Non-warranty Voiding Mods...
10-31-2006, 07:37 PM
#1
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Non-warranty Voiding Mods.
Im interested in non-warranty voiding mods for my truck. was hoping we could start a list... engine/tranny mods, suspension mods, etc.... i know a tuner/chip is out of the question, but what about exhaust systems? or suspension lifts, axle gear changes, air intake system... etc....
i love my truck, but like anything i own, i cant leave well enough alone. lol
i love my truck, but like anything i own, i cant leave well enough alone. lol
10-31-2006, 07:41 PM
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It is hard to say. Nothing on my truck voids my warranty because my dealer installed it and stands by their work. It's a dealer-to-dealer answer really.
10-31-2006, 07:43 PM
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10-31-2006, 07:49 PM
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couldnt a simple change in management at your dealership change all that? there are no mods that are gauranteed not to interfere with an active warranty? i guess ill make a stop to the dealership and talk about aftermarket stuff for my truck.
10-31-2006, 07:52 PM
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i would be scared that they install something for me and tell me it wont void my warranty, then when somthing goes wrong, turnaround and deny warranty repair
10-31-2006, 08:13 PM
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The dealership is owned by the brother of the service manager. It is also where I get my Lamborghini serviced as well as where I purchase cars from. They would NEVER deny me any warranty work for two reasons. (1) They love the business I bring them as well as the press I get them in addition to the fact we have a very good relationship and (2) They want me to continue to have them do my work! 
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10-31-2006, 08:29 PM
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Technically speaking, the dealership would have to PROVE that your mod CAUSED a particular thing to fail.
A good example would be like my addition of the KORE HD Leveling kit. When I finished my install I went to my local alignment shop, I now have a receipt that it was aligned to within the tollerances of the manufacturers specifications. At this point, my suspension is within THEIR specs using the AFTERMARKET parts. So, if one of the aftermarket parts fails-thats on me, if one of their parts fails-it's on them. In truth and reality, they now would have to go to the pains of proving what I have done caused the problem. In the case of KORE, and many other mfrs of aftermarket parts, today's computers and engineering design capabilities have enough of design engineering to back up their products claims regarding NOT AFFECTING YOUR WARRANTY on stock parts AND like KORE - they warranty thier parts.
Mods to your intake can get you in deep doo-doo if you remove the stock air box, so, go with a better drop-in filter and make your inlet air modification pre-filter or, be prepared to re-install your stock air box when you go to your dealer. I chose to mod my stock air box pre-filter, got an Amsoil drop-in. My dealership has NO PROBLEM with the Cool Blue Hose I installed in place of the stock plastic. I did take the time to discuss this with them, and did point out the heat soak problem with the stock plastic vrs the better insulated hose. My dealership is now offering these mods to their customers, tells me that I got more than their aprooval and they found another income source and work to keep their mechanics busy. I think they would rather do some of the mod installs when it is possible that the customer might do something wrong and then get into warranty issues. When I brought up the KORE Kit to them, they knew about it, told me that it was an excellent product, and offered to do the install if I was uncomfortable doing it or did not have someone to do it. These are what I call benign mods, and, many dealerships are also doing the same mod for their customers. There are also many dealerships who will install aftermarket injectors for you, they do seem to have a max they will go to, but still, they are putting them in AND standing behind warranties.
I would suggest you build a good relationship with your dealership, discuss this stuff with them, and go from there. Like blackdiesel says - the smarty leaves no footprint, so you can just unload it. I plan to get a smarty down the line, say around 30K, but I also do not hammer my truck hard, sled pull, drag race or anything that you could call competitive use. I just pull a big horse trailer with big horses on board, the extra power might be nice. I also like the ability to save a little on fuel economy, so once again, the smarty would be a nice addition.
CD
CD
A good example would be like my addition of the KORE HD Leveling kit. When I finished my install I went to my local alignment shop, I now have a receipt that it was aligned to within the tollerances of the manufacturers specifications. At this point, my suspension is within THEIR specs using the AFTERMARKET parts. So, if one of the aftermarket parts fails-thats on me, if one of their parts fails-it's on them. In truth and reality, they now would have to go to the pains of proving what I have done caused the problem. In the case of KORE, and many other mfrs of aftermarket parts, today's computers and engineering design capabilities have enough of design engineering to back up their products claims regarding NOT AFFECTING YOUR WARRANTY on stock parts AND like KORE - they warranty thier parts.
Mods to your intake can get you in deep doo-doo if you remove the stock air box, so, go with a better drop-in filter and make your inlet air modification pre-filter or, be prepared to re-install your stock air box when you go to your dealer. I chose to mod my stock air box pre-filter, got an Amsoil drop-in. My dealership has NO PROBLEM with the Cool Blue Hose I installed in place of the stock plastic. I did take the time to discuss this with them, and did point out the heat soak problem with the stock plastic vrs the better insulated hose. My dealership is now offering these mods to their customers, tells me that I got more than their aprooval and they found another income source and work to keep their mechanics busy. I think they would rather do some of the mod installs when it is possible that the customer might do something wrong and then get into warranty issues. When I brought up the KORE Kit to them, they knew about it, told me that it was an excellent product, and offered to do the install if I was uncomfortable doing it or did not have someone to do it. These are what I call benign mods, and, many dealerships are also doing the same mod for their customers. There are also many dealerships who will install aftermarket injectors for you, they do seem to have a max they will go to, but still, they are putting them in AND standing behind warranties.
