Limited Powertrain Lifetime Warranty

I didn't pay for this when I bought it, it was "included" at Hendrick Toyota of Concord. I've read many threads on this, but my question comes down to aftermarket add ons. Would you risk messing with your suspension/gearing/wheels/tires if you had this warranty for the life of your truck? I know that usually Toyota must prove that what you did caused the problem, but I know they'd be pretty picky. I mean, essentially I could drive this truck "forever"


http://www.hendricktoyotaconcord.com/limited-powertrain-lifetime-warranty.html

 

50/50 chance and your odds only improve in litigation.

Hendrick, IIRC, isn't that great of a company to begin with, but I've been out of that area for a few years so I could have it backwards.

 

Yeah, I have had nothing but good things to say about them, but my previous cars have all been stock. I just worry that say when a drive shaft breaks, or there needle bearing wears down etc, they'll just look at me and my truck and say, screw you... I don't know, at the other end, it would be nice to be able to ride out this truck til I actually get tired of it.

 

I always err on the side of caution, but that's not always fun.

 

Yeah that's no fun at all...

 

Whereabouts in Charlotte area are you?

I lived in South Park for 2 years.

 

Ballantyne!

 

Ha. Never went through there I don't think, but my boss lived there and never complained about her drive to work.

Worked in SP and Dilworth.

 

Not a bad thing to say about it. It's grown though. I still frequent SP a lot!

 

If it's lifetime, why mess with it. I don't know about you, but I got the OR because I knew I 'shouldn't' have to do anything to it to float my boat. It's already a vessel on its own. So depending on your ultimate goals, that's up to you. I don't think I'll ever need to do anything to it personally.

 

I they decided to prove you wrong if you altered suspension. Who would have more $$$$$$ to fight for their case?

 

Agreed, but I like to dream

 

I'd definately read the fine print, but if they guaranteed my truck for life, I wouldn't change a thing.

 

Bolt ons it is I guess haha

 

Here's the thing about most of these dealer lifetime warranties: They have ridiculous stipulations that you probably will never be able to satisfy like getting any and all work done at their location--including any maintenance. They will look for any outside maintenance as a possibly reason to void the warranty. I'd read the fine print closely. My GF got a Corolla that came with something similar but ALL maintenance work has to be done by that dealership. As soon as she misses a service or does something on her own--its over.

With that said, you can't expect the dealership to warranty work that isn't original equipment. That'd be unreasonable. You wouldn't expect Apple to warranty repair your iPhone if you opened it up and added a different camera lens to it, right? It's the same thing with aftermarket parts.

If you really want to do that stuff, go into it know that the warranty probably isn't going to be there to bail you out.

 

No I completely understand. I just don't want to go in there for a transmission replacement or something crazy and the dealer void my warranty because I replaced hubcaps lol, idk.

Also, this warranty just specifies any ASE certified mechanic.

 

The rule of thumb is the modified part isn't warranted nor is anything the modified part may have reasonably interfered with.

It kind of puts you on the defensive out of the gate, but it'd be tough for them to blame, say transmission issues on a 2" lift.

I wouldn't let the lifetime warranty keep you from enjoying the truck though. Who cares if you save $300 on an alternator 8 years from now, if you can't enjoy your truck the way you want to?

They gave me an 8 year 125k mile warranty for some issues I've had. It feels like a burden more than a blessing because now I'm trigger shy about messing with anything. I've had to remind myself to just enjoy the truck.

 

well-put! thanks

 

Way back I took a sales job with a third party "insurance" / "warrantee" company. I left after 1 day. When I asked how we could afford to warrantee anything used and still not get screwed by shady dealers I was told the way things were written they can deny 100% of their policies if they needed to. There are so many loopholes that they can deny you for so many reasons they aren't worth the paper they are written on.

Now I can't say that your warrantee is along the same lines but I would be careful to read what you have. Money tends to be a one way street on these policies with even more going their way with the restrictions to use their mechanics etc. Good luck.

 

Another option is to keep all original pieces. Bolt them back on before you complain. Could be a long build/rebuild though. hahah