Can An Automotive Dealership Void Your Warranty?

Nearly Everyone Has Heard About Someone Who Has Taken A Vehicle That Has Been Modified With Aftermarket Parts To A Dealer For Warranty Service, Only To Have The Dealer Refuse To Cover The Defective Items. The Dealer Usually States That Because Of The Aftermarket Parts The Warranty Is Void, Without Even Attempting To Determine Whether The Aftermarket Part Caused The Problem.

This Is Illegal.

Vehicle Manufacturers Are Not Allowed To Void The Vehicle Warranty Just Because Aftermarket Parts Are On The Vehicle. To Better Understand This Problem It Is Best To Know The Differences Between The Two Types Of New Car Warranties And The Two Types Of Emission Warranties.

When A Vehicle Is Purchased New The Owner Is Protected Against Faults That May Occur By An Expressed Warranty - An Offer By The Manufacturer To Assume The Responsibility For Problems With Predetermined Parts During A Stated Period Of Time. Beyond The Expressed Warranty, The Vehicle Manufacturer Is Often Held Responsible For Further Implied Warranties. These State That A Manufactured Product Should Meet Certain Standards. However, In Both Cases, The Mere Presence Of Aftermarket Parts Doesn't\'t Void The Warranty.

There Are Also Two Emission Warranties (defect And Performance) Required Under The Clean Air Act. The Defect Warranty Requires The Manufacturer To Produce A Vehicle Which, At The Time Of Sale , Is Free Of Defects That Would Cause It To Not Meet The Required Emission Levels For Its Useful Life As Defined In The Law. The Performance Warranty Implies A Vehicle Must Maintain Certain Levels Of Emission Performance Over Its Useful Life. If The Vehicle Fails To Meet The Performance Warranty Requirements, The Manufacturer Must Make Repairs At No Cost To The Owner, Even If An Aftermarket Part Is Directly Responsible For A Warranty Claim, The Vehicle Manufacturer Cannot Void The Performance Warranty. This Protection Is The Result Of A Parts Self-certification Program Developed By The Environmental Protection Agency (epa) And The Specialty Equipment Market Association (sema).

In Cases Where Such A Failed Aftermarket Part Is Responsible For A Warranty Claim, The Vehicle Manufacturer Must Arrange A Settlement With The Part Manufacturer, But By Law The New-vehicle Warranty Is Not Voided.

Overall, The Laws Governing Warranties Are Very Clear. The Only Time A New Vehicle Warranty Can Be Voided Is If An Aftermarket Part Has Been Installed And It Can Be Proven That It Is Responsible For An Emission Warranty Claim. However, A Vehicle Manufacturer Or Dealership Cannot Void A Warranty Simply Because An Aftermarket Equipment Has Been Installed On A Vehicle.

If A Dealership Denies A Warranty Claim And You Think The Claim Falls Under The Rules Explained Above Concerning The Clean Air Act (such As Emission Part Failure), Obtain A Written Explanation Of The Dealer\'s Refusal. Then Follow The Steps Outlined In The Owners Manual. However If This Fails, Then Phone Your Complaint In To The Epa At 202-233-9040 Or 202-326-9100.

If A Dealer Denies A Warranty Claim Involving An Implied Or Expressed New Car Warranty And You Would Like Help, Phone The Federal Trade Commission (ftc) At 202-326-3128.

 

In theory you are probably correct, but the Clean Air Act applies only to emission related components, and how they effect the vehicles’ emissions. In the real world the dealer/MFG can “just say no”. You then have the option of paying for the repairs or hiring an attorney and taking the case to court. Meanwhile your truck is either repaired on your dime or sitting dead in your driveway or on the dealer’s lot while you are still responsible for making the payments.

The Moss-Magnuson Act was envisioned to prevent MFG’s from demanding that you exclusively use their brand of motor oil, filters, fan belts etc. or void the warranty. It was never intended to cover engine/drivetrain/components originally designed for xxxHP from the factory to not fail when boosted/BOMB’d to twice that level or more.

If you want to install power adders, modify the suspension etc you become your own warranty provider…. “if you wanna play, ya gotta pay”

 

.....here we go again!!

