Once and for all...
No mod, no matter what, implicitly voids your warantee. This is illegal under Federal Trade Commision regulations.
Per the Magnuson-Moss Waranty (?) Act: (paraphrase) after-market (AM) parts do not void any or part of a warantee. But, if a malfunction occurs and the manufacturer can prove that the AM parts caused the problem to another part then they can refuse warantee service on the broken part. But, the remainder of your waranty is still in tact.
FOR EXAMPLE (for the slower folks)...
If you put on a turbo back exhaust, and your tranny drops, it would be very hard for them to prove a direct cause-effect relationship. So, they would be obligated to perform waranty work.
But, if you had a boost controller, and your turbo burned-up, they could make a good argument that the turbo was not designed to handle that additional stress level, and could refuse you turbo warantee service. But, they would still have to honor a repair to your radiator leaking.
Now, if you have a boost controller, and your tranny fails, this is a gray area. They could argue that the tranny wasn't designed to handle the extra stress. But, we all know moderate extra Boost/HP is not going to kill a good tranny. There is a fine line and it can get gray and you could get into a legal battle, so here is the best advice I have (speaking from experience)...
1) If you mess w/ the electronics, turbo, or main engine parts, you are putting them (dealerships/OEM) in a position to be able to prove a direct relationship to other part failures and not honor certain waranty work-get these AM parts at your own risk.
2) If you get basic bolt-ons (intakes, exhausts, UDPs, etc..) no decent dealership will even attempt to deny you waranty service.
(Addition)
3) Get to know your Service Manager, well, before you start modding. At least sit and chat w/ him a while, maybe over lunch; if he's on your side the dealership won't even blink at your mods when they do all your waranty work. He can also be the deciding factor in major waranty claims.
Everyone clear now?
No mod, no matter what, implicitly voids your warantee. This is illegal under Federal Trade Commision regulations.
Per the Magnuson-Moss Waranty (?) Act: (paraphrase) after-market (AM) parts do not void any or part of a warantee. But, if a malfunction occurs and the manufacturer can prove that the AM parts caused the problem to another part then they can refuse warantee service on the broken part. But, the remainder of your waranty is still in tact.
FOR EXAMPLE (for the slower folks)...
If you put on a turbo back exhaust, and your tranny drops, it would be very hard for them to prove a direct cause-effect relationship. So, they would be obligated to perform waranty work.
But, if you had a boost controller, and your turbo burned-up, they could make a good argument that the turbo was not designed to handle that additional stress level, and could refuse you turbo warantee service. But, they would still have to honor a repair to your radiator leaking.
Now, if you have a boost controller, and your tranny fails, this is a gray area. They could argue that the tranny wasn't designed to handle the extra stress. But, we all know moderate extra Boost/HP is not going to kill a good tranny. There is a fine line and it can get gray and you could get into a legal battle, so here is the best advice I have (speaking from experience)...
1) If you mess w/ the electronics, turbo, or main engine parts, you are putting them (dealerships/OEM) in a position to be able to prove a direct relationship to other part failures and not honor certain waranty work-get these AM parts at your own risk.
2) If you get basic bolt-ons (intakes, exhausts, UDPs, etc..) no decent dealership will even attempt to deny you waranty service.
(Addition)
3) Get to know your Service Manager, well, before you start modding. At least sit and chat w/ him a while, maybe over lunch; if he's on your side the dealership won't even blink at your mods when they do all your waranty work. He can also be the deciding factor in major waranty claims.
Everyone clear now?
