thanks for the help wildman now i can install my short shifter--the thing was that my tranny has to be fixwhen i took my car to service the manager told me yeah it has a problem but its really not that serious but we know we have to fix it but do you wanna wait 2-3 weeks for parts bc they are very rare right now-- or do you wanna come when the problem becomes really badd - he told me it was fully warranty and in like a couple of months -- so im but i also have a short shifter at home and i wanna install it but i dont want them giving me BS about how the shorft shifter affected the tranny-

 

What does the dealer really care though? When you take your car in and get warranty work done to it, this can be done at any mitsu dealer you prefer, does not that dealer ship get reimbursed for their labor and parts? If so why would a dealer take all the warranty work they could get? I work as a mechanic for a boat dealer ship and when we do warranty claims, we are reimbursed from the manufacture for parts and all labor hours we say it takes us (usually more hours than what it takes us within reason). So we love doing warranty work.

Jason

 

Well, like you say, when you do warranty work, you have to pay for the parts and the labor first and then the manufacturer "reimburse" you for the time and money. So that means there is a potential for you not getting reimbursed. My local dealer mentioned to me that Mitsu is requiring to get the old parts back for inspection on many occassions. So if the dealer fixes something and expects reimbursments but after receiving the old part, Mitsu determines that it is not warranty but instead abused, they will not reimburse the dealer. So now, the dealer is at a loss. Therefore, dealer are very careful at what to warranty and what not to because there is always a chance the Mitsu will not reimburse the dealer. At least that is what my local dealer told me.

 

i dont see how changin the diameter of an exhaust can cost for the motor to be blowned. I talk to my dealer that i go too .About the exhaust , they say they shouldnt be a problem that mitsu knows that the car will be modified . The only thing they wouldnt cover if the exhaust is the reason for a check engine to be on . Then they wont cover that problem . as far as some one trying for the dealer to cover problems that are related to the parts that they have change . Is where dealers or manifactures start looking at things close enough to start voiding warranties on the products that they have change and the things that can be related . But some dealers want to blame anything on everything

 

Voiding it COMPLETELY for engine mods would be a blatant violation of federal law. SEMA should provide a form of complaint on their website so that victims of this sort of thing can quickly and easily drop a complaint on a car maker's head in federal court. That would get the company's attention

Rich

p.s. BTW, Wildman, I don't mean to shoot the messenger. It's nothing personal.

 

hello all, new guy here. i worked for 2 different dealerships (mazda/subaru and Nissan/hyundai) as a tech. to shed some light on the warranty issue, any modification leading to the failure of an affected system will void the warranty of the affected system. eg. turbo timer spilced into vehicle wiring system somehow burns out the fuse box (just an example), the warranty for the fuse box and all interconnecting wiring and ecu are voided.

any piggy back system or ecu mod which may or may not cause engine damage will void the warranty for the engine and ecu if it is discovered.

any change to the intake and or exhaust system which alters the characteristics of the engine's performance which results in or is suspected in the damage of any internal engine parts will void the engine/drivetrain warranty (depends on damage, i have seen flywheels fly through the bellhousing with rev limiters reset higher). eg. a mazda owner had a cold air intake without an air bypass valve and sucked up water and the engine hydro locked. a hole in the block the size of a beer bottle.

once any vehicle part has been removed, altered or changed by a non manufacturer certified "tech" or individual all warranty will be voided. eg. valve cover, yes. once a kid removed a valve cover and mistakenly dropped a washer inside and busted an intake cam which bent the valves (high rpm) and the engine needed replacement due to cost of repair.

you can try to fight these "red flags" for any voided warranty claims however if you involve the court system and your vehicle is in violation of any carb or federal emmissions laws you will be fined and your case will be dismissed. the federal law has a thing about coming into court with "unclean hands" so to speak.

my advice to all (since i love to mod my cars as well) is to make a choice. wait till the warranty runs out.

screw the warranty, enjoy your car and take a deep breath if it needs to be repaired.

buy a clunker and build a kick *** car for less than half the price of new.

i know it sucks that in the usa you can't do what you want with your car and have it under warranty but i'll tell you this. the dealership looks down on all modifiers. i have a 2g eclipse all modded up and i get flack from the parts guys, the older techs, even the general manager. they just don't respect a modified car and it's owner.

