Recent got into an accident which involved my car going into high rising waters and it stalled out my car. After two weeks of the service shop putting in work, they managed to flush the engine and replace the starter and battery, and an oil change. I still haven't got my car back yet, I plan on picking it up Saturday because they're still drying out the carpeting. The only thing that's wrong is before this accident my alternator was working fine, and it still is but it makes a loud whirring sound after 2000 RPM. The dealership said it's the bearings and it's from wear and tear so they aren't covering it. What should I do?

 

You should be persistent and get the dealership to cover it. Alternator bearings are not a wear item. If they are failing prematurely, it should be replaced. The bearings on your alternator should last as long as the alternator does which nowadays is for the life of your car without ever being rebuilt.

Wear items not covered under warranty are things like brake pads and rotors, tires, clutch friction surfaces, etc. Alternator bearings are definitely not in this category. Go back and escalate it to the next person up the chain in service. Or if there's another dealership nearby, they may not give you a hard time fixing what they are supposed to fix under warranty.

 

Lol you filled your motor with water and you want infiniti to pay for it. Good luck they would replace it if it wasn't filled with water at one time.

 

Well the only thing is that I'm trying to get the insurance company to fix it because I'm paying a $500 deductible. They're the ones saying wear and tear aren't covered. The alternator charges the battery and works fine, it just makes a loud sound which the insurance company is refusing to pay for. My warranty expired on my car June of last year and I haven't purchased extended warranty for it yet, which is why the dealership is hopeless for me.

 

Oh insurance even harder to get them to pay

 

Well obviously they aren't going to pay for that, my insurance is. The engine's working fine now, it's already been flushed. I'm just concerned on fixing the alternator.

 

You didn't mention that. If you don't have warranty coverage, why would you expect them to fix it without you paying? Take your car to the nearest reputable alternator shop. They can fix it probably for around $100.

Or buy a used alternator from a salvage yard or on ebay.

 

I never expected the dealership to do the work for free, I expected my insurance to pay Infiniti for the alternator. Yeah I didn't mention my warranty was expired, my bad. Called a few places, found a place to put in new bearings for $80. Might be my only option.

 

My bad, I misunderstood what you meant. I guess the insurance company knew that the alternator condition was preexisting to your incident? If not, then they could have presumed that the bearings got damaged by water (not likely at all). Did you tell them that they were making noise before your car went' swimming or did they simply exclude that part of the repair?

 

I told them the bearings werent making any noise before the accident but he says there's not way it could've been damaged because it's completely sealed off. They're pretty stubborn about it, I argued with the adjuster for a good 10 minutes. I told him since the alternator wasn't giving me any issues before the accident, it should be covered because it was damaged in the process.

 

^^I don't follow. If the alternator made no noises before being flooded, and now does, how is the water NOT a contributing factor?

Not sure if the bearings used in the alternator are sealed or not. If not, then it's quite reasonable that water would cause damage...

 

That's exactly what I kept saying. I asked him how is the car fixed if when Infiniti gives it back to me, it's going to be making a loud annoying sound which wasn't there before the accident.

 

Is it worth repairing the alternator??
I found a small shop and this guy fixes alternators and he said he'd put new bearings and work on the alternator for 80 dollars. He doesn't have a garage to pull the alternator out so he says I'd have to have it already removed. My car's still at the dealership and I won't get it till Monday. Also called another shop that's pretty big in San Antonio that says they wouldnt work on the alternator because they have rebuilt alternators for around ~$300.
Any suggestions? Should I just replace it or get it worked on?

 

Up to your wallet. If it were me, I'd probably pay the $80 to get new bearings and be done with it. It looks like its in a difficult place to remove on our cars though. Either way it goes, you will have to remove and replace it, new or rebuilt.

 

Only thing with that is I have to pay Infiniti for the labor to remove and replace. That'll be 1.5hrs and their rate is $125 per hr.