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Real world, loss of warranty due to modifications.

ROK HEMI

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I know that dealers are supposed to prove that modifications are the cause of failure under a warranty claim. But I have heard a lot of discussion that indicates that dealers just freely say that the changes that have been made void powertrain, electrical, all sorts of warranty claims. Would putting 37 inch tires on an Extreme Recon that comes with 35 inch tires void the warranty? If you believe what you can find on the Internet, there are people that say that engine failure has been uncovered because of increased tire size and theoretical loads, placed on the drive train.

I have a 2022, 392XR that I bought the extended warranty for seven years and 85,000 miles. I am in the process of putting on 37 inch tires, a 2 1/2 inch metalcloak lift, metal cloak under armor and metal cloak steering. Am I totally screwed on my extended warranty? From what I hear any significant claim on drivetrain or electrical must be reviewed by an independent claims representative from Jeep. My dealer told me that they are not able to provide friendly coverage on large ticket items as they are all reviewed. I am Magine the same applies using independent service representatives.

Does anyone really know through experience how to deal with this and whether the warranty is not worth the paper it is written on now?
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TheRaven

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It's all going to come down to your dealer. It is law that if you have a warranty covering a defective part, that coverage must be honored unless it can be proved that modifications caused the failure. Problem is, in order to enforce that law you often need to lawyer up, and that's expensive. I think the biggest lesson I have learned in owning this Wrangler is that you absolutely must have a decent dealer at your disposal or your experience with this SUV is going to be pretty horrible. So basically, if you have a dealer that has proven that they aim to help YOU, then you should be fine. But if not, then I would say you are best not modding.
 

Reinen

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This is why I don't buy an extended warrantee on a Jeep. I'd consider one for a vehicle I don't modify but not the Jeep. Too many parts that the warrantee covers but doesn't because it isn't stock anymore. Even if the issue is stock the mods become an excuse to get out of it. If the dealer does work with you and covers repairs under warrantee, typically all they know is stock. So you have to watch what they do. At that point you're a good way towards being better off doing it yourself.

Since you have the extended warrantee the best thing to do is keep it stock. Or say warrantee be damned and do your mods.
 

2nd 392

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It's all going to come down to your dealer. It is law that if you have a warranty covering a defective part, that coverage must be honored unless it can be proved that modifications caused the failure. Problem is, in order to enforce that law you often need to lawyer up, and that's expensive. I think the biggest lesson I have learned in owning this Wrangler is that you absolutely must have a decent dealer at your disposal or your experience with this SUV is going to be pretty horrible. So basically, if you have a dealer that has proven that they aim to help YOU, then you should be fine. But if not, then I would say you are best not modding.
Correct and complete— when the dealer installed the 4.56’s they said they “normally” turn a blind eye when they install, recommended aftermarket for recal in writing. “Normally” has yet to be tested.
 

Chupacabra

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If I were going to any major modifications to my Jeep I would not get the extended warranty. I still have 9 months or so to decide. At most I may do a 2" lift and 33s, so that would probably not be an issue. Anything more than that and I'd probably not even consider it due to how easy it is to have it voided.
 

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blackthought_

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It really is going to come down to your dealer. I would recommend asking your dealer before getting larger tires etc their stance on mods. I did the same thing and some dealers would say any mods will void the warranty and other dealers didn’t care at all
 

TheRaven

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This really is a very unfortunate dilemma. Having become intimately familiar with this vehicle, I cannot recommend owning one without full warranty coverage. Perhaps if you are a seasoned mechanic (even a seasoned hobbyist who really enjoys the challenges) and you have something like JScan and access to FCA's diagnostic platform, then one could make an argument for making a go without the warranty. But for the rest of us (and especially considering the VAST majority of buyers are just average folk that don't even feel comfortable rotating tires), going without warranty coverage is going to prove to be extremely expensive in a lot of cases. I know there are examples of JLs that are closing in on 100k with zero issues whatsoever, but there are also so many examples that needed $20k in warranty work before they hit 30k miles. That's one scary gamble to take. For me, the $800 warranty was a no-brainer but i'm fortunate enough to have a decent dealer to work with. Regardless i'm doing my best to not give them anything to use as an excuse, so I stuck with OEM parts for my suspension and i'm not going bigger than 33's.
 
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ROK HEMI

ROK HEMI

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Wow, this is a pretty one-sided story. Sounds like pretty much. Everyone agrees that modification should not be made if you want to have your warranty honored.

My vehicle is pretty capable already with a small factory lift and 35 tires from the factory with the extreme recon package, but I really wanted to make it a bit more capable by lifting at 2 1/2 inches and putting 37 inch tires on it.

I have asked one dealer if I could put 37 tires on the vehicle without forwarding the warranty, and he gave me a no answer, answer.
 

jjvincent

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Wow, this is a pretty one-sided story. Sounds like pretty much. Everyone agrees that modification should not be made if you want to have your warranty honored.

