Thread title says it all.

I got the 7yr/100k mile extended warranty on my 05 TL so I don't want to do anything that'll void it.

 

Its quite simple. If any issue can be traced to a mod you made, that issue will not be covered.

 

mods do not void the warranty. There was a moss act imposed to protect consumers with this, suspose you install a cold air intake and you seat motor stops working. Unless the dealer can prove that the cold air intake somehow affected the seat, the warranty will not be voided.

 

Correct but be sure that if your mod is involved.... you will not receive warrrantly assistance and I have seen first hand warranties get voided for people attempting to pull fast ones on the dealer.

 

I currently have a mod right now but I need to go to the dealership to get something checked under warranty. What if I went to one dealership and they found out that the cause of it was because of my mod, they would void it correct? Then what if i replaced the mod with the oem and went to another dealership, would this be ok or will they find out about the first service from the initial dealership?

 

I think they would still find out cuz they must use like a shared network or something. I know when i took my car in for service the guy asked me has your car been here before and I said it had cause it really had. He made a comment about how he could see that I had also been to a different dealership a long time ago. Thats when I was like whoa they know.

When I had my BMW and I would take it in for service, they would insert my key into this machine looking thing that would print a report of every BMW dealer my BMW had been to and what work was performed on it! Whoa!

 

Yes we can see where you have been. Define MOD... you mean like LED interior lights or a Blower lol.

 

If you're that concerned, definitely remove the mod BEFORE you go to a dealer at all... if you can. Even then it's not always a huge help, I know with Subarus a bunch of the bolts in the engine bay are painted at the joints. Techs can tell when stuff has been bolted / unbolted on... I think I saw some of the bolts in my Acura's engine bay having the same type of markings.

 

Yes we can. Some of us ACTUALLY have a brain lol. I can smell if something stinks of shenanigans as soon as I open a hood.

 

well if dealers were actually honest and covered work they should do, we would not have anything to hide. too bad we spend $25k+ and you still need to argue about getting the basics covered (at most dealers)

 

Not that I think all dealers are above bar... I think most want to do the right thing and make you happy. Your statement is a statement of business ethics.

Umm... 2 posts above someone stated to remove the suspicious mod before taking the car in for a warranty claim.

Wonder why dealers have a tendency to deny claims?

I've NEVER had a claim denied... but I've also never taken my car in for damage created from my own stupidity or lack of understanding of the impact of a mod.

 

every single MODs you do....

you do it, you take responsibility....

but in real world where if dealer can not provide it, then they WILL HAVE TO fix it...if not, tell him to F Off

 

Magnuson Moss Act. It is a good idea but in reality it is a toothless law because if the dealership / Warranty Underwriters decide to deny you... instead of the onus being on the corporation to prove something cause another mechnical failure the consumer is almost put into a Guilty until proven innocent position.

I remember asking a Dodge dealership about an SRT-4 and their staged upgrades and the warranty.... they gave me the "no it wont be covered" and got pissed when I mentioned the Magnuson Moss Act..... and stated "better have money to come back at dodge with that law...." and from my any years scouring car forums.... I have seen that is usually the case in warranty disputes.....

In reality it usually comes down to the service manager and the tech servicing your vehicle. Don't try to pull anything over on them, be honest and up front, and most of the time they will work with you.

 

My famous rant:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147528

 

Bolting and unbolting stuff from the engine does not void your warranty. You can bolt/unbolt components to your heart's content.

Just because you unbolt a mod before you go to the dealer, does not mean you are trying to pull a fast one... For example a while ago, a guy posted about how his Acura dealer would not replace a failed bushing because they said it failed because of his cold air intake The said the extra HP put stress on the bushings.... When challenged on this, they said the Type-S has different bushings to accomodate for the extra HP.

I helped the guy out, and posted the parts index for the suspension system for the TL and TL-S, and showed that the bushings have the same exact part number, meaning that even if the CAI added hp, the 3.5 engine in the Type-S added more, so the reasoning that the bushing failed due to the CAI was BS.

Removing the CAI prior to going to dealership will just make things less of a hassle....

