Is the warranty affected if you change the back box on your car?

Can't see how this can cause any problems but need to make sure.

seen a lot of people change the back box on there cars, surely all these people are not invalidating there warranty for the sake of better looks and sound can they???????

 

unfortuntly as a Service Manager, we look for anything that will invalidate the warranty including aftermarket parts, so yes to the question your warranty will be null & void!! soz

 

would you not have to prove that the after market part caused the problem?

If the back box was damaged and replaced by one of the fast fit companies these do not use OEM parts?

 

backbox has to be OEM or prodrive, read the small print

 

sugar04:

Please
Can you point me to the small print so that I can read it.

Thanks

Ajax

 

300,

It depends where you go for a service.

The vast majority of dealerships are perfectly happy with a backbox change, independant brake upgrade etc. It's when you start going for full decat, chippping, etc that they pull the plug.

There are a few **** dealships that won't touch your car as soon as you change the tyres somewhere else.

On the other hand, there are dealerships that are perfectly happy with a full decat and a remap.

Shop around.

Chris

 

as long as the original is back on when you take it in for repair, I shouldn't of thought they could say owt. They would otherwise have to prove you had another box on and thats not easy if they haven't got any evidence.

Besides, I asked my dealer about the Backbox subject when I was contemplating buying the Ninja and they said "strictly speaking, you need to have the Subaru standard or approved silencer to hold the warranty but as long the original was on if you needed to bring it in for a warranty repair we'd have to cover it".

My dealer talks sense!

Cheers

 

just put a scorpion on mine subaru said i could put that on or a prodrive they told me that scorpion make the prodrive either way my warrenty would be ok best bet is to phone ya dealer and ask them

 

The problem is with IM, not the dealerships.

If IM can get out of paying, they will.

Say you changed you backbox and your engine blew.

IM (known to be swines) would immeditly say that you'd modified the car, tough ****.

Most dealerships would sort the car anyway.

IM recently dropped a load of dealerships, possibly for being too nice to customers. They have been replaced by new dealerships. I've yet to see how they match up.

Makes you wonder if evo drivers have to put up with kind of ****.

Chris

 

keep yor original backbox, if their is a problem relating to this change it back from the aftermarket one.

then up to the dealer to prove you've done something wrong..

He won't be able to......

Just argue the toss.

Andy

 

Sounds the best way to go, A little hard if the engine goes bang a long way from home!

Unless I get recovered Home then get the dealer to collect!

Don't fancy driving around with old back box in the boot

 

This is from a thread a week back........

My findings just recently,
I had an afterburner fitted just a few weeks after buying my car and my dealer was happy with that no problem at all, also i have just changed the centre section removing that silencer all it has done to the warranty is infringed the exhaust part of it.

What you need to do is discuss it with your dealer and see what they are happy do do, if i wanted to i could do a full de-cat with mine as long as they fitted it for me...... on the cats you will find there are oxy censors fitted feeding the ecu with exaust gases information some of the major exhaust makers also supply a chip which over rides this info flow to the ecu, otherwise the ecu is in search mode all the time looking for the information from these censors which no longer exist with the de-cat, the chip corrects this.... plus with a full de-cat you would need an engine re-map.

This seems to be very much down to your dealer and what they are happy to exept modification wise, if i did any form of panel or air filter then i would loose the lot as that an engine mod but with the exhaust as long as i work with the dealer they have been great.

I hope i have explained it clearly enough maybe some one will elaborate more on the oxy censor part.... it gets a bit complex for my little grey cells at time



Simon

 

There was a case on here of a guy with an STi7 who changed his backbox, fitted a dump valve and put in an ITG filter.

His engine went pop, IM told him to get lost and he was taking them to court as he felt those parts had not caused his engine to fail.

Unfortunately the outcome was never posted, but it's safe to assume they fukced him over and got out of the claim by blaming his mods.

 

I therefore think it's safe to do the BB (I've done it), but changing the DP and CS is a No No.

If you ONLY change the BB then you have an argument about stress etc on the engine, when you talk to them.

Changing the BB does NOT change emmisions or put stress on the engine. Changing the other 2 parts does. All it does is allow the engine to be more free flowing.

Personally, as soon as the warranty is gone, I'm going for either full decat or sports cat / remap.

BTW, What's the 1st thing for a P1 (DC/Remap or interor/body/brakes).

Chris

 

Sorry, are we now saying that changing the air filter as well as the backbox (I have a green cotton replacement) can also stress the engine? I somehow find this hard to believe unless it was proper cone induction system. Please correct me if I misunderstood.

Cheers
Frank

 

as a slight aside - if I get a prodrive backbox fitted, is this the same as you get in a PPP, and can I then get a 'partial' PPP later?

Just trying to spread costs, as my TV needs replacing, so funds are tight.

 

Prodrive back box is not the same as the PPP one. You can not officially do the PPP in stages.

 

PPP backbox (round) or Prodrive World Rally (oval) bb ?

