Hi,

 

Just a quick word of warning for anyone needing to replace the gas struts on their Yeti.  Don't touch the supposedly "direct replacement" parts from SGS Engineering.  I bought a pair and while they seemed good initially, they were badly corroded within a year.  SGS don't want to know and say the struts must be kept "away from moisture".  Given that they sit outside the door seal, the only way you're going to manage that is by not fitting them to the car.  The warranty terms do now state this, not sure if they did when I bought, so what they're basically saying is that the "direct replacement" parts can't be used for the intended purpose.

 

Has anyone had any experience with Stabilus struts?  Do they last without self-destructing?

 

Dave

 

Have to say I have a pair of struts from SGS fitted to my Hyundai i10  - fitted April 2019 - and they're fine.

 

EDIT .... just had a look and mine are marked Nitro Lift.

Edited 15 May, 20215 yr by oldstan

4 hours ago, davespicer said:

 SGS don't want to know and say the struts must be kept "away from moisture".  Given that they sit outside the door seal, the only way you're going to manage that is by not fitting them to the car.  The warranty terms do now state this, not sure if they did when I bought, so what they're basically saying is that the "direct replacement" parts can't be used for the intended purpose.

 

 

Under the 'Consumer Rights Act 2015' goods must be sold as 'fit for purpose' and last a reasonable time irrespective of any warranties given. Surely if you bought them knowing what car they were going to be fitted to they are legally obliged to give you a replacement/refund?

Trading standards#(if they still exist?)??

6 hours ago, davespicer said:

 

, they were badly corroded within a year. 

 

 

Which bit was badly corroded - the pressurised body , or the "piston rod"? I can't imagined the hardened, polished rod would corrode if the door was opened from time to time as the seals would fail and leak pressure.

No gas strut I've ever had on a vehicle has shown the slightest trace of corrosion. The strut on the rear door of my 1985/86 Suzuki has seen much water, much action and still looks pretty good after 200008k miles. 

If the corrosion is on the body, why not wipe it down with some WD40 (avoiding the seals), or a touch of smoothrite for cosmetic appearance?

I fitted SGS struts to my Fabia estate, 6 years later they were just as fitted.

12 hours ago, Yety said:

 

200008k miles. 

 

Wow! Hehe.

Oooops  Slip of the 0000s

 

208k miles, and still going strong.

Edited 16 May, 20215 yr by Yety

Some people with good experiences here, so I'm struggling to see why SGS themselves are being so awkward.  If the corrosion was unusual, you'd think they'd just write these off as part of a bad batch and replace them with no fuss.

 

Muddyjim, I absolutely agree with you about SGS dodging their responsibilities under the Sale of Goods Act.  The cynic in me says they know full well they can ignore people because it'll cost £20 to go to Small Claims and it isn't worth it for £40 gas struts.  They ignored a message I sent explaining in what ways I thought they were in violation of SoGA and asking for a refund or replacement.  I'll give them 2 weeks to respond, then file a complaint with Trading Standards.

 

Going through Small Claims is still tempting just out of principal.  Has anyone done it?  How much hassle was it?

On 15/05/2021 at 20:20, Yety said:

 

Which bit was badly corroded - the pressurised body , or the "piston rod"? I can't imagined the hardened, polished rod would corrode if the door was opened from time to time as the seals would fail and leak pressure.

No gas strut I've ever had on a vehicle has shown the slightest trace of corrosion. The strut on the rear door of my 1985/86 Suzuki has seen much water, much action and still looks pretty good after 200008k miles. 

If the corrosion is on the body, why not wipe it down with some WD40 (avoiding the seals), or a touch of smoothrite for cosmetic appearance?

 

It's the body that's corroded.  Both sides are the same.  My original struts had no sign of corrosion after 7 years.  I only replaced them because they were getting slightly weak.

Pics.  Feast your eyes on these beauties.

 

1 hour ago, davespicer said:

The cynic in me says they know full well they can ignore people because it'll cost £20 to go to Small Claims and it isn't worth it for £40 gas struts.  They ignored a message I sent explaining in what ways I thought they were in violation of SoGA and asking for a refund or replacement.  I'll give them 2 weeks to respond, then file a complaint with Trading Standards.

It is _just_ possible that SGS did not receive your initial email (emails do get sidetracked at times) so I suggest the following:

 

1) Write to them (recorded delivery) and politely explain your problem and what you expect them to do about it.  Include the piccies.

2) Point out you have previously attempted to bring this to their attention (refer to the email and include a copy) but have so far received no response.

3) Give them 14 days to provide an acceptable response to your complaint and advise that should they fail to so do you will proceed to claim against them for your losses via the Small Claims procedure.

4) After 21 days (just in case) and no acceptable response raise a claim online and incluide your initial purchase costs (receipt), piccies of the problem and any other costs you have incurred in pursuing the matter.  You can include preparation costs for a letter and mailing costs but be sensible.

5) Unless they can show evidence they have addressed your issues the claim will be established and you can apply for default judgement, which will include your claim and any related (including court) costs.

 

Edited 18 May, 20215 yr by MikeTheThinker
typo

5 hours ago, davespicer said:

 

 

Muddyjim, I absolutely agree with you about SGS dodging their responsibilities under the Sale of Goods Act.  The cynic in me says they know full well they can ignore people because it'll cost £20 to go to Small Claims and it isn't worth it for £40 gas struts.  They ignored a message I sent explaining in what ways I thought they were in violation of SoGA and asking for a refund or replacement.  I'll give them 2 weeks to respond, then file a complaint with Trading Standards.

