Voided Warranty

[stevenvillatoro]

Luckily (said in jest), your short warranty will be expired before you know it. Mine is already 25% used up, based on mileage.

[rawlus®]

if you swap out your wheels and your ABS is acting up or whatever, who's to say you didn't screw something up swapping out the wheels?
it is understandable that the warranty would be voided under certain circumstances if the owner takes it upon themselves to experiment with non-OEM parts.
it should be understood when you do this that you are altering the vehicle from factory spec and there may be long-term issues with that re: the warranty.

if i was in the business of offering warranties, i would want to offer them under controlled conditions and not have to bother with paying on claims on modified vehicles where i don't know anything about the parts being installed.

in the event a dealership is altering the vehicle before sale, you should be aware that that specific dealership may warranty parts they installed that were not OEM, but if you walk into any old dealership, they may refuse to warranty certain items related to non-OEM parts. so there's a risk there in accepting even dealer-installed aftermarket parts or equipment.

the factory warranty only covers factory stuff. if it was not factory, they may not cover it.

an example, if you install your open-element K&N air filter to get more air flow and believe it gives you 5+ HP but then down the road there's some engine related problem and lack of factory spec filtration could have been a contributing factor to that problem, the manufacturer can limit what they will cover on that engine repair or deny it altogether since K&N is not a factory spec air filtration medium.

i see this all the time in the jeeping world because the first thing many do when they get their jeep is start lifting it, regearing it, putting on parts and pieces, fortifying other parts, etc and so on.

aftermarket headlights aren't going to keep a brake repair from being done. but if you cook the wiring harness that may not get authorized for repair if you've got those aftermarket lights on.

just be forewarned. there is a variable level of risk in altering the vehicle from factory spec. i don't want anyone to be "surprised" when they get told their repair won't be covered.

[mmmeat]

Originally Posted by graphix1998

I was told today that changing the wheels would void my warranty. I understand that it has something to do with the crash test results. However, if the wheels that I want to use (Brabus, Schmidt or Lorinser) are DOT and TUV approved, what difference does it make?

Can PMG enforce this? Where would the aftermarket wheel business be if the manufacturers said that you could only use the stock OEM wheels?

What's next, I can only drive on specific days, or on certain roads?

Buy your wheels through the dealership, they warranty their work.

I've done many Jeeps this way - having the dealership install the lift kit, wheels, whatever else - and haven't had any problems getting stuff fixed under warranty (including a suspension mount that snapped off). It may cost more ... but that unvoided warranty is priceless.

Your pal,
Meat.

[SmartAzz]

Originally Posted by mike-in-sa

Point is - swapping out your wheels to keep your warrenty might not be possible if you break down on the highway and are being towed to the dealer and your oem wheels are stacked up in the garage.

Yep, thats the risk you take.

We used to swap out the wheels actually just to protect them, the BMW dealers were always a risk for damaging cars, wheels etc. (and it is simple, can't see how ABS or anything could be damaged, besides needing to repair tires and related things means there is an expectation of the wheels being removed).

As for the Smart I'm personally not getting aftermarket wheels - all in all I am no longer inclined to dealing with the repercussions of altering our cars in any way it can impact service, it has created too many headaches for us in the past.

[Big Panda]

[quote=mike-in-sa;89147]Point is - swapping out your wheels to keep your warrenty might not be possible if you break down on the highway and are being towed to the dealer and your oem wheels are stacked up in the garage............/quote]


......at which point you tell your dealer:

"You may not believe this, but 'someone' stole my car and then it apparently broke down and when I happened to find it, THESE CRAPPY WHEELS were on it! Can you BELIEVE 'someone' would actually put NON-OEM wheels on a smart? Guess since they stole it, they didn't care about voiding the warranty. Since 'someone' else did this, I hope it doesn't void MY warranty....."

