I was thinking of doing a reflash, but am trying to find out how the heck am I going to do this on a weekday when I usually leave early in the AM for work and don't get back until it's dark out. Plus, while I'm getting 'flashed', I can't drive my car (how long does it take anyway?) and will need to rent a car or car pool. The latter is not an option as I'm new to the area and don't know anyone going my way plus I work late so even if I can hitch a ride to work, I'll have to hitch hike back

Anyway, my question is... has anyone gone in for servicing something and that Acura finds your car to be modified and that they refuse to do the work under warranty?? I wouldn't be surprised if this were the case, no?

 

Some mods do alter the warranty. Sometimes it depends if the warranty work that you are requesting involves any problems leading due to mods.

 

It sounds like you don't have a very good idea of what the reflash is and how it is performed. To get the Hondata reflash, you must ship your ECU to Hondata in California. They program the ECU and ship it back to you. Other than the lowered VTEC point, the changes are 100% transparent to both you and your dealer. All of their equipment will still work with the car's electronics as they expect it to, and they will never know it is there.

Also, the turnaround time is 3 days. 1 day to ship your ECU there, 1day where they receive it and reprogram it and send it back out, and on the 3rd day you should receive it back. Other than going to their facility in CA, there is no way to speed up this process.

 

Heads up though on the reflash.

The dealer can actually mess up your reflash. Meaning that if you get hondata, and than send your car in for service, they can reset your ECU back to non-hondata.

I hope I am making sense. Had an 03 SI, w/hondata. Send the car for service, and no more hondata.

Not sure if it affects the Tsx, but just a heads up.

 

That's why alot of people opted to do Hondata after their TSX is out of warranty at 50k miles. If you really want to do this mod right away might as well go all out and get new Exhaust, Headers, CAI or SRI.

 

Do some research on the Magnuson-Moss Warranty act. There is federal code regarding your issue

 

Still does not mean Acura has to cover a warranty claim. Go visit some diesel pick-up boards (those guys are heavy modders) and most dealers will deny warranty work if the vehicle has been modded. Here is the best advice - IF you choose to mod, you now become your own warranty station.

And a BIG to those dealers who do deny your warranty work to fix something which was caused by your modding. You ultimately cost me the consumer more money in a higher new car cost.

 

Guess you didnt read what the act says. A dealer can deny warrany work ONLY if a modified part has a direct corrlation to the problem. So if you have a larger swaybar installed, and you blow a head gasket, they cant deny the claim. Now, if you have an intake and you hydrolock, then of course its not going to be covered.

Im on the fence about a reflash though. I recently had my entire clutch replaced under warrany and Im almost certain if I was reflashed I would have had a tougher fight on my hands to get it fixed.

 

YEAH what he said!

 

Yeah whatever. I have read it AND the dealer always has the edge. If you have the time AND resources you MIGHT be able to beat it. Look, as I said before, you modders who get things fixed or replaced because of the modding (un-beknowenst to the dealer) cost us all more money in the long run .which is what pisses me off. If you want to mod - Great! Knock yourself out....just don't take it to the dealer asking them to fix it when it breaks. You MOD, YOU become your own warranty station.PERIOD.

 

Are you saying the dealers should deny all warranty claims regardless if the problem is caused by the modification or not? Do you work for a dealer?

Personally, I believe in taking responsibility of your own actions. If a certain modification is directly the cause of a problem such as CAI and hydrolock, then the person should pay for the repair. However, if the modification has nothing to do with the problem, then it's also the consumer's rights to get it fixed under warranty. Also, please explain how other people modding their cars cost you more money?

 

I agree if the mod was the direct or remotely responsible cuase of the warranty claim, then they should deny the work.


However.
The dealer does not exactly have an edge as you say. If they lose, they are responsible for ALL court costs, including lawyer fees. If it is borderline (the claim remotely resulting from a mod), a smart dealership would just fix it, but this would also depend on what they are fixing.

The dealer must be able to prove that it was the cause.. If you feel you have a legitimate claim. Just give a call to the FTC and file a complaint. The burden of persuasion is on the dealer.

