Waranty

[jat152]

Where would I look, or who would know, what type of upgrades/mods, will void the arranty on the car? Such as a cold air intake.

[DSV]

Where would I look, or who would know, what type of upgrades/mods, will void the arranty on the car? Such as a cold air intake.

The aftermarket part only voids the warranty on the part it replaces, nothing else. If you have some sort of problem and the dealership says it is because of your aftermarket part, they must prove it beyond a reasonable doubt for it to stick.

[jat152]

oh alright very cool, iv always been told that if you change something on it, it voids the whole thing. thanks

[Sinan]

but if they tell you that they pretty much tried everything (even if they really didnt) and stated that its because of that, what then? would they have to present evidence or what? I think once you start going down that road, you're pretty much by yourself in the world of moding. I don't think dealer will go to that level of trying to find out if the part really caused the malfunction. They just don't have time, and even if they did, they probably wouldn't waste it on such thing. In other words, once the dealer says "That's it", God forbid if you would object and ask for second opinion or another look, because then they look down upon you and think that you're playing smarter than them.

So my point is that every dealer will just scratch the surface and call it a day. Even if the malfunctioning part is not due to moding, they will probably say it is. Because they know better than you, without ever looking into it. IT's called "I steal your money, please come back again with the same problem. I will steal again."

PS: Some dealers will. But they are needles in haystacks.

[lenny]

The aftermarket part only voids the warranty on the part it replaces, nothing else. If you have some sort of problem and the dealership says it is because of your aftermarket part, they must prove it beyond a reasonable doubt for it to stick.

I hate calling out moderators but this is a line of BS. Say for instance you have an aftermarket BPV on your car. If your turbo blows it would be because your aftermarket BPV wasn't working correctly. If your clutch goes it would be because your car has extra power (corny and unrealistic I know). Dealerships are considered "certified" on the cars they deal with. IF they say, "this caused that" it is what will go down as truth and fact. Dealerships are very stringent if not downright assholes on mods. One way that you can tell if any mod will void your warranty is this.

#1. Have the dealership that the warranty is thru install the modification
#2. Get in writing by the service manager that the installed modification will not in ANY matter CHANGE OR VOID the exisiting warranty. Be sure to get this in writing with his/her signature as well as yours and date. (In the case that it will "change" the exisiting warrant be sure to have the service manager specify on which part(s) it will no longer provide coverage for.

This way if they come up with some loophole to get out of paying when something breaks you've got them caught in a legal sense with "their pants down."
-Dan

[Black86gti]

when we admin our warrantys we look at what has failed and if we can prove an aftermarket part as caused the failure. ex. aftermarket intake and the maf sensor fails and is installed in the intake. aslong as that intake alowed the maf to be installed similar to the factory and there are no clear signs of water or debris causing damage we buy the maf.

It all comes down to what was modded and what broke. ex 24's on a car that came with a tire dia. less than that we wont buy axles/ ball joints. tie rods etc. if the wheel/tire comb is simlar to factory no problem

[mume]

I hate calling out moderators but this is a line of BS. Say for instance you have an aftermarket BPV on your car. If your turbo blows it would be because your aftermarket BPV wasn't working correctly. If your clutch goes it would be because your car has extra power (corny and unrealistic I know). Dealerships are considered "certified" on the cars they deal with. IF they say, "this caused that" it is what will go down as truth and fact. Dealerships are very stringent if not downright assholes on mods. One way that you can tell if any mod will void your warranty is this.

#1. Have the dealership that the warranty is thru install the modification
#2. Get in writing by the service manager that the installed modification will not in ANY matter CHANGE OR VOID the exisiting warranty. Be sure to get this in writing with his/her signature as well as yours and date. (In the case that it will "change" the exisiting warrant be sure to have the service manager specify on which part(s) it will no longer provide coverage for.

This way if they come up with some loophole to get out of paying when something breaks you've got them caught in a legal sense with "their pants down."
-Dan


I have to agree with this. My husbands whole warrenty on his car is voided. How did he find this out? A shifter bushing broke and he took it in to get warrentied out....ended up they warrentied it but said that the wouldn't warrenty anything else on his car because he had zero catalytic converters on his car. If you have any mod what-so-ever on your car, the dealers/manufactuer looks at it as you are doing something with the car that shouldn't be done (ie-drag racing, auto-xing, etc). Now it doesn't mean that some dealerships will work around this kind of thing, but for the most part if you are modding your car, usually you are doing stuff that the car isn't intended to be used for....really the car should only be used to be driven at normal speeds, etc....not intended to be modded with aftermarket parts that they car wasn't made to have.

[twooly]

I have to agree with this. My husbands whole warrenty on his car is voided. How did he find this out? A shifter bushing broke and he took it in to get warrentied out....ended up they warrentied it but said that the wouldn't warrenty anything else on his car because he had zero catalytic converters on his car. If you have any mod what-so-ever on your car, the dealers/manufactuer looks at it as you are doing something with the car that shouldn't be done (ie-drag racing, auto-xing, etc). Now it doesn't mean that some dealerships will work around this kind of thing, but for the most part if you are modding your car, usually you are doing stuff that the car isn't intended to be used for....really the car should only be used to be driven at normal speeds, etc....not intended to be modded with aftermarket parts that they car wasn't made to have.