[WickedMessenger]

You should know that the ABS and stability control is programmed with certain fixed variables based on the correct factory configuration. It is specifically designed with physical orifices and brake fluid flow rates for the diameter and rotational mass of the wheels it is designed for. Your brake system has no way of knowing that what it is supposed to do is no longer valid. That's why it might not react correctly in an ABS or stability event. Telling you that you will void your warranty is your dealer's way of trying to get you not to make this mistake and putting some weight behind it.

[Smart Car Geek]

Originally Posted by mike-in-sa

Swapping out those wheels might not be so easy as your smart is going down the road on a flatbed.

I'd take my chances on that.

At least I wouldn't be embarrassed everyday being seen driving around with the factory wheels

Originally Posted by rawlus®

it should be understood when you do this that you are altering the vehicle from factory spec

..."altering" could also mean you are making the car better. The pope doesn't bless factory parts.

if you install your open-element K&N air filter to get more air flow and believe it gives you 5+ HP but then down the road there's some engine related problem and lack of factory spec filtration could have been a contributing factor to that problem

All K&N filters meet or exceed factory OEM specifications. If you love your car you will use the best parts available for them, besides, we're talking about wheels and filters, not something vehicle specific like a light switch or a radiator The majority of parts that insurance companies use are not factory and the car is still warranted. A person just needs to use common sense when they are doing this

[rawlus®]

i'm skeptical on K&N. it flows better than paper for sure, but flowing better typically means filtering more poorly.... i run a K&N cone filter on my jeep because the OEM airbox had to be removed in order to install the engine driven york a/c compressor for on -board air for tire filling and air tools. but from a filtration pov, i'm not convinced K&N is much better than a wet facecloth. lol. luckily i have a bulletproof I-6 engine way out of warranty.

like i said, use what you want and do with the vehicle what you want. i was just commenting on WHY the FACTORY may elect not to cover a given repair because you decided to "better" your car with parts they had not spec'd as OEM or OEM-equivalent. not OEM-replacement, equivalent.

[Big Panda]

when i get MY smart, other than the usual window tinting, mats, etc, the only mod i'm doing is the exhaust. not sure which one yet, but that's it and then KEEP MY FINGERS CROSSED!

this is WHY you need to have a really GREAT relationship with your dealership. while the warranty is with the manufacturer (in this case, smart) the dealer is the one that administers it and so they can either 'go to bat for you' or say 'sorry, too bad'.......not saying it's right. just the way it is.

[Smart Car Geek]

Originally Posted by rawlus®

it flows better than paper for sure, but flowing better typically means filtering more poorly

I don't know what you mean by 'typically' as that is rarely the case. See below:

More airflow means you are letting more dirt through, right?

No. Filtration testing measures the percentage of dust retained before the filter reaches a terminal test pressure, often 10” of restriction above initial restriction. We use airflow as a simplified term to explain a more complicated physical process. The more precise description is restriction: K&N air filters create less restriction which helps an engine run better. An engine will only use the air it needs and our air filters do not result in an engine using more air than necessary. Rather, they result in the engine experiencing less restriction. The terms airflow and restriction are inversely related. Our air filters provide either less restriction at a fixed airflow rate; or more airflow as a fixed level of restriction. In neither case is more air being used than necessary.link

The only time when aftermarket parts are worse is when you use cheap parts, say from wally world for example. But if you use a quality replacement part (like a K&N) then you are exceeding the specifications and you are actually making your car perform better

i was just commenting on WHY the FACTORY may elect not to cover a given repair because you decided to "better" your car with parts they had not spec'd as OEM or OEM-equivalent.

If they want to use fear mongering and break the LAW then that is their business ;) Most people do NOT know the law regarding this matter, so they either spread more misinformation about it or they make the dealerships rich using inferior (OEM) products on their car. Dealerships try to scare their customers because they want to make MONEY on you, pure and simple. Learn the law and buy the best available parts for your car and it will perform much better. Click here to see how most dealerships are claiming that parts are bad when they aren't, and when they don't even have any way to test those parts. I've dealt with hundreds of dealerships and they talk big, but when you push the matter they always back down. Weird.