OverlanderJK
Resident Smartass
As someone who has owned several sports cars and belonged to enthusiast's message forums and groups, this sort of thing ALWAYS comes up.
The law says you're protected if a dealership tries to void your whole vehicle warranty over a modification that can't affect the rest of the vehicle. The problem is, it's still your word against the dealership's if they come up with "creative" reasons why part A affects broken part B. (For example, I heard a story of a guy who couldn't get a blown engine replaced under warranty because he used an aftermarket K&N air filter. How the heck would that do anything, you ask? Well, this dealer came up with the theory that "by increasing the airflow beyond factory specifications with the high performance filter, the engine computer could no longer calculate the proper air/fuel mixture and it caused a lean condition that damaged the engine".)
Total B.S.? You bet it was! But now your options for warranty engine repair/replacement are limited to spending money on lawyers and taking time out to battle in court to prove your point. The dealerships and auto-makers know this, and figure it's a good gamble if they really don't want to be out of pocket for thousands of dollars fixing your ride. Worst case? They seriously inconvenience you and cost you up-front money to fight about it, and in the end, just wound up getting ordered to do the work they would have had to do anyway. Over half the time, they win because you won't go through all of that to make them do the right thing.
I think what I've learned is if you buy a car/truck/Jeep/van/whatever from a dealership and you have any interest in modifying it in the future? Do your research first. Talk, in person, to the head service technician and figure out if he's a "gear head" or not. The manager of the service techs is the guy you really need to have on your side, wherever you're going to take your vehicle for service. When you find the guy who drives heavily modified vehicles himself and maybe even admits he does a little bit of "side work" modifying them for other people? That's where to buy!
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