Warranty Voided for mods?

[peanuts hachi roku]

Has anyone had or does anyone know what mods will void out a warranty?

I want to buy the fog light kit, the actually JDM kit. But i was told it could void my warranty, and i have an extended warranty so i definitely do not want to throw my money away just for the fog lights. Also would like to do other mods, like the pulley systems and few other mechanical tunes.

I heard also, putting HIDs (not that i want to put them rather put PIAA bulbs but for the sake of this thread) can cause Toyota to deny work on the car...

thanks in advance for the info.

[akuhei]

Anything you upgrade will void the warranty for that part.

If you change the exhaust out, it will not void the warranty on the stock exhaust, but they will not cover warranty issues caused by your new 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.

So..you should be fine with the fog light kit.. make sense?

(edited to ensure mav1187 was happy with the wording)

[peanuts hachi roku]

makes sense.
but if the kit ties into the electrical cant that be a cause to void?

well i guess it depends on the kit right?

[a2cpc]

or the install!

[ModBargains.com]

Originally Posted by akuhei

Anything you upgrade will void the warranty for that part.

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.

So..you should be fine with the fog light kit.. make sense?

+1 Pretty easy and simple way to explain it there. OP if you want a more detailed view into that, SEMA put out an article that can explain it more in detail for you:

http://www.sema.org/sema-enews/2011/...ermarket-parts

[akuhei]

Again...they have to prove that what you installed caused whatever issue to void the warranty. So yes, it could void your entire electrical system warranty if they can prove that the fog lights or install caused your..fuse box to explode? Or a bad ground issue causing the car to be unable to start, etc.

I dont think there is much concern from you installing a JDM fog light kit, especially if there isnt any wire cutting/stripping involved. If there is, maybe ask a dealership or a shop to do it for you, one that feels comfortable with doing the electrical work.

[peanuts hachi roku]

ok

so to clarify, if i installed or had an ASE cert tech to install a fog light kit that has the stalk and the complete system then it would not void any other warranty due to the fact that it is a new part that did not exist previously but should the new part affect of harm any other part it will void that particular part.

sorry if i keep going in circles

[akuhei]

Originally Posted by peanuts hachi roku

ok

so to clarify, if i installed or had an ASE cert tech to install a fog light kit that has the stalk and the complete system then it would not void any other warranty due to the fact that it is a new part that did not exist previously but should the new part affect of harm any other part it will void that particular part.

sorry if i keep going in circles

Yes..you will only void what you touch/modify. If your fog light goes out, they wont fix it. If your headlight stops working, they will fix it provided the issue wasnt caused by the fog light install.

[peanuts hachi roku]

Awesome

thank you for the info

now i can be excited about getting the kit rather than worry about it!

[mav1178]

PROPER USAGE OF WORDS please.

Dealers can DENY you warranty coverage, either at their discretion or after consultation with manufacturer.

Warranty CANNOT be voided as that is offered by the manufacturer.

The usage of the two words is very important... you ALWAYS have warranty coverage during the mileage/time duration, it's a question of whether the warranty can be used to cover repairs on your car or if you are paying out of pocket.

-alex

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by akuhei

Anything you upgrade will void the warranty for that part.

Not true.

Just because I chose to replace my foglights does not mean I am denied warranty coverage of my stock lights.

Example would be:

I swap out BRZ foglights to aftermarket kits from Diode Dynamics. I then swap back to stock lights because of a problem with the aftermarket kit. I inspected the electrical lines before/after each install, no issues were found.

Then I burn out the factory foglight housing from a short in the bulb (which was never removed). I take it to dealer, they inspect my lights and wiring and find no problems with the wiring, but attempt to deny me warranty because the housing was "modified".

This is where I would argue for warranty coverage, because my modification clearly did not impact the repair in question.

The only word of caution I would present for any newbies to car modifying, is that if you are doing your own work via some DIY on an internet forum, you are responsible for the burden of proof. This often requires a lot of back and forth with the service advisor/manager/GM/dealer owner/regional rep/manufacturer/lawyer, depending on how deep in the rabbit hole you go.

-alex

[zooki]

So I always read that the dealer(or manufacturer) has to prove that the aftermarket part caused the failure in order to deny the warranty. Prove it to who, exactly? I'm guessing it will end up in a court of law? So how much will court costs, attorney fees, etc. run? And what if they win? Dealers(and manafacturers) usually have deeper pockets that most, and probably smarter lawyers too. And what if the judge isn't a "car guy"? Something I've always wondered about...

[akuhei]

Originally Posted by mav1178

Not true.

Just because I chose to replace my foglights does not mean I am denied warranty coverage of my stock lights.

Example would be:

I swap out BRZ foglights to aftermarket kits from Diode Dynamics. I then swap back to stock lights because of a problem with the aftermarket kit. I inspected the electrical lines before/after each install, no issues were found.

Then I burn out the factory foglight housing from a short in the bulb (which was never removed). I take it to dealer, they inspect my lights and wiring and find no problems with the wiring, but attempt to deny me warranty because the housing was "modified".

This is where I would argue for warranty coverage, because my modification clearly did not impact the repair in question.

The only word of caution I would present for any newbies to car modifying, is that if you are doing your own work via some DIY on an internet forum, you are responsible for the burden of proof. This often requires a lot of back and forth with the service advisor/manager/GM/dealer owner/regional rep/manufacturer/lawyer, depending on how deep in the rabbit hole you go.

-alex

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.

[akuhei]

Originally Posted by zooki

So I always read that the dealer(or manufacturer) has to prove that the aftermarket part caused the failure in order to deny the warranty. Prove it to who, exactly? I'm guessing it will end up in a court of law? So how much will court costs, attorney fees, etc. run? And what if they win? Dealers(and manafacturers) usually have deeper pockets that most, and probably smarter lawyers too. And what if the judge isn't a "car guy"? Something I've always wondered about...

I've never been in the situation, but remember that while they have deeper pockets, they are also aware of the cost of such court trips and the damage that it could cost to their PR. And they usually seem to go for "its cheaper to repair whatever is damaged than to pay the fees and fight a PR battle". (usually doesnt mean always. There is one vendor on this forum that lost such a battle..because there were videos of them tracking the car. They lost the DI seals (i think) and blew the engine. Even though the car is stock, they won by saying that the car was not used as it was intended.)