this information is to inform all new car owners who read this to understand the mindset of a dealership and it's prejudice to modified cars. i have seen people who modded their cars and may have damaged or accelerated the damage of a defective part and get totally shafted. eg the wrx and it's crappy 2nd/3rd gear (snaps) and it's ever more crappy viscous coupling which works while you brake which in turns wears it out prematurely(awd braking, ouch! worsens when you drive hard).
$5k for a new trans 3 weeks to get it and $1k to pop it in.

so be on the lookout. especially evo and wrx/sti owners. the warranty reps form subaru/mitsu will visit and give the final word on whether or not something will be covered or not, and these guys look at bald tires vs mileage, intakes, exhaust, interior gadgets (if they don't know what it is and what it does it's bad news), clutches, shavings in oil pans, shift play, busted gears, burn marks on gears, forks, bearings. any reason for mitsu/soa to kick a claim. remember, it's a business and we just line their pockets, hope this helps

 

You're right a dealer would want as much warranty work as possible. And yes, they do get reimbursed. --- UNLESS --- the repair work IS NOT covered under warranty, in which case the dealer would be charged.

 

You're taking what I said out of context. I was answering the guys question when he was asking what kind of info is put into the system if a warranty is voided.

 

Okay, some of you guys are getting a little carried away with this.

I was just trying to shed a little light on the subject for those of you out there that don't quite understand how it all works. When it comes to warranty THERE ARE NO ABSOLUTES. I was trying to give you a couple examples of what might happen in some instances.

SirCead gave a pretty good account of how it works when it comes to your warranty issues. That's what I was trying to say in a nutshell. There are certain mods that we all do that would probably never even so much as raise an eyebrow at the dealer (like intake/exhaust) however, anytime you change the way the vehicle was originally equipped from the factory you open the door for a warranty issue not only with the part, but anything else tied into the same system as that part. I hope that is more clear.

Thanks SirCead for your more in depth view of how it all ties together.

 

I have a question about warranty work. I have a evo that since 600 miles it has thrown a check engine light for miss fire, now I have 11,000, and 11 times in the shop and many parts later and it still has a check engine light. After the 4 time in the shop I added exhaust and intake, and was told my warranty would NOT be voided. So when I took it back a COUPLE times about the 10th time they called me and said they have voided my warranty. They put on the papers the times after I got the mods that the car did throw miss fire before adding anything! So my question is how (if any) can I get around that? If they can not fix the problem am I to leave it stock for the whole time I own the car, till something bad happens and they finally find the problem?

 

Well this is something that we have been touching on. As you can see someone asked about the exact same issue. I never said to anyone that your warranty would be voided for intake/exhaust, I was merely trying to convey that it is POSSIBLE even though not very PROBABLE.

Maybe after reading this they might think twice. I am going to talk to someone about your issue and see if I can help. So look for my next post, okay.

 

I just spoke with a friend of mine who is a Service Manager for a dealer. He said that the manufacturer CAN void the warranty on the engine by adding a cold-air intake. Because it changes the air/fuel ratio which would be different from the way the factory engineered it to be. He said a cat-back exhaust should be fine.

Now I have to ask you, why would you add anything to the car if it was throwing a SES light? You might have a sticky situation now since you already added the stuff and they have documented it. If I were you I would put your intake back to stock and take your car to another dealer and just hope they haven't entered it into the system yet through .

Let me know. I'll try to get some more info.

 

The reason I have added things to the car is because I bought the car to build. I have had a SES light on since 600 mile, and I asked that if I put a intake and exhaust on would it void my warranty, and tha answer to me was NO! So after 4 or 5 times in the shop stock they noted that the problem was before the mods and after the figured I guess they cant fix it they put the problem on me. I have had the car since March 03 and now in LATE Dec. my car has still not been fixed, and still don't know anything. My personal view is that they dont know what to do with the car its too much for them to figure out.

 

I understand that you want to build the car, but it is never a good idea to mod the car if it is not running properly when it is stock.

Can you take the car to another dealer? If so I highly recommend doing what I already suggested. Dealers can be very different from one another. It really can make a huge difference, not only in the way you are treated but also in the quality of the techs and the work they perform. It sounds like you have been beating a dead horse with these people.

 

I have taken my car to two dealers, on in Lubbock Tx where I bought the car, who kept it for 2 weeks and could not fix the problem, and here where I live in Clovis NM who keep it the most. I think the dont have anyone who is capable enought to figure out the problem. The dealer in Lubbock also put 400 mile on my car the times they had it.