Ever had a warranty issue dealer blamed on aftermarket suspension?

[Jimmy_jak]

How many folks have actually been refused coverage because of aftermarket suspension?

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[SleepEatJeepRepeat]

Following this, nice topic

 

[word302]

If they tried, my response would be "prove it".

 

[4X4]

On my old JK i had a bad transmission the dealer claimed my lift kit was why but I got it covered from a different dealership as they said that a lift does not cause a transmission to fail

 

[¤|||||||¤]

I've had a handful of warranty issues and they've always covered it no questions asked.(rear leaking windshield, broken rear defroster, squeaky tailgate, squeaking brakes, bad left fog light, etc..)

They never once denied them but did hint at the larger tires, roof rack/basket, etc could be a possible cause/effect but couldn't deny because its all Mopar oem product.

(85% of my mods are Mopar product and all installed by the same tech at the dealer(hes really good)..I'm sure that plays a role)

 

[cbrenthus]

I've only had a few warranty claims, and never anything related to the suspension. On my lifted JK, I had the radiator fan replaced under warranty no questions asked. On my lowered Sentra, I had an A/C line replaced under warranty, no issues.

So much depends on the issue - if you're lifted and have a U-joint go out, you're probably not going to get much under warranty compared to if your radio goes out

 

[Thill444]

Right, if there is a suspension related issue and you have an aftermarket lift? Good luck. If it is a non-suspension related issue and they are trying to deny a warranty claim? I mean anything is possible with a crappy dealer, but I think that is highly doubtful.

I installed takeoff Rubicon shocks and springs on my Unlimited Sport S, so I suspect it is all kinds of confusing for my dealer Everything is OEM Mopar parts, but from a different model. I kept all the stock stuff just in case, if something major happens I will just swap it back and then take it in.

 

[kkuntz01]

If we're being a honest a more fitting thread title should be "Ever had a warranty issue dealer blamed on your vehicle mod's?" as there is more than just lift kits that could potentially cause headaches for owners.

That said, if you have a modded vehicle, never expect to bring it into a dealer for warranty work without a little resistance (obviously there are caveats depending on what kind of repairs you're bringing it in for). Enter into this with the basic understanding that some dealers are total Delta Bravo's, while others are cool and will give you no issues. With any dealer, the relationship you have with them will also dictate whether they'll go the extra mile to help you when you need it.

From personal experience, throwing out the statement "Prove, xxxxx mod caused the issue" rarely gets you anywhere. Depending on what it is that is failing and what FCA calls for with regards to for servicing (repair or replacement) you'll either get shut down (if it's a replace only) or be asked to pay a diagnostic fee if it's a serviceable item.

In one situation with my Wife's Ram truck we were getting condensation in the headlight housing (upgraded factory projector with LED turn signals). They looked into the issue and saw that I had an HID kit installed and said they couldn't warranty anything because I had modified the housing (drilled a hole in the access cover to run the wire harness through). I discussed with the service advisor for the better part of 20 minutes about whether they actually diagnosed what the issue was or were just assuming that what I did was causing the issue. In the end, nothing was done and I was SOL.

In another situation with my wife's Ram which has a 3" lift and 37" tires. We had it towed into a local dealer (not out preferred dealer mind you) because the transmission was shifting properly. Putting aside the stupidity I encountered with the Service Adviser and Service Manager (argued with them over whether the computer should be re-calibrated for the tire height the sidewall shows or the actual height of the tire) they were trying to immediately pawn off the transmission issue on the vehicle being modded (lift, big tires, mild tune). When I challenged them on it they said they would need to do an tear down/inspection of the transmission which carried a $500 diagnostic fee (only chargeable if failure wasn't covered under warranty). Considering that they were already angling toward trying to pass blame on the mod's I opted to pick my vehicle up from that dealer and bring it home. I then contacted our preferred dealer to set up a service appointment and had it towed 40 miles to them. Their take was that big tires or a lift will not cause a transmission to fail and while I still needed to agree to $450 diagnostic fee (only chargeable if failure wasn't covered under warranty), I ultimately was not charged anything as when they dropped the pan, they found that the valve body was cracked. (Also of note, if you're one to your own vehicle services (axles, transfer case, transmission fluid changes, it behooves you to use to use OEM Mopar parts as it draws less attention if there is a problem than if you used non-OEM parts.)