 

I'm sure my local dealer is going to love my twin turbos...

 

Exactly. While the standard OEM products have to meet a certain critea, look at it the other way. If you blow a head gasket with a stock turbo, under warrenty. If you blow it cause you were sled pulling with twin turbos at 80 psi boost, no, they can not fix it, and void warrenty on other parts due to the fact you are using it above and beyond what the parts are rated for (even if the motor is good for it)
but then again I've been wrong

 

I think it all comes down to this, they have more money then you to fight it, and their not afreaid to spend it.

 

Let’s say your brother in law wants to borrow your truck to go to home depot to “pick up a few things”….you say “kewl”. Well, he loads 150 sacks of #90 quikcrete (it’ll fit in a longbed, and weighs 13500#). The springs are collapsed, the carrier brg is shot, the clutch/tranny is smoked, the tires are about to pop……well, you get the picture….he used it beyond the design capabilities.


Who should pay for the damage?...you? BIL?...Dodge?...who was it that edit up?

 

Easy one, YOU, you never loan a truck to a brother in law .

 

If you are using a box then you could lose your warr.If the truck was set up to have more HP and torqe it would come with it.So all they have to say is that you changed the factory settings and it is not set up for that.And they do have the money to fight you on it.

 

Some dealers sell power enhancers to you when you buy your truck.. My dealer added my bullydog right into my sales contract. It just depends on the dealer. Some of them are really good

 

You are exactly right! The dealer wasn't the one that restricted my warranty it was Star (DC).

 

How bout this, I put a lift kit and bigger tires and rims on my truck. Only to find out less than a week later, that the steering box is leaking and the tie rod ends are busted (they were nearly busted before...) I took it to the dealer and they denied to fix it saying the tires were the problem, and to fix it I would be outta pocket...even after I have seen numerous other complaints about the steering boxes on the 2500 05 model. I also provided a reciept of the dealer who installed the parts to prove the length of time on the truck. I put maybe 200 miles on it in that period of time before noticing the leak (noticed when I changed the oil..then took it to the dealer who installed the lift) Anyway, in light of all of this, do I still need to try and fight it.......

 

Where you at CinchJeanCowboy? Lit the fire and standing back to watch?

 

The dealer really like COD work and they do what they want. And we are just lucky if they repair what they feel we are intitled to the right way. Warranty is were they are loosing money and there in it to hold on to there profits. There are more reasons to decline your work than for them to do it. If you find a dealer that takes care of you try to keep them happy too, its a great thing to have.I mean how do you force the dealer or DC to do the work you are do to have done???

 

The idea behind the MMA is so that a dealer can't void the ENTIRE warranty because of aftermarket parts. The warranty can't be denied unless the AFTERMARKET PART ITSELF caused the problem. Lets say you have a lift kit on your truck. Dodge can't deny coverage of a bad power window motor on your truck because you have a lift kit. On the other hand, you are running twin turbos. Forget the engine coverage, its gone now. And if you blow a rear end, they'll connect that to the added HP, and deny coverage for that.

Of course this is the real world. I have done lots of research on this because I have had to fight with dealerships. In my part of the country, dealerships don't like ANY aftermarket parts. I had a snowmobile dealer try to deny replacement of my seat cover on a 10 month old sled, which was being replaced because of a warranty/dealer update issue, because I had wired in a plug for a heated helmet visor! It was nowhere near the seat, had nothing to do with it, but the snowmobile had aftermarket accessories, so the dealer didn't want to touch it. I finally won that one, but I now have a new Kawasaki motorcycle. I added driving lights and acc. plugs for my GPS, etc., and now they won't even look at my bike for such things as the bad starter motor, or a couple other defective items.

When I buy new vehicles now, I basically ignore the warranty. The dealers are experienced in denying coverage and will do everything they can to make you pay. I find it much cheaper to just repair the vehicle myself than to hire a lawyer. Oh, and I used to be a dealer tech for a short time (I couldn't deal with screwing people over on a daily basis, and went to an independent shop with a good rep.), so I have inside knowledge of how they work.

Jim