What Mods Do and Do Not Void the Warranty?

[10ICTXN]

Pretty much what the title says. Does anyone KNOW what voids the manufacture’s warranty. I haven’t done much; wind deflectors, rock guards, planned ceramic coating etc. As I think of other things I may do, I want to steer clear of anything that would jeopardize the warranty coverage until they run out. Things such as air intake, exhaust, down pipe, do any or all of those cross the line? I’m really interested in the facts as opposed to conjecture. Any Toyota folks in the know that can chime in? Thanks for any response.

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[10ICTXN]

Pretty much what the title says. Does anyone KNOW what voids the manufacture’s warranty. I haven’t done much; wind deflectors, rock guards, planned ceramic coating etc. As I think of other things I may do, I want to steer clear of anything that would jeopardize the warranty coverage until it runs out. Things such as air intake, exhaust, down pipe, do any or all of those cross the line? I’m really interested in the facts as opposed to conjecture. Any Toyota folks in the know that can chime in? Thanks for any response.

 

[H2O_Doc]

You’ll get a lot of opinions shortly from “any mod no matter how minor can void all of your warranty” to the other extreme.

what is at the heart of claim denial and consumer protection is whether or not a warranty claim can be reasonably linked to a mod you made. Could your mod have REASONABLY caused the failure of whatever it is that happened. There is a lot of room for disagreement, but not infinite.

a mod to your engine is likely not reasonably linked to a failure of your speakers, for example and vice versa.

Tuning and other mods that increase power might be more reasonably linked to a variety of failures from motor to drivetrain and more.

So, think through what you want to do and use causal reasoning to think about risk management.

wind deflectors and curb feelers are probably fine.

 

[10ICTXN]

Sorry for the duplicate post, the downfall of making a post from my phone I guess. Maybe a moderator can delete one of these.

 

[Tsuki]

Here's the thing - no one can answer this question for you, nor should you believe anyone who gives you a definite answer either way, because it's not something you will genuinely know the answer to until you need to make the warranty claim. Cosmetic mods, etc. should not void your warranty, generally speaking.

Past that - it's tough, especially power mods. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act states that they have to PROVE that your modifications caused a failure - but that's not very difficult for them to do. If you put a rod through the bottom of your block, and had a tune, it's quite simple to prove that you ran the engine beyond its intended spec. You could hire a metallurgist, etc. to prove your case - but paying for the repairs will probably end up being the cheaper option.

On the suspension side, the situation is the same. Lowering springs can easily be considered to be running your OEM dampers out of spec. Same with bushings, etc.

Throwing in an aftermarket amplifier, or even a hardwired radar detector or dashcam, opens you up to having issues with warranty claims on the entire electrical system. I was just reading about someone who had a dealer give them a line of crap, saying that plugging in their OBD2 tool caused the system to have problems.

At the end of the day, for more minor repairs, it's going to be about your dealership. If they're mod friendly, you shouldn't have any real issues. If you blow your engine, turbo, etc. - those kinds of repairs are going to require explicit approval from corporate, and they're going to need to see data before they'll approve it. If there's any evidence of mods, they're going to push to deny the claim, and probably void the warranty overall. There are some manufacturers who are making their techs scan for tunes and other modifications on ANY service visit, and are pre-emptively voiding warranties. That, and the (at the time, nearly 2 years ago) $20k cost of an OEM shortblock, or $30k for a built block, is what made me decide to trade my RS3 once I was ready to start modding. There was simply nothing on the market for a shortblock, even used, for under ~$15k. That just wasn't a cost I was willing to risk absorbing, in a worst-case scenario.

Just like with any car, you have to pay to play. Any modification opens you up to scrutiny. If you need for Toyota to honor your warranty - you know what you need to do. If you can cover the cost of repairs yourself in a worst case, then, by all means, mod away.

 

[nosavingthrow]

curb feelers

Nissan 370Z has entered the chat.

That thing scraped a little almost every time I left my driveway.

 

[Thill444]

For engine/powertrain any modification you do that changes the OEM part with an aftermarket part with the specific intent of increasing performance could result in a warranty denial.

Examples would include things like tuning the ECU, downpipes, intakes, big turbo, etc.

Mag/Moss warranty is not really going to protect you if you install things like the above and your engine blows.

It was never the intention of the act and I doubt many lawyers would even take your case.

Safe mods are typically cosmetic. Things like aero, wheels, maybe a cat back exhaust.

 

[suicidaleggroll]

As was said above, there's really no such thing as "voiding the warranty". The entire warranty can never be voided (except maybe for flood damage?). Individual claims can be denied if the dealership/manufacturer can reasonably attribute the failure to something you've done to the car, but that's different.

An intake, downpipe, tune, etc. could all be used to deny warranty claims if your engine blows, but not if your trunk release stops working, for example. A larger stereo system could be used to deny a warranty claim if your alternator dies, but not if your transmission won't shift into 2nd. If you're worried about ANY warranty claim being denied, then you can't really do anything to the car except add some stickers.

 

[H2O_Doc]

ANY warranty claim being denied, then you can't really do anything to the car except add some stickers.

beg pardon, but some stickers add in the neighborhood of 85-90 whp, and could therefore result in a denial of claim.

 

[Lendo]

Pure 800 decal

 

[SupraMK86]

They have to prove that the modifications done directly caused the warranty claim.

 

[suicidaleggroll]

They have to prove that the modifications done directly caused the warranty claim.

Theoretically yes, but in practice they'll use any modification that's tangentially related to the failure as cause to deny the claim. Then it's up to you to lawyer up and fight them on it if you think otherwise.

 

[Dannyvandelft]

Anything that's not cosmetic, can get warranty claims denied. I include a catback in that, because it's just for sound and looks (the tips) and has no effect on the engine.
Wheels, tint, catback, spoiler, lip, etc. All safe.

 

[freeform911]

Anything that's not cosmetic, can get warranty claims denied. I include a catback in that, because it's just for sound and looks (the tips) and has no effect on the engine.
Wheels, tint, catback, spoiler, lip, etc. All safe.

I agree with this...
Except the spoiler/wing...if you put holes in your hatch n end up with electrical issues they could potentially blame it on leaking on to certain modules the are located in that area...

I think dealerships/ car manufacturers will try n find any and everything the can to deny warranty work...it just doesn't pay!

Steve

 

[H2O_Doc]

Some dealerships are on your side. Particularly if they need the warranty work.

I’ve had warranty work done on tuned cars without issue, including getting an O2 sensor replaced despite having a CAI.

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