Today when I was talking to our XLR technician I mentioned that we were thinking about installing an aftermarket exhaust/intake system to the car ... he said that we may want to re-think that as it may throw the car out of warranty... we saw that a number of cars had that modification done when we were in BG .... has anyone had any issues with that? What advice can you offer? Out of warranty work could really be a problem I think. Is there any warranty warnings that we should look into? Or anyone who could interpret that?

Lola's Mom & Dad

Look up Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act .

Jump over to the Corvette forum - those people mod their cars a lot more and there are quite a few discussions on the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. Just search "Magnuson-Moss".

Your technician was wrong. It will not void the warranty on the entire car - just the parts that you replace and any damage that they can prove was caused by those parts.




Today when I was talking to our XLR technician I mentioned that we were thinking about installing an aftermarket exhaust/intake system to the car ... he said that we may want to re-think that as it may throw the car out of warranty... we saw that a number of cars had that modification done when we were in BG .... has anyone had any issues with that? What advice can you offer? Out of warranty work could really be a problem I think. Is there any warranty warnings that we should look into? Or anyone who could interpret that?

Lola's Mom & Dad

Look up Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act .

Jump over to the Corvette forum - those people mod their cars a lot more and there are quite a few discussions on the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. Just search "Magnuson-Moss".

Your technician was wrong. It will not void the warranty on the entire car - just the parts that you replace and any damage that they can prove was caused by those parts.

Thank you! And this is why I love this forum ......... :yesnod :yesnod :thumbs

Cadillac would have to prove the after market part caused the failure in your warranty claim. Not jsut say it, prove it. Now if Ray ads nitrous and a turbo charger and blows the motor drag racing Standby, they might be able to make it stick. Personally, I would be worrried about the technician.

Look up Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act .

Jump over to the Corvette forum - those people mod their cars a lot more and there are quite a few discussions on the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. Just search "Magnuson-Moss".

Your technician was wrong. It will not void the warranty on the entire car - just the parts that you replace and any damage that they can prove was caused by those parts.

Although I respect your position on the M-M Warranty Act, if you do a search across the internet you will find many incidents where dealerships/manufacturers have voided power train warranties citing aftermarket part installations.

I personally know of a 2003 Cobra owner whose power train warranty was voided due to the installation of an aftermarket blower pulley the dealer claimed caused the blowers failure. The vendor who sold the pulley was of no help, they ran the moment he called for assistance. My friend was then faced with hiring an attorney, paying for the repairs out-of-pocket or park the now non-drivable vehicle.

He ended up replacing the blower with an aftermarket unit for $2,700, since it was cheaper than a factory unit, unfortunately the increased cylinder pressure coupled with lean fuel mixtures led to a burned piston. It went downhill from there and all on his nickel.

It's tough to fight city hall, and enforcing the M-M Warranty Act is even tougher.

Although I respect your position on the M-M Warranty Act, if you do a search across the internet you will find many incidents where dealerships/manufacturers have voided power train warranties citing aftermarket part installations.

I personally know of a 2003 Cobra owner whose power train warranty was voided due to the installation of an aftermarket blower pulley the dealer claimed caused the blowers failure. The vendor who sold the pulley was of no help, they ran the moment he called for assistance. My friend was then faced with hiring an attorney, paying for the repairs out-of-pocket or park the now non-drivable vehicle.

He ended up replacing the blower with an aftermarket unit for $2,700, since it was cheaper than a factory unit, unfortunately the increased cylinder pressure coupled with lean fuel mixtures led to a burned piston. It went downhill from there and all on his nickel.

It's tough to fight city hall, and enforcing the M-M Warranty Act is even tougher.

That would be an instance where I would expect them to void the warranty but a cold air intake and especially exhaust should not tirgger any problems. Over oiling a filter may get the Mass Airflow Sensor but that is about it.

Cadillac would have to prove the after market part caused the failure in your warranty claim. Not jsut say it, prove it. Now if Ray ads nitrous and a turbo charger and blows the motor drag racing Standby, they might be able to make it stick. Personally, I would be worrried about the technician.

Hi Kent! It's been awhile! Why would I be worried about the technician? Because he might be the person who would yay or nay any warranty work? :confused

Now, I am going to sit back and read the discussion btw you and mswaim ... because I love being a student .... and I need all of the input I can get on this ...

That would be an instance where I would expect them to void the warranty but a cold air intake and especially exhaust should not tirgger any problems. Over oiling a filter may get the Mass Airflow Sensor but that is about it.

I would agree with you on that, bolt-ons usually cause no problems, it's when you start having real fun.....that's when you do not want GM, Ford, etc. looking over your shoulder or reading along on a performance car forum!

