Warranty voided due to mods.

[el ess A]

Originally Posted by Number 3

Remember, the dealer has rules to follow in order to be paid by GM. In fact, for some period of time (might be the first year) the dealer has to send all parts back to GM.

When did this start? Or is this PT warranty stuff only? I'm only asking because I had a PCV hose crack on the 2002 Camaro after it was like 3 months old, and my dealer had to order a complete hose/tubing assembly as you couldn't get that special little 2" long hose by itself. Like an 80 dollar part for a 25 cent hose.

Anyway, I didn't want their monkey techs touching the car over something so simple, so when the part came in, I just swapped the hose part and handed the new one (with the old hose end) back to the parts guy. After all, it was the hose that was the problem, not the pipe. Parts manager said he'd let me keep the old part normally, but said he had to keep it on hand for X number of days just in case GM wanted to see the old part. Was he BS'ing me? He's a straight shooter, so I have no reason to disbelieve.

[CarNut]

MikeSS touched on this in the beginning. What happens to the next guy that buys this car and thinks he's getting the remainder of the warranty? I'm sure GM flagged the VIN. Gotta think this happens some and how would one know?

[Bo Tie 1]

Sooo if you lose your warranty you get rid of the car? Does that mean after three years you get rid of the car cause the factory warranty is up? If you love the car your gonna keep it either way, I know I will.

[ffrcobra_65]

If you have money to mod, you better have money to fix. It is astounding why this is so difficult for some to understand. If you don't like a certain dealer's practice on how they treat modded cars, then go elsewhere. If you don't like a certain car manufacturer's practice on dealing with modded cars, don't buy their product. If you are not prepared to fork out $$ to pay for repairs not covered under warranty, don't take a chance. If you have time, money, and supply of tylenol, hire a lawyer to take on their lawyers, and blabber quotes from the Magnuson-Moss Act that you never read and only learn from blabberings you read on the internet, then go fot it. The car manufacturers do a great job protecting themselves. You would too if you were in their shoes. Fix and move on.

[Inferno2SS]

Originally Posted by ffrcobra_65

If you have money to mod, you better have money to fix. It is astounding why this is so difficult for some to understand. If you don't like a certain dealer's practice on how they treat modded cars, then go elsewhere. If you don't like a certain car manufacturer's practice on dealing with modded cars, don't buy their product. If you are not prepared to fork out $$ to pay for repairs not covered under warranty, don't take a chance. If you have time, money, and supply of tylenol, hire a lawyer to take on their lawyers, and blabber quotes from the Magnuson-Moss Act that you never read and only learn from blabberings you read on the internet, then go fot it. The car manufacturers do a great job protecting themselves. You would too if you were in their shoes. Fix and move on.

It is because SOME people are more worried about what they can get away with rather then what is right and wrong. I really wanted to put in LT Headers and get my car tuned but I know if something happens I cant afford to replace the motor so I chose to go with JBA mid pipes with high flow cats instead because they will give me a few more HP without voiding my warranty. Some times you have to make compromises in life to do what is right and make smart decisions, that's life.

[BackinBlackSS/RS]

Originally Posted by KILLER74Z28

ford will do the same thing if he mods the mustang by throwing a tune on it...

This case is closed. He was tuned. Might suck, but game over.

[YouseeSS]

Originally Posted by Cristoff

A dealership is not a scumbag simply because they follow the mandate of the manufacturer. The dealership is simply trying to protect itself against warranty claim chargebacks on cars that the manufacturer deems no longer warrantied.

Our delership got audited by Nissan/Infiniti in March because our warranty work overshot their targeted percentage of repairs. They looked at our repair orders for the last 18 months and we were charged back almost $30,000.00 for doing exactly what you want us to do.

The manufacturer doesn't eat the cost, the dealership does. The law doesn't accomodate for modifications or changes to the engineered specifications. The consumer will NOT win a lawsuit against a manufacturer if he modified the engineered specifications of the engine. Please stop telling people that they have the M/M act to protect them - it will not.

I agree. Dealerships are not scumbags for denying warranty work when a car has been modded. They are scumbags for their sleezy sales practices and frequent lying. I swear, most dealerships in general test the boundaries of criminal behavior on a daily basis. Whenever I leave the dealership after buying a car or having work done, I feel like I need a shower. Rant over, carry on.

[Cristoff]

Originally Posted by YouseeSS

I agree. Dealerships are not scumbags for denying warranty work when a car has been modded. They are scumbags for their sleezy sales practices and frequent lying. I swear, most dealerships in general test the boundaries of criminal behavior on a daily basis. Whenever I leave the dealership after buying a car or having work done, I feel like I need a shower. Rant over, carry on.