My vehicle is pretty capable already with a small factory lift and 35 tires from the factory with the extreme recon package, but I really wanted to make it a bit more capable by lifting at 2 1/2 inches and putting 37 inch tires on it.

I have asked one dealer if I could put 37 tires on the vehicle without forwarding the warranty, and he gave me a no answer, answer.
I look at data. This is no different than any other forum. People ask this question. Contrary to popular belief, people actually modify other vehicles, Jeeps are not the only ones.

With this, there should be thousands of posts on here of people denied warranty because they modified their vehicle. There literally should be at least 10 posts today if this is a real issue. I suggest you search that and then see if that number is too high for you to take the chance. Only you can answer that.
 

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I agree with people who say its all about the dealership. My warranty is through my dealer, not Jeep, and they said that the warranty will not be voided as long as any aftermarket is installed by an ASE certified mechanic (likely because they have legal resources to chase that mechanic to pay for a repair in the case of a failure). The warranty will not cover any aftermarket parts, understandably, so those have to be warrantied through the manufacturer or installer.

When i asked about "what if I install something myself" they basically said "don't."
 

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DrBob

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After receiving weekly emails encouraging me to purchase the Mopar extended warranty, I decided to call them. I really wanted to purchase an extended warranty. I specifically asked about lifts, and their response was it will void coverage. That knowledge, combined with a nasty local service department, caused me to pass.
 

jjvincent

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My warranty is through my dealer, not Jeep, and they said that the warranty will not be voided as long as any aftermarket is installed by an ASE certified mechanic (likely because they have legal resources to chase that mechanic to pay for a repair in the case of a failure).
Then you'll never find anyone to install the parts you want. Why would any ASE Certified mechanic want to do that? Think about it. Having said mechanic install an aftermarket part then the dealer refusing to cover a failure under warranty, thus going back on the mechanic to have him pay out of pocket, makes zero sense.

What I can see is this. You want to put a 2.5" lift kit on your jeep and 37" tires. 2 months later something fails on the parts installed, then the manufacturer of those parts pays the replacement and labor. This is assuming you read the boilerplate. If something else fails that is not related to the said modifications, then the dealer won't deny warranty. They might, if you are trying to pull something or being a jerk. On the other hand, they just replace the parts and file it with Jeep corporate. Thus get paid for the job. If you have a modification that requires way more time to change out a failed part, then you will pay the difference over book time.
 

Punkn89

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The entire vehicle will not be out of warranty, only the aftermarket parts you install will be - from my experience.

Aside from the fact I cannot do everything myself, this is also why I have a local 4x4 shop do all of my installs because they will usually fix anything for free after they do the install should anything go wrong (aside from breaking something myself on a trail, that's on me).
 

Mocopo

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Then you'll never find anyone to install the parts you want. Why would any ASE Certified mechanic want to do that? Think about it. Having said mechanic install an aftermarket part then the dealer refusing to cover a failure under warranty, thus going back on the mechanic to have him pay out of pocket, makes zero sense.

What I can see is this. You want to put a 2.5" lift kit on your jeep and 37" tires. 2 months later something fails on the parts installed, then the manufacturer of those parts pays the replacement and labor. This is assuming you read the boilerplate. If something else fails that is not related to the said modifications, then the dealer won't deny warranty. They might, if you are trying to pull something or being a jerk. On the other hand, they just replace the parts and file it with Jeep corporate. Thus get paid for the job. If you have a modification that requires way more time to change out a failed part, then you will pay the difference over book time.
The dealership will only go after the mechanic if they can prove the work they did caused the failure on otherwise covered parts, and the truth is that any ASE certified mechanic is likely going to cover the cost of those repairs anyway. What I was getting at is if I get an ASE certified mechanic to install the parts, then either the dealership will pay for the warranty work, or the mechanic will, but not me.
If the failure is caused by a mechanic, the dealership won't tell me "the mechanic caused it, you need to get money from him to fix it"..... instead what they are saying is "the mechanic caused it, let us chase that money from the mechanic on behalf of you, the customer, so you don't have to..." In the first scenario, if the dealer can't prove that the mechanic is at fault, then I, the customer, have to foot the bill for the repair. In the second scenario, the dealership has agreed that if they can't prove that the mechanic is at fault, then they have accepted responsibility to pay for the repair as the dealership.

Pretty sweet deal that only benefits the customer IMO. Needless to say, I like my dealership. The sales staff also doesn't work on commission. I get the feeling they just want to sell cars to happy customers.

EDIT: I should note, there is a lift height and tire size cap, which I believe is a 2.5" lift (as sold by the manufacturer) and 37" tires. Obviously they won't let you go crazy with mods.
 
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ROK HEMI

ROK HEMI

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I have to imagine that if the lockers stop working and you have 37" tires installed the dealer will try to void your warranty. Am I being toooo over concerned?

Seems like there is a third scenario where the dealer argues that the modification was the cause of the warranty claim. Seem like they could stretch 37" tires to maybe even cause engine and drivetrain problems.

If they say it is uncovered, going the lawyer route is very unpleasant, expensive and uncertain.
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