Headers question?

[Dcmaro28]

What kind of intake did you put on when it threw a CEL?

[Dcmaro28]

I talked with my dealer today and the guy says shorty headers = no more powertrain warranty..

[Shu71]

This isn't that difficult. If you modify your car and something fails and GM can prove it was your modifaction that caused the failure, then they will void the warranty repair for that damage. PERIOD. You add a cold air intake and the engine runs lean enough to burn a piston and they can prove the intake caused it, then you are on your own. When you put on a better flowing cold air intake, better flowing headers, better flowing exhaust, you will undoubtedly be past the ECM's ability as well as maybe the injectors limit to maintain proper air fuel ratio and thus the engine will run lean. Maybe too lean and cause damage. If you are worried about your warranty, you should be worried about your engine and making sure you do the mods correctly and keep things safe for the engine. Having a CEL light on is not acceptable. It comes on because there is a problem. You need to know why it is on; code scanner and then decide how to resolve the problem. Bascially if you mod, you assume the risk.

[BSR-1]

Originally Posted by Shu71

This isn't that difficult. If you modify your car and something fails and GM can prove it was your modifaction that caused the failure, then they will void the warranty repair for that damage. PERIOD. You add a cold air intake and the engine runs lean enough to burn a piston and they can prove the intake caused it, then you are on your own. When you put on a better flowing cold air intake, better flowing headers, better flowing exhaust, you will undoubtedly be past the ECM's ability as well as maybe the injectors limit to maintain proper air fuel ratio and thus the engine will run lean. Maybe too lean and cause damage. If you are worried about your warranty, you should be worried about your engine and making sure you do the mods correctly and keep things safe for the engine. Having a CEL light on is not acceptable. It comes on because there is a problem. You need to know why it is on; code scanner and then decide how to resolve the problem. Bascially if you mod, you assume the risk.

Thanks for being the forum "room monitor" and clearing that up for us.

I guess I've just never seen a cold air intake move enough air to burn a piston but you learn something new every day.

[Shu71]

Explain how I was being a monitor and what rule I broke.

This is a question that is asked over and over again and the answer is simple and it resides in the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of the US. It is very clear, a warranty can not be voided by using aftermarket parts unless the manufacturer providing the warranty can prove the parts caused the failure in question.

As far as can a CAI lean a fuel injected car to the point of piston meltdown, well no not normally on it's own. If you add to it headers and free flowing exhaust and the factory ECM tune can not adjust enough or the injectors or other stock components can not adjust enough to raise the AFR to a non dangerous ratio then you can see the problem.

Even at all that though the company issuing the warranty must still prove your modifications caused the failure.

The point I was making is that if you are really worried about your warranty and it is that important to you, then why push it and put yourself at risk? The more you mod the more risk you assume.

I was trying to put this seemingly complicated topic in perspective. Sorry if my bluntness offended.

[Dcmaro28]

I understand all of that and the possibility that it could happen but why would my dealer say that just because I have headers on my car the powertrain warranty is gone? Doesn't make sense at all and it frustrates me

[BSR-1]

It's OK I just get tired of people trying to sound superior.
I see that your just trying to clear up an issue with some real information.

My mistake!

[BSR-1]

Originally Posted by Dcmaro28

I understand all of that and the possibility that it could happen but why would my dealer say that just because I have headers on my car the powertrain warranty is gone? Doesn't make sense at all and it frustrates me

Is that the service manager friend of yours that said that?

[The Stig]

Originally Posted by Dcmaro28

I understand all of that and the possibility that it could happen but why would my dealer say that just because I have headers on my car the powertrain warranty is gone? Doesn't make sense at all and it frustrates me

because dealer's try every means possible to get out of doing warranty work.

[Dcmaro28]

Yeah it was the service manager who said it, I stopped in to see if they had any of the 2012 6's and I asked, sure enough he said anything infront of the cats and your warranty is gone.

[Dcmaro28]

Originally Posted by stieger

because dealer's try every means possible to get out of doing warranty work.

Tell me about it

[BSR-1]

Originally Posted by Dcmaro28

Yeah it was the service manager who said it, I stopped in to see if they had any of the 2012 6's and I asked, sure enough he said anything infront of the cats and your warranty is gone.

Then I guess I shouldn't take my car to have the oil changed at the dealership.

[Dcmaro28]

His explanation was that they can tell when they hook up the car with the computer and that's the show stopper

[Shu71]

Originally Posted by Dcmaro28

I understand all of that and the possibility that it could happen but why would my dealer say that just because I have headers on my car the powertrain warranty is gone? Doesn't make sense at all and it frustrates me

You already have a cold air intake and free flowing exhaust right? I would guess that he is aware that when you all the headers it will flow well enough that it will then require a tune and with all of that they would have an easier time prooving that the changed caused the failure. If you failed to tune, then it would run lean and cause a CEL and all that would be logged in the ECM. If you tune, generally they can tell that when they read the ECM. So at that point you are doomed, either it runs lean and throws codes that prove it ran too lean or you tune and they can then see that as well. Then it would be a battle on your part to counter their proof the parts caused the failure. You could be locked into a dispute for a long time over who is right. I understand both sides. We want to tune for performance and provided we do it in a manner to not cause damage, then why can't we. On the other hand, the more we tune and power we make, then more stress on the engine and therefore the more likely it is to break.