The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (15 U.S.C. 2302(C))

This federal law regulates warranties for the protection of consumers. The essence of the law concerning aftermarket auto parts is that a vehicle manufacturer may not condition a written or implied warranty on the consumers using parts or services which are identified by brand, trade, or corporate name (such as the vehicle maker's brand) unless the parts or service are provided free of charge. The law means that the use of an aftermarket part alone is not cause for denying the warranty. However, the law's protection does not extend to aftermarket parts in situations where such parts actually caused the damage being claimed under the warranty. Further, consumers are advised to be aware of any specific terms or conditions stated in the warranty which may result in its being voided. The law states in relevant part:

“No warrantor of a consumer product may condition his written or implied warranty of such product on the consumers using, in connection with such product, any article or service (other than article or service provided without charge under the terms of the warranty) which is identified by brand, trade or corporate name...” (15 U.S.C. 2302(C)).

 

indeed...this is a must know for anyone who freely mods their car. learn it, love it, use it.

 

Does this act apply to Canada as well?

 

nope

 

no it does not...this is a united states act of congress. check your country for where it stands.

 

Who determines if the aftermarket part was the cause of the damage?

 

I imagine that could get quite sticky... its probably like any other case... expert opinion and good ones at that.

 

I believe it will be the difference between freeing up power from the engine<intake, exhaust, hot box, headers> and generating power<twincharge, spray, internals, cams>. Just my theory.

 

Mechanic

 

Yes but not the one at the dealer. The dealer will usually tell you to F off. I had to have private testing done on some tranny oil to prove it once. The dealer will leave you high and dry to prove it yourself.

 

I asked my dealer and they have shops they sub-contract work out too. Im pretty sure this could be one of those times.

 

Im sure that wouldn't be biased. They tried that crap with me. The whole deal was I had a tranny go out on my 3kgt 10k miles after I had a new one installed at the dealer. They said I used the wrong oil in the tranny. It called for gear oil and I used redline gear oil. Redline mt90 is red and not the regular gear oil color. They tried to say I used ATF. I argued and they said they would send it to a lab to confirm. They called back and said the lab said it was ATF. I asked to see the results and they couldn't produce them. I had a third party autoshop collect a sample with a lawyer there. The sample was sealed and sent to a lab. The results showed that it was 90w gear oil. So pretty much they flat out lied to me to get out of spending any money. In the end they spent a lot of money. They ended up buying me a new tranny, paying for legal costs, paying for a rental car for the three months, and paying for the testing I had done. The legal costs were like 35% of the total for tranny, rental costs, and testing fees. Dealers will do anything they can to make you pay. They will intimidate you and they will lie to you.

 

man im sory that you, and i have heard this from many other, have such shitty dealers. So far my dealer has been pretty kick ass about everything. The test will be stage 2 and the other $2000 of mods im putting on this spring. But I have an apopointment to sit with the service manager and get something in writing that is offical so i don't run into problems with getting serviced anywhere and cops for that matter. I'll keep ya posted on it and hope...hope that they dont turn into one of "those" dealerships.

 

Yeah. I hope if I ever have any problems that my Chevy dealer will be good to me. I'd hate to have to fight again. I just don't get it. It's not like it's their damn money. They would rather alienate a customer forever than lose $10 off their bonus. What a crock of ****. I would have bought the 99 vr4 they had on the showroom floor had it not been for this. I had every intention of buying it after my 96 was repaired. I told them to f off and I went and bought a Honda S2000.

 

Good stuff, thank you for the advice!!

 

Chevy has a warranty on the tires for like at least 15K miles and my front tires are totally bald after 6K. I don't drive the car that hard at all because I had to break it in. I noticed this problem on Bulldog71ss's car as well. The 'head mechanic' told me I was driving my car aggresively and that it caused the wear and refuses to replace them. Do you guys think that I should go to a tire shop and get their opinion instead? I wonder if I can get two new ones. I think it's stupid because I don't drive the car hard all the time or anything.

 

^^^ thats strange, i drive mine hard alot, auto X it, light up the tires in turns, abuse the tires because they suck, the light them up some more. I have 11,500 miles on it and i still have a decent amount of tread left. Now if you havn't rotated them its your fault, well either way i don't see how its not your fault but thats how i see it.

 

^^^ Would you recommend a different type of tire rather than replacing the two that seem to be defunct?

 

Vendian, I just hit 6.5k miles on my factory skins, and they're still perfect!
Of course, I don't corner too hard (44 year old fart); just straight-line fun.
You might take it to Discount Tire (or other professional tire shop) and ask
them to look at your tires. They can usually look at the wear pattern and tell you if you have an alignmnet issue. It's either that or you really are using
your tires more than you think. Discount on Cooper and Warner is pretty good. Good luck!

 

im sorry, but i'm a complete idiot with "the law", I don't understand any words pretaining to congress or any crap like that. If I get like xenon headlights or paint my brake calipers will that void my warrentee? There, i'm simple just a yes or no will do.

 

I'm in the same boat as Blown...

Would getting a new exhaust void the warranty at all?

The dealer asked if I was going to upgrade at all. I'm on a lease. I said I wasn't planning on it, but the exhaust I was thinking about maybe doing that.

 

More info in this thread

https://www.cobaltss.net/forums/show...nuson+moss+act

 

Flat out -- NO. You will not void your warranty with exhaust or lights. Just don't expect GM to warranty your exhaust or lights. Whoever you buy those through should warranty them, as long as they offer a warranty.

 

Maybe this isn't the right spot to ask this question but...

Does bringing your car on the track void the warranty? What specifically voids a warranty due to Racing/Track use?

 

As long as you don't tell them and they can't prove it, it doesn't void your warranty.