Denial of warranty because of tune?

[OHIOSS]

I asked my dealer and they said it's the first thing their service people check. No question that it will void the warranty. I am not getting the tune I had planned on getting after talking to the dealer. I simply won't take the chance.

Russ

[Merc]

Originally Posted by v6sonoma

It has happened. Someone tuned, destroyed a Half shaft at the track and all they had was a CAI and exhaust. They complained that the minor gains shouldn't have made the part break and that clearly it was defective. GM denied warrantty work and voided the powertrain warranty. Pretty much everyone here is in agreement that if you tune you give up that warranty. Some think you can get around it by restoring the original tune. GM can tell how many times it's computers has been flashed. Some still disagree and say you'll be fine. I'm gonna tell you now if something breaks and they deny you don't complain here. No one will care. They will just quote "You voided it when you tuned." or "You gotta pay to play." Most here will also say who cares and tune away which is fine because the likelyhood of an issue is slim. However they all know they're gonna foot the bill for one if it does occur. Also the cars warranty doesn't get voided just the powertrain. So window switches and radios and other things are still covered. Bolt-ons without a tune will only void the warranty of the part it replaced unless the bolt-on caused the damage. i.e. K&N filter oil clogs up MAF and requires cleaning to remove a check engine light. They will not cover this.

Correct!

[Mark Myles]

Originally Posted by v6sonoma

It has happened. Someone tuned, destroyed a Half shaft at the track and all they had was a CAI and exhaust. They complained that the minor gains shouldn't have made the part break and that clearly it was defective. GM denied warrantty work and voided the powertrain warranty. Pretty much everyone here is in agreement that if you tune you give up that warranty. Some think you can get around it by restoring the original tune. GM can tell how many times it's computers has been flashed. Some still disagree and say you'll be fine. I'm gonna tell you now if something breaks and they deny you don't complain here. No one will care. They will just quote "You voided it when you tuned." or "You gotta pay to play." Most here will also say who cares and tune away which is fine because the likelyhood of an issue is slim. However they all know they're gonna foot the bill for one if it does occur. Also the cars warranty doesn't get voided just the powertrain. So window switches and radios and other things are still covered. Bolt-ons without a tune will only void the warranty of the part it replaced unless the bolt-on caused the damage. i.e. K&N filter oil clogs up MAF and requires cleaning to remove a check engine light. They will not cover this.

Correct. If you are in a position to take GM to task depending on what part failed, then you must determine your pressure point when moding your car.

M

[ffrcobra_65]

Originally Posted by BackinBlackSS/RS

Yeah, you hear a lot of talk about it voiding the warranty, but I have yet to read a thread up here where it has happen to someone in their new Camaro. I may be wrong, but I sure don't remember one. I'm not doing it though.

ready to hear the first one? here goes. ME!

Oil leak from Oil Cooler gasket has been a known issue and when I took my car to the dealer, as soon as they opened the hood and saw the supercharger, they said No warranty work. I asked if any powertrain probs would be covered, they said, since I have a tune, anything directly or indirectly connected and controlled by the ECM would not be covered and don't waste time reflashing back to stock tune...GM is not stupid.

Anyway, I wasn't about to waste my time arguing with them. I got it fixed elsewhere.

[Rockslam]

The computer saves the past 10 flashes , so you could re-flash the stock tune 10 times. But one would believe that also would throw a red flag when they check the computer. The tech 2 can read back the history , but only to 10 previous programs.

[SSE 4 2SS]

Originally Posted by ffrcobra_65

ready to hear the first one? here goes. ME!

Oil leak from Oil Cooler gasket has been a known issue and when I took my car to the dealer, as soon as they opened the hood and saw the supercharger, they said No warranty work. I asked if any powertrain probs would be covered, they said, since I have a tune, anything directly or indirectly connected and controlled by the ECM would not be covered and don't waste time reflashing back to stock tune...GM is not stupid.

Anyway, I wasn't about to waste my time arguing with them. I got it fixed elsewhere.

So... the gaskets are controlled by the ECM, at least indirectly...??? jeeeezzzeee.

I guess if thats true, I won't be able to get my seat leather adjusted with my build going on... since I'll probably have to have some of it pulled out of my *## the first few times I jump on it...

But, whats been said is true... If you tune it, they will know...

[Red Rocker]

Originally Posted by daveagogo1

Personally i would not waste my money on a tune unless i was planning to go for major power 100+ HP gains and use the car as a drag or race vehicle. Why kill your warranty for an extra 10, 20, 30 ponies you will rarely use? I see the allure sure and have a CAI myself. I chose very carefully and bought what would not void my warranty. Just my .02

[csjcsj]

I will let you know next week! Innate a tune and my M6 started jumping out of 6th gear! Gonna take it in and let them check it! Will report back!

