FK7 Blown Turbo. Drive it or tow to shop?

tinyman392

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I know Ford had a few documents showing techs how to look for signs of modifications that cause damage to the drivetrain in the event that someone comes in with damage suspected to be from abuse/mods that they are trying to claim under warranty.

I would assume Honda has a similar thing. In the event that the tech does suspect damage and one of these exists for the Civic, and the tech does find modifications done, in the best case scenario they'll refuse to fix under warranty and in the worst cast, they call the cops and have you charged with fraud (because that is what this would fall under).
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NoHonor937

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I know Ford had a few documents showing techs how to look for signs of modifications that cause damage to the drivetrain in the event that someone comes in with damage suspected to be from abuse/mods that they are trying to claim under warranty.

I would assume Honda has a similar thing. In the event that the tech does suspect damage and one of these exists for the Civic, and the tech does find modifications done, in the best case scenario they'll refuse to fix under warranty and in the worst cast, they call the cops and have you charged with fraud (because that is what this would fall under).
The techs can’t see it but apparently if the cost is high enough they will call in the regional advisor/master tech and he has better equipment and can dig through your ecu to find if you flashed it. Now we could argue for the next 12 pages on what they can or cannot see or prove but the master tech only shows up if it’s high cost.
 

jgreen16

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I know Ford had a few documents showing techs how to look for signs of modifications that cause damage to the drivetrain in the event that someone comes in with damage suspected to be from abuse/mods that they are trying to claim under warranty.
Here is the flow chart Ford uses.

Honda Civic 10th gen FK7 Blown Turbo. Drive it or tow to shop? CCF02242019
 


dallasjhawk

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This is part if why cars cost so much...:doh:
LMAO, if you think a few dudes removing their parts to get warranty is why cars cost so much, you are sorely mistaken. Warranty costs are figured into the budget because Honda knows there will always be failures of parts when you make 300k + civics a year. In the case of the turbo, there have been failures on completely stock cars, and this could be the same thing, the mods could have nothing to do with it, so why give the dealer the option of declining warranty without even diagnosing the issue.
 

dallasjhawk

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I know Ford had a few documents showing techs how to look for signs of modifications that cause damage to the drivetrain in the event that someone comes in with damage suspected to be from abuse/mods that they are trying to claim under warranty.

I would assume Honda has a similar thing. In the event that the tech does suspect damage and one of these exists for the Civic, and the tech does find modifications done, in the best case scenario they'll refuse to fix under warranty and in the worst cast, they call the cops and have you charged with fraud (because that is what this would fall under).
Ford is not Honda, they have different tools and equipment and the ECUs store different parameters. Honda deos not have a flash counter and if you flash stock they have no way of seeing you were flashed as the Honda ECU doesnt store any max data unless a DTC event occurs. Then its just a snapshot of what was happening at the time the DTC was set.
The techs can’t see it but apparently if the cost is high enough they will call in the regional advisor/master tech and he has better equipment and can dig through your ecu to find if you flashed it. Now we could argue for the next 12 pages on what they can or cannot see or prove but the master tech only shows up if it’s high cost.
The regional doesn't have any different tools than the dealer. The regional does have more say than the dealer. You can go over the regionals head straight to Honda if you believe your part should be warrantied, but anyone telling you the regional can see if a flash was done is completely wrong
 

RedGiant217

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LMAO, if you think a few dudes removing their parts to get warranty is why cars cost so much, you are sorely mistaken. Warranty costs are figured into the budget because Honda knows there will always be failures of parts when you make 300k + civics a year. In the case of the turbo, there have been failures on completely stock cars, and this could be the same thing, the mods could have nothing to do with it, so why give the dealer the option of declining warranty without even diagnosing the issue.
This isn't worth arguing about. I didn't mean for it to be an accurate statement about vehicle costs. I think you understand that the point I was trying to make was that putting the car back to stock before taking it in is just wrong. You clearly don't agree with that and I guess that's fine...
Just rubs me the wrong way is all.
My counter question: Why should the tech have to waste their time diagnosing a car without knowing all the variables?
 

dallasjhawk

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This isn't worth arguing about. I didn't mean for it to be an accurate statement about vehicle costs. I think you understand that the point I was trying to make was that putting the car back to stock before taking it in is just wrong. You clearly don't agree with that and I guess that's fine...
Just rubs me the wrong way is all.
My counter question: Why should the tech have to waste their time diagnosing a car without knowing all the variables?
It doesnt matter whether mods are on the car or not. I took mine in with an intake on, you know what that did? It lead to 2 additional days of testing my car with a stock intake to prove it wasnt the cause. The techs have a system they log into and it tells them exactly what to do, step by step for each issue that may be presented on said car. So by taking the mods off, you make the tech actually do work, instead of them popping the hood and going, nope voided for mods, pay us to diagnose now.
 

