Warranty deal breakers

BanningZ

So one thing I am curious about is what mods are going to void the warranties on these cars.
A few a re obvious, like F/I. If they are not dealer installed are we going to see warranty problems?

After seeing all the crap that Nissan gave GT-R owners, it just makes me curious.

What experiences have 350Z and G37 owners experienced recently?

I want to do light mods but still sometimes the tiniest thing can be a deal breaker, especially if you cant get it easily removed before bringing it in for warranty servicing.

Thoughts? Experiences?

tranceformer

From what I've seen/heard, it really depends on the dealership you take your Nissan/Infiniti to and the relationship you have with them.

RCZ

not to mention the components of the Z will be a lot cheaper than say a GT-R motor or transmission. WHich are the two things that break on it.

MC

shouldnt be hardly any differnet than what 350z owners have been dealing with for the last 6 years

blackdragon

BanningZ

this will be my first Z. Woot!

jon1018

same here

Ryephile

It's always best to have a good relationship and understanding between you and your service department. Just because we have the law on our side doesn't mean we can afford to be jerks about it. Basically, when we modify the car, we're deviating from Nissan's well laid development work. They can no longer guarantee functionality for the warranty duration. However, as most aftermarket parts barely change anything [except crazy stuff like turbo kits], the Magnuson-Moss Act says Nissan has to honor their warranty for breakage or failure for all items that they put on the car that failed themselves. If aftermarket parts caused the failure, then we're SOL and have to foot the bill to fix it.

Since there are so many idiots running service departments out there, it's really easy for an owner of a lightly modded car to pull up with an honest warranty issue and get "black flagged" by the dealership system where all warranty claims are voided. This is most likely a failure to understand the root cause of the problem. A competent mechanic that has excellent knowledge of vehicle functionality will be able to easily deduce root cause, and thus if the warranty is applicable or voided. So basically, find a good mechanic and service writer that understand what you've done to the car and how it may or may not impact certain systems.

Back to the OPs question, it would be very easy for a service department to not honor warranty work if you, for example:
*broke a drive axle at a drag-strip using slicks
*broke any drivetrain part after adding power-adding devices [even things like cams, exhausts, intakes, unless you can prove those parts did not add any power]
*broke suspension pieces after installing solid bushings, or even coilovers

Obviously if your NAV system failed, it has nothing to do with your new exhaust or coilovers, so there is no logical reason for unrelated components to cause a problem and the dealership giving you hassle.

Cheers,
Ryan

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AK370Z

GREAT post, Ryephile! I totally agree with you. It also depends on dealership too. Some dealerships have more knowledgeable service people than other. If you're having a simple suspension issue and you car has aftermarket wheels, dealership shouldn't refuse any warranty work on your suspension. But I have heard people get denied just because they have aftermarket wheels. I think it all boils down to how knowledgeable is your local Nissan Dept Service crew and how good of a relationship you have with them.

I always suggested friends to take off any aftermarket stuff before going to the dealership for warranty work. If you have aftermarket intake, phlenum spacer, etc and you're having intake/exhaust related problems, take those things off before going to your dealer. Even though they may have NO relation to your problems, but dealership will try to tell you otherwise.

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nogoodname

the only thing was the GT-R launch control thing

other than that, the Nissan/Infinti dealers are not bad, they do service all the TSB if the car shows a problem, like sounds and stuff.

Devil Z

So would intake, headers, and exhaust be deal breakers?? Taking them on and off is not the issue, but it would be nice if they can be kept on.

Ryephile

"It depends"

It's virtually impossible to give a concrete answer you can count on. If you dealership is "mod friendly" and understands that knowing how highly tuned the VQ37 engine is, adding an exhaust and air filter aren't likely to cause significantly more drivetrain stress, then they'd be likely to not give you any hassle for most warranty claims. Like I mentioned in my other post, if you mod the car and then break something in the drivetrain, it's almost always going to be on your dime.

AK370Z brought up a good topic: removing mods when going to the dealer. Yes I agree it reduces the headache of an unfriendly dealership, however you do have to live with that moral decision of defrauding the dealer and Nissan if indeed your aftermarket parts caused a failure. If the aftermarket bits aren't related to the failure, but the dealership is still a PITA, then it will simpler to remove them not raise any questions for unrelated components. This second situation isn't defrauding anyone, but it is keeping dumb people from hyper-actively voiding an otherwise valid claim.

My advice with new cars and unknown limits is this: break-in the car, do some track days or auto-x and generally run it through the wringer in stock form. If there were defective factory parts they'll almost always show up during this several thousand mile "shakedown" period. Once you've determined your car is solid, then you can change out parts with reasonable knowledge you don't have a weak factory fuse somewhere. If then you start breaking parts, it'll probably not be within the warranty...and you'll know that.

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CrownR426

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vnarang

Watch, it's going to be if you turn off "S-Mode" (SynchroRev) button, it'll void your warranty.

nogoodname

if you change ur intakes, exhaust and headers, it will only void the warranty on the parts removed from the car.....if a major problem occurs because of the after-market parts are to blame, then they will not warranty the service...

there are a few dealerships that will actually install after-market parts like i listed and actually warranty the aftermarket parts !!!

you should ask ur dealership about it.

I really do doubt an exhaust would void a powertrain warranty!!!