Quote:
Originally Posted by TommyTheCat
I always thought that the dealer/manufacturer had to prove that your modification actually affected the problem
To be safe when I took my car in for some warranty problems, I called ahead and asked if my catch can or air intake would be a problem and they said no and I had it put in writing. Just do this, and you should be fine
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After doing some reading up, I think many of us are misunderstanding the MM Act. It appears that much of what we are discussing, involving "aftermarket" parts has to do with the "Tie-in Sales" provision.
This means that you don't have to use a certain brand of air filter, or a certain brand of oil, or a certain brand of tire etc, so long as those "aftermarket" meaning not made by the OEM, meet the designed specification. It means that you aren't required to get maintenance, like oil changes, tire rotations, and such at only GM service centers. So long as all the required specifications are met.
However, when we start adding parts that are not part of the OEM design, or start making changes to the structure or operation of OEM systems, I'm not so sure the MM Act applies anymore. So, in a case like this, does GM really have to prove the catch can caused the oil pump to fail? Since the catch can is not part of the OEM design and it modifies the operation of the PCV system, could that be all they need to deny warranty service, even if the pump was indeed a manufacture defect? I don't know, but from what I've read, it seems that the MM Act doesn't cover this.
So, why do dealers perform warranty work on cars with such modifications? Because they can, and they want to. The dealer is not GM. A dealer can look at a catch can, and know that it most likely didn't cause the problem, replace the oil pump and get paid by GM. They can replace the entire engine if the failed oil pump caused the damage. But they don't necessarily have to tell GM that it had a modification to the system. To the dealer, this is immaterial. But in this case, GM was alerted to the addition of the catch can, stupid move by the dealership, and they blocked the repair.
At least this is my take on this, and I could be wrong, of course.