No offense that dealer is a complete joke because I'm sorry you can't void your entire car's warranty and any lawyer would be glad to show VW/Dealer that.

[Black86gti]

I have to agree with this. My husbands whole warrenty on his car is voided. How did he find this out? A shifter bushing broke and he took it in to get warrentied out....ended up they warrentied it but said that the wouldn't warrenty anything else on his car because he had zero catalytic converters on his car. If you have any mod what-so-ever on your car, the dealers/manufactuer looks at it as you are doing something with the car that shouldn't be done (ie-drag racing, auto-xing, etc). Now it doesn't mean that some dealerships will work around this kind of thing, but for the most part if you are modding your car, usually you are doing stuff that the car isn't intended to be used for....really the car should only be used to be driven at normal speeds, etc....not intended to be modded with aftermarket parts that they car wasn't made to have.
if the dealer voided a waranty due to an exh system they are ****ing stupid. and i agree with twooly get a laywer. a dealer can warranty/goodwill what every they want to.

[mume]

It wasn't the dealer that actually voided the warrenty. The manufactuers rep was there and saw the car and said that they would not cover the car anymore.

[twooly]

It wasn't the dealer that actually voided the warrenty. The manufactuers rep was there and saw the car and said that they would not cover the car anymore.

Again they can't do the whole car. So if I had an after market exhaust and my headlight had an issue of not turning with the car (AFS) how does the exhaust cause my headlight to not work? There are lots of cases out there where people fought and the car manufacturers lost hands down.

[jat152]

So I should not have a problem if I take my car to the dealer to lets say...get the service now light turned off. becuase I have a cold air intake on it, It should still be warantied correct

[twooly]

Yeah you shouldn't have a problem there.....FYI you can do that yourself

"Hold the trip meter button (0.0) turn the key to on position and press the min button on the left side, without letting go of the trip button."

[jat152]

Yeah you shouldn't have a problem there.....FYI you can do that yourself

"Hold the trip meter button (0.0) turn the key to on position and press the min button on the left side, without letting go of the trip button."

Nice, that actually was going to be my next question!

[lenny]

Actually depending on the car a "service light" could be caused by a MAF defection. An oiled filter (K&N, ITG, etc) will ditry up a MAF and cause it to throw a CEL. Sometimes these so called oiled filters will even ruin a MAF beyond repair (basic cleaning). On certain models of cars, a CEL light associated with a MAF error detection will "trigger" a "service" or "inspection" code to appear immediately. If anyone is doubting me you are completely wrong and need to do some research

BTW, if you think an "Aftermarket Air Intake" cannot "Void" the warranty on your cars' engine/emissions/electronic system get a ****ing clue. YOU ARE WRONG. Any questions? Ask your dealer... I am correct... I realize I sound arrogant. However, as a previous owner of 2 Audi CPO cars I know what to expect. Obviously you're worried for a reason and thats' why you posted your concern on the board. Why don't you ask or talk to someone face to face that actually matters. Opinions are like assholes and everone has one. Why not ask someone in the know (service manager) and discover their opinions about the mods you have or want to install....I'd be willing to bet once you talk to someone in the know...your car will remain stock until you're out of warranty
-Dan

[twooly]

Actually depending on the car a "service light" could be caused by a MAF defection. An oiled filter (K&N, ITG, etc) will ditry up a MAF and cause it to throw a CEL. Sometimes these so called oiled filters will even ruin a MAF beyond repair (basic cleaning). On certain models of cars, a CEL light associated with a MAF error detection will "trigger" a "service" or "inspection" code to appear immediately. If anyone is doubting me you are completely wrong and need to do some research


He's talking about the "You need to service your car in x miles". Basicly it goes off at 5 k and then every 10k after that telling to being the car in for oil change and other goodies. Not the cel.

[jat152]

He's talking about the "You need to service your car in x miles". Basicly it goes off at 5 k and then every 10k after that telling to being the car in for oil change and other goodies. Not the cel.

lol, twooly I was letting the man have his glory post...don't take it away from him, it lookedl ike he had an exciting time posting it.!:rolleyes:

[SirRangeALot]

So I've always wondered...if you take your car to a shop that will install a lowered suspension, and since it will be entered under the VIN once the invoice is entered, if the warranty company sees that, will they void any warranty coverage involved with, say, an oil pan being damaged? Seems like a stupid question once I have it typed out... :hide:

[jat152]

So I've always wondered...if you take your car to a shop that will install a lowered suspension, and since it will be entered under the VIN once the invoice is entered, if the warranty company sees that, will they void any warranty coverage involved with, say, an oil pan being damaged? Seems like a stupid question once I have it typed out... :hide:

Thats a probability, from what I read above, since the lowering of the car resulted in damaging the oil pan, it wouldnt be covered, since its an aftermarket part that caused it.

[jat152]

If anyone is wondering...there is an act, that was implemented in 1975 that states if some place warrants something, either full, or limited, if such item is still under the terms of the warranty they have to perform maitance or repairs at no charge. If your dealer warranty limits what you can do with the car, such as adding an intake, or exhaust then yes..it prolly wont be covered...but if those provisions are not specifically put into the written warranty, they have to cover it.

The act is called the magnuson-moss act if anyone is interested...it is quite long though.

if you want to dispute this issue with the dealer try to work it out with them first..if not take it to court with this act in mind.