 

?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????

sugar04:
To Quote you again
backbox has to be OEM or prodrive, read the small print

My Question
sugar04:

Please
Can you point me to the small print so that I can read it.
Thanks
Ajax


I don’t doubt you are correct, but where is the small Print that you talk about and what does it really say, or is this an interpretation?

PLEASE CAN ANYBODY SHED ANY LIGHT ON THIS, as far as I know it has never been shown to me.

I am sat here with my magnifying glass ready to read it !

?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????

 

Looked low and high and can't find anything on this, taken advise from a friend in the trade and although they may try and get out of a claim if you were to push it further then they would have to prove the failure was due to the fitment of non OEM parts

K&N in the states have been involved in many legal battles with manufactures and have won; the following letter has now been issued.

http://www.knfilters.com/warrantyletter.htm

This is intended for the US but I am sure this also applies to the UK, I know it only covers air filters but I am sure companies involved in the manufacturing of exhaust systems have been involved in similar cases.

After all who would want to fit a back box or full system that would cause damage to their vehicle?

I am sure none of the main stream exhaust manufactures would allow their name to be blackened by the likes of Subaru!!

 

sugar04:
To Quote you again
backbox has to be OEM or prodrive, read the small print

My Question
sugar04:

Please
Can you point me to the small print so that I can read it.
Thanks
Ajax

 

Still not reply to the small print???????

 

Scooby300:
Annoys me a bit, when somebody makes a comment, but does not substantiate it.

Could at least told us that it was all made up, and was talking bolox.

Or was he/she……………………………………………………….?

 

Time will tell if he's got any evidence to substantiate his comments. Personally I think he's talking complete bollox. I'd like to know exactly which Dealer he works for since he comes from my part of the UK.

There's no mention of this in my warranty book and IIRC it's illegal to make any such claim from manufacturers. You are entirely within your rights to fit parts as long as they are of the same or better quality and as long as the part is not a direct result of any failure.

Of course, IM will look for reasons not to fulfill a warranty and if a car has failed due to a modification (albeit mostly engine mods would result in this), then that's understandable.

If you fit a backbox, I would be stunned if any Service Manager would knock back a warranty claim. If he did, I'd simply take my business elsewhere.

Stefan

 

I would like to think he was talking from his *****
The statement was made a while ago now and nothing to back it up!!!

Going to have a chat with my dealer on Monday, he better watch whats said as Ive got my 60k service with cam belt due in 2k!!!

Any Sh*t and its off to another dealer.

 

sugar04: sugar04: sugar04: sugar04: sugar04: sugar04: sugar04:


Ozzy: Scooby300:

I agree with all your above comments, Now as for sugar04: You can be who you want, what sex you want to be and where you want come from, after all this is the internet.

Now when comments are passed on here with perhaps no substance, I feel sure that we will mark that persons card for the future, especially if the person reports to be a Service Manager.

sugar04????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????


[Edited by Ajax - 1/18/2004 4:14:54 PM]

 

i remember ages ago that 1 dealership in kent was selling p1s with scoobysport exhausts as standard and i am sure there is some mention of this on scoobysport website-if they have any in stock
martin

 

When I picked my car up from a well known dealer I was told that the best performance mod was a new downpipe. I was to let them know if I wanted them to supply and fit one. This would be fine and no warranty problems if I took the car back to them for service etc. But they are 200 miles away!! So you can imagine if I had to take it to my local dealer and he/IM refused a warranty claim I would be in a right mess. I don't understand why IM are not coming down hard on the dealers who are offering these non OEM parts/upgrades, fine if you want to go to a third party garage but IMO main dealers should not be allowed to offer these non OEM parts.

Si.

 

Actually, my recollection of events was that IM refused the engine blow up on the basis of the mentioned modified parts (which I think most people agree were unlikely in the extreme to be the cause) and the guy would have had to have gone to court to get IM to pay for the repair.

The guy wasn't willing to go to court (time, expense and uncertainty about winning) so he coughed up IIRC for the repair himself.This is correct but the thing is, if said parts are not IM approved (so either STi or Prodrive) then IM are likely to reject any warranty claims and you will have to go to court and argue your case. IM are probably relying on you not having the time, money and compulsion to go through with that!! They would probably have to also prove that the "unauthorised part" caused the failure, but once again, they would only have to prove this in court, assuming you actually get that far....

It's all very well say "they must" or "you can force them to" but in the real world, they will dig their heels in and you will have to take them to court to get what you think is right.

Matt

 

I always thought Subaru came very high on the JDP "Customer Satisfaction Survey"

If their attitude is like that I am sure they won’t be getting many more votes.

After all the comments of members on this site must count for a lot, how many people look on a site like this before buying a car?

If I had found this site before I had got my car then maybe things may have been slightly different.

My dealer is very keen to show this and also was very keen to joke with me when I picked up my car saying he will give me a month before I started "Modifying the car".

Never once did he say about the warranty!