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what voids the warranty?

8K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  Part Deux 
#1 ·
Just got a 14 charger rt with blacktop and was wondering which of the following mods void the warranty:
1) Oracle halo kit
2) Oracle interior led conversion kit
3) flowmaster super 44
4) exhaust tips

i know that the intake voids the warranty so thats why im getting it off of the mopar website.
 
#2 · (Edited)
It's amazing to me how much misinformation persists about "voiding a warranty". From 40+ years in the car business, I can tell you this:

First off, a dealer can't void your warranty. The warranty is extended by the manufacturer, and only the manufacturer can void your warranty. In all my years, I have never seen a warranty completely voided. I have seen a handful of cases where the powertrain warranty was voided, and those cases were after severe racing abuse was discovered. The dealer provided proof of abuse to the manufacturer and the manufacturer voided the powertrain warranty. The rest of the vehicle warranty was still intact. I have seen cases where a flood car had its warranty voided.

In your case, IF the installation of halos and LEDs caused an electrical issue, and IF the halos and LEDs could be proven to be the cause of the issue, then that particular repair would not be covered under warranty. On the other hand, it is highly unlikely that the halos could cause a wheel bearing to go out, so that repair could not be denied under warranty because of the halos. In other words, if the halos caused a problem, that problem would not be covered under warranty.

Same goes with the Flows and exhaust tips. It would have to be proven that they caused a failure before the repair of the failure could be denied under warranty.

By the same token, if you put a blower on your engine, you would probably lose your powertrain warranty, since the blower puts additional stress not only on the engine, but on the transmission, rear end and axles as well. Don't look for a warranty claim to be honored on any of those components. But a power window motor would be covered, since there's no way a supercharger can cause a power window motor to fail.

By intake, I'm assuming you mean CAI? The dealer would be hard pressed to deny a warranty claim based on a CAI, especially if it's a Mopar-branded unit. He would have to show that the failure was attributed to the installation of the CAI, and that would be a hard case to make.

The best thing you can do is be on good terms with your dealer. If worse comes to worse, you want him in your corner. He's the one in contact with the manufacturer and he can be an ally if he's on your side.
 
#4 ·
out of curiosity, what are the ways to be good with the dealer?
 
#5 ·
PB, while your post is legally and technically accurate, it misses the reality on a ground floor level. Yes, legally, the dealership has to prove your mopar intake caused an issue, In reality, all they have to do is bluff it in 90% of the cases to get customer to pay for the repair, so that's the way it falls out. First, just tell the customer it's on them, for any old reason that sounds halfway legit. Any of the old school SRT-4 guys can quote quite a few cases. "Your Mopar Stage 1 kit caused your wheel bearing failure due to excess power going to the front wheels." "Lowering your car 1/2 caused transmission failure due to improper driveline angles."

Now, if you can do without your car while the whole mediation thing plays out (what, one to two months) and then pay a lawyer to fight it, you end up in a courtroom where it's your word ( and the judge knows you are NOT an automotive expert, and most likely knows nothing about cars himself) against a certified automotive genius backed by the engineers who built your car.

Now, does this happen all the time with modded cars? Nope, but it's better to know what you are up against than just assume you will be peachy because "the dealership has to prove" something. The burden is pretty low for them, much higher for you. After all, they have your car. And "experts".
 
#6 ·
PB, while your post is legally and technically accurate, it misses the reality on a ground floor level.
I also assume that the dealer is honest and the service manager is customer-oriented, which is the case in most dealerships. Yes, some dealers are jerks and will hassle you at every opportunity.

I allow the dealer I bought from (Ford, Dodge, Harley) to make a fair profit, I take my vehicle in for oil changes, and I get treated like a king. They are all mod-friendly (within reason) and we get along great. I treat them fairly and get the same in return. Pretty simple concept.
 
#8 ·
Well according to the Magnuson-Moss Act, the dealer/manufacturer has to prove that the modification cause the problem before they deny warranty. However, like said above, while the burden of proof is supposed to be on the dealer, they have your car and it is going to be your time and money if the warranty is denied. Going to another dealership with the hope that the ride will get fixed is a long shot with todays technology. The first dealer will put the VIN into the data base along with the reason for denial so all service managers will be able to see.

IMO it is only a matter of time before Dodge has the capability with the Star tool to determine when and what was flashed to the car with respect to Diablo tunes. Ford and Chevy have the capability at the dealership to determine if a performance tune was uploaded. Ford even went so far that they send out block diagrams to the service technicians so they could determine if warranty work should be performed. First block on the diagram is a Yes/No, was the PCM Flashed. It goes down hill from there. Many unhappy Mustang owners right now that had warranty work denied. The forums are full of frustrated owners spending their time and money to get the rides fixed when it was not the modification that caused the problem.

The best thing like said above is to find a dealership that is tolerant of minor modifications including tunes when your car is still under the basic 36/36,000 warranty.
 
#10 ·
IMO it is only a matter of time before Dodge has the capability with the Star tool to determine when and what was flashed to the car with respect to Diablo tunes.
They can tell the last time it was flashed. Corporate has the ability to track how many times it has been flashed... as a guy with an SRT 300 found out when they denied his blown engine claim.
 
#9 ·
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