Hey guys just got my MR a few months ago and i just got done breaking it in, so whats some little things i can do to it without voiding the warranty?

 

Anything u change on the car voids the warranty on that part only.
So if u change ur springs to lower the car and ur struts go out then ur warranty is void because u modified the springs. Unless u can prove that it wasn't because of the mod.
At least do the basics exhaust, lower it, and intake and rims. Unless u plan on keeping ur car completely stock for 5 years.

 

It really depends on the dealer, you should call and ask to be sure. Any tune or mods to the downpipe or cat will almost certainly void it. Some dealers are ok with a cat back exhaust and/or intake.

 

Shorty antenna, license plate frame, floor mats, air freshener (maybe.. unless it messes with the air filtration system), go-fast stickers, decorative valve-stem caps, shift knob (might effect drivetrain warranty, lol), mud flaps, aero bits, fancy JDM radiator cap (if right pressure), cheesy seat and steering wheel covers (if they don't interfere with the airbags), stick-on window navi..

uh, yeah.. that's about it, lol. anything else is at your own risk, and the discretion of the dealership and/or their regional mitsu guy that approves or denies certain warranty repairs.

 

^ +1 A while back i thought my strut blew I had the car taken apart couldn't find anything wrong, put lowering springs on ended up taking the car to my dealership (under warranty) to check what was going on. None of it mattered, it was "my fault" and was told to take it to the guys who changed the springs lol Typical BS. Call your dealership and ask quetions. I called mine before buying an turbo back exhaust to make sure I wouldn't be wasting more money.

 

nothing the dealership will void almost every mod u do

 

You can fill the tank with fuel. Pretty much it.

 

Wash your car

 

Sounds about right.

 

Most dealers are cool with lowering springs and wheels.. unless the strut blows out or a wheel hub bearing goes bad. All the drivetrain warranty should be intact though. A Cobb AP can be used to tune and then "unmarried" before a trip to the dealer so they don't know it was tuned. But now a couple people are saying that the ECU has a map counter..

A drop-in air filter shouldn't void the warranty.

As mentioned, some dealers are cool with catback exhausts, just have to check with them first..

 

All depends on the mechanic that is working on it.

 

There is a federal law on our side - the Magnuson-Moss Warranty - Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act of 1975

Under the act, aftermarket equipment that improves performance does not automatically void a vehicle manufacturer's original warranty, unless the warranty clearly states the addition of aftermarket equipment automatically voids your vehicle's warranty, or if it can be proven that the aftermarket device is the direct cause of the failure.

I haven't read through Mitsu's warranty word-for-word, but with that said dealerships I've dealt with will generally try to blame your mods if you go past the usual (catback, intake, appearance...)

 

You can probably do the following without voiding the warranty to increase performance.

Remove weight

- Remove the spare tire and tools ~ 50 lbs
- Lightweight Battery
- Change the wheels out for lighter ones.
- Change the hood, trunk, and wing to a lighter material like carbon fiber
- Change the glass panes
- Remove carpeting, sound deadening (do we even have any?), and anything else that is cosmetic or "comfort" feature that does not effect the mechanics of the car.
- Change the seats or rip them out. (That is just cosmetic in my opinion so you should be ok)

The only thing I ever did in my old Z was take out the spare tire and tools. It does make a difference, but it is slight.

Tires

- Upgradeto semi slicks

Engine Performance

- See if Mitsubishi offers an FQ 400 tune. (This is the only way I could possibly see power modification not voiding the warranty, because it is a Mitsubishi product/reflash)

-Possibly run oil with a different weight or higher octane gas (Not sure if that will do anything/if the car will accept* E85 without a conversion kit)

 

This tune is not a Mitsubishi tune, nor is it warrantied by Mitsubishi. It's warrantied by the Colt Car Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi.

 

*accept, because it is not an exception. Sorry, started to bug me.

To swap to E85 you'll need to swap injectors and likely the pump and you'll need a retune. That will all definitely void a warranty.


This thread has been covered a bunch. People have sited specific mods that dealerships they dealt with were okay with. I'll sum up my knowledge on this.

All above posted on weight reduction is fine, but obviously if you swap your trunk and your brake lights act weird, they probably wont pity you much, and E85 as I mentioned, and raising your octane will not help you much.

For performance you're really better off not replacing the OE cat or EBCS. The understanding (at least for my local community dealer) is that

Okay for warranty:
-- cat-back
-- intake (with the heatshield and OE MAF, not just a filter with HomeDepot Racing on it)
-- UICP & LICP
-- FMIC
-- BOV (as long as it's hooked up to recirculate)

-- Springs/Coilovers -- lose warranty on suspension components, but they wont hassel about it
-- Brake rotors/pads/lines -- Wear item anyway with no warranty to start, so who cares
-- Clutch -- Wear item anyway with no warranty to start, however, if you have trans/TC/Diff problems after doing an aftermarket clutch you'll likely catch LOTS of grief and the abuse flag will be thrown awfully fast. In your case with the MR, probably don't have to worry about this, but if you swapped the clutch packs you'll already be on a tune by then anyhow.


Not okay, but people will go in for warranty with it:
-- Tune. Yeah, you can unmarry an Access Port. You can flash back an OE rom, it's likely in *most* cases for warranty stuff the dealer may not even check your ROM. But really, ethically, you flash the car, you really shouldn't push the dealer to cover drive-train related stuff.

If you have a tune on an 08 Evo, and have the notorious thread pulling out of the recaros up where the harness goes through, then yeah, go in with your tuned Evo and be confident that the Recaro's should be under warranty. Know what I mean?

Enjoy the car, and for more info, search the past threads. They really are good.