Trek frame warranty?

smnw10 said:

and if anyone wants to buy a 2004 model Trek 5200 let me know via PM

Is your friend selling the broken one?

Yea he is, but it's been fixed by trek, essentially a brand new frame
he's selling the bike as a whole and going to get something else

Can't say I blame him. I've had very good luck with my 10-year-old OCLV, but if I'd had a problem, I too would have expected a resolution. It seems like it would pay off for them in the long run to just take care of things like this, especially considering the income they're getting from the Lance exposure.

😕 I don't get it...Why is it not under warranty? 😕

From Trek's website...

Trek Limited Lifetime Warranty

Trek Bicycle Corporation provides each original retail purchaser of the bicycle a lifetime warranty against defects in materials and workmanship in the bicycle frame and rigid fork when purchased from an authorized Trek dealer. The warranty on the Diesel DH frameset is limited to one year. Trek Bicycle Corporation likewise warrants all original parts on the bicycle, excluding suspension forks and rear shock absorbers, for a period of one year from the date of purchase. Suspension forks and rear shock absorbers shall be covered by the stated warranty of their original manufacturers. Paint and decals are warranted for one year. This warranty is expressly limited to the repair or replacement of a defective frame, fork, or defective part and is the sole remedy of the warranty. This warranty applies only to the original owner and is not transferable. Claims under this warranty must be made through an authorized Trek dealer. Proof of purchase is required.

A warranty registration card must be completed and received by the Trek Bicycle Corporation before a warranty claim may be processed. This warranty covers bicycles and components outside the United States only if purchased through an authorized international Trek distributor or Trek dealer within the country of purchase. The warranty does not cover normal wear and tear, improper assembly or follow-up maintenance, installation of parts or accessories not originally intended or compatible with the bicycle as sold, damage or failure due to accident, misuse or neglect, or modification of the frame, fork or components. Trek Bicycle Corporation shall not be responsible for incidental or consequential damages. Some states do not allow the exclusion of incidental or consequential damages, so the above exclusion may not apply to you. This warranty gives the consumer specific legal rights, and those rights may vary from place to place. This warranty does not affect the statutory rights of the consumer. All photos, illustrations, colors, weights, and specifications contained in this catalog are based on the latest production information at the time of publication. Trek reserves the right to make changes at any time, without notice, in colors, materials, equipment, specifications and models. Any variations in colors shown may be due to the reproductive variations of the printing process. Photos may include non-U.S. equipment. Some models may be shown with optional equipment. Off road bike weights based on medium or 18 inch frame size. Road bike weights based on 56cm frame size. ©2001 Trek Bicycle Corporation. All rights reserved. Trek and the Trek logo are registered trademarks of Trek Bicycle Corporation. Nike and the Nike swoosh are registered trademarks of Nike, Inc. Cycleops is a registered trademark of Graber.

The answer he got from his LBS was that Trek said it was caused by a crash not the frame being faulty. My friend did crash on that side once, but crashed into grass BUT that didn't cause the crack! He noticed a creeking noise that was coming from back there 3 months after that crash and the LBS said it looked like a cracked frame and the rest is history. He also races so he puts on 175+ miles per week on that bike, not just a weekend rider or anything. How Trek looked at it and said it was caused from a wreck i have no idea.

His uncle bought a Colnago from over seas and had a 1 year warranty on it, the frame cracked about 14 months after he got it, and they told him to send it back and it was replaced free of charge. That's service.

That's odd, I deal with Trek on a daily basis at work and have never had them flat out screw someone on a warranty like that. There must have been other evidence of crash damage. The general rule with their warranties, in my experience, is that doubt on their part benefits the customer, so they must have had something that they were positive was crash damage. Sorry for your friend.

smnw10 said:

A friend of mine discovered a small 2cm crack in his chainstay on his 8 month old Trek 5200. He sent the frame back to Trek to have it fixed, thinking under warranty, then after a month just got a phone call from his bike shop (who handled the shipping with Trek etc) saying he owed $450US to get his bike cause Trek said the damage wasn't under warranty.
Needless to say this peeved my friend off quite a bit. He bought the Trek BECAUSE of their warranty on the frames but seems to have been given the shaft in this case. Because of the way it has been handled with Trek I think I can say I won't ever buy one now. I had always heard very good things about the Trek people and honoring warranties etc but after this ordeal I'm not so sure I'll buy a Trek now.

Has anyone else had problems like this? And I looked on the Trek website for info on their warranties on the frames and got an error loading the warranty page 😠

and if anyone wants to buy a 2004 model Trek 5200 let me know via PM

I recently had a similar problem with Trek. I have a 6 year old carbon 5500 that thankfully has never been crashed. Recently I noticed 5 cracks on the frame: one on the down tube near the head set, two on the seat tube and on the inside of each chain stay near the bottome bracket. I brought the bike into my local dealer and the owner was confident that the frame would be covered under Trek's warranty. He said that although the cracks were likely in the paint, due to the number of cracks it was likely at least one was more than superficial.

The Trek sales rep looked at the frame and told me they were all paint cracks due to the frame flexing at the gussets. I buy this to some degree as they all are at those junctions. However, he went on to tell me to mark the edges of the cracks, and see if they grow. Since they are only in the paint as he said, the bike is not covered under warranty. He also said this is why they don't paint bikes white any more because it's too easy to see cracks. Do you think they use this process in the aircraft industry? "Yeah Bob, just get a sharpie market and indicate the edges of the cracks on the jack shaft. If they get bigger, let me know...hopefully the plane won't crash."

I understand the frame probably won't explode while I'm riding it, but my confidence in the frame and Trek are shot. I have loved my frame up to this point, but feel Trek needs to step up to the plate. What is the replacement cost to Trek on a 5500? Can't be equal to the bad press and potential liability the sales rep exposed them to.

Last year I decided not to buy a Giant because they have no warranty. Now I think I'll think twice as from my vantage point, the Trek "lifetime" warranty is meaningless.

I have a Trek 2100 carbon frame which corroded around where the carbon and steel meet... Trek will not honor the life time warranty for this frame after weeks of calls.
DEPRESSING😕

Based on what I've read above I think Trek is being reasonable.

The first guy admits the bike was in a crash and then gets upset because Trek won't fix the crash damage for free. Boo Hoo. Nice try.

And the next guy sounds like he wants a new bike because there are some cracks in the paint on his 6 year old bike. Again nice try.

Hey GM - my 10 year old car has a scratch on the front bumper. Give me a new one else I'll start posting all over the internet about what crappy customer service you have.

ahimsa said:

That's odd, I deal with Trek on a daily basis at work and have never had them flat out screw someone on a warranty like that. There must have been other evidence of crash damage. The general rule with their warranties, in my experience, is that doubt on their part benefits the customer, so they must have had something that they were positive was crash damage. Sorry for your friend.

Odd? I've been on many bicycle forums over the years and I can tell you from forum members that THIS ISN'T ODD!!!! Trek has gotten to big for their britches and don't care about their customers anymore because they have so many (their the second largest bike manufacture in the world). Obviously crashes aren't covered, but most of the forum members that had cracking CF Trek frames got screwed, a few battled Trek for a couple of years, most just settled for a replacement frame at Treks cost because all the time and effort wasn't worth the headache...so Trek wins every time. And now with most of the CF production for Trek bikes (and other manufactures) coming out of China the problem has gotten worst. And yet we run out and buy CF bicycles!