Do Upgrades Void warranty

[Pbuffa]

Do upgrades such as The Edge, KN intake, and /or exhaust upgrades void the truck warranty?

Any experience with full blown kit installs?

 

[jwilliams3]

Yeah, they do.

 

[Chugiak]

(Let me pull on my Nomex and Kevlar here).



Actually, the installation of aftermarket parts in and of itself does not void the warranty.



Having said that, if a service technician finds upgrades on a vehicle that comes in with a "warrantable failure", the very FIRST thing he/she will do is try to determine the cause of failure. As most of the performance upgrades are associated with a) increasing fuel; b) increasing air; or c) both it they can determine that the upgrade was even remotely associated with the cause of failure, warranty probably will be denied. :-{}



The manufacturer cannot be held accountable for failures associated with operating the engine outside of design criteria, and overfueling the engine definitely was not the plan.



It's an easy equation . . . increased heat from incresed fuel equals decreased engine life or premature component failure. :{



If you're gonna play, you're gonna pay.

 

[rbattelle]

In general, I think Chugiak is absolutely correct. The only problem comes when technicians and dealership personnel who don't really know what they're doing make false connections between disconnected items. Like the old joke about aftermarket mudflaps voiding the engine warranty.



Case in point. I have significantly modified my low pressure fuel system. In fact, I've completely redesigned it. I have pages and pages of experimental data and design data showing every subsystem being tested individually and together. Only the absolute finest components and assembly techniques were used in making this system. Now, if I go into the dealer with a blown CP-3 or a bad injector, I'm betting they take one look at my system and say "that's the cause, your warranty is void" without so much as a glance at my data.



It all comes down to the individual opinion of each dealer. Some are very "bomb friendly". Most are not.



It is good to consider these things before making modifications.



-Ryan

 

[NLamke]

It all depends on the service department you take it to. I blew my stock plastic intercooler apart and as coincidence would have it, I had just installed the Edge Juice. Took it in, service manager said it wasn't the chip's fault, and replaced it with a better metal intercooler. Two other dealers I talked to said it wouldn't be covered under warranty. Guess that's why I drive right on by those dealers and go to one 130 miles away. Ask the dealer first, be honest with your intentions and concerns, and you just might find a good, fair service department.

 

[p-Bar]

Just be sure you talk to the service Mgr about Bombing. . Most of the service writers are meat heads.

 

[Chugiak]

Case in point. I have significantly modified my low pressure fuel system. In fact, I've completely redesigned it. I have pages and pages of experimental data and design data showing every subsystem being tested individually and together. Only the absolute finest components and assembly techniques were used in making this system. Now, if I go into the dealer with a blown CP-3 or a bad injector, I'm betting they take one look at my system and say "that's the cause, your warranty is void" without so much as a glance at my data.



It all comes down to the individual opinion of each dealer. Some are very "bomb friendly". Most are not.



It is good to consider these things before making modifications.

Ryan I think you've hit right on the bull's eye. Imagine yourself as the technician asked to troubleshoot the complaint of a miss on your truck. He starts the engine and hears a knock maybe, and then troubleshoots his way to a bad injector. Did the injector fail due a manufacturing defect (i. e. labor or materials), or did it fail due to being subjected to pressures it was never designed to withstand? With the shortage of trained diesel technicians nationwide causing the good ones to stay focused on heavy duty diesel as that's where the money is, the light duty truck dealerships tend to get the short end of the stick. I won't pick on Dodge, because I've got the same complaint with the furd dealerships -- they just don't know diesels.



So in summary, if you want to avoid the argument with your dealer, don't bomb your engine. If money's not an issue, Bomb's Away!



Cheers,



John