unvoiding the warranty

[Kodis16]

i am looking to get my car tuned after longtubes and still have a few years with the warrenty is there anyway for my to avoid voiding the warrenty and still get the car tuned?
I was thinking i could buy another ECU and to keep the stock tune on one and the new tune on another. Would this work? and is there any other way?

[The Stig]

No. If you tune your car you void your powertrain warranty. There is no way to cheat the system. People have tried and failed. If you search you will see numerous threads about "just swapping the ECM" and it does NOT work. The car records in numerous places the car's mileage, and if your ECM mileage doesn't match the BCM's mileage they will know you switched your ECM. That and you have to give a dealer a VIN in order to buy an ECM.

You got to pay to play. It's simple as that.

[strych9]

Originally Posted by stieger

No. If you tune your car you void your powertrain warranty. There is no way to cheat the system. People have tried and failed. If you search you will see numerous threads about "just swapping the ECM" and it does NOT work. The car records in numerous places the car's mileage, and if your ECM mileage doesn't match the BCM's mileage they will know you switched your ECM. That and you have to give a dealer a VIN in order to buy an ECM.

You got to pay to play. It's simple as that.

[ZED SLED]

Whether or not your warranty will be voided will always be a great source of debate on here. Most of the time it likely will clearly be voided, depends on the issue. I believe one thing is for certain, though. Posting on here saying you are tuned or are going to get tuned certainly won't help your case. It's not like GM doesn't have a crap load of people perusing these forums. Add to it the posting of vin #s, license plate #s, etc., not hard for them to figure out who's doing what.

[Russell James]

If you want to keep your warranty, get some shorties and high flows, CAI, and no tune. It will leave a bit of hp on the table vs LTs, but if the 100K warranty is important, I think it's a smart way to go. If you touch the tuning, the warranty is screwed.

[Rhyder]

So I have a buddy who got his car tuned, it is a GM vehicle. Well his light came on, and this was an issue that had been "repaired" twice by the dealer before the tune. It was an Evap code. They replaced the celinoid and the connector.

Well the dealer now states that there is "foreign" software on the car, and due to them having no idea what that "foreign" software could do since its effecting the monitoring, that it voids the warranty on everything that is monitored.

So not to get into them refusing to fix something that's been ongoing since the first day, it was on when he picked the car up, due to something added after the problem started, I just wanted to point out that they seem to have expanded what the tune voids beyond the engine, claiming the "foreign" software could be doing something they have no way of knowing what to the various monitoring systems.

Oh it also is apparently throwing a code for the airbag, they also claim that the tune is messing with that as well, so basically it seems anything that is monitored by the computer, if it fails, they are trying to claim its because the "foreign" software interfered with the proper monitoring of the equipment. Really? your trying to stretch a tune to get out of fixing an airbag system?

I have never had these problems with Ford....they may go this route at some point, but so far they seem to have stayed at the if you mod the engine it voids the engine, not that Ford is all fluffyness and angels, but they haven't started this legalize screw our customers penny ante crap...I will classify GM with dodge in the future, meaning do not buy from unless forced to.


just thought i would post this as the search on here didn't point out this angle of the screwing we are receiving...least not that I saw.

(he does have a call into MTI, he left a vm and is waiting a call back, to see if maybe there's something wrong with the tune causing out of the ordinary errors, but even so the fact is the dealer is saying they cant work anything, stuff not even related to the engine, because the car was tuned)

[el ess A]

Originally Posted by Rhyder

So I have a buddy who got his car tuned, it is a GM vehicle. Well his light came on, and this was an issue that had been "repaired" twice by the dealer before the tune. It was an Evap code. They replaced the celinoid and the connector.

Well the dealer now states that there is "foreign" software on the car, and due to them having no idea what that "foreign" software could do since its effecting the monitoring, that it voids the warranty on everything that is monitored.

There you go. It's pretty much common sense. You muck with the controller/data link to these systems, then when something goes wrong with something controlled by these systems, you want GM to foot the bill. Nah. I call BS. It has no bearing on what any other car company does. It's GM's warranty, and GM's situation. Deal with GM. As far as the tune, get whoever tuned it to guarantee their work.

