Hoping some of you can shed some light on this confusing situation. A 2007 Subaru Forester gets towed in the shop because the owner said she opened the door and water poured out. (apparently it was parked on the road and because of heavy rain and a clogged sewer drain, the water level rose high enough to fill the car inside--she also said the dash lights were flashing when she tried to start it so she had it towed)

Upon arrival, the tech sat in the driver seat and got a wet a**. However, it started and ran fine with only the MIL lamp on. Insurance company paid to have the carpet removed and cleaned. They asked what else it needed and we thought about the seat motors and seat airbags and connectors being submerged in water so recommended new seats.

Here's the problem = new seats are unavailable from Subaru. So the insurance company wants us to "certify" (and therefore be liable for air bag and seat failure) that all is well with the original seats. All is well now, but how can we be sure the water will or will not cause future corrosion issues in the seat motors and air bag system?

So it was recommended to get used replacement seats. Well, they are very few to be found but after a few tangled attempts we get our hands on some. They get shipped in and the are in rough shape. Broken glass on them and dirty/worn to the point the won't clean up any thing like the originals. And how can it be known they also didn't get wet?

So wwyd? We want to give a good repair but seems the parts aren't available to do that. So the insurance company wants us to be liable and "certify" the old seats or any used ones we can find to put in.

I appreciate your opinions on this and any direction from experience you can give.

Thanks in advance guys and gals.

Mark Lubenow
Owner/Technician
M&D Auto Services
Lannon, Wisconsin, USA