More and informational post here, not looking for answers. Here's the saga by bullet points on the 03:

1. We are now up to a whopping 34k miles.
2. Noticed some spotting on the drive, and then see tell tale signs on the rear diff housing. Made a mental not to crawl under some day when I have time and it isn't raining.
3. With the holiday travels last weekend it started to make a horrific whine.
4. Finally crawlwed underneath to find the DS axle had backed out from the housing. Seems as if something failed with the cir-clip that must be on the diff end.
5. Checked the gear lube and it was way low. Refilled and took for a drive and still sounds like hell.
6. With the 14k miles when we bought it, I did what I seldom do and bought a bumper-to-bumper extended warranty good for 8yrs/85k miles. And so we limped home.
7. Took it to the stealer who just called to say it likely needs a new diff.

This is going to cost over a grand I expect, which means half the cost of warranty is effectively paid back.

The biggest thing though is what the hell happened that the axle floated out to begin with? e.g. Did the cir-clip break? Will report back when there is more to share...