I would suggest you build a good relationship with your dealership, discuss this stuff with them, and go from there. Like blackdiesel says - the smarty leaves no footprint, so you can just unload it. I plan to get a smarty down the line, say around 30K, but I also do not hammer my truck hard, sled pull, drag race or anything that you could call competitive use. I just pull a big horse trailer with big horses on board, the extra power might be nice. I also like the ability to save a little on fuel economy, so once again, the smarty would be a nice addition.
CD
CD
10-31-2006, 08:39 PM
#9
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Like they said... it all depends on the dealer. Some are cool and some are ****. Mine seems OK but I don't like other people working on my truck so I haven't been back since I bought it. BUT... just in case I make sure theres a way to put my truck back stock and I can because all the stock crap is kept in a pile in the corner of the garage. 
10-31-2006, 09:54 PM
#11
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Don’t completely agree with D. Wiggs first answer, here is why:
First, I am sure D. Wiggs worked something with his dealer to the point of being comfortable with the guarantees his dealer will provide.
The question is if something goes belly up (knocking on wood it won’t) and the part he purchased from the dealer will be the cause of a major failure with the engine (piston, rod, etc), who will pay for it, DC or the dealer, I will say the dealer.
With my 4.5 truck I purchased a few go fast parts from the dealer and they told me “if any problems bring the truck back there and not to another dealer”.
So if a truck with the "mods" of the caliber of D. Wiggs suffers a problem far away from his home base, lets say in southern California and is taken to a popular Lithia Dodge, the question is who is going to pay for the bills? DC, the dealer that installed the after market parts or the Lithia dealer?
The point I am making is that the warranty states that you will loose your warranty if you...… It does not states “of and exception” if the “mods” are made by the dealer.
So I believe if something goes wrong with D Wiggs truck the warranty is within his dealer and not DC, the good news is considering the dealer has more equipment and technicians to probe that the part did not cause the problem it is easy for them do deal with DC.
Anyway, that is my take in the whole thing.
First, I am sure D. Wiggs worked something with his dealer to the point of being comfortable with the guarantees his dealer will provide.
The question is if something goes belly up (knocking on wood it won’t) and the part he purchased from the dealer will be the cause of a major failure with the engine (piston, rod, etc), who will pay for it, DC or the dealer, I will say the dealer.
With my 4.5 truck I purchased a few go fast parts from the dealer and they told me “if any problems bring the truck back there and not to another dealer”.
So if a truck with the "mods" of the caliber of D. Wiggs suffers a problem far away from his home base, lets say in southern California and is taken to a popular Lithia Dodge, the question is who is going to pay for the bills? DC, the dealer that installed the after market parts or the Lithia dealer?
The point I am making is that the warranty states that you will loose your warranty if you...… It does not states “of and exception” if the “mods” are made by the dealer.
So I believe if something goes wrong with D Wiggs truck the warranty is within his dealer and not DC, the good news is considering the dealer has more equipment and technicians to probe that the part did not cause the problem it is easy for them do deal with DC.
Anyway, that is my take in the whole thing.
10-31-2006, 10:09 PM
#12
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i go with Eddy. my dealer wanted to warranty my truck, but the STAR line would not let them, and would not authorize them to order "restricted" parts for my truck.
D Wiggs has clout where he is, most of us don't.
my wallet was my warranty on my truck, but when i could not get parts due restrictions and parts having to be authorized to order by the STAR line, i knew i was in trouble
D Wiggs has clout where he is, most of us don't.
my wallet was my warranty on my truck, but when i could not get parts due restrictions and parts having to be authorized to order by the STAR line, i knew i was in trouble
10-31-2006, 10:15 PM
#13
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I had this same question, so I called the dealership and spoke with THE person who deals with warranties and everything entailed. He told me: "Anything that you add will void the warranty of the specific piece of equipment replaced. i.e. if you unbolt your factory exhaust and bolt on a new turbo-back 5 incher, obviously, your stock exhaust is no longer covered...but if your motor blew 2xxx miles later, the dealership would have to PROVE that the aftermarket exhaust was the cause of death of the motor" which would be almost impossible to do, as a larger aftermarket exhaust would do nothing to harm your motor when in fact it woudl HELP it and they know it.
Now hooking up a TST Powermax CR, running it on it's highest setting with 150gph injectors and stacking it up with a Bully Dog Triple Pup downloader hoping to put 600hp and 1300lbs of torque to the ground on your stock TC, tranny and valve bodies would be PRETTY EASY to prove that the added on performance gear made such a short life of your 48re...see what I'm saying?
Guess it all boils down to don't get caught...what the dealers don't know can't hurt em...that's why I am going to save all my OEM parts in my barn so that if something WERE to happen, I could put them back on...might be a pain in the butt...but worth it in the long run, I think...Derek
Now hooking up a TST Powermax CR, running it on it's highest setting with 150gph injectors and stacking it up with a Bully Dog Triple Pup downloader hoping to put 600hp and 1300lbs of torque to the ground on your stock TC, tranny and valve bodies would be PRETTY EASY to prove that the added on performance gear made such a short life of your 48re...see what I'm saying?
Guess it all boils down to don't get caught...what the dealers don't know can't hurt em...that's why I am going to save all my OEM parts in my barn so that if something WERE to happen, I could put them back on...might be a pain in the butt...but worth it in the long run, I think...Derek
10-31-2006, 10:19 PM
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I think that Eddy makes a very good point. Fortunately I only travel between Pittsburgh and Columbus, rarely if ever, do I go outside that route so getting it to my specific dealer is not really an issue.
