Will Racing Void the GM warranty?

[Mister Will]

Since this camer up in the horsepower thread. I thought that a new thread on the subject should be started. This has come up with corvette owners who track trheir cars. I heard of people losing their warranty because they came into the dealership with a racing seat and a five point harness, roll bar, etc. I've also heard of Factory reps reading vin numberas off of Mitsubishi EVOs at SCCA events and voiding their warranties.

So, does the GM warranty cover racing or damage incured during racing?

[The Stig]

The ZL1 comes with a track warranty - meaning you can go to a test n' tune and break your axle, GM will cover it.

What you can't do is sign up for a race/competition - that voids the warranty.

[Angrybird 12]

I thought they had said competing in racing events wasn't covered but non racing track days would be, but I can be mistaken. Anyway you could get your insurance canceled because of it... A lot of people fail to realize that part.

[hognutz]

competative racing and abuse violate waranty. Slicks would also violate waranty from my understanding.

I think your relationship witht the service department your working with will have much to do with this as well. Dealers can deny waranty even if you have waranty. they are still a privatly owned business.

I have notice people on the internet pretend they know everthing about waranty but in my experience most people have not had many major claims or think that what one dealership says is gospel. you are the customer and the level of serivce you get can really vary on the situation and or dealership.

I would ask my local dealership in person about this kind of thing before I ever dropped it on them. if you are planning on a non competive track day or drag racign and facotry waranty is still intact I would ask what there take on it is.

my waranty on the power train is toast so I have not had this discussion.

[The Stig]

Originally Posted by hognutz

competative racing and abuse violate waranty. Slicks would also violate waranty from my understanding.

I think your relationship witht the service department your working with will have much to do with this as well. Dealers can deny waranty even if you have waranty. they are still a privatly owned business.

I have notice people on the internet pretend they know everthing about waranty but in my experience most people have not had many major claims or think that what one dealership says is gospel. you are the customer and the level of serivce you get can really vary on the situation and or dealership.

I would ask my local dealership in person about this kind of thing before I ever dropped it on them. if you are planning on a non competive track day or drag racign and facotry waranty is still intact I would ask what there take on it is.

my waranty on the power train is toast so I have not had this discussion.

Absolutely true!

[Todd in Vancouver]

I was one of "those guys" who approved and denied warranty claims when the dealers were not able to make the decision, although with another manufacturer. The answer is that there is no direct answer. There are way too many variables to have a clear cut and dry answer in most cases. I would need to write a book on what I took into account to approve or deny a warranty claim but the best answer is the above statement about getting to know your service department. But, from what I understand the ZL1 is warrantied for track use, within reason. And, it's the within reason that will be tough to define.

[joes407]

Originally Posted by hognutz

competative racing and abuse violate waranty. Slicks would also violate waranty from my understanding.

I think your relationship witht the service department your working with will have much to do with this as well. Dealers can deny waranty even if you have waranty. they are still a privatly owned business.

I have notice people on the internet pretend they know everthing about waranty but in my experience most people have not had many major claims or think that what one dealership says is gospel. you are the customer and the level of serivce you get can really vary on the situation and or dealership.

I would ask my local dealership in person about this kind of thing before I ever dropped it on them. if you are planning on a non competive track day or drag racign and facotry waranty is still intact I would ask what there take on it is.

my waranty on the power train is toast so I have not had this discussion.

when you say power train do you just mean the engine or did the added horsepower blow the warranty on the entire drive train?

[gen=5]

Yep this has come up a couple of times,the ZL1 is the ONLY gm vehicle that's covered for track use,it does state in the GM manual that track use may affect the warranty..another words it has to be left stock,you have to follow the guide line,change fluids,yes you can sign up for a race depending on what the rules are,if you have to modify the car to race then unless your using a GM part It may affect the warranty....another words if you abuse the car its not covered,as GM also wrote its not covered for extreme track use. I would think the Z28 will also follow the same guide lines.
If you look at the COPO which is a track car its pretty much has a 30 day warranty does it not ? Might be wrong but its not much of a warranty because GM knows its going to get hammer all every time its used...

[hognutz]

Originally Posted by joes407

when you say power train do you just mean the engine or did the added horsepower blow the warranty on the entire drive train?

well at this point I have added 80hp or so I don't expect GM to fix my car on the powertrain side.

Uless I feel there was just a factory flaw in the part I would go ask at least.

[pumpkinrancho]

Slicks themselves do not void any warranty. That is what ptm5 is for. As long as you don't modify it it is covered for track days. The only thing they have ever asked me at the dealership and that is when my ecm was bad is if I plugged in a programmer. They did not ask about the cold air intake or other non electronic mods.

[mmarx82]

Originally Posted by pumpkinrancho

Slicks themselves do not void any warranty. That is what ptm5 is for. As long as you don't modify it it is covered for track days.

This^^^ and this: http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showpo...90&postcount=1

at the 2 min mark...

[joeybsyc]

Fact is, if a dealer wants to, they can cover just about anything for any reason, tune or no tune, track or street, whatever. There are work-arounds for everything if they want to do the work. On the flipside, they can also deny anything they want for just about any reason too. So many people think its black and white as to what is covered and when/why but the reality is, it depends on lots of factors... your dealer, the circumstances, etc can all be taken into account. Some dealers love the work and will help you out, while some love to deny warranty claims any chance they can.

[Vroom]

In the end, if you had to go to court and sue for repairs, I can't imagine any court siding with GM when they've gone to such trouble to tout this car as a track/race car. You have the chief engineer daring you to track you car. I'm pretty confident that any lawyer worth his salt would be able to get your stock car repaired for pretty much anything you do to it. Drag racing, donuts, whatever and you should be fine. You modify it though and you're on your own.

Originally Posted by joeybsyc

Fact is, if a dealer wants to, they can cover just about anything for any reason, tune or no tune, track or street, whatever. ...

Its not really up to the dealer. GM can require parts to be sent back after repairs and they will also check the computer to see if its been tuned. You blow a major component like an engine and you can expect GMs full scrutiny. The dealer can't just order up a new engine. Also, they've had the anti-tune feature built the into the computer since 2007.

[joeybsyc]

Originally Posted by Vroom

Its not really up to the dealer. GM can require parts to be sent back after repairs and they will also check the computer to see if its been tuned. You blow a major component like an engine and you can expect GMs full scrutiny. The dealer can't just order up a new engine. Also, they've had the anti-tune feature built the into the computer since 2007.

As I said, there are work arounds for everything. If the dealer wants the business they can and sometimes do get around all of that. Believe it. I know it's common belief around here that you can't get any powertrain items replaced or warranted with a tune, or if it breaks at the track... but that's not always the case if you have a good dealer that's willing to work with you.