Mods and the manufacturer's warranty

Have 2009 Tacoma reg. cab. Was planning to replace my 2-speed wipers with intermittent wipers. I called Toyota Customer Service (800-331-4331) today and spoke to a Ms. Lawanda. I called Customer Service to get clarification on the intermittent wiper switch part. I asked if the stalk that works on the 05s to 08s would also work on the 09s. I explained that there was an issue with the 09s as far as running backwards (interval selector/operation) and that I wanted to get the right part. Ms. Lawanda came back to me after a few minutes and informed me that if the part was not installed in my vehicle by the factory then any modification done thereafter would void the warranty. I asked her to double check on this and she subsequently confirmed that this was the case. My local dealer (service) pretty much said the same thing. Now I need to decide whether to proceed with this mod or not. How do you folks feel about this issue in general? Do you all know about mods and the manufacturer's warranty? Comments?

 

There is a court ruling out there somewhere (search this forum and you'll find it - nubmer of places) that says the manufacturer has to PROVE that the part you replaced caused the problem. If it's the part itself, of course, they won't cover it. But, if you replace the wiper stalk and the stering wheel quits working (or something) they have to prove that the stalk caused the problem.

 

my dealership told me that i could do njust about anything to my truck that i wanted and it wouldn't void the warranty except for the motor coolant

 

I don't know about that.....depends on the situation.

For those folks who do the 'grey wire mod' where the locker can be used in
2WD ....If you bust up some axle shafts or even the locker itself....because you were running the locker in 2WD Hi - they could certainly deny you warrantee coverage because the 'safety mechanism' was defeated (so to speak).

 

This is wrong. In fact, it's not legal for them to even say that. That's called a "tie-in". "If you don't use our part, our service, it will void your warranty." If they're making that claim then they have to provide you the part for free. The only way they can deny a warranty claim is to "PROVE" that the object caused the defect. It would also have to be relevant (e.g. windshield wiper motor goes bad). For example, they couldn't deny your suspension warranty because of a faulty wiper stalk. Consumers are protected by federal law (Magnuson Moss act).

http://www.bestcaraudio.com/will-an-after-market-installation-void-my-vehicles-warranty/

 

well put robrjohson

 

x2...

 

well said

 

That's a flat out lie. Robrjohnson linked to the Magnusson-Moss Federal Warranty Act which covers this. There's also good info here on the SEMA site: http://www.semasan.com/main/main.aspx?id=60128 Ms Lawanda needs to get her head out of her ass.

 

Thanks all for your comments. I can now make a more informed decision. Much appreciated.

 

I was thinking about doin this mod to, i just found it on the cheap/free mod thread, im probly just gonna go for it