Warranty

does putting a level kit or new shocks void the warranty?

 

it depends on how asshole your dealer wants to be. they can claim that "problem x" was directly/indirectly caused by your aftermarket part, which may or may not actually be true, but that's the reality.

 

From FTC's website:

Will using 'aftermarket' or recycled parts void my warranty?
No. An 'aftermarket' part is a part made by a company other than the vehicle manufacturer or the original equipment manufacturer. A 'recycled' part is a part that was made for and installed in a new vehicle by the manufacturer or the original equipment manufacturer, and later removed from the vehicle and made available for resale or reuse. Simply using an aftermarket or recycled part does not void your warranty. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act makes it illegal for companies to void your warranty or deny coverage under the warranty simply because you used an aftermarket or recycled part. The manufacturer or dealer can, however, require consumers to use select parts if those parts are provided to consumers free of charge under the warranty.

Still, if it turns out that the aftermarket or recycled part was itself defective or wasn't installed correctly, and it causes damage to another part that is covered under the warranty, the manufacturer or dealer has the right to deny coverage for that part and charge you for any repairs. The FTC says the manufacturer or dealer must show that the aftermarket or recycled part caused the need for repairs before denying warranty coverage.

The rest of the text is below.

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0138-auto-warranties-routine-maintenance#will

 

If you lift it and something goes wrong with the driveline, it can be a hassle and a lot of back and forth to get them to warranty something. If you have an understanding service advisor, it might make no difference at all.

If you lift it and the A.C. goes out. No.

New shocks shouldn't void anything at all unless they fail and cause something else to break.

 

I've chatted one-on-one with local Toyota dealership service manager and he informed me that they will ALWAYS try to get Toyota to pay for the fix. They don't care who pays for it, and they prefer Toyota pays because they know they pay well and immediately. It's just a matter of if Toyota wants to be an asshole and not cover because of x or y. For example, I agree with aero; if you lift it and AC goes out, shouldn't be any problems. However, I asked the service lane manager for example what if I lift it and my clutch goes bad in 2 weeks. He said it might be possible for Toyota to say something like "Since you lifted it 2" above factory intentions, the extra strain on the wheels blah blah affects the clutch when you shift blah blah so you will need to pay full price for fix and labor etc". Now, that's not necessarily likely, but it could be possible, and local dealership wouldn't have any control over that. They just are required to report to Toyota any modifications to vehicle when sending in request for warranty coverage. For other fixes, they are required to send in the replaced parts involved a lot of times, which Toyota looks over to investigate if foul play involved etc.

So while I have myself not found any definitive answers of what exactly voids warranties etc, I've accepted that it's always just a matter of rolling the dice. However, for some changes, your odds are much better or much worse when you roll the dice. We have to assume we won't ever get a Toyota rep to openly say "If you lift it then only issues with the suspension won't be covered under warranty."

When it comes down to it, a big part of me is very apprehensive to break warranty because I don't want to have to pay for parts/labor/future issues/etc, but a much bigger part of me wants to add mods to my Tacoma.

 

I mostly skimmed your post but everything I saw seems to check out.

If the modification can in any way, shape, or form be related to the system or component that fails on your vehicle then the manufacturer will MOST likely relate the two and deny warranty coverage.

If you change out the rear bumper and your front headlights burn out -- not likely going to be able to relate the two.

If you change out your tires and wheels, and lift the truck then the steering rack and pinion fall off -- they're probably going to tell you to pound sand and will charge you to fix it.

 

What part of the warranty are you worried about voiding? It would be very difficult to void the warranty in blanket terms -- maybe if you lit the truck on fire with gasoline?

The truck is a system of Systems. There are multiple systems of multiple pieces, parts and components all working together to perform certain functions of the vehicle.

If one of those systems, pieces or parts breaks/fails, under the warranty Toyota MIGHT be responsible to repair it. If you did something to alter or modify that particular system then Toyota may NOT be responsible to repair it.

It depends because the warranty terms are relevant on a case by case, system by system and component by component basis.

The truck is not a single solid state item (like a knife) and let's say the blade breaks. Different type of warranty scenario all together.