[Grruel]

Warranty & mods – what’s the scoop? The warranty book legalese does not specifically go into this (that I can find). I have read posts from people saying that aftermarket add-ons do not negate your warranty (although the warranty does not cover damage caused by those add-ons). I have also read a ton of posts about people bitching about having to undo all their mods before going in for warranty work. So who is right, if either?

If mods do negate your warranty, is there a minimal level of modification that would be accepted? Like if you’ve tapped your battery for amp powering or tooled around with the clutch setting, or have additional wires running under through door panels, etc?

What about completely removable mods (like bolt-ons) installed in leased cars? Could a leasor waltz into his dealership for warranty work on his modded car with a straight face?

Just wondering….

-G

 

[bfischer]

Warranty & mods – what’s the scoop? The warranty book legalese does not specifically go into this (that I can find). I have read posts from people saying that aftermarket add-ons do not negate your warranty (although the warranty does not cover damage caused by those add-ons). I have also read a ton of posts about people bitching about having to undo all their mods before going in for warranty work. So who is right, if either?

If mods do negate your warranty, is there a minimal level of modification that would be accepted? Like if you’ve tapped your battery for amp powering or tooled around with the clutch setting, or have additional wires running under through door panels, etc?

What about completely removable mods (like bolt-ons) installed in leased cars? Could a leasor waltz into his dealership for warranty work on his modded car with a straight face?

Just wondering….

-G
[/b]

been covered a million times. they cannot deny warranty unless they can prove the mod caused the damage. That being said, quite often they will try to do exactly that. Magnusson Moss Act.

Why post this in the speed6 section? The warranty is the same as for the other mazdas of same year.

 

[brightwhite]

It's been covered many times here and elsewhere.

A mod would have to be proven to have *caused the problem in question* to make the car ineligible for warranty. For example--they cannot blame your aftermarket CAI for causing your windows to stop rolling up. But, they might blame it for gumming up your MAF sensor if you over oil the filter.

 

[Raynman]

Did you read this?

There is life outside the MS6 sub-forum, you know.

 

[awh]

despite the Magnusson Moss Act - dealers can and will deny warranty work whenever they want for any type of mod. there are dozens of horror stories on these forums. if they deny warranty work you will have to sue them to use the Magnusson Moss Act, which will be more expensive in most cases than just paying for the work yourself. accordingly, be prepared to revert the car back to stock if you mod it and need warranty work.

 

[yomama69]

despite the Magnusson Moss Act - dealers can and will deny warranty work whenever they want for any type of mod. there are dozens of horror stories on these forums. if they deny warranty work you will have to sue them to use the Magnusson Moss Act, which will be more expensive in most cases than just paying for the work yourself. accordingly, be prepared to revert the car back to stock if you mod it and need warranty work.
[/b]

If that happens, see your lawyer, he'll write the dealer a quick letter threatening to sue, and most of the time that will take care of the problem. It will cost the dealership a hell of a lot more than the 200 dollars of covered warranty work that they are denying. Best thing to do is find a good dealership with a good service department and don't take the car anywhere else.

 

[leakslikeasieve]

despite the Magnusson Moss Act - dealers can and will deny warranty work whenever they want for any type of mod. there are dozens of horror stories on these forums. if they deny warranty work you will have to sue them to use the Magnusson Moss Act, which will be more expensive in most cases than just paying for the work yourself. accordingly, be prepared to revert the car back to stock if you mod it and need warranty work.
[/b]

listen i work as a service writer in a fairly mod friendly dealer. its as simple as this. a service manager or writer can be as big of an asshole as he wants to be. just be smart about it or search around your area for a dealer who will flat out tell you they wont void the warranty with simple mods. as my manager says all the time, if you want o throw a turbo on your car, then go for it. but if the thing blows up. doint be stupid, spend the extra couple hundred and have the car towed home, or to another outside shop. put the engine back to stock, and then tow it in to mazda.

if the manager or writer decides for some reason he/she does not like you at that given time, TRUST ME it wont be a fun time for you. yes there is the magnusson moss act, legality's are there. HOWEVER. if you put a set of rims and tires on your car, and the offset is wrong it is possible to fry your wheel bearing prematurely. if the manager/writer is an ass, guess what? the failure of that part is due to your rims and tires, you have to pay. it sucks, i know.

its as simple as this, there are plenty of mod friendly dealers. you just need to find out and build a relationship with them. thats all i can say.

 

[Sigma]

Remember folks, dealers are NOT Mazda.

The Magnuson-Moss Act applies to Mazda not dealers. A dealer has the right to refuse service for whatever reason they want. You can complain to Mazda if you'd like, and they can make the dealer repair your car, but going after the dealer itself isn't going to help you.

Also remember that Mazda doesn't have to "prove" that the modification caused the defect, only that it reasonably could cause it.

 

[ATL]

Just put your car back to stock and hope for the best. Find a cool dealer that won't try to look to get out of a warranty job.

 

[Metal4All6]

This is probably a stupid question, but I wanted to be sure before I take my car to a dealer. Is there any possible way that a CAI can mess up a transmission? My tranny has been slipping between 1-2 and 2-3. I'm 99.9% sure there is no correlation between a transmission being broken and having a CAI but I figure I better ask as that is the only mod I have that would remotely affect the tranny.

 

[Sigma]

This is probably a stupid question, but I wanted to be sure before I take my car to a dealer. Is there any possible way that a CAI can mess up a transmission? My tranny has been slipping between 1-2 and 2-3. I'm 99.9% sure there is no correlation between a transmission being broken and having a CAI but I figure I better ask as that is the only mod I have that would remotely affect the tranny.
[/b]

The dealer can try 1 of 2 routes to deny coverage:

1> The added power from the CAI exceeds the power that the transmission was designed for, therefore premature wear is your fault.

2> The CAI (along with any other mods) are evidence of "abnormal" driving habits outside of what is covered by the warranty.

Clutch coverage is extremely difficult to begin with and any sort of mods just make a hard fight an uphill battle. Chances of winning that one aren't that great. And remember, the clutch warranty is only 12,000 miles and/or 12 months; with an '05 I'm betting that you're outside this window.

But, to answer your question directly, no, it's a heck of a reach to say that a CAI can mess up a transmission. You could draw that conclusion if you had a host of other mods that significantly increased power, but the power added by a CAI will have no appreciable effect on a clutch. However, if it came down to it, in a court of law, Mazda would probably be found within their rights to deny you coverage since you did add power in excess of what the clutch was designed for.

 

[DennisW]

Clutch coverage is extremely difficult to begin with and any sort of mods just make a hard fight an uphill battle. Chances of winning that one aren't that great. And remember, the clutch warranty is only 12,000 miles and/or 12 months; with an '05 I'm betting that you're outside this window.
[/b]

His car is an ATX

 

[Sigma]

Oh, well whaddya know, I stand corrected. Not too often you see people talking about slippage that have ATXs. Torque Converter problems are rare and would be a much more difficult fight as they are generally not "wear" items to the extent that Clutches are. It takes a LOT to hurt a torque converter.

 

[Grruel]

First, thank you for the help everyone.

Did you read this?

There is life outside the MS6 sub-forum, you know.
[/b]

Right, I know it has been covered, and I have read that post (actually twice I think - once on mazdatech, once here). I was mainly looking to see if there had been any updates on the issue, or any recent experiences from MS6 owners w/ MS6 service departments so I know how much effort I should put into making the mods I am about to do easily removable.

I also have seen little discussion about the size of the mod -- like can you get away with something basic (like a simple battery tap) without being harassed (props to leakslikeasieve for is rims example).

-G