With all the posts about warranty work lately I was wondering if anyone was having trouble getting things covered under warranty due to there upgraded TT’s? Have the dealers told any of you that your going to have warranty trouble when you upgrade (exhaust, headers, ECU flash, turbos, intake, ect..) your TT? Any stories anyone would care to share?

 

Today i got my 997TT back from my OPC. CEL was on: Lamdasonde after Cat1 was broken down.

I have Fabspeed exhaust installed - > No warranty, no chance, i had to pay for parts and installation.

Car is 9 months old.

Don´t wanna imagine a broken engine after a ECU tuning....

 

Please excuse my ignorance.. What is CEL? Did your exhaust cause this problem? I just picked up a Fabspeed exhaust, but now I'm worried if I should put it on or not...

 

CEL = Check Engine Light (on the dash). In this case it could be exhaust system related. When this occurs you take your car to the dealer and he will read out the fault codes generated by the computer to pin point the problem.

 

I have seen posters complain about warranty work on cars which are bone stock . Others have cars modded like a low level jet and have no problems.

It simply depends on the who, the where , and the how --of each.

 

From what I understand, the dealership has to prove that the problem was caused only because of the modification. The dealership has to prove that the modification is the only cause for the problem. But, as yrralis said, it really depends on the problem, and your relationship with your dealership.

 

My dealer has been cool about everything to date. I've CEL when I first got my Tubi's installed and no charge and took care of it. Since the Proto upgrade, my coolant temp. sensor has gone bad and they replaced it - no questions asked. It really depends on who, what, where IMO and the type of relationship you have with your dealer's Service Dept.

 

Only in the US.

 

So, does anyone think headers violate the warranty? I think I have an RMS and have the cargraphic headers installed...

 

Yes, the magunson-moss act. But, don't think for a second that if a dealer denies warranty due to mods and you scream "magnuson-moss act" they will immediately fix the car with no questions asked.

They can draw this out a loooooong time if they want and quick resolution is not likely.

 

If you fear an issue, switch them back to stock to be safe. A little trouble, but piece of mind.

 

It is all in the relationship that you have built with your dealer, the attitude that you come in with and the ability to read into any suggestions the service people tell you.

I have modified every car I have ever had with the exception of SUV's. I mean modified as in engine, ecu, exhaust, etc. Knock on wood I haven't been denied any warranty work due to the mods. But I usually tell my service guys that I "might" install this or that. Would they suggest that I do it at their service shop or recommend anyone? They give me little hints if it would be okay or if they are totally against it. Even with ECU's they just tell me that it would stink if I can't put it back to normal(HINT HINT) before the manufacturer's rep comes out.

Get a feel for who you are working with and if they don't play ball see if you have another place close to you to perhaps talk to.

Good luck..

I know for a fact one dealership that I know of replaced a entire motor even when they knew there was an ECU(GIAC STG 3), exhaust, piping, etc. There are good service guys and there are bad ones. But you have to understand their position if you were in their shoes. You buy a very great piece of engineering and you are attempting to make it better. In essence you are going against their engineers and R&D and then when something happens you want them to fix it. Devil's advocate I know but you have to always understand their side to get what you need on your side.

 

Part of what makes mods exciting is the risk you take by getting them. Any time you ever modifiy any car from stock, you are taking a risk that something will go wrong and the warranty will not cover it. Would you warrant work you didn't do or supervise? You have to feel the fear and do it anyway. And it doesn't always work out.

Some dealers have great relationships with certain tuners - e.g., Brabus and Mercedes Benz. But with Porsche there are so many different tuners. It is hard to say. I think the key is to have a great relationship with the shop that installs your mods. Make sure they stand behind THEIR work. Often, if something goes wrong, they can and will fix it - and better than the dealer. Most tuners have real mechanics, engineers and techs that do the work. Dealers often have little more than a service guys with little or no real passion for your car.

Modifications make your car unique. They make it stand out from the crowd. We all bought super high-end cars for a reason - and it wasn't to blend in.

Good luck to you!

 

Totally agree - so much depends on the "mod friendliness" of the dealer and your relationship with them. At my dealership, many of the people mod and race their cars including the service manager. In fact, they are a Champion dealer. Become their best friend. Back in the eighties, at the end of the day on Friday, all the sales, service, and others at the dealership used to get a few cases of beer and have a few before leaving. I always made my service appointments Friday afternoon and, while they were servicing my car I would take a demo and "buy the beer." I am thinking about the AWE 700HP kit. I could drive to AWE in about five hours. Instead I'll let my dealer buy the kit and install it. Let them make some $$. Plus they really enjoy doing this. A lot more satisfing than fixing somebody's air conditioning.

 

Apparently, I am lucky because both dealers in my Redwood City, CA area are mod friendly. They both will install mods (up to a point ) and will not void the warranty. Of course I had them do the work and probably paid a little more---but that seems fair to me. I had tubi and giac flash without problems. I noticed how the wrote up the giac flash as "fuel delivery problem" Also asked about if I were stuck and had to go to a an out of area dealer. No problem--they will "talk with the dealer". Of course, as has been said, you need a good relationship with your service dept because they are not going to put this in writing. You gots to have some trust going both ways.