Do I have a leg to stand on?

[kevinator9 52]

Hi Guys,

3 months ago I got a brand new muffler and rear exhaust piping +hangers from Pit Stop. The original had finally rusted to pieces. I went with a standard replacement as there was not much point in getting a sports system for a 318i and I could hardly afford it anyway. There were two options and one had a 6 month warranty on it so I went for that one which was slightly more expensive.

Well two nights ago I came back from uni holidays and went to put some gas in the tank. The battery was dead so I had to jumpstart it at the petrol station. I started cranking and it didn't fire first time so I stopped, waited and then tried again. This time it started but then literally exploded. I almost shat myself along with everyone else at the petrol station one of whom started to reach for the fire extinguisher. I had turned the car off as soon as it exploded and jumped out of the way then stood there trying to figure out what the hell just happened.

I soon saw the gaping hole in the muffler. It has split right down the weld seam which has coincidently broken the rear hanger.

I went back to Pit Stop and told them what happened. They said it is not covered by the warranty as it backfired.

The warranty only states it is not covered by misuse/abuse, off-road/racing use and physical contact damage (ie crashes). They had a look at the muffler and said I would need a new one it cannot be fixed but there is no way in hell I can afford another hit like that.

What can I do about this? I have e-mail the head office of Pit Stop and hopefully get a reply, pretty gutted it only lasted 3 months, the original lasted 25+ years!

Andrew

[nath 129]

Good idea to cntact head office. Be nice about it, don't come across as being entitled to redress.

Grey area really as it was the cars fault, not Pit Stop's and not your own direct. you do however own the car. Mind you, cars can generally backfire fine without damaging mufflers. Unsure of what goes on in different backfire situations mind.

[M5V8 337]

it's hard to say not being there.

But if you car backfired it could easily blow apart a muffler in a single go.

That's not the mufflers fault, nor whom installed it.

I've seen a rotary destroy a muffler within 15mins of installation with backfires (intentional in this case).

You could pleed your case to pitstop HQ but I don't think you have a leg to stand on. I certainly wouldn't say you have any case for small claims or anything like that.

Try asking for cost on the replacement. They may go for that.

[Driftit 1951]

I would also be wondering why the car backfired like that in the first place. Never had an E30 do that. Sure someone had put something in the muffler?

[nath 129]

An M10 E30 will backfire with moisture in the distributor, long cranking then when it finally fires it backfires. Trust me, I know!

[kevinator9 52]

The car had been sitting without a run for 3 weeks straight and before then it had only been run twice after sitting for another 3 weeks on top of it. It did take two attempts to start it, didn't think I had cranked for more than 5 seconds each time.

I got an e-mail from HQ and they sent back a warranty document which says it does not cover backfires but they made a very nice offer of a new muffler free of labour charges. I guess I will have to take them up on it but only when I get the money which sucks.

[M5V8 337]

It's a sucky situation all around mate. But to be honest that's pretty good from pitstop.

Good on them for offering something.

thumbs up pitstop.

[Allanw 1051]

An M10 E30 will backfire with moisture in the distributor, long cranking then when it finally fires it backfires. Trust me, I know!

HAHA! Had that inside the drive thru at Mitre 10 in my VW van when it had the original engine. EFI kept dumping in fuel, spark was shorting in the cap. There was an almighty bang (I was IN the van and my ears rung) and there were 4 staff members and 3 neighbours came out to see what it was. I sat in the car and pretended it wasn't me for a while... but then I had to own up when I couldn't start it and needed a push outside

My exhaust survived, except that half way home, the tail pipe fell off

Sorry dude - prolly best take them up on their offer ASAP.

[Driftit 1951]

Had my series 3 RX7 pile of crap backfire in the middle of London central about 2 weeks after the bombs in 05. Quite a few ducks for cover. I had the firing order mixed up. Lots of angry faces.

[Ahmedsinc 414]

HAHA! Had that inside the drive thru at Mitre 10 in my VW van when it had the original engine. EFI kept dumping in fuel, spark was shorting in the cap. There was an almighty bang (I was IN the van and my ears rung) and there were 4 staff members and 3 neighbours came out to see what it was. I sat in the car and pretended it wasn't me for a while... but then I had to own up when I couldn't start it and needed a push outside

My exhaust survived, except that half way home, the tail pipe fell off

Sorry dude - prolly best take them up on their offer ASAP.

Gold!!!!

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2122]

yep pitstop enerally pretty good at this PR sort of stuff.

[hotwire 352]

Yep, as others have alluded to - a good outcome for you.

It was not the fault of the muffler nor their responsibilty, purely an unlucky situation for you. They could easily have declined any responsibilty.

Again as mentioned, not a common occurance but does happen, unburnt fuel has obviously entered into the exhaust & when engine has ignited ... so has the exhaust.

Usually more common on an older muffler where the seam is weeker than when new.