Any experience with mod-friendly dealers and warranty?

[1Cor10:23]

Hi all,

Wondering what the word on the street is in the Toronto area for warranty on modified Toyotas. Been fairly comfortable making small mods here and there but I'm about to dive into Headers.

Wondering if anyone's had good / bad stories specifically in Toronto area. My dealer was DVN Toyota.

I know it can be hit or miss but would like to hear about personal experiences rather than generalizations.

Thanks!

[wparsons]

I bought from Weitzes, and they seem quite friendly. They went as far as to say they'll warranty stock shocks running non TRD aftermarket springs as long as they did the spring install. They were also looking into the feasibility of selling/installing a locally built turbo kit, but I don't know where that ever ended up.

I've stopped going there for oil changes since moving to Whitby, but if anything big comes up I'll be going back for sure. They're good people, but I can't justify driving that far out of the way just for oil.

Based on what I experienced at DVN, I would bet they'll be the first to try to get out of warranty work if they can. The sales guy there told me they had parts in stock (this is in May 2012) to deliver the car with 300hp with a full warranty. The next person I talked to said that a non TRD exhaust could void warranty (it can't).

Regardless of what they tell you, the part you replaced would have to be related to the part needing warranty work (ie blown shocks with aftermarket springs) to have any grounds for denial. If you go in with a different exhaust and a blown shock they can't deny anything.

[shu5892001]

I would definitely avoid DVN, I think aurora toyota was ok. I brought my car in with dp/exhaust and rims and the tech even asked me when I was planning to lower it

[wparsons]

The service advisor at Toyota on the Park (around the corner from my office) was great too, I've been there for the last couple oil changes. They were interested in the car more than other dealerships, probably because they aren't a Scion dealership so they don't see many (or any) of them.

[1Cor10:23]

This is great to know, thanks guys. Do you know if say, you take your modded car in for a regular service, they'll flag your 'file' for voided warranty?

After my next oil change I'll likely only be taking it in to dealership for warranty claims, hopefully I can get everything else done myself or at a local shop. Won't be too much of an issue to just swap out the headers if need be.

[krayzie]

The dealer would not flag you for having mods, unless you are trying to make a warranty claim on something where they have grounds to deny the claim based on your mods, then they might flag you (but I'm not sure if the database is centralized across different dealerships, I highly doubt it).

If you are concerned about engine warranty then don't do powertrain related mods. Actually reading all these horror stories with engine failures even on stock setup on this forum kind of worries me.

I know some dealerships they will deny your warranty claim if you've never serviced the car by following the factory schedule with them.

Myself I hate servicing the car at dealerships, somehow there is always this one person that doesn't give a crap about your car and ruins it in some way. Just my luck I guess. I had to get rid of my beloved Golf GTI just because the dealer closes to my office (Volkswagen Villa) constantly screwed it up for 6 years straight, to the point I had no choice but to trade it in. Their sister dealer (Willowdale Subaru) seems to be just as bad (they put an unrepairable deep scratch on my buddy's old WRX STI during service once).

[Deadspool]

I've been getting my car serviced at Steele Subaru here, they have covered everything, even my DI pump. Awesome dealership.

I'm turbocharged.

If i came towed in on a flat deck with a new window, That would be another story, I wouldn't expect them to process a warranty claim.

[congee]

Anyone have experience with subaru dealerships that are mod friendly?

Looking to take my brz in for a tune up soon but have an aftermarket exhaust. Will they void the warranty?

[1Cor10:23]

@Deadspool did you have DI seal failure?

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