Stop by Infiniti of Pleasanton if you want to feel A LOT better about the experience!

[mikeSS]

Originally Posted by Inferno2SS

It is because SOME people are more worried about what they can get away with rather then what is right and wrong. I really wanted to put in LT Headers and get my car tuned but I know if something happens I cant afford to replace the motor so I chose to go with JBA mid pipes with high flow cats instead because they will give me a few more HP without voiding my warranty. Some times you have to make compromises in life to do what is right and make smart decisions, that's life.

but if you couldnt afford the repairs, you shouldn't have even gone as far as you did. they can void your warranty for those cats no problem. even if they are wrong are you ready to go to court ?

[Gene Culley]

Tech II is not even used on the Camaro. You have to us a MDI (Multiple Diagnostic Interface) that works with a laptop.

[Jcobra]

I had an 03 cobra that was pullied, tuned, full exhaust, aftermarket suspension, cai and more. The car was putting down 460 rwhp, I took it in cause there was a pooping noise coming from the rear passenger side. Turned Out the axle splines were warped and skipping. Ford replaced the entire rear end under warranty and never said a word about the mods. I even had 10.5 wheels with 315s out back.

[Ucantctchme]

So you're saying that camaros do not break until they are modded? Yes, gm did spend millions on testing, what haven't they spent millions on? Whatever, it's useless trying to argue how an optimized air fuel ratio couldnt possibly cause an oil leak on a gen4 engine.

Originally Posted by Number 3

The issue is that in order to get paid for PT Warranty, the dealer is obligated to send a copy of the calibration file to GM for the review.

Now I can't say this particular repair code required that or not, but many dealers don't want to get in the position of not getting paid for a repair.

Remember, the dealer has rules to follow in order to be paid by GM. In fact, for some period of time (might be the first year) the dealer has to send all parts back to GM.

And not suggesting that this happens or to what degree or how often, but any dealer could use GM money to fix anything and everything on a car just for their own good will. You can be pretty generous when you are spending someone elses money.

How about this, lets say we have a bad dealer and you bring your car in for a rattle. "sorry Mr. Camaro owner, while we were looking at the rattle we discovered you need new seats. So we'll gladly take car of that while you are here." With no checks, every dealer could do one un needed repair on your car while you bring it in simply to make money. And you would be simply saying, "wow, I didn't even know I needed new seats". But GM would be paying through the nose for unnecessary repairs.

So the dealers have to go through some hurdles to get paid for warranty work and as you can imagine, powertrain repairs can be the most expensive and have the tallest hurdles.

And by the way, going somewhere else wouldn't work. As the calibration file was sent to GM, the damage, so to speak, was done. It's in the permanent record.

And as for the tune not causing the leak, that's an opinion. Can you verify the all the parameters, temperatures, pressures etc. the new calibration subjected the engine too? No you can't.

GM spends millions upon millions testing powertrains and the vehicles they go in. They are tested in hottest and coldest temperatures you will ever see anywhere in the world. And under these conditions, the engine will start, run, and provide excellent drivability meeting emissions and FE regulations providing you with trouble free ownership experience. And when you have a problem, GM will gladly make the repair as well as they can to make sure your ownership experience exceeds your expectations.

But when you completely change the opperating conditions to which that vehicle and it's engine was tested to, and you do this willingly, then you have to accept there are consequences for this.

The GM warranty clearly states that the guy selling you the tune is responsible. Yet no one holds them accountable. Not sure why. They made the new "part". Not GM.

[67motorcat]

Originally Posted by mikeSS

but if you couldnt afford the repairs, you shouldn't have even gone as far as you did. they can void your warranty for those cats no problem. even if they are wrong are you ready to go to court ?

I respectfully disagree.For example.
Lets say you high centered or ran aground off the shoulder while avoiding a collision or something and your Cats and exhuast became damaged.

GM does not state aftermarket or equivalent replacement parts cannot be used and if so warranty is voided for the rest of the powertrain.
This guy has NO tune.

Again,unless of course the replacement part was a direct cause of some other componet failure.

Just saying.And as I stated earlier in this thread,it is very dependant on the Dealership.

[Inferno2SS]

Originally Posted by mikeSS

but if you couldnt afford the repairs, you shouldn't have even gone as far as you did. they can void your warranty for those cats no problem. even if they are wrong are you ready to go to court ?

No, I wouldnt take it to court that could end up costing twice as much as a motor in the long run. I might hire a lawyer if I felt it was a manufacturer defect not related to my mods to put some pressure on them, but in reality you are probably right. I think I am ok though, I talked with the service manager at my dealership about my mods prior to installing them and he was fine with them. I wouldnt of done the catted mid pipes if they werent. Obviously it might be out of their hands though.