Of course having a modded vehicle may not always result in having a warranty repair denied. It may be the reason you're getting charged more for a repair. On my JK I had to bring it in for some kind of repair. I forget what the exact service was, just that it was something under the good like a manifold gasket or something like that. Anyways when I picked it up, I was surprised to see I was getting charged $200 for something I thought was a covered warranty repair. Come to find out the $200 was what I call an "inconvenience fee" due having to work around the mod's on my JK (aftermarket bumper and winch out front and an Arb compressor and sPod under the hood).

 

[ViperJon]

If they tried, my response would be "prove it".

It doesn't work that way. They deny you and then you and (eventually) your lawyer have to "prove it....didn't".
How deep are your pockets?

 

[word302]

It doesn't work that way. They deny you and then you and (eventually) your lawyer have to "prove it....didn't".
How deep are your pockets?

No, that's not how it works. The law says the onus is on them to prove it.

 

[1quick1]

I had improperly torqued ball joints that made a loud, metallic clinking when turning at low speeds. Surprisingly during the whole "we can't reproduce" and eventually "we are not sure what it is", shirade we went through they didn't say anything about the small spacer lift and bigger tires.

 

[cbrenthus]

It doesn't work that way. They deny you and then you and (eventually) your lawyer have to "prove it....didn't".
How deep are your pockets?

No, that's not how it works. The law says the onus is on them to prove it.

What so many people fail to understand is that the Magnuson Moss act doesn't mean a thing until you hire a lawyer and get in front of a judge. That takes quite a bit of time and money, more than most of us have. The other thing to remember is that the point of MM is to allow consumers to use aftermarket parts and non dealers for maintenance and repairs and not void the warranty, otherwise the manufacturers would have a massive monopoly on us.

MM was not passed so that people can throw homegrown NOS systems on there cars and then cry foul when their piston gets blown through their oil pan

 

[JIMBOX]

Warranty's are covered by FCA and JUDGED/RECCOMMENDED/DISMISSED by the dealer--

If a Dealer installed the lift--IN WRITING THEY'RE RESPONSIBLE for the installation and aftermath--

If YOU INSTALLED THE LIFT--you're treading on NOMANS LAND and have a 15% chance of warranty coverage--

cbrenthus is right ! and a DEALER DOESN'T REALLY HAVE TO DO ANYTHING--everythings on YOU !
W.E.

JIMBO

 

[kkuntz01]

If they tried, my response would be "prove it".

It doesn't work that way. They deny you and then you and (eventually) your lawyer have to "prove it....didn't".
How deep are your pockets?

Taking it to the courts and getting lawyers involved would be the last resort and only used depending on the outcome of what I mentioned below.

No, that's not how it works. The law says the onus is on them to prove it.

Depending on what the issue is, that's when they ask you to agree to a diagnostic fee to "prove" whether the failure is something covered under warranty, or not. If it is indeed a failure in the component(s) not caused by the modifications you won't get charged. If the failure is a result of the the modification(s) done to the vehicle you have a choice to have them repair it or bring it somewhere else.

Of course if FCA's protocol is to replace a failed component (typically electronic, non-mechanical) if the dealer feels the failure is a result of vehicle modification(s) they'll tell you in a nut shell you're out of luck. The reason for this is when they send the failed component back to FCA and FCA finds failure was not a result of a defect, they'll charge the dealer back for that component. In this situation your only real recourse is to escalate with FCA or involve lawyers, however if you go the legal route, you better make sure your case is rock solid.

 

[word302]

The reality is if your dealer is giving you issues about your mods find a new dealer. There are plenty of mod-friendly Jeep dealers across the country. We deal with the exact same thing with Harleys. Just find a better dealer.

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