I heard from a few people not getting regular maintence by a certified dealer can void the warrenty.. true?

Second, will a Injen CAI void the warrenty? I was told yes by a friends, and no. Any dealers or anyone know for sure?

 

At of over 30 people who viewed this thread, no one has ANY idea?

 

The InJen you installed will not void the warranty. The law goes along the lines of a mod cannot void your warranty unless the service shop can directly link the problem to the mod that was done. Just don't go driving through any shallow lakes and you should be fine.

 

Even in that case, the warranty cannot be voided . The dealer can refuse a particular claim, if the aftermarket part is out of spec or not comparable to OEM quality AND the part is related or responsible for the damage/failure/etc. However, the dealer cannot then refuse to warrant other problems that arise in the future that are unrelated to the previous aftermket part related failure. They can refuse to warrant future problems with parts associated with the aftermarket part, though. For instance, they can refuse to warrant engine probs or anything that could be related to the air intake but they cannot then refuse to fix suspension problems otherwise normally covered under the factory warranty. This is my understanding of the FTC code...

Ricky-

They can't just look at your intake and void your warranty. They might flag you somehow for future reference if something does go wrong in the future, however. In short, they may give you a hard time about it, but they can't just pop the hood and write off a warranty. They can only refuse a warranty claim if the intake is related to or causes a problem or damage and even then the warranty isn't voided. Just that particular claim is nulified.

 

for all of those thinking an intake voids your warrenty in case of hydrolock. it does not void the warrenty, the warrenty does not cover it to begin with. if you got hydrolock without the CAI they will not cover it.

read your warrenty book if you dont believe me, its under the "things not covered" section.

 

You are correct.

This applies to most consumer products sold in the United States, including automobiles.

Eric

 

Alright, cool because I have my intake installed and have a schedule to go in to check out some funky noises in my car Tuseday, and wanted to make sure they didn't void my entire warrenty because of the intake. What other problems can be linked to an intake? Only hydro-lock? Should I be concerned about any engine problems? This will void my 5 years/60k warrenty, not my 3year/36k warrenty, right? Or both?

 

I have had my car in for warranty for service 5 or 6 times already with my intake, straight pipe, grounding kit, Eibachs, etc and they have not questioned it once. That included 2 new transmissions..

 

So then a more basic question:
Generally speaking, what mods do void your warranty? If I rig up my Valentine one in the headliner and run the wiring through the dash does that affect the warranty? How about any sort of DVD/nav setup? How about swapping out my 18" tires for 19"'s? Lets suppose I install a tacky plastic nose cone on my Z--does that affect the warranty? Basically how involved to I have to be as far as the interior/exterior, engine, transmission, exhaust, etc. before I am voiding/affecting the extended warranty I paid $1200 for. Finally, where do you get your information?

Also, while we are on the subject what is an 'InJen' or a grounding kit for that matter?

Thanks guys.
SS

 

The warranty laws are pretty strong and fairly simple.

The dealer can not void the warranty just because you use aftermarket parts or because you do not go to the dealer for service. They used to do this all the time, they abused the system, and they got their butts regulated.

They CAN void the warranty if (and only if) the replacement parts are not functionally equivalent to the original parts AND the non-original part somehow caused or contributed to the failure.

Also, they can not void the entire warranty for a single problem part. An aftermarket stereo might prevent you from getting warranty coverage on an electrical problem, but the rest of the warranty remains in tact.

So, if you add a radar detector and then the engine bearings fail they can NOT void the warranty. However, if you wire a radar detector and then have problems with the fuse box they might try to void the warranty on that particualr repair.

Does that make sense?

 

Since you asked for a source:

--------------------------------------------------
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (15 U.S.C. 2302(C))

This federal law regulates warranties for the protection of consumers. The essence of this law concerning aftermarket auto parts is that a vehicle manufacturer may not condition a written or implied warranty on the consumers using parts or services which are identified by brand, trade, or corporate name (such as the vehicle makers brand) unless the parts or service are provided free of charge. The law means that the use of an aftermarket part alone is not cause for denying the warranty. However, the law's protection does not extend to aftermarket parts in situations where such parts actually caused the damage being claimed under the warranty. Further, consumers are advised to be aware of any specific terms or conditions stated in the warranty which may result in its being voided. The law states in relevant part:

 

Thanks AndyB, that makes plenty of sense. I particulary appreciate the citation--I assume "15 U.S.C." means "United States Code" so this is a federal law right?

Any knowledge as to what/how the grounding kit works?

 

Yup, it's federal law.

 

Just to clarify, the use of the word "void" is a bit misdirected here. No manufacturer can outright void a warranty. Voiding implies that the warranty no longer exists, but that's not the case, especially regarding aftermarket parts. I'll get the entire FTC code right now and post it, rather than people reading it second hand (no offense, Andy).

I've studied its language before, and I will again.

 

Here's the full language of that subsection. Everyone always leaves out the two "if" clauses afterwards in their interpretations and I like to provide the entire subsection.

(c) Prohibition on conditions for written or implied warranty; waiver by Commission No warrantor of a consumer product may condition his written or implied warranty of such product on the consumer's using, in connection with such product, any article or service (other than article or service provided without charge under the terms of the warranty) which is identified by brand, trade, or corporate name; except that the prohibition of this subsection may be waived by the Commission if -


(1) the warrantor satisfies the Commission that the warranted product will function properly only if the article or service so identified is used in connection with the warranted product, and
(2) the Commission finds that such a waiver is in the public interest. The Commission shall identify in the Federal Register, and permit public comment on, all applications for waiver of the prohibition of this subsection, and shall publish in the Federal Register its disposition of any such application, including the reasons therefore.

(That leaves some recourse for the manufacturer)

Basically, everything is determinant on what the manufacturer would cover for free under the warranty. It can be interpreted that the manufacturer simply isn't allowed to prohibit warranty service based on the use of aftermarket parts in place of OEM parts that the manufacturer wouldn't normally provide for free under the warranty (like an oil filter or even an air filter). If, however a manufacturer DOES provide those things for free under its warranty, then the manufacturer might be able to prohibit warranty service if an aftermarket part is used in place of OEM. Interesting, huh?

 

Another nice thing to know:

(d) Remedy without charge
For purposes of this section and of section 2302(c) of this title, the term ''without charge'' means that the warrantor may not assess the consumer for any costs the warrantor or his representatives incur in connection with the required remedy of a warranted consumer product. An obligation under subsection (a)(1)(A) of this section to remedy without charge does not necessarily require the warrantor to compensate the consumer for incidental expenses; however, if any incidental expenses are incurred because the remedy is not made within a reasonable time or because the warrantor imposed an unreasonable duty upon the consumer as a condition of securing remedy, then the consumer shall be entitled to recover reasonable incidental expenses which are so incurred in any action against the warrantor.

 

The FTC on the warranty law:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/...#Magnuson-Moss

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/...s/warranty.htm

 

Sweeeeeeet! Thanks guys!! I can't stress how much that helped me. I'm going to print that out, and take it in. If they try to say anything, I'll show them that... Only thing I can think of is to remove the bumper we did have to go behind the fender inside the wheel area, but I don't think they would even bring that up.. If they do, I'll say I did it on a lift and removed the plastic under carriage thing. THANKS!!

 

great thread!