I can guaruntee they are going to think about denying if they are replacing the engine, but would probably just fix a motor mount etc.. (speaking from personal experience on the MM).

I rarely had an in warranty issue with my VW, but did have to negotiate with them with a few things they believed was caused by my aftermarket suspension. I felt it was fair and accepted it.

On a side note, until I have loads of dispensible money.. I have decided to keep the mods on the DL. Selling the VW with mods was a hassle and had I done what I wanted to it (chip, cams etc..) it would have been even more difficult to sell.

I am speaking from both experience and my legal education (law student) as opposed to some people who are speaking from opinion.

 

No, I do not work for a dealer, I am a corporate trainer for my company.

I believe if a persons mods and the fix/repair is caused by the mod, the car owner should have to pay - Take responsibility for your actions.

Because so many people try to cheat the dealer - IE: Remove the chip, the CAI or whatever and then take it into the dealer to diagnose/fix the problem under a warranty claim costs ALL OF US as the manufacturer foots the bill for the diagnosis/repair which eventually gets passed onto all of us in the form of a higher new vehicle purchase price.

 

I think you're issue is valid, but you are missing the point of the thread.

 

Well about a month ago, I went to the dealership to ask about why my car isn't saving gas. They said that it was because of my intake. He said he lifted up the car and couldn't find any leaks. Till this day, I still do not believe in what he said. An intake isn't suppose to shave off 7 mpg from standard mpg in local. I'd check all the parts that can go wrong but I might just put the stock parts back into the car and then just drive it to the dealership and say it's not saving gas.

 

No one here is disputing this.

And what proof do you have of this? I've never seen anyone on this board trying to weasel a warrany claim.

 

I do not have access to Honda's warraty expense, so therefore do not have whatever proof you are looking for. Common Sense would dicate my statement to be true. Do you have any proof it does not raise prices?

I know alot of you don't believe or think so, but there is a lot of truth in the saying "The factory knows best". Someday you will be there. I have been down the road of extensive modding (Cummins turbo diesels).

To each his own. Happy modding if thats your thing, just be responsible for your own repairs when it breaks.

I'm done here with this thread.

Peace Out & Merry Christmas all!

 

Lol...

 

 

Great Discussion.

Now, can we get back on topic?
Its a good question and I, for one, would like to know if anyone has experienced this and for what problem/mod.

 

I have a pretty well modded car, and have had 1 thing replaced under warranty so far: my XM receiver module.

I have been experiencing a bug since I first got my iPod adapter, which caused the ipod and XM to play at the same time when I turned the car on. First, I took it up with the ipod accessory manufacturer, and they said it wasn't their product, and referenced a TSB for the TSX where XM and MusicLink play at the same time. This TSB was only valid for a certin number of early 2006 models by VIN number. My car was NOT within the VIN selection.

Still, I took it into the dealer, referenced the TSB, and asked for warranty work. This isn't even the dealer I bought from. I have since moved, and just took it to the closest dealer. First they said, your car isn't within the VINs authorized for it. I asked the service advisor to come sit in my car and listen to it play both audio streams at once. He obliged and my car performed on cue (heh, thanks car) and he agreed the symptoms were exactly as listed on the TSB.

I have the usa spec pa11-hon2y unit, as well as aftermarket speakers, tweeters, a customs sub and amp. Not to mention underdrive pulleys, intake, headers, cat, headlights, hondata, spoiler... it goes on.

Still, this service advisor had enough 'common sense' to agree with me that it was likely the XM receiver causing the problem. They had to order the part, since the were none in stock, and I came back another day. They replaced the XM receiver and the issue went away, my audio system now works perfectly.
BUT... since they gave me a new XM receiver, I have a new radio ID number, and they didn't transfer over my subscription So now I'm trying to get them to buy me the 6 months of XM I had left on my last receiver, and I'm having less luck with that. However, for any other warranty issue, this wouldn't be an issue, as you don't need to involve yet another third party company like XM radio.