Warranty Voided for mods?

[pche]

It's cool, I'm Asian.
Oh as long as you don't butcher the wiring and fry the wiring harness you'll be ok.

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by akuhei

A modified housing could be a reason for them to suspect tampering to the equipment that you are asking to be warrantied. If i was in their shoes, I would suspect that you broke something or damaged something and would refuse to pay for it out of my pocket (as a dealership). So I stand by my previous statement that, while there is probably some story that can be fabricated to create a loophole, is 99% of the time true. Unless you want to do lots of arguing with dealerships and lawyers, assume that if you modify it, they wont cover it.

Also, thank you for the "proper usage of words" above. I'm not trying to be perfect, just trying to give the guy a general idea of what he's getting into modifying the car. As someone else said, further research can be done to get full clarification from my (and your) words, as long as you want to get into legalities and legal speak.

The improper choice of words started with the thread itself, not your doing... but read my example carefully.

Just because a part is removed does NOT void the warranty coverage of that part. Even if you swap exhaust systems out, and put on an aftermarket system, that does not void your warranty on your stock exhaust.

If you put an aftermarket exhaust on day 1 of ownership, run it for 15000 miles, sell the exhaust, put stock exhaust on, and after 2 years and 35000 miles find the stock exhaust is rusting on one of the ends of the muffler, this does not void your warranty because you took the stock exhaust system off.

It's all very careful wording, but what it comes down to is this: if you are UNSURE about mods or are afraid of being denied warranty coverage, ALWAYS consult a qualified mechanic or have the install documented. Many times a car shop or a mechanic exists as a way to guarantee proper labor work being done, and could end up being cheaper in the long run if you have no prior experience wrenching on a car.

That said, if you are unable to afford $1-2k worth of mechanical work done on your car over the next 2-3 years, you should NOT be modifying your car to begin with. That just reeks of a larger underlying financial issue that seems to permeate these forums...

-alex

[akuhei]

Originally Posted by mav1178

The improper choice of words started with the thread itself, not your doing... but read my example carefully.

Just because a part is removed does NOT void the warranty coverage of that part. Even if you swap exhaust systems out, and put on an aftermarket system, that does not void your warranty on your stock exhaust.

If you put an aftermarket exhaust on day 1 of ownership, run it for 15000 miles, sell the exhaust, put stock exhaust on, and after 2 years and 35000 miles find the stock exhaust is rusting on one of the ends of the muffler, this does not void your warranty because you took the stock exhaust system off.

It's all very careful wording, but what it comes down to is this: if you are UNSURE about mods or are afraid of being denied warranty coverage, ALWAYS consult a qualified mechanic or have the install documented. Many times a car shop or a mechanic exists as a way to guarantee proper labor work being done, and could end up being cheaper in the long run if you have no prior experience wrenching on a car.

That said, if you are unable to afford $1-2k worth of mechanical work done on your car over the next 2-3 years, you should NOT be modifying your car to begin with. That just reeks of a larger underlying financial issue that seems to permeate these forums...

-alex

Fair enough. My point, however, is that if you swap out a piece (say the exhaust as it seems common) and something else breaks because of it, they can refuse warranty because of it. Also, if something breaks and you swap back to stock knowing that, they can still refuse warranty work if they suspect that you had something else swapped in that wasnt stock.

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by akuhei

Fair enough. My point, however, is that if you swap out a piece (say the exhaust as it seems common) and something else breaks because of it, they can refuse warranty because of it. Also, if something breaks and you swap back to stock knowing that, they can still refuse warranty work if they suspect that you had something else swapped in that wasnt stock.

Originally Posted by akuhei

If you change the exhaust out, it will void the warranty on the exhaust. If (using that same situation) you replaced the exhaust and then had a fuel pump go out, you would still be under warranty, as long as the exhaust didnt cause the problem. And the dealership has to prove that your aftermarket part caused the problem to void the warranty.

I bolded the part for you... this statement is inaccurate.

Just because you removed a factory part does not mean you are losing warranty on that factory part.

This is important for everyone to understand, especially anyone wanting to mod their car.

-alex

[akuhei]

Originally Posted by mav1178

I bolded the part for you... this statement is inaccurate.

Just because you removed a factory part does not mean you are losing warranty on that factory part.

This is important for everyone to understand, especially anyone wanting to mod their car.

-alex

Very well, thank you for correcting me. I will correct the post. You dont lose the warranty on the original part (that nobody cares about because they removed it..), but if your aftermarket part fails and causes more failure to the rest of the engine/car, warranty wont cover the rest of the car that broke because of your aftermarket parts.

[Cridland]

Does this law apply in North America or usa specifically? Canadians like to mod as well

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by akuhei

You dont lose the warranty on the original part (that nobody cares about because they removed it..)....

Thank you... I only care because there's just too much wrong info on internet forums with regards to modifying, and there's something inherently wrong with the way car enthusiasts are modifying cars when they seek out advice from internet forums instead of attempting to build a relationship with a dealer service adviser that is going to be the person approving/denying warranty work/claims.

Buying and maintaining a car is very much like buying and maintaining a house... some things you can easily do on your own, others should be the responsibility of a qualified 3rd party worker, either for technical or liability reasons.

-alex

[ChandlerSwyng]

This is an old topic but will replacing the header on our car void the warranty? Or is it only when it's tuned that it would void

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by ChandlerSwyng

This is an old topic but will replacing the header on our car void the warranty? Or is it only when it's tuned that it would void

Read the thread, the answer is already there for you.

Just replace whatever part was discussed earlier with the word "header" and you have your answer.

-alex