It's funny we mentioned the Corvette forum. I remember a guy who was featured in the Corvette Quarterly magazine racing his car. When he took it in for a repair, his service manager pointed out the article and told him to take a hike. I will spend some time tomorrow doing a search to see if I can find the thread again.

Okay, since it is too late to do any shopping, I thought I would put my two cents in. Having been in the car business, I have seen manufacturers warranties voided for many different reasons. Any time you mod a vehicle, you take that risk. If you buy a vehicle with aftermarket products such as lift kits, oversized wheels & tires, different exhaust systems, superchargers, and performance chips, many dealers will have you sign a document acknowledging you understand these changes may void your manufacturers warranty. Depending on your relationship with your dealership and your service department, (my daughter has a chip in her vehicle, but they remove it for her before they work on it, then put it back in), it can make all the difference in the world. Give it some thought before you do anything!!!

Okay, I am done, I have to get to bed, I have a big shopping day tomorrow!!! :cool :cool :cool

This is a good subject, since up to now not that many XLR owners were willing to make any real modifications and/or parts were not available. That is not true any longer, the aftermarket parts folks are catching on and catching up!

Kent makes a good point in that the M-M Act was put in place for a reason and it should make the difference, but often times the car owner is put in a position where they are considered guilty for modifying their car, rather than the other way around. The burden of proof should fall on the dealer, since that is the intent of the M-M Act.

On the other side of the coin you have quite a few dealerships out there now who specialize in installing and servicing cars that have been heavily modified, working around warranty issues on a case-by-case basis.

I posted pictures of my 1997 Cobra here a while back, the S-trim supercharger on that car was purchased through the parts department and installed by the service department of a central CA SVT Ford dealer. They also assisted in gauge installations, fule pump upgrades, injector upgrades, computer chip installation as well as an extensive ignition upgrade.

I personally know of a 2003 Cobra owner whose power train warranty was voided due to the installation of an aftermarket blower pulley the dealer claimed caused the blowers failure. .

that's not much of a stretch that the pully blew the blower :skep

Good point, however you would be surprised at how many SVT owners have swapped out their blower pulley and/or its crankshaft counterpart. The Eaton blower used by Ford is a real workhorse, designed to spin at a higher speed and produce additional boost. Once that fact got out, the sky was the limit. The aftermarket produced quite an array of pullies, spacers to raise the blower up a bit, larger, more efficient wastegates, pre-tuned chips, nitrous ports for the intake side of the blower. MORE POWER!

oh no question that a pulley change can do some amazing things,
just don't expect to get the blower fixed under warranty down the road,
but I don't think they can void the entire power train

I'll be looking to see who goes first! I know Ford re-designed the snout of the blower they are using on the GT500 in an effort to make it much more difficult to swap. Of course, the aftermarket being was it is (and God bless shade tree mechanics) Kenne Belle along with other blower builders have complete, bolt-on kits taking the power up to 750 RWHP with an exhaust upgrade to go with the new blower, injectors and fuel delivery system. :thumbs :thumbs

If you want to be cautious about any of the aftermarket parts you are going to install, just make sure that the manufacturer is a SEMA member. Usually that ensures the reputability of your modifications.

You can also remove the modified or aftermarket accessories before you have the car serviced. I did that with my other car.

A friend of mine actually had a dealer outright refuse to work on his car because it was modified. (years after the warranty expired.)

Don't know about your area, but the cadillac dealers in my area are installing aftermarket exhaust systems, wheels, v- grills realizing the profit center these items bring to their dealership is great. No problem with warranty. Bill (ocool)

Hi Kent! It's been awhile! Why would I be worried about the technician? Because he might be the person who would yay or nay any warranty work? :confused

Now, I am going to sit back and read the discussion btw you and mswaim ... because I love being a student .... and I need all of the input I can get on this ...

Any tech that starts out in a negative tone and then over generalizes would worry me. I look for a technician who like to talk about the potential of the vehicle. My dealer installs lots of performance parts and they will stand behind it at least through the life of the manufacturers warranty. Huge profit center. Way better return than selling new cars. If your tech takes that tone upon initial questioning be assured he will take the same on warranty work he thinks he can relate to a modification. Much easier to say no that to actually work.

Any tech that starts out in a negative tone and then over generalizes would worry me. I look for a technician who like to talk about the potential of the vehicle. My dealer installs lots of performance parts and they will stand behind it at least through the life of the manufacturers warranty. Huge profit center. Way better return than selling new cars. If your tech takes that tone upon initial questioning be assured he will take the same on warranty work he thinks he can relate to a modification. Much easier to say no that to actually work.

:iagree I have anF150 with tons of mods and the dealer did them all Roush Supercharger, custom grille, custom interior, custom sound system. Thet didn't even hesitate on supplying extended warranty.

Cubby558:cool

Now I have Service Department Envy ... :glol