 100k but can vary.

However if yours is from 99 the only thing going to be on it is a safety recall most likely.
 
If the car is from 1999, I doubt anything will be covered unless it's a safety recall as a vast majority of recall work is only covered within the warranty period. A diagnostic will also more than likely cost money too even if it's just to pull a code.
 
Thanks for the input guys, looks like my next move is finding out if it is indeed a safety recall- don't think it is, but I'll check.
 
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