I've done many mods. Will they still repair unrelated stuff?

[luciddaydream]

I have a lot of mods:

3rd cat delete
Jubu ECU
Eventuri
Lowering

Etc.

But, I want some unrelated stuff fixed.

If I take it to the dealer, will they still fix that stuff under warrranty?

Or will they see my other mods and tell me to f*ck off?

And if they do tell me they wont cover anything, will they still fix it if I pay them?

Thanks

 

[Blackthought_]

Why don’t you just be honest with your dealer about what you’ve done and see what they say? Every dealer is different.

 

[Gprodigy]

Why don’t you just be honest with your dealer about what you’ve done and see what they say? Every dealer is different.

He’s correct; every dealer handles this differently. Some might be more lenient, but most will say no if they’re mentioned publicly online. Generally, the rule is that they need to prove it caused actual damage related to the issue.

 

[cyanmauve]

3rd cat delete- unmonitored cat, should make absolutely no difference in how the car runs, requires no tuning

JUBU ecu- I don’t know enough about this to comment, but I doubt they’re going to want to mess with a non-stock ecu if you have engine issues

Eventuri- no tuning required to run, but does it mess with A/F ratios?

Lowering- not really an issue unless it caused suspension problems that you want fixed

 

[luciddaydream]

My issues are not related to the mods at all

One is paint. The other is power steering.

It’s likely they’ll still cover these right ?

 

[cyanmauve]

By law they have to.

Paint and power steering have nothing to do with the mods you listed.

I guess they could try to deny warranty, but I don’t think Lotus USA customer service would be very happy with a dealership that did that.

Also, it behooves a dealership to do warranty work- they get paid to do so.

I think you’re safe.

If you have a dealership you trust, when you take the car in for the paint and power steering issues, you could talk to them about your mods and warranty service as it relates to them. It may come down to a simple conversation, or it may mean that you need to put OEM stuff back on the car in the future. Either way, I don’t think a dealership is out to play “gotcha” with the service department.

 

[luciddaydream]

By law they have to.

Paint and power steering have nothing to do with the mods you listed.

I guess they could try to deny warranty, but I don’t think Lotus USA customer service would be very happy with a dealership that did that.

Also, it behooves a dealership to do warranty work- they get paid to do so.

I think you’re safe.

If you have a dealership you trust, when you take the car in for the paint and power steering issues, you could talk to them about your mods and warranty service as it relates to them. It may come down to a simple conversation, or it may mean that you need to put OEM stuff back on the car in the future. Either way, I don’t think a dealership is out to play “gotcha” with the service department.

I def do not want to put all the OEM shit back on the car before having warranty work done. That is why I don't want to communicate it to them first.

 

[cyanmauve]

Understandable. But I don’t think you’re going to get an answer with any degree of certainty from forum members.

It’s probably going to vary a lot from dealership to dealership, what problem you want to resolve, etc.

I have read horror stories online of people getting warranty blacklisted for modifications, but who knows?

Maybe the part of the story that wasn’t told was that the person with the modified car was being demanding and unreasonable. Hard to say.

 

[ef_arime]

I def do not want to put all the OEM shit back on the car before having warranty work done. That is why I don't want to communicate it to them first.

Bro, just swap the ECU. I wouldn’t dare take it to a dealer with that thing on.

 

[cyanmauve]

Bro, just swap the ECU. I wouldn’t dare take it to a dealer with that thing on.

Agreed 100%!

 

[luciddaydream]

Ok boys, you're right you're right.. I should swap it back.. it just requires me going to a tuner and have them do it since I dont have a garage. But, its all part of the game I signed up for.


I just never thought unrelated mods could disable to whole car's warranty. Its pretty freaky to think it could.

 

[cyanmauve]

Ok boys, you're right you're right.. I should swap it back.. it just requires me going to a tuner and have them do it since I dont have a garage. But, its all part of the game I signed up for.


I just never thought unrelated mods could disable to whole car's warranty. Its pretty freaky to think it could.

You could always call and ask the service manager first...

I feel like I know what the answer would be, but it might be worth the ask if the guy is cool.

 

[cyanmauve]

Let me clarify- call and ask the service manager "hypothetically" and then act accordingly.

 

[Porter]

It's not the warranty concern, so much as the fact that the very first thing that a dealer tech does when they bring in the car is plug in the factory service computer and see what the car needs. They are highly dependent on the telemetry feedback from the factory ECU in order to provide you with appropriate services.

I would personally switch the ECU back before taking in for service, at least for the first year. Too many random updates being made to the cars over time to want to opt out of all service campaigns and TSBs.

 

[Beachbum]

Even if the warranty work this time round is not related to your mods, what about possible future work?
Once the car is at the dealer with the mods installed, that dealer knows whats on the car. For example, next time round its an engine issue, you swap the ECU out, because you know that could be related. They saw the JUBU ECU installed on your last visit, so know there is a warranty concern.
Its not worth the risk. Get the ECU swapped out and if anything else is easy to remove, do that too

 

[kitkat]

Hi Lotus USA watching, my car is completely stock.

 

[scc.131.fe]

Hi Lotus USA watching, my car is completely stock.

yeah, "asking for a friend"...

 

[Hell4Leather]

One thing that does give me pause is the fact that just because here in the USA we have “protections” and the dealer has to prove the modifications caused the warranty failure doesn’t mean you won’t have to fight. Just look at the recent “your tires aren’t rated for 85mph so your engine isn’t covered” and a couple other recent examples. Yea, you may eventually win but it could be a fight and an expensive one.

 

[kitkat]

One thing that does give me pause is the fact that just because here in the USA we have “protections” and the dealer has to prove the modifications caused the warranty failure doesn’t mean you won’t have to fight. Just look at the recent “your tires aren’t rated for 85mph so your engine isn’t covered” and a couple other recent examples. Yea, you may eventually win but it could be a fight and an expensive one.

Yup, that’s right. Everyone on the internet wants to be an armchair lawyer, but in the end at the discretion of a dealership and Lotus North America to cover something under warranty.

Exactly like you said, might be expensive if you lose, worse — it will be lengthy and drawn out. Who wants to be without their car?

 

[Man.v.Cars]

Yup, that’s right. Everyone on the internet wants to be an armchair lawyer, but in the end at the discretion of a dealership and Lotus North America to cover something under warranty.

Exactly like you said, might be expensive if you lose, worse — it will be lengthy and drawn out. Who wants to be without their car?

My car has been at the dealers for 4 weeks to date, the ECU kept the data of the problems and when they occurred, they could see that there's a gap in ECU data.

I would say change the ECU as they will connect it up to check for updates, obviously a non Lotus ECU won't take the updates. Paint is clearly not connected to the upgrades so can't see a problem with that.