RedGiant217

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It doesnt matter whether mods are on the car or not. I took mine in with an intake on, you know what that did? It lead to 2 additional days of testing my car with a stock intake to prove it wasnt the cause. The techs have a system they log into and it tells them exactly what to do, step by step for each issue that may be presented on said car. So by taking the mods off, you make the tech actually do work, instead of them popping the hood and going, nope voided for mods, pay us to diagnose now.
I get that that's frustrating but your personal situation/experience doesn't make it right to essentially hide mods from the guy that is supposed to fix your car just because you want a free turbo.
 


n9yty

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@RedGiant217 - It's just a changing set of "what is acceptable". Just like all the guys in the tech forums that buy stuff all the time from Amazon, Best Buy, etc., just to "test it" and "play with it" with no intention of ever actually keeping it, and then return it for a refund. That also rasies costs for everyone, but it is seen as perfectly acceptable to them. And in both cases, it won't do any good to argue with the people who hold a differing viewpoint, because quite frankly they don't care and you won't convince them.

This situation is perhaps slightly tougher, becuase unless you could get an independent repair shop acting as an arbitrator to actually look at the thing and determine if it was impacted by the tune or not, you will never know. It could be due to the mods, or it could be, as posited by some here, just a normal failure that would have happened if left stock.

So, in some sense, both sides are at fault, as Honda may not even consider it could be their problem, and the modder/tuner also may consider that it couldn't be due to the tune, and so there is no peaceful resolution.

Personally, I'm still miffed at Honda for not dealing with the radio interference problem I had, casued by their vehicle, becuase they can simply say that "all the cars do it", so therefore it isn't a warranty repairable defect in my car. What good is a warranty if they can simply say "we don't deem that a warrantable repair". So I'm not sticking up for Honda becuase of fanboy love, I just wouldn't hide what I did if it could be part of the problem, just like I don't buy things I don't intend to keep. I only return things for gross misrepresentation of features (i.e. it doesn't do what it says it would) or if it was broken, in which casea I get a replacement, not a refund. But I have gotten way off topic here... Sorry!
 

dallasjhawk

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I get that that's frustrating but your personal situation/experience doesn't make it right to essentially hide mods from the guy that is supposed to fix your car just because you want a free turbo.
The dealerships and Honda are way far ahead in terms of who is winning or losing in a situation where there is warranty claim. The dealer is reimbursed by Honda for the work at a set rate. Dealerships play games all the time with customers when it comes to add ons, and finance and interest rates and extended warranties and shitty sales tactics. I dont feel one bit of remorse if I get something covered that maybe I shouldnt have. Then again, my service adviser is a badass and takes care of me all the time anyway. As I said I took my modded car in for work and they took care of it no problem at all. You worry about you and leave the rest of us to do as we please.
 

ParkwayDrive13

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The reason people remove their mods is because 90% of dealerships don't actually try to confirm whether or not the aftermarket parts caused the failure. If the dealership can't prove the modification was the cause of the failure while diagnosing the car in stock form... what does that tell you? Any tech worth his salt can usually tell a car has been modified. (Loose retaining clips, screws, missing/loose components, or clamps on fuel lines, ect.)

Most dealers will still process warranty claims even knowing the above.

I do agree people should be honest about it, but it's hard when the dealership are not honest about it either. Both are at fault. So it's up to the dealership processing the warranty to prove the cause.
 

joshhjackson2112

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Man I almost wish my turbo would blow. Would make the W1 purchasing process come a lot sooner.
What I mean by this is congratulations op. :thumbsup:
I would say fuck the dealer and just upgrade! That would most deff be the route I take. I dont have time to fight with dealers to get a shabby part I am planning on replacing in the future anyways.
If I was full stock and planned to stay that way, then I would try to replace under warranty for sure.
 


 


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