Sure, they have to "prove" what you did nullified the warranted part/system, but a "foreign" software installed printout is pretty much all the proof they're going to need as they can point out it's controlling in a manner not consistent within the boundaries of the factory validated system software. Still, if a seat belt bolt needs replacing for example, they'll still have to deal with that, but anything related to the tune? Forget it. I'd side with GM on that. You play, you pay.

And if you don't want a GM car because of that, then go ahead and sell yourself short and buy some other brand.

I guess I'll never understand this entitlement mentality when it comes to wanting GM to contintue to cover items with the warranty after a tune. Be responsible for your actions.

[Rhyder]

your right..I do feel that when I pay for a warranty that they should fix things that break. I think that a company that sells the same car supercharged, unless you think they don't tune those, and is fine with it if its them, but let you put a supercharger or tune on it and somehow your system will damage the parts where theirs wont?

If they did not sell a supercharged product then i see the point, but GM proves themselves that tuning or supercharging the vehicles does not cause undue stress by the very fact they sell it that way. That or they are knowingly selling a product they know before they sell it will self destruct. I'm not claiming that someone was out drag racing or anything, its his DD, he just wanted headers on for the sound and needed to tune it. that's all.

But GM uses this legal loophole to get out of repairing things because people like you let them, and now they are expanding this for a vague "who knows what it may be doing" they don't even know, they are just again using a loophole to get out of repairing something. I still have yet to see anything in writing proving that cars that are tuned and/or headers, excluding racers, have a higher rate of failure....



I and he are aware that tuning it would void the warranty on the engine,And its still not clear to me what a tune has to do with the airbag system., we all know its BS from GM that it does, but that's the rules, its not that I'm upset about...its the expanding it to cover things that are not affected by a tune, and by them stating "who knows" they cant even solidly state its effecting them.

So yes when I by a service, and that's in the buy price for the vehicle, you are darn right i feel "entitled" to that service.

[strych9]

Originally Posted by Rhyder

your right..I do feel that when I pay for a warranty that they should fix things that break. I think that a company that sells the same car supercharged, unless you think they don't tune those, and is fine with it if its them, but let you put a supercharger or tune on it and somehow your system will damage the parts where theirs wont?

If they did not sell a supercharged product then i see the point, but GM proves themselves that tuning or supercharging the vehicles does not cause undue stress by the very fact they sell it that way. That or they are knowingly selling a product they know before they sell it will self destruct. I'm not claiming that someone was out drag racing or anything, its his DD, he just wanted headers on for the sound and needed to tune it. that's all.

But GM uses this legal loophole to get out of repairing things because people like you let them, and now they are expanding this for a vague "who knows what it may be doing" they don't even know, they are just again using a loophole to get out of repairing something. I still have yet to see anything in writing proving that cars that are tuned and/or headers, excluding racers, have a higher rate of failure....



I and he are aware that tuning it would void the warranty on the engine,And its still not clear to me what a tune has to do with the airbag system., we all know its BS from GM that it does, but that's the rules, its not that I'm upset about...its the expanding it to cover things that are not affected by a tune, and by them stating "who knows" they cant even solidly state its effecting them.

So yes when I by a service, and that's in the buy price for the vehicle, you are darn right i feel "entitled" to that service.

The only "entitlement" that you (or any other owner of a car under factory warranty) has is for the dealer to warranty factory-issued components that fail due to failure caused by a factory defect.

Let's put this into perspective: say you put on aftermarket wheels. Maybe the wheel manufacture got the specs close, but off just enough that you started breaking wheel studs.

Tell, me...is that a GM factory defect? No. Would you take it to the dealer and expect them to fix it for free? No, and if you did,

The original programming (tune) in the ECM should be considered a factory part. If you download a third-party software into it, you have replaced this factory "part" with an aftermarket one. Now stuff breaks. It may, or may not be caused by the third-party software. But, since GM tells you up front that if you mess with their parts and something goes wrong, it is at their discretion whether they choose to cover it, or not.

