Seryoga

Thank you, i knew about it, just didn't feel like googling for it.

Captain Jack

Before I put on my TFBB 2.5 in, I went and talked to the "lift specialist" at my local jeep dealership. He is a service advisor. He and the other service advisor told me that as long as the mod doesn't directly cause the problem then your warranty isn't voided. IF you mod the suspension, springs etc. then your warranty is voided on your springs, but if your engine blows, then your warranty is still good. The local jeep dealer hear puts 4 inch lifts (after market) on their brand new Jeeps here, so the warranty has to be good otherwise no one would buy the Jeeps. To me, what I got out of the conversation was that alot of whether stuff is voided is a judgement call. To Jeep so go figure The 6 inch Long arm lift that mopar now installs is full warranteed. But guess what? Rubicon Express makes the lift. And also costs about $5K too. Anyway, He also told me that any lift over 2.5inches will cause alot of wear and tear because of the angle changes and of course changing the drivetrain and whatever else, so it would make sense not to warranty anything associated with that mod.

davidwm71

It's been my experience ( and I've read of quite a few others with the same experience ) that even on a 100% stock vehicle the dealer will try to not cover work under the warranty.

They will try to say something you did caused the failure. Different dealerships will tell you different stories.

This comes up everyday within the Jeep community and as said in above posts THEY CANNOT "VOID" YOUR WARRANTY FOR ANYTHING DONE TO YOUR JEEP They HAVE TO PROVE that your modification caused the problem. Of course you could end up fighting with them for months.

Let's say you install a body lift... you just want more clearance and you keep EVRYTHING else stock. If you have any driveline failure it was not caused by the BL but let's say you have a problem with you A/C and it turns out a hose was kinked during the install of the BL... the damage to the A/C would not be covered.

Red

Over the course of owing many vehicles and bringing them in for warranty service, I discovered that the willingness of the dealerships to provide warranty service varies more by dealership than by make of vehicle. Despite the federal mandates relating to warranty service, many dealerships will still try to find any excuse to deny service based on a voided warranty. Under warranty work, the dealership has to file a claim to the manufacturer in order to get paid, whether the manufacturer pays the same as a paying customer or not, I can't say for sure, but I'm sure it varies by location and manufacturer. However, when a customer has to pay, the dealership gets the money immediately. Understandably, if a dealership has enough clientel to keep their mechanics busy, telling a customer that the warranty is voided because of a modification will turn the customer away, at no real loss to the service department, or turn the customer into a cash paying customer, at a benifit to the dealership. You can argue with the dealership, but if they stand firm, the only real way to inforce the federal law is to call in an attorney and demand proof that the modification caused the defect. Which would cost more in the end? Legal fees, lost time, and an independent mechanics investigation or repair costs? By telling customers beforehand that the modification will void the entire warranty unless their mechanics do the work, they are only attempting to make money. The dealership's approach to the voided warranty claim is just another attempt to make money. In the end, you just have to keep looking for a dealer that will warranty your vehicle regardless of the modifications. Or, keep all the stock parts in the back of the garage and swap them back in before heading to a dealership, but I would rather just try to find a nice dealer.

Lorrel

Although I would not put much stock in what a "parts guy" says, as was posted by the OP, I would also add that I believe most look at the "Act/Law" that has been posted, do not understand the Act/Law, and what it is really about.
This act was established to prevent auto manufactures and dealerships from manipulating the average person into believing they had to replace parts with ones from the auto manufacture, to insure the warranty remained in effect, and charging $$$$$ for those parts.
This law simply states that parts may be used from aftermarket companies, and not void a warranty, as long as the aftermarket part meets or exceeds the manufactures specifications the on part.
An example of this would be, if I replaced the oil filter on my Jk with a WIX oil filter that met or exceeded the specifications of the Mopar oil filter. Later the engine siezed, due to a bad bearing. In this case the manufacturer could not refuse repair on the engine based on the Wix oil filter, unless they could prove that the filter did not meet or exceed the specification of the Mopar filter.
Now however we are talking about replacing components in the suspension system and also increasing the size of the tire.
This might not be considered a replacement part that meets or exceeds the manufacturer's specification, but rather a modification to the system, in which other systems of the vehicle could be affected.
For instance If I add a 4" lift, and 37" tires, then for some reason my automatic transmission burns up, the manufacture might be able to void the warranty for the transmission based upon the fact that my adding the lift, allowed me to increase the tire size, which contributed to the destruction of the transmission, based upon the fact that the increased tire size and weight took the vehicle outside the manufactures specification for the transmission. and therefore was the contributing factor in the damage to the transmission.
This could also be the case for broken axle shafts and other components as well.

HappyCurmudgeon

You can start by reading this: Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson-Moss_Warranty_Act) Which is 15 U.S.C. § 2301 and leads into what was said in post #11

To the best of my knowledge, TEEJ is dead-on accurate in what he said.

also, just because one dealer says it isnt covered, doesnt mean the next one is going to say the same thing.


Or if you are really ambitious...

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/15..._15_10_50.html

SSWIM

Unfortunately what most don't understand is that the CUSTOMER will have to prove the Dealership wrong. If the Dealer says warranty is void, then the customer will have to refute this through litigation. If you don't believe it, try it sometime. And for those who don't think a lift, which then includes bigger tires, which then adds stress on drivetrain components, which then CAN cause damage, will not give cause to failure, think again.

Like many have said, there are Laws to protect the customer, that is great. The drawback is, if a claim is denied, it is then up to the customer to prove otherwise. Attorney fees can add up pretty quickley when this occurs.

The best solution, if you are modding a vehicle is to have a GOOD relationship with the Service Dept. which will be doing the work.

No bash here towards anyone. Just what WE have run into. 60 years experience working with Dealers regarding many issues involving modded vehicles.


Sam

HappyCurmudgeon

Yup, a good relationship with your dealership is the key, and if you dont like the answer they give, move on to the next one. I have had issues resolved that way in the past.

RocksHurt

Theoretically:
The customer can be as right as a ruler and have every justifiable reason to have something covered under any expressed and/or implied warranty.

Realistically
The dealer can pretty much do what they want as most only see money to be made, not customer happiness. Ultimately, you will have to exert energy, time and money to prove the dealer wrong.

Theoretically:
The dealer can have factory installed lifts and tires and provide a warranty for them.

Realistically
The dealer does this to make money from labor AND to sell the vehicle. They still reserve the right to not warranty your claim.


I do not ever inted to go back to my selling dealer for anything. I think they totaly suck ass and do not want them touching my Jeep ever again.

possumface

basically if you want something done you got to do it yourself . when you buy a jeep your on your own those papers you signed with all the legal writing on them was not written for the consumer but buy the manufacture, dealers disclaiming just about everything they can think of. its your job to prove that a failure was there fault by a defective part or labor involved. those lifetime warrantys are a scam a come on, snake oil man you better wise up people get with the program , wake up smell the coffee cooking i hear a giant sucking sound thats big auto moving south or going bankrupt then what