Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act

[Eduk8r]

I am sure this has been posted before. It would appear that many think GM can void the warranty for any thing. This is just not the case.


Federal Warranty Laws For Your Car, Truck, Van Or Suv


1.The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (15 U.S.C. 2302(C))
This federal law regulates warranties for the protection of consumers. The essence of the law concerning new aftermarket auto parts is that a vehicle manufacturer may not condition a written or implied warranty on the consumers using parts or services which are identified by brand, trade, or corporate name (such as the vehicle maker's brand) unless the parts or service are provided free of charge. The law means that the use of an aftermarket part alone is not cause for denying the warranty. However, the law's protection does not extend to aftermarket parts in situations where such parts actually caused the damage being claimed under the warranty. Further, consumers are advised to be aware of any specific terms or conditions stated in the warranty which may result in its being voided. The law states in relevant part:

No warrantor of a consumer product may condition his written or implied warranty of such product on the consumers using, in connection with such product, any article or service (other than article or service provided without charge under the terms of the warranty) which is identified by brand, trade or corporate name... (15 U.S.C. 2302(C)).

2. Clean Air Act Warranty Provisions (42 U.S.C. S 7541 (C) (3) (B))
The federal Clean Air Act requires vehicle makers to provide two emissions-related warranties -- a production warranty and a performance warranty. The production warranty requires the vehicle maker to warrant that the vehicle is designed, built and equipped so that it conforms with emissions requirements at the time of sale. The performance warranty requires the vehicle maker to warrant that the vehicle will comply with applicable emissions requirements as tested under state vehicle emissions inspection programs for the warranty periods specified in the law (for model year 1995 and later vehicles, the warranty is 2 years / 24,000 miles for all emissions-related parts and 8 years / 80,000 miles for the catalytic converter, electronic emissions control unit and on-board diagnostic device). The performance warranty is conditioned on the vehicle being properly maintained and operated.

Like the Magnuson-Moss Act, vehicle manufacturers may not refuse warranty repairs under the Clean Air Acts performance and defect warranties merely because aftermarket parts have been installed on the vehicle. The only circumstance under which the vehicle manufacturer can void the emissions warranties is if an aftermarket part is responsible for (causes) the warranty claim.

Courtesy of Sema.org

[TommyTSquared]

This has been brought up and discussed ad nauseam. But, you can be the first among us to go to court with GM and see just how far you can push it.

[Number 3]

Yeah, this again.

Here is what will happen. You will take your car to the dealer for a major repair, lets assume the typical thing everyone wants and to talk about and that is a recalibration. The dealer will say "no", you don't have the original calibration, you have elected to void your warranty. You will claim MMA and your dealer will (hopefully politely) sorry, as you have voided your warranty GM will not reimburse me for the work. "But you have to repair it, MMA says so". And again they will say, "sorry".

Sooooooo you will go get an attorney to take legal action against GM for not repairing your car. And in court you will say, "MMA". Then the multitude of experts from GM will roll out thousands of pages of test data that shows that if you recalibrate the car to create more power than what is validated....................the drivetrain breaks. And you will wimper, "MMA". And then the judge will rule against you and you will now pay to have your car fixed AND you will pay your attorney.

So here is my suggestion........................instead of posting MMA for the 10,000 time, post one single case of someone who took any of the major...........heck even minor, OEMs to court on MMA and won.

So far in all the websites I frequent were this is an issue we get posts like this, BUT NOT ONE SINGLE case of someone winning a case in court using MMA.

Hey, I'm all for enjoying and personalizing your car. You just can't expect GM or any other OEM to warranty the work done by some "tuner" who did a couple of days worth of work to defeat the torque management and emissions calibrations.

[Scrappy Doo]

Originally Posted by Number 3

Yeah, this again.

Here is what will happen. You will take your car to the dealer for a major repair, lets assume the typical thing everyone wants and to talk about and that is a recalibration. The dealer will say "no", you don't have the original calibration, you have elected to void your warranty. You will claim MMA and your dealer will (hopefully politely) sorry, as you have voided your warranty GM will not reimburse me for the work. "But you have to repair it, MMA says so". And again they will say, "sorry".