Now if you're going to unbolt a S/C that's a different story

 

That's the point I was trying to make

 

Another thing that will for sure void your warranty, is to allow stillhere153 to come near your car

P.S. If you alter stock performance or electric equipment the dealer may reject you, end of story. This can be as big a getting a s/c or putting K&N filter, adding new head unit or a simple LED. (Most dealers have no clue about modding, and to them this is a huge deal...or a good way to make money)

 

^ Hahaha

 

Good read......how your service manager friend for GM explained things is unfortunately how things typically unfold. Magnuson Moss Act is toothless.

Because of these types of acts and shenanigans the guys over on SRTForums regularly refer to dealers as Stealerships.

 

Um... This is actually PRECISELY why the Magnisson Moss Act exists... For example, on my other car, I replaced the stock plastic 27w fogglights with aluminum 55w fog lights...

Some people may argue that I'm overloading the electronics... I say bs. The factory fogs on that car go through a relay, and has a 10A fuse on the circuit. That means the circuit was designed to carry a nominal 120W load. So the two 55W bulbs only equals 110W.

that means if my radio went out, they still cannot blame my foglights, becuase it is still UNDER the factory rated load for the circuit. They can only void the warranty if they can prove something was a direct cause.

Likewise, why would putting an LED on your lights void your electrical? LEDs draw a very small amount of electricity. That's why your lights flash so fast when you install LEDs, because the ECU thinks your lights are burned out. So running with LEDs in this case, is the same as running with a dead bulb, as far as electric load is concerned. If driving around with LEDs voids your warranty, than so should drivnig around with a dead light bulb... Both are rediculous.

 

It can be gray..... but ultimately Magnusson-Moss Act was created to stop predatory manufacturer warranty actions.... not to protect a modder, although some aspects of the law certainly does apply to modders. The law was intended to be somewhat fair and balanced to allow a certain level of protection to consumers as well to limit some of the liability of manufacturers.

Take for instance your fog light example.... that fog light swap should not prevent you from getting work done to your Navi system, however if your mod eventually caused the wires to melt and cause a fire (lets say due to spike power surge requirements, such as when you turn the lights on, and the total wattage exceeded the factory rating, and was in excess of the original factory lighting)...... then you as the consumer should have no reasonable expectation to have Acura remedy the situation for you. The law tries to help you define this relationship.

Unfortunately as I ranted above.... the law is toothless for the consumer and the manufacturers will almost always have the upper hand and they will get their way....that is unless you have the time and money to pursue this yourself, or you have the time and money to pursue it through the FTC or your state Attorney General

 

Hey everybody...Devils advocate here....Factory fuse ratings are designed to run at no more than 75 percent of the systems capacity and a specified temperature so by putting those bulbs in you are technically overloading what the circuit was designed for. Just not enuff to pop the fuse. There is way more that goes into auto engineering than one would think and that is why the dealer is so stringent of MODS VS WARRANTY. One seemingly innocent mod may in fact be putting undue stress on a system. A prime example as stated above.

 

^^

Fine.

But what about RockyFeller's CAI cuasing vibration that broke the rear suspension (or something to that effect).

Total , right?

 

Complete BS. If the mounts were broken, it was from abuse, or just plain 'ol factory defect.

Extra power doesnt break those parts, its the violent rocking back and forth of the motor that will cause that.

 

No, I have a bolt on evo2 exhaust and I don't know if it's causing the problem on my tsx or not. Here's my vid I posted in the tsx section:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=nPW_3sDOqmQ

 

That is not true. The fuse rating is supposed to be 75-80% of the circuits rated capacity. Having a fuse rating that is 133% of what is considered "overload" is retarded. Are you saying that if you have an intermittent short to ground, that causes a current draw equivalent to 115W on a 10A fuse on a 12V circuit, it could cause a fire? That's what the fuse is supposed to prevent.

(I have a degree in Electrical Engineering, so I know how circuits are supposed to work)

 

...depends on which stealership you go to...

 

Hey, when in doubt...do without...

If you are afraid of that stuff, then don't do it.