[newmoon]

Thanks for the input, this is the information I was looking for.

[Russell James]

Originally Posted by ffrcobra_65

ready to hear the first one? here goes. ME!

Oil leak from Oil Cooler gasket has been a known issue and when I took my car to the dealer, as soon as they opened the hood and saw the supercharger, they said No warranty work. I asked if any powertrain probs would be covered, they said, since I have a tune, anything directly or indirectly connected and controlled by the ECM would not be covered and don't waste time reflashing back to stock tune...GM is not stupid.

Anyway, I wasn't about to waste my time arguing with them. I got it fixed elsewhere.

Your dealer wasn't following the bulletin properly. If a car has a blocked warranty due to aftermarket calibration, they are to contact their GM rep in regards to any powertrain warranty questions.

I'd ask you dealer this question - did you contact your GM rep as the bulletin instructs? If the rep has a clue, they will evaluate the situation and determine if the current problem has anything to do with the hp being increased. As the bulletin spells out - unauthorized claims are blocked. The words - completely voided warranty or warranty cancelled are not in the bulletin. "Unauthorized claims are blocked" period. The system automatically pays claims. So, it will not automatically pay powertrain claims on that VIN. If the rep authorizes the claim it will pay.

The key is a dealer and GM rep that have the abililty to read a bulletin, and the common sense to determine what is and what is not in any way related to the increased power output due to the modifications.

The bulletin is a sticky in the tuning section. I'd take a copy in and say - did you do this? What is their explanation of how my modifications caused this problem?

[alfie43]

I have Kooks LTs, a Magnacharger S/C, a Roto-Fab CAI, and a tune (561 RWHP). Before I did any mods I had "a warranty conversation" with my dealership's service manager.

I anticipated and agreed that they will not warranty any failure that is directly related to my mods. However, he did tell me that they will be reasonable in that assessment and many common warranty issues will most likely be covered. In other words, if my power window fails, it will be repaired, but if I come in with a sheared transmission output shaft, or smoked clutch...well I got his point.

Last august, I had a significant oil leak near the rear of my engine; around the oil filter housing and oil cooler lines. When I dropped my car off at the service dept, I was concerned that someone might inadvertently reflash my tune back to stock, so I hung a large sign on the rear view mirror that read: "Custom Calibration Do Not Reflash".

They fixed the leak under warranty without hesitation and left my tune intact. In fact, they had to remove one of the Kooks headers to access the leak. H*ll! They even offered me a loaner car, but I didn't need it.
Alfie

[Russell James]

Exactly, there is a dealer that knows what they are doing.

Another point to make if getting screwed over undeservingly. When you bought the car, you were provided a warranty booklet. That written warranty is the legal warranty on your car. Period. You were not given a bulletin.

In the warranty you were provided - it spells out what is not covered:

"The New Vehicle Limited Warranty does not cover damage caused as the result of any of the following:

• Collision, fire, theft, freezing, vandalism, riot, explosion, or objects striking the vehicle
• Misuse of the vehicle such as driving over curbs, overloading, racing, or other competition. Proper vehicle use is discussed in the owner manual.
• Alteration, modification, or tampering to the vehicle, including, but not limited to the body, chassis, powertrain, driveline, or other components after final assembly by GM.

...."


So, in the written warranty document you were provided with the car, it spells out - damage caused as the result of... alteration, modification...

The bottom line is - the determination should be made based on what caused the damage, not simply whether modifications are present.

[Hired Gun]

Alfie43 has a good point. Talk to your dealer. Make friends with them. It goes a long way. My dealer knew up front, from owner of the dealership all the way down to the guy washing cars that the car would be modded some when I got the cash for the extra mods. So, they know its coming and said they wanted to help me all they could. I live in a small area, and lots of times the people I talk to help sell them the cars they sell. SO it works well for all involved.

[BackinBlackSS/RS]

Originally Posted by ffrcobra_65

ready to hear the first one? here goes. ME!

Oil leak from Oil Cooler gasket has been a known issue and when I took my car to the dealer, as soon as they opened the hood and saw the supercharger, they said No warranty work. I asked if any powertrain probs would be covered, they said, since I have a tune, anything directly or indirectly connected and controlled by the ECM would not be covered and don't waste time reflashing back to stock tune...GM is not stupid.

Anyway, I wasn't about to waste my time arguing with them. I got it fixed elsewhere.

Well, first, sorry your dealer screwed you on that. They should have fixed that under warranty. As far as the tune and denial of warranty though, I was referring to baically a stock looking car with a tune. Your car to them was obvious you had a tune with the supercharger. I agree strongly with some points earlier that you should develop a relationship with your dealer.
Know up front when you mod what they will and will not cover. I have a great relationship with my dealer and I know they will take care of me and be fair.