There is NO implied entitlement there. I really can't understand why some people on this forum can't seem to grasp this.

[Dznyfn]

Originally Posted by strych9

The only "entitlement" that you (or any other owner of a car under factory warranty) has is for the dealer to warranty factory-issued components that fail due to failure caused by a factory defect.

Let's put this into perspective: say you put on aftermarket wheels. Maybe the wheel manufacture got the specs close, but off just enough that you started breaking wheel studs.

Tell, me...is that a GM factory defect? No. Would you take it to the dealer and expect them to fix it for free? No, and if you did,

The original programming (tune) in the ECM should be considered a factory part. If you download a third-party software into it, you have replaced this factory "part" with an aftermarket one. Now stuff breaks. It may, or may not be caused by the third-party software. But, since GM tells you up front that if you mess with their parts and something goes wrong, it is at their discretion whether they choose to cover it, or not.

There is NO implied entitlement there. I really can't understand why some people on this forum can't seem to grasp this.

[Rhyder]

a wear due to improper wheels is a provable cause, there is no valid proof that a tune by itself, no racing, causes failure of components. yet thats all it takes to void the warranty on the engine. And now they are saying it effects stuff like the airbag deployment?

Show me a reputable source that shows cars that receive a tune only and aren't racing show a much higher risk of failure....... everything I've seen shows examples of engine failure mostly involved in one extreme condition or another, and also with much more work done, like cams.

Is GM really saying their engine is so fragile that a simple tune will ruin it?

The argument has nothing to do with aftermarket items that cause damage, but proof by GM that simply applying a tune increases the risk of engine failure.....or even better in my friends case, air bag failure.

[XxScottxXN]

In a Consumer Alert issued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the agency confirmed that “The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act makes it illegal for companies to void your warranty or deny coverage under the warranty simply because you used an aftermarket part.” The alert outlines key provisions in the law that provides protections to car owners. As defined by the FTC, an “aftermarket' part is a part made by a company other than the vehicle manufacturer or the original equipment manufacturer.”

[The Stig]

Originally Posted by XxScottxXN

In a Consumer Alert issued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the agency confirmed that “The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act makes it illegal for companies to void your warranty or deny coverage under the warranty simply because you used an aftermarket part.” The alert outlines key provisions in the law that provides protections to car owners. As defined by the FTC, an “aftermarket' part is a part made by a company other than the vehicle manufacturer or the original equipment manufacturer.”

Except GM (as well as most car companies) specifically say that if you tune the ECM you void your powertrain warranty.

Honestly it doesn't matter what you, the consumer, thinks is right or fair. If GM wants to void your warranty because you tuned the car, then they will. Only way you can un-void it is by taking them to court and proving that your tune did in fact not cause the engine failure. Oh, and all those court costs and lawyer fees are coming out of your pocket as well. So you may win your case in the end, but you probably will have spent more than had you just paid for the repairs from the beginning.

[Rhyder]

Originally Posted by stieger

Except GM (as well as most car companies) specifically say that if you tune the ECM you void your powertrain warranty.

Honestly it doesn't matter what you, the consumer, thinks is right or fair. If GM wants to void your warranty because you tuned the car, then they will. Only way you can un-void it is by taking them to court and proving that your tune did in fact not cause the engine failure. Oh, and all those court costs and lawyer fees are coming out of your pocket as well. So you may win your case in the end, but you probably will have spent more than had you just paid for the repairs from the beginning.

If the wording of a preceding case does in fact cover it, you can take the dealership and GM to small claims court, think its like $100 filing fee. Thats good for up to 5 to 10k depending on state or court system. should be no problem if its already written. They often don't even show if they aren't headquartered in your state, retaining a lawyer for a case of so little isn't worth it.



but even if they do its on them to prove different...I think ill do that if i run into a similar problem, that way even if they wont do the work, if you win they have to pay for it. Ive spent more than a 4100 on little mods to the look of my car, its nothing if it will get a big item repair done as they should already

not much cost at all if your looking at a big money item for repair.

If they started getting hit with a few thousand small court cases a year maybe they would rethink this stance.