Voiding warranties?

[N1rve]

Originally Posted by ButeraFRS

So I don't mean to bring this thread from the dead.

I called my dealership and they said anything other than TRD as an axle back exhaust could void my warranty.

The ethics of warranties doesn't concern me. He mentioned something about these cars having "black boxes" which might figure out if you've ever had an aftermarket thing installed.

My question: do these cars have these black boxes and if yes (and even if no) is there any way they would know if I had an axle back exhaust installed say if I bring it into them after changing it back to stock.

Again you can call this "fraud" all you want, anyone who knows dealerships know they try to fraud you out of warranties anyway and anyone who knows the mechanics of a car knows that mufflers though they may affect back pressure (and even then there's the argument that cats make all the bp),have little to no effect on the engine and only really deal with sound. So just to avoid any other posts that don't answer my question I just wanted to state the previous.

A muffler delete won't void any warranty. all it does is change the sound.

These cars do have black boxes and they can pull data from it. Typically mechanical over rev.

Originally Posted by N1rve

A muffler delete won't void any warranty. all it does is change the sound.

These cars do have black boxes and they can pull data from it. Typically mechanical over rev.

So can they see whether the car had an axle back at a point in time or no?

[N1rve]

Originally Posted by ButeraFRS

So can they see whether the car had an axle back at a point in time or no?

Only by the screws as they will be "touched".

[Tcoat]

Not really a "black box" but they can pull data fro the ECU. Now, unless you were throwing codes from the exhaust they really will never know. In order for the exhaust to influence the warranty they would have to prove that it was at least part of the cause for the issue. Pretty hard to do with exhaust. You may have to fight hem if something came up but you would probably win!


I personally am of the "you gotta pay to play" and strongly believe it is fraud if you change something that you did back to stock to collect warranty if you thought it may have been the cause but in the case of axle back exhaust there really aren't many problems that it can cause.


Also depends a lot on your dealer. From reading here it would seem like they are all out to get you but in reality there could be thousands that were covered even with mods. Those ones just don't post the good news and it is usually the guys that got denied and are looking for support that do all the talking. Sounds like your dealer may be a problem though if they are telling you that there is some secret "black box"!

[billwot]

Originally Posted by ButeraFRS

So I don't mean to bring this thread from the dead.

I called my dealership and they said anything other than TRD as an axle back exhaust could void my warranty.

The ethics of warranties doesn't concern me. He mentioned something about these cars having "black boxes" which might figure out if you've ever had an aftermarket thing installed.

My question: do these cars have these black boxes and if yes (and even if no) is there any way they would know if I had an axle back exhaust installed say if I bring it into them after changing it back to stock.

Again you can call this "fraud" all you want, anyone who knows dealerships know they try to fraud you out of warranties anyway and anyone who knows the mechanics of a car knows that mufflers though they may affect back pressure (and even then there's the argument that cats make all the bp),have little to no effect on the engine and only really deal with sound. So just to avoid any other posts that don't answer my question I just wanted to state the previous.

One more time...mfgr's and dealerships can NOT "void your warranty". However, they can legally deny specific claims, if some action on your part has caused a problem or failuure.

And while the law says they must prove your mod caused the failure, in the real world, if they deny your claim, the burden of proof really falls on you. Most owners lack the resources and determination required to fight
the mfgr/dealer.

Just wanna thank all the above for the responses.

Originally Posted by billwot

One more time...mfgr's and dealerships can NOT "void your warranty". However, they can legally deny specific claims, if some action on your part has caused a problem or failuure.

And while the law says they must prove your mod caused the failure, in the real world, if they deny your claim, the burden of proof really falls on you. Most owners lack the resources and determination required to fight
the mfgr/dealer.

And one more time, I live in Canada. Not the U.S.. We are not protected by the Mangnuson-Moss Warranty Act. And "voiding the warranty" were the same words used by dealership.

Just one more time though

[billwot]

Originally Posted by ButeraFRS

Just wanna thank all the above for the responses.



And one more time, I live in Canada. Not the U.S.. We are not protected by the Mangnuson-Moss Warranty Act. And "voiding the warranty" were the same words used by dealership.

Just one more time though

Even in Canada, (and in the absence of Moss-Magnussen) a "warranty" is a promise. Unless specific exclusions are stated, the provider of the warranty cannot legally "void" its promise.

And yes, even here in the lower 48, the phrase "void your warranty" is commonly misused.

[Teseo]

Even if you dont mod your car dealers will do anything for not granted the warranty

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

There is absolutely no Canadian law that is equivalent to the Mangnuson-Moss Warranty Act. The Business Protection Act that includes warranty requirements really just says that the conditions of warranty must be established prior to sale and explanatory materials must be made available to purchasers.
So... read all that warranty material that came with the car very, very closely!


Now, what we do have that the U.S. doesn't is another level that we can take warrenty claims to if the dealer or manufacturer won't play nice. Purchasers of vehicles either new or up to four model years from new have access to the Canadian Automobile Manufacturers Vehicle Arbitration Program which offers free arbitration to consumers embroiled in warranty disputes with manufacturers. CAMVAP www.camvap.ca can (and often do) order repairs or even vehicle return in certain cases. In the couple of cases we have seen on here where warranty was refused for bearing failure even though proof of service was provided I would be willing to bet that CAMVAP would have ordered the repairs completed.

Originally Posted by ButeraFRS

Just wanna thank all the above for the responses.



And one more time, I live in Canada. Not the U.S.. We are not protected by the Mangnuson-Moss Warranty Act. And "voiding the warranty" were the same words used by dealership.

Just one more time though

And one more time (LOL I wanted on that band wagon as well) we have a different recourse we can turn to if they void your warranty and you don't feel that it is right. Know a couple of people that used the above and both won full repairs.