Bolt Ons: Intake / Intercooler / Header / Exhaust: Has Honda or Your Dealership Shop Heckled YOU or Denied Warranty on Your Civic Over Them?

[CyberCT]

The "Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act" is supposed to force car manufacturers to prove a modified part caused failure of another factory part directly associated with that modified part.

The question is ... how much of a stickler can Honda be over this, and how much must be proven?

Let's say there's an aftermarket intake and aftermarket intercooler on the civic. A few years later, there's an engine issue of some sort (abnormal wear, bent valves, or some ACTUAL manufacturer defect) that's in Honda's direvetain warranty period.
If they simply say the aftermarket intake and intercooler lowered intake air temps below what the ECU expects, or added too much power for what the engine was designed for, or any other BS ... is that enough of a vague loophole for them to deny warranty coverage?
Or do they have to prove, through logged historical data downloaded from the car's ECU, exactly HOW these subtle changes in intake air temperature, velocity, or additional power ACTUALLY damaged the engine?
Who would force Honda to prove this?

I don't know how deep this rabbit hole goes ... but want to know if our drivetrain is safely covered through factory warranty while modding our cars with bolt ons.

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[Nothing]

The consensus is, nobody knows. Magnuson Moss is great to have on your side and certainly tempers some dealers and provides some justification for others on why they care about some mods and don't care about others.

Use common sense, and the more you deviate from OEM on any given system, your ability to claim warranty diminishes. Some dealers are better than others on helping you.

Many others have simply put, if you're worried about warranty, don't mod. If you can take on some risk and make some informed choices, have at it. Good luck!

 

[marcusm86]

right to repair is a must..

 

[AspecR]

For the most part, you have nothing to worry about if your car still has the a). stock catalytic converter on, and b). it hasn't been tuned as it relates to engine related warranty issues. For suspension, most dealerships will deny warranty claim if your car has been lowered. So if your car blew a shock at 20k miles but you had lowering springs on, then that is grounds to deny warranty work.

Understand that warranty claims also vary based on dealership, some will refuse to work on a car with simple basic bolt-ons while others will still work on it while noting the aftermarket modifications to cover their own ass. Find a dealership that has actual Honda enthusiasts working in the service department and they will actually fight for you when it comes to getting warranty work done even if your car is modified.

Like @Nothing said, if you're worried about warranty work then leave the car alone, if not then send it!

I've had warranty work done on my car even though it has engine and suspension mods that other dealers wouldn't hesitate to deny.

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