Warranty issues if you modify from stock?

[CENSORED]

Hi all,

In a few months I will take delivery of my GTD and would like to make some changes to Exhaust (fit GTI OEM) and replace oem air intake with aftermarket one... will this effect my warranty & or extended warranty?

Also want to add a few other small mods as well.

Anyone know for sure?

[Prodigy]

Probably best to ask your dealer when you pick the car up what you can and can't do.

[CENSORED]

Dealers always err on the side of caution and usually give a blanket answer of no modifications... but I will ask them thanks.

[Paolo]

doubt the GTI exhaust will make a big difference noise and performance wise. Intake will make for some nice spooling and pssshhhh sounds thou.

in regards to warranty, they wont pick at it unless theyre real pricks but in the end, they get paid for the work either way so if the mod installed doesnt cause the fault, then it will be covered otherwise they will void it. I went in before for a warranty issue i was almost 100% sure they would void because of all the engine modifications i have done, but they covered the warranty work so it depends really.

[RD415]

From my experience with dealers and as a mechanic most dealers will automatically state NO Modifications BUT ............

Modifications are solely up to the individual dealer - some will allow modifications but they will always state that if the modification caused the componenent failure it will NOT be covered by warranty.

Some dealers will use any excuse to get out of doing warranty jobs because they rarely get re-imbursed the full cost of the repair from the manufacturer. I spent a short period of time in the "Warranty Office" at a very large GMH Dealer and I can assure you it was a real eye opener. It was very rare when a warranty job actually covered dealer costs.

The short answer is "CHECK WITH YOUR DEALER" which has already been stated.

[random]

From what i've heard, it is only if the problem was directly affected by the mod. So take a simple flash tune, if your engine blow up and it can be traced back to the tune, in that case warranty won't cover it, but if say there was a problem with the aircon, which is totally unrelated to the modification, they have to fix it.

[Paul_OH]

From what i've heard, it is only if the problem was directly affected by the mod

^^ That

If you have a MAP sensore failure with an aftermarket intake, prepare to pay for it.
If you have an EGT sensor failure with an different exhaust, prepare to pay for it.
If you have a turbo failure with aftermarket wheels or brakes - no issue
If you have wheel bearing failure with aftermarket exhaust - no issue
If you have a turbo failure with aftermarket exhaust or CAI, prepare to fight for it and possibly prove that the aftermarket item didn't cause the failure - don't expect the dealer to prove that it did!

In saying that, are you sure a GTI exhaust is a step up from the GTD exhaust? I'd envisage that they're very similar and for additional noise or power you'd be much better off looking at something custom or direct fit aftermarket.

[Greg Roles]

It's a very common misconception that the GTI exhaust is a good mod to do to the TDI, and whilst I can't as yet comment about the MK6's in the MKV they are identical in the cat back, and as all the MK6 diesels have a DPF or particle filter now, you're kinda stuck with the stock dump pipe. It's a major mod to remove the DPF in the MKV, great results but quite illegal and you can forget about engine warranty with a mod like that. It's not yet available for the MK6 TDI anyhow as far as I know.

[CENSORED]

Thanks for the reply guys I will be speaking to the dealer to ensure I am covered before I mod.

Might even call VW Australia...

re: If you have an EGT sensor failure with an different exhaust, prepare to pay for it.

Even with OEM GTI exhaust?

re: If you have a MAP sensor failure with an aftermarket intake, prepare to pay for it.

That's a bummer as I really would like to put in a carbon fibre CAI. What are the chances of a MAP sensor failure and what type of $ are we talking?


re: In saying that, are you sure a GTI exhaust is a step up from the GTD exhaust? I'd envisage that they're very similar and for additional noise or power you'd be much better off looking at something custom or direct fit aftermarket.

Want to 'try' and keep it OEM to reduce any possible warranty deflections, purely a cosmetic change. I like the split dual pipes instead of the two on the left, that's all.

After all is said and done, I want to try and give them NO excuse to say that an 'aftermarket' part caused the fault. OEM parts can't carry the same weight of argument.