phillimt

I've held off doing any major mods up until this point because I'm really worried about how it might affect my warranty. Can anyone speak to this? I feel like when a dealer sees a nicely modded IS creep up to the service lane to report an issue when stuff has been done to it/the car has been modified, it would be easy to blame issues on the mods on the car...

Plus I'm worried about invalidating the warranty completely, etc.

Are these valid concerns? What are your experiences guys?

po1qw

iTrader: (2)

same here i would like to install the f-exhaust and intake yet i dont know if that will affect my CPO warranty :I

phillimt

Yeah I would be worried about the same. If your car starts making funny noises due to damage to something, it would be easy to blame it on a faulty f-exhaust install (even though you did it yourself and it was perfect)...

po1qw

iTrader: (2)

exactly.. my car only has 30k mileage .. still has a long life so if something does happen i wouldn't want these guys blaming the issues on me

phillimt

Hopefully some other members can chime in about this. I agree though, I'd want to almost reconvert everything to as much stock as possible before heading into the dealership to report any issues, which would be a major pain. I would imagine lips and spoilers and such shouldn't hurt anything, but you still run the risk of someone seeing those items and wondering what else is aftermarket on the car..

I imagine they might take notes on this sort of stuff too... "replaced steering wheel.... not stock..." so I wonder how much you have to try to keep from Lexus..

Crispy

iTrader: (3)

If you purchase F-Sport parts and have them installed by the dealer, not only will they not affect your warranty, but the parts themselves are covered under warranty.

In order for them to deny a warranty claim, they need to prove that the mod/part directly caused the issue/malfunction.

They would never be able to void your *entire* vehicle warranty due to mods.

However, in reality the dealership will most likely try and deny a warranty claim if there are mods that can possibly effect/cause the issue. This will lead to having to fight with the dealer, and possibly Lexus corporate. This is the risk of modding, and should be understood before you begin modding.

To avoid any issues, buy OEM F-Sport parts and have them installed at the dealer, otherwise be prepared for a fight.

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

Unless the mod causes the problem it's irrelevant to your warranty.

Even then it only means they don't have to fix that problem, the rest of the warranty stands.

That's federal law.



Additionally, for something like an intake, I can't even image, unless you physically damaged something during your install, how it could cause a problem.

Ditto the exhaust.

These aren't things with electronics or moving parts.

Don't overpay your dealer to install something you can do yourself with very little effort.

Crispy

iTrader: (3)

This is straight from Calvin2376 from another post:

"Finally, on the issue of the warranty. We all love to quote the Magnuson-Moss warranty act and defiantly yell "They can't do that!" when a dealer mentions voiding some warranty because of mods, etc. And it's absolutely true that a dealership isn't being accurate when they state that your warranty will be "voided" because of a modification. However, we need to consider this type of situation in real-world terms. Take this situation as an example. The dealership is clearly incorrect if they truly stated your entire warranty would be void because of your intake. They're even correct if they state that all CEL code-related issues won't be covered because of your intake.

HOWEVER, you can be fully guaranteed that if anything could remotely be tied to the intake at all or if there is any shred of a question, the dealership WILL claim it's related and WILL deny your warranty claim. What recourse do you have then? People on CL also love to bring up that dealers who deny claims based on aftermarket parts will be "subject to a lawsuit". I don't have my warranty paperwork with me, but I can virtually guarantee that there will be no lawsuits filed - it will go to arbitration. Lexus also likely chooses or has a hand in designating the party that oversees the arbitration.

Basically, the short version is that while the Magnuson Moss warranty act does provide safeguards, and dealers shouldn't erroneously tell people things like your warranty will be voided if you do XYZ, you have to take into account what's going to happen in the real world. And it's going to be a huge headache to ever successfully pursue a challenge to a dealership's warranty claim denial.

My point with this warranty discussion is that if you mod your car, you should be prepared to handle the potential expenses of resulting failures. Whether that means diagnosing/doing the repairs yourself, having a friend or trusted mechanic do it, or simply paying out of pocket, you should have a plan. If you don't, that's when you find yourself incredulously paying $120 diagnostic fees at the dealership."


This is an excerpt from the conversation in the thread "Accelerating by itself", and I would recommend anyone who has questions on warranty issues read this thread... .ton of good info from people who know what they are talking about in this thread.

phillimt

Thanks everyone for the heads up, definitely worth a consider when potential modding...

Looks like you should be good, po1qw, since your part in question is an authentic part.

Fizzboy7

Stick with Lexus parts and you'll be okay. That's the best advice I can give you.

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

Or just realize the dealer gets paid for warranty work and while you run into the occasional idiot there they're not all out to violate the law.

As I mention in that thread the rare times this has even come up just mentioning I'm aware of the law was enough to get it fixed under warranty.... and that's on cars way more modded than any ISx50 out there.

phillimt

Awesome, thanks for the heads up guys!