 

Walking into your dealer with an electrical engineering degree in your hand and telling your dealer they are wrong in engineering design and mod/warranty diagnosis will clearly work in your favor...

I have a degree in Mech Eng, and all that's taught me is that any mod that I make, I am accounable for from a warranty perspective.

RacingHart works at a dealership I believe, I value his opinion.

... and SporkLover said it best... Walking in spounting magnusson-moss is the equivalent of walking in and spouting "shenanigans". It's a toothless law that would require lawyers and technical representation to get enforced...

Your best bet for warranty service that you believe you've been falsely denied is the 1800 number fro Acura customer service, but that requires you to have a leg for you to stand on.

 

So would the Comptech exhaust installed by me void my warranty? I read if the dealership installs it then it would be under warranty. Please confirm. Thanks

 

You've missed my entire post. We both know about the facts you've listed. The dealer does not nor does he care. You can prove your ACT at the dealership all you want, unless you contact corporate office and make a huge fuss about it...the dealer MAY void your warranty for ANY stupid thing, lol, like fake antenna

(I've been modding cars heavily for a long time, dealers usually never gave me a problem only to the fact that modding is very popular, and they know to argue with a gear-head is a lose-lose situation )

 

Dude what is the deal with Aziners lately? There are a lot more tough guys on here than ever. True perspective has seemingly been lost in these forums. I try and post a little info from the opposite side of the fence (dealership angle) and people start screaming bloody murder. There is another side to the fence ya know, and I see it everyday. Seems so many people think that life on the Acurazine side of the curve is reality. And its not. Believe me. I am sick of arguing details with Acurazine members. Read the TLS valve chatter thread for proof of this. I see BOTH sides of it EVERY DAY and I have seen my share of ATTEMPTED fast ones and true story...I have seen warrantys VOIDED for extreme cases. It can happen. My advice is simple. If you want to mod, then just be prepared for the POSSIBILTY of some flak down the road. Thats all. Plain and simple.

 

^

Before I do a mod, I way in the consequences, then say fuck it, and just do them...but I do understand my liability.

 

I only see a problem here with a catalytic converter, which is very expensive, if down the road it fails, they may blame the fault on the comptech... (again, yes it's stupid, but it can happen)

But then again, I'd do it, making the dealer install it maybe a good option to have it on record, but expect to pay double.

 

I dont think a dealer would not warranty your TWC cuz of Comptech exhaust. not saying its impossible but def unlikely.

 

I'm a pessimist in this case, lol, sue me

 

LOL...dude, they are not going to always "drink from your cup" no matter how good it tastes. It's a forum and everybody feels they know something. Sometimes, you just have to be satisfied with putting the word out there. Thanks for putting the word out there.

 

RacingHart... you seem to be an Acura Insider...... does acura actually void the warranty or do they flag it, and refuse service for that particular instance?

I ask because when I was in the SRT world, the stealerships always used the terms voided warranty, however if you actually ever got in touch with a DCX Warranty underwriter/district manager (whatever term is correct) you actually found you warranty to be flagged, and that specific service requested to be denied. Flagged warranty meant it required approval from some DCX district authority before warrantying the work.

 

Best defense is a good offense.

Be on good terms with the Service Dept.

- Don't be an ass if you think a repair item is unnecessary or over priced, just politly say, "No thanks".

- Give 'em some warranty work (or beyond DIY work) from time-to-time.

- Buy a few parts now and then; doesn't have to be big stuff - a quart of break fluid, some clips and fasteners, etc. Stay on their "current customers" list.

- Stop and say, "Hey", to your Service Advisor *every time*you're in the dealership.

- Give them straight "10's" on the Service Survey - *every time* - and let 'em know about it. Work out problems with the Service Dept, not on the survey.

A little good will goes one hell of a long way and costs you next to nothing. It's not a guarantee against failure, but it's good "preventive maintenance".

 

Boy you have that right. After all the folks in service dept. are humans just like all of us on the 'zine. They really want to do a good job( so whatever you do-- do you purposely p**s off your customers?) Anyway usually if you meet folks halfway they'll do the same for you.