Will Performance Upgrade/Modifications Void Warranty?

[timothyjay]

Does anyone know if adding modifications to the vehicle (such as an intake) void the warranty provided by Honda, whether it be their standard 3 year/36,000 miles or their extended 8 year/120,000 miles?

I added an intake to my 06 Civic but by that time, it has passed its 36,000 miles so I didn't even think about it.

Thanks!

Sponsored

 

[jerrygomez0809]

It can void the warranty if the issue is caused by the intake. There are dealers that are mod friendly and will not turn you away just because you are modded. If your issue is the tranny and you have an aftermarket intake and exhaust they will go ahead and warranty your transmission as it had nothing to do with your mods. Some other dealers will Pin Point the mods and decline or fight you for the warranty which at that point you can call Honda of America and explain the situation and they should be able to help you out. I have not gone through this with Honda but I have had this with VW (certain dealers) and they have been good when it comes to mod friendly vehicles as long as that part doesn't cause the issue.

I always try to keep my stock parts just in case.

 

[timothyjay]

That makes sense, and that's good to know. I wonder if contacting my local dealer who I purchased the vehicle from can confirm it, or it'd be a bad idea to give them a heads up on modifications.

 

[jerrygomez0809]

I would talk to the service advisor and find out. He should be able to confirm, also, try looking on Honda forums. They usually have a topic of this sort for the region.

out here in SoCal I hear that Tipton Honda in El Cajon is very good with Modded cars.

 

[sometimestwice]

It's always a good idea to get to know some of the workers there. Usually you can find people around there that are into the aftermarket stuff, I know several at the one in Georgia. The guys there will do all they can to help you with warranty stuff and avoid nailing you for performance mods. I'd steer away from strolling in there with flash pro though, it's easy to unmarry it before you go in. I know all this from experience =P

 

[timothyjay]

Thanks! I think I'll stay away from modifying my vehicle for now performance wise. It's plenty powerful for my needs at the moment and would rather not have it cause an issue later on while my warranty is in tact.

It's always a good idea to get to know some of the workers there. Usually you can find people around there that are into the aftermarket stuff, I know several at the one in Georgia. The guys there will do all they can to help you with warranty stuff and avoid nailing you for performance mods. I'd steer away from strolling in there with flash pro though, it's easy to unmarry it before you go in. I know all this from experience =P

 

[sometimestwice]

Thanks! I think I'll stay away from modifying my vehicle for now performance wise. It's plenty powerful for my needs at the moment and would rather not have it cause an issue later on while my warranty is in tact.

Don't sell yourself short, it's your car. Do what you want to do, but until you pay it off I wouldn't trash it with 12 boltons. Do light stuff that can be easily undone, such as a short ram intake and/or a tune. You start messing with exhausts, cats, adjusting boost if you have the turbo, your playing with fire. You could be fine, you could end up making a mistake. To each their own. I usually do intakes personally for a while is all

 

[kshawn]

Any ideas on how Honda will react to doing an EUC flash with a Ktuner?

 

[2hot2handle]

If Honda identifies a reflash was done outside of Honda and you file a repair claim under warranty, they can possibly deny your claim if they confirm or even correlate the unauthorized reflash caused the damaged.

 

[kshawn]

Got it, bring the power up slowly then. thanks for the reply. I should probably get a second ECU to do my tunes on and keep the factory tucked away.

 

[2hot2handle]

Thats a good approach. Our cars are so new, no one knows indefinitely how our motors/trans will react and hold up to any upgrades. Definitely play it safe than sorry.

 

[kshawn]

Probably will start with just a higher octane tune, see how that runs. No so sure about raising the boost pressure. I figure as long as i keep it under 250. Even 235 would be nice. At least until the car starts to prove itself. Stock should be able to get there. If not I'll probably go for aftermarket intake. At this time I don't plan on going past replacing the exhuast.

 

[dangng009]

From what I can understand working in a diagnostics position for a company, unless you can prove the intake or exhaust system is a direct cause of engine failure then the vehicle warranty will not be voided. If performance modification cannot be proven to cause a lean or rich running condition from freeze frame data or other methods then they have no reason to void your warranty. It is all up to interpretation that is between you, the dealership and the auto manufacturer. The guys that will be in your way is the dealership who wants to cover there hind/butt. As a warranty kick back from the manufacturer will result in the dealership taking a loss, potential an engine.

For example your engine blows up with a lean condition present and you have an intake system. They can look at your freeze frame data and PIDs stored in your PCM. If it was captured correct to show that a lean fuel trim or erratic MAF/MAP sensor was present during the event when your engine blew up setting DTCs for misfires and lean condition then your warranty would be voided and can be linked back to an aftermarket intake system. They have sufficient evident that would show that the aftermarket modification is a direct link to engine failure and could potential use the information in court. If situation calls for a court hearing and stuff.

Another example, If you have a cat back exhaust system with no intake system and your engine blows up, mostly likely they can not link a cat back exhaust system resulted in your engine failure. This is because the upstream and down stream HO2S/UEGO sensor are on your stock catalytic converter and not affected by the cat back exhaust system. As these sensor are not plumbed into the cat back exhaust system and can not be directly link to the vehicle engine failure. Unless you have a straight pipe no catalytic converter with the upstream and down stream HO2S/UEGO sensor plumbed in. Also, be aware running a straight pipe will result in catalytic converter inefficiency DTCs setting or catalytic converter performance DTCs. This is why people have programmers to fool the stock PCM to not set a check engine light "CEL".

As this information is In My Opinion "IMO" take it with a grain of salt.

 

[2hot2handle]

From what I can understand working in a diagnostics position for a company, unless you can prove the intake or exhaust system is a direct cause of engine failure then the vehicle warranty will not be voided. If performance modification cannot be proven to cause a lean or rich running condition from freeze frame data or other methods then they have no reason to void your warranty. It is all up to interpretation that is between you, the dealership and the auto manufacturer. The guys that will be in your way is the dealership who wants to cover there hind/butt. As a warranty kick back from the manufacturer will result in the dealership taking a loss, potential an engine.
\

Dealerships wont "void" your entire warranty..... but they may deny your claim under it. To your point, having to prove anything is difficult and will cost time and therefore lots of money. A dealership can deny your claim under a multitude of reasons, some very legal and others that fall under interpretation as you stated. At the end of the day, its almost like rolling the dice..... you play your chances to get covered under warranty when modifying your car. Hell, it's sometimes difficult for some people to get their claim approved being 100% stock.

 

[dangng009]

Your are correct sir.

Sponsored