 

 

One small point, the Sale of Goods Act has been superseded with the Consumer Rights Act (2015), which  AFAIK gives the consumer better legal rights.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_Rights_Act_2015

 

I'm surprised you are having problems because I replaced my struts with SGS ones a couple of years ago and whilst I've had no rust problems one of them did keep popping off its pin (with the risk of the tailgate coming down). I e-mailed them, explained the problem and they sent me a set of alternative fittings which solved the problem and there was no hassle at all.

 

Small Claims Court (I think it's Money Claim On Line you use) is an option and it's not complicated - I used it when a client decided having had the service he didn't like the bill. You do need to be absolutely precise on who you are issuing the summons against (I missed off one "Ltd" and had to start again with an additional fee) and if it is contested you may have to attend court which is time consuming but not as grand as it sounds as in my case it was a meeting in an office which could have been anywhere - very informal.

 

If you get a judgement (which may include your fees) then you are relying on the defendant actually paying you. Mine didn't (it was for around £5000 and he was a property developer) preferring to just sit on the CCJ. Your option then is to get a High Court writ to enforce the CCJ but be very careful here. I was cold called by a very convincing firm of bailiffs, was persuaded to engage them and not only didn't I get the judgement owed me but once they had my fee became increasingly difficult to contact. In the end I took them to court, secured a CCJ and then received a string of threats about what they would do if I didn't ask to Court to dismiss. It turned out this particular company had a history of this sort of behaviour and in fact even made it to the Daily Mirror. The company was closed down but the director immediately started up another company I assume doing exactly the same thing. Apparently this is legal. The point I'm leading to is if you do have to go down that route make sure any debt recovery company or bailiffs are members of a recognised association - I believe there are two but don't have the details.

 

And if you've read this far, there was a finally a good outcome because a couple of years later out of the blue I got an offer to settle the debt from someone I'd never heard of; I assume finally the CCJ had become an embarrassment or issue that had to be addressed.

 

I think a (polite) registered letter is a good idea, good luck with making any progress with Trading Standards but for £40 I really wouldn't bother with MCOL. Even if you eventually succeed how much do you value your time?

I'm struggling to understand a few things here.

 

Why did you have to replace the struts in the first place? Were they corroded or had the seals lost a bit of pressure?

 

The pictures look bad, corrosion like that could surely have taken place only over many years, possibly in a corrosive atmosphere. Also, there is a possible date of 02 showing.

 

I can't understand why they could ever be so corroded, my experience of struts on trailer lids and various vehicles over the years is that the body remains fine, but leakage reduces the strut's ability to work properly.

 

Anyway, good luck with your claim.

25 minutes ago, Yety said:

 

Why did you have to replace the struts in the first place?

 

23 hours ago, davespicer said:

  I only replaced them because they were getting slightly weak.

 

3 hours ago, Yety said:

I'm struggling to understand a few things here.

 

Why did you have to replace the struts in the first place? Were they corroded or had the seals lost a bit of pressure?

 

The pictures look bad, corrosion like that could surely have taken place only over many years, possibly in a corrosive atmosphere. Also, there is a possible date of 02 showing.

 

I can't understand why they could ever be so corroded, my experience of struts on trailer lids and various vehicles over the years is that the body remains fine, but leakage reduces the strut's ability to work properly.

 

Anyway, good luck with your claim.

 

I can't understand how they can be so corroded either.  They're barely a year old.  I didn't notice until they got quite bad because, frankly, who inspects their gas struts when they open boot?  Even so, the rust must have gone from barely noticeable to bloody awful quite quickly.

 

The most corrosive thing they've been in contact with is Cornwall's rain!  They've not even seen much of that, as the car has been parked under cover a lot of the time.

 

I would speculate that SGS's supplier switched materials at some point to save costs and there are probably whole batches of these failing.  If that's the case, they must be aware of the problem.

Just nipped out to check: date code is Feb 2019.  They were a year old when I bought them.

Oh and thanks to MikeTheThinker for the detailed breakdown of the Small Claims process.

A quick update on this: SGS did come through with replacements in the end.  I won't know if the rust plague was a one-off until next Spring.

Well done, whilst nobody would expect corrosion in that short space of time you had no rights under which to pursue them as they were still 100% fit for the purpose, that of counterbalancing the tailgate.

Is that a joke JR?  Given the state of them, I don't doubt that I would've had a tailgate on my head within another few months.

No, I was being serious, had they failed or lost significant force then they would not have been fit for the purpose.

3 hours ago, davespicer said:

Is that a joke JR?  Given the state of them, I don't doubt that I would've had a tailgate on my head within another few months.

Surface rust like in the photo would not cause pressure cylinder failure ... even in the pictured state it would take a long time for the pressure cylinder to fail due to corrosion, unsightly, yes, and I would not be happy with SGS with the state on a "new" product, but I cant see the struts failing as you describe in that short amount of time.

Good though that SGS did replace the struts, result.

Looking at the state of them I'd be tempted to do something to the new ones to prevent rust. Paint them black, or failing that a coat of my fave spray grease - either white lithium grease, or Auto Extreme rust proofer stuff. 

Whether they were likely to fail or not who wants rusty parts fitted??

 

Well done for getting it sorted.

Edited 4 July, 20214 yr by VRS_White_Hatch
I type too hard and hit double letters all the ttiimmee