welfare
Ancient Member
I have read in so many places about people asking about "will this or that void my warranty", or as such cause a dealership decline coverage on your car simply because you modified something on your vehicle.
The answer is a very resounding NO, your warranty cannot be voided for the installation of aftermarket parts either "oem style" such as a pep-boys headlight or monroe exhaust; All the way to full out upgrades. such as a catback Exhaust or a supercharger or the like.
Federal Law protects buyers in such cases.
The answer is a very resounding NO, your warranty cannot be voided for the installation of aftermarket parts either "oem style" such as a pep-boys headlight or monroe exhaust; All the way to full out upgrades. such as a catback Exhaust or a supercharger or the like.
Federal Law protects buyers in such cases.
Most vehicle owners are not aware they are protected by federal law: the Magnuson-Moss Warranty – Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act of 1975. Under the Magnuson-Moss Act, aftermarket equipment which improves performance does not void a vehicle manufacturer’s original warranty, unless the warranty clearly and conspicuously states that aftermarket equipment voids the warranty.
Most states have warranty statutes, as well. Which provide further protections for vehicle owners. In other words, that means a dealer can’t wiggle out of his legal warranty obligation merely because you install aftermarket equipment. To find out if any aftermarket equipment automatically voids your vehicle’s warranty, check the owner’s manual. It is likely the language you are looking for appears
under a heading such as “What Is Not Covered” Although the language seems negative, remember your vehicle manufacturer is simply saying he does not cover the aftermarket products themselves. He is not saying that the products would void the vehicle warranty.
That being said, The warranty MUST STATE EXACTLY that aftermarket installed equipment will void the vehicles warranty. Most OEM warrantys DO NOT SAY ANYTHING TO THE LIKE.
Think about it, lets say you were driving around in your stock used '05 RSX you just bought it 5 days ago from an acura dealer and got the 100,000 mile used car warranty offered at the dealership. BANG you backed into a curb and somehow broke the muffler off. You go to the dealer and they tell you its a 500 deductable to fix it or they tell you its a wear item and wasnt covered from the get-go, either way, you decline and go to monroe and they put a stainless steel catback on from magnaflow, costs you 400 bucks, you saved $100, gained some hp and now have a nice sounding exhaust.
2 days later BABOOM your engine blows. You take it to the dealer and they give you the runaround- "the engine blew cuz of the exhaust" NO WARRANTY COVERAGE, This is NORMAL. the dealer doesnt want to have to pay to put the engine in your car, even though there is NO WAY the exhaust could have ruined the engine. LEGALLY they cannot do this, but they do it to people because 8 times out of 10 the end-user/you dont know that they can't. If you put up a fuss they HAVE TO HONOR THE WARRANTY.
The only way the dealer can void the warranty is in 2 situations,
1 if the part you are trying to get warranty on was removed from the vehicle ("the stock wheels were in my basement and they rusted to pieces")
2 if the aftermarket part DIRECTLY caused the failure, such as aftermarket wheels coming off and breaking something else in teh process or a turbo/supercharger that was not properly tuned and literally blew the engine apart.
There are alot of web pages and places to look that will give you the information you need LOOK EM UP! Dont get screwed by THE MAN again
Warranty denied?
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975
Most states have warranty statutes, as well. Which provide further protections for vehicle owners. In other words, that means a dealer can’t wiggle out of his legal warranty obligation merely because you install aftermarket equipment. To find out if any aftermarket equipment automatically voids your vehicle’s warranty, check the owner’s manual. It is likely the language you are looking for appears
under a heading such as “What Is Not Covered” Although the language seems negative, remember your vehicle manufacturer is simply saying he does not cover the aftermarket products themselves. He is not saying that the products would void the vehicle warranty.
That being said, The warranty MUST STATE EXACTLY that aftermarket installed equipment will void the vehicles warranty. Most OEM warrantys DO NOT SAY ANYTHING TO THE LIKE.
Think about it, lets say you were driving around in your stock used '05 RSX you just bought it 5 days ago from an acura dealer and got the 100,000 mile used car warranty offered at the dealership. BANG you backed into a curb and somehow broke the muffler off. You go to the dealer and they tell you its a 500 deductable to fix it or they tell you its a wear item and wasnt covered from the get-go, either way, you decline and go to monroe and they put a stainless steel catback on from magnaflow, costs you 400 bucks, you saved $100, gained some hp and now have a nice sounding exhaust.
2 days later BABOOM your engine blows. You take it to the dealer and they give you the runaround- "the engine blew cuz of the exhaust" NO WARRANTY COVERAGE, This is NORMAL. the dealer doesnt want to have to pay to put the engine in your car, even though there is NO WAY the exhaust could have ruined the engine. LEGALLY they cannot do this, but they do it to people because 8 times out of 10 the end-user/you dont know that they can't. If you put up a fuss they HAVE TO HONOR THE WARRANTY.
The only way the dealer can void the warranty is in 2 situations,
1 if the part you are trying to get warranty on was removed from the vehicle ("the stock wheels were in my basement and they rusted to pieces")
2 if the aftermarket part DIRECTLY caused the failure, such as aftermarket wheels coming off and breaking something else in teh process or a turbo/supercharger that was not properly tuned and literally blew the engine apart.
There are alot of web pages and places to look that will give you the information you need LOOK EM UP! Dont get screwed by THE MAN again
Warranty denied?
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975