Sooooooo you will go get an attorney to take legal action against GM for not repairing your car. And in court you will say, "MMA". Then the multitude of experts from GM will roll out thousands of pages of test datat that shows that if recalibrate the car to create more power than what is validated....................the engine breaks. And you will wimper, "MMA". And then the judge will rule against you and you will now pay to have your car fixed AND you will pay your attorney.

So here is my suggestion........................instead of posting MMA for the 10,000 time, post one single case of someone who took any of the major...........heck even minor, OEMs to court on MMA and won.

So far in all the websites I frequent were this is an issue we get posts like this, BUT NOT ONE SINGLE case of someone winning a case in court using MMA.

Hey, I'm all for enjoying and personalizing your car. You just can't expect GM or any other OEM to warranty the work done by some "tuner" who did a couple of days worth of work to defeat the torque management and emissions calibrations.

And now if someone can close this before it turns into a monster.

[Lucky SOB]

Originally Posted by Number 3

Yeah, this again.

Here is what will happen. You will take your car to the dealer for a major repair, lets assume the typical thing everyone wants and to talk about and that is a recalibration. The dealer will say "no", you don't have the original calibration, you have elected to void your warranty. You will claim MMA and your dealer will (hopefully politely) sorry, as you have voided your warranty GM will not reimburse me for the work. "But you have to repair it, MMA says so". And again they will say, "sorry".

Sooooooo you will go get an attorney to take legal action against GM for not repairing your car. And in court you will say, "MMA". Then the multitude of experts from GM will roll out thousands of pages of test data that shows that if you recalibrate the car to create more power than what is validated....................the drivetrain breaks. And you will wimper, "MMA". And then the judge will rule against you and you will now pay to have your car fixed AND you will pay your attorney.

So here is my suggestion........................instead of posting MMA for the 10,000 time, post one single case of someone who took any of the major...........heck even minor, OEMs to court on MMA and won.

So far in all the websites I frequent were this is an issue we get posts like this, BUT NOT ONE SINGLE case of someone winning a case in court using MMA.

Hey, I'm all for enjoying and personalizing your car. You just can't expect GM or any other OEM to warranty the work done by some "tuner" who did a couple of days worth of work to defeat the torque management and emissions calibrations.

[Kalenn]

Threads that have been beaten to death. Add this subject to the ever growing list.

[JohnInSoCal]

GM is the expert in determining if your mod caused the problem. You can quote this act to GM all you want but short of suing them and actually winning in court this magnuson warranty act is not worth much.

[nova]

Originally Posted by Number 3

Yeah, this again.

Here is what will happen. You will take your car to the dealer for a major repair, lets assume the typical thing everyone wants and to talk about and that is a recalibration. The dealer will say "no", you don't have the original calibration, you have elected to void your warranty. You will claim MMA and your dealer will (hopefully politely) sorry, as you have voided your warranty GM will not reimburse me for the work. "But you have to repair it, MMA says so". And again they will say, "sorry".

Sooooooo you will go get an attorney to take legal action against GM for not repairing your car. And in court you will say, "MMA". Then the multitude of experts from GM will roll out thousands of pages of test data that shows that if you recalibrate the car to create more power than what is validated....................the drivetrain breaks. And you will wimper, "MMA". And then the judge will rule against you and you will now pay to have your car fixed AND you will pay your attorney.

So here is my suggestion........................instead of posting MMA for the 10,000 time, post one single case of someone who took any of the major...........heck even minor, OEMs to court on MMA and won.

So far in all the websites I frequent were this is an issue we get posts like this, BUT NOT ONE SINGLE case of someone winning a case in court using MMA.

Hey, I'm all for enjoying and personalizing your car. You just can't expect GM or any other OEM to warranty the work done by some "tuner" who did a couple of days worth of work to defeat the torque management and emissions calibrations.

Ding ding ding. We have a winner!

For the average individual with average resources, MMA provides no coverage other than the simplest most blatant violations ie if you add a supercharger and your door handle breaks and they refuse to fix it, you could probably win that MMA claim in court if you have the resources to fight it. Even in that case its a lot simpler and cheaper just to fix the damn door handle yourself.

Course the flip side to that is GM and nobody affiliated with GM is dumb enough to take actions like that because they know its an MMA violation.

The average person simply doesn't have the time, monetary or information resources to fight such a claim in court.