lakis

I know warranty work can be denied, but what about recalls and TSB's?

WytchDctr

Recalls no unless you replaced the part with something aftermarket, TSBs yes. Those are just warnings to the dealers that there is a known problem. Sometimes the TSBs will order them to do the work even outside of warranty or when they see the car next. Also, it is rare an entire warranty is killed by mods, unless you go overboard. If the mod caused the problem then they do not have to cover it. The biggest red flags on cars come from the companies that go out to tracks and get proof you are racing, etc etc. I know mitz was doing that with evos. They didn't seem to like the cost of diff replacement or something.

Tak82

i believe they can't void the warranty work unless they can prove that the modification is the cause or related to the recall.

majik

technically, yes, but they can make dozens of excuses and you might have to fight it and show you know what you're talking about.



I had a dealership tell me that my fiberglass bumper could have bottomed out and caused my transmission to skip. When I called BS and argued that sh*t, they said the CAI hitting against the casing could have caused it to fail.



On a 2000 Tiburon A/T, known for dying.



I fought it. I won.

WytchDctr

The dealer I lived next to three years ago. Very cool and never did that crap. The one around the corner from me now would probably try to void the entire engine/trans/diff warranty (that I have 400 miles left on) because I yanked that stupid fuel evaporating through the intake track EPA filter thing over the actual filter.

faithofadragon

former warranty admin here



personally if it was the sole cause of what was damaged then yes i would void it. meaning, if you had a CAI and your maf/map/engine blew up cuz of dirt/water then yes i would void it



now if you had an intake and your axle boot tore then no not voided



now if the tsb said replace the maf and you had a cai then no i wouldnt do the tsb, if a RECALL said replace the maf then yes its federally required that i do so

TheEd

There is no dealership that can void your warranty. Personal experience from my time spent with a Mazda. I'll summarize the long and mostly boring story into bullet points:



- Mazda NAO sent out a recall notice about fuel vapor leak into cabin due to faulty fuel tank lock ring. Went in for recall.

- Dealer accepted car and a few hours later called me telling me how pointless and stupid my modifications were and how I have completely voided my warranty.

- Dealership went so far as to send a formal letter, with company letterhead, stating my modifications had caused my warranty to be voided.

- The entire course of this, they ARE doing the recall work at no charge.

- Have my VIN run at another Mazda dealership to find warranty intact and zero inquiries.

- Called Mazda NAO, never spoke with anyone, left a voicemail about my experience.

- Next day receive a call from the FORMER general manager of the dealership, threatening to sue me for libel and slander.



Manufacturers use zone reps or admins that are corporate employees, no affiliation with any dealership franchise that review each case of warranty investigation. They follow the letter of the law. Then you have people like I ran into at the Mazda dealership, who use their position to convince people they have that power and extort money from them.



However, any repair facility, dealerships included, can refuse to work on any vehicle within reason.

WytchDctr

Big diff between a TSB and a recall. They can void the entire warranty. Ask the EVO guys caught at the track. They just have to have proof that the law requires and some way to track it at the corporate level to let all the franchised dealers know. I do not know how many go that far. However, I think even in that situation they have to do recall work.

TheEd

They cannot void your warranty for simply seeing you at the track. Subaru tried this once, when you purchased a WRX or STI, they would offer a free SCCA membership, if you took it, they voided the warranty before you even drove off the lot. This tactic lasted for a very short time before SEMA's lawyers were all over Subaru, even offering free legal representation to owners. Here in Charlotte, there is a local GenCoupe owner that went to one dealer for work, he was told they had video of him at the track and his warranty was voided, he drove across town to the other Hyundai dealership and had the work done with no issue.



ZMax Dragway here in Charlotte owns several cars they use for driver training and consumer races, whenever anything breaks on these cars, they go right back to the dealership under warranty.

Cujo

+1 rep to you guys for awesome knowledge..... (not being sarcastic)



It also depends on the person you talk to. My buddy has a Cobb Accessport on his Mazda. In short its used to change the maps on our ECUs. He went to the dealer and the guy said that his warrenty was voided due to the scan showing that the AP was present in the system. Next day he went and a girl that works there (who has a sexy modded Gen1) was told about the day before. She went in and deleted the voided warrenty report from the system and made the service department work on the car.