Can dealer deny warranty if not serviced by them?

I purchase my truck around 18 months ago, i have extended warranty but i always do all the maintenance on the truck, i received letters from the dealer about oil change and maintenance are due. If for any reason my truck engine or transmission break, can the dealer refuse to fix the truck because never been service by the Dealer?

 

They can but if you keep the receipts for the fluids and oil you have used you should be fine.

 

You are under no obligation to have the dealership perform the preventive maintenance. Just make sure you follow the the maintenance schedule in the owners manual and keep the repair orders from your local shop or your receipts from your oil and filter, etc. purchases if you DIY the maintenance. Same applies for the 3/36 and powertrain warranties.

 

In my years at the dealer, I never saw them deny a warranty claim simply because the vehicle was not serviced by the dealer. I have no idea what the legality of this is, but I do know the dealer gets paid by the manufacturer for warranty work, and some of that pay is BIG, so they don't often turn that work away. Typically only if they think the manufacturer will kick it back at them as illegitimate.

 

The one thing to watch out for is dealerships that offer their own warranty with the stipulation that you have to get your service performed by the selling dealership, otherwise as previously stated all you have to do is follow the manufacturer maintenance guidelines and keep receipts.

 

like the dealers that offer "free engines for life" type of warranty,,, nothing is free, you are going to have to get their recommended service through them and will pay for it.

 

You need to read the details of your warranty, but typically automotive warranties cover manufacturing defects and nothing else. If Toyota thinks a particular failure is due to a manufacturing defect, they will fix it under warranty. If not, they might not.

So for example, if your head unit breaks, whether you changed your oil ain’t going to matter.

Also keep in mind that not changing your oil at the recommended internal is not likely going to cause your engine to fail during the warranty period. It might however reduce the maximum life of the engine. Engines usually survive well beyond the warranty period.

 

Look up:

Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act

 

Through the nose!

 

Some run to “free” things,,,, I ran away from them

 

legally? no. but let's be honest. they can come up with any reason they really want to deny it if they want to.

keep your receipts, and deal with it as it comes.

 

see also:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ffs-lets-all-stop-referencing-the-magnussen-moss-act.609911/

this is exactly what i mean. legally, as long as you can prove things were done correctly, they are supposed to honor the warranty.

but off the record, any number of shady-but-legal things can and will be done if you just plain irk them the wrong way after they woke up on the wrong side of the bed that morning.

 

Ya bought a Toyota, what warranty? Your warranty is the fact that you bought the Toyota.

 

Typically warranty work pays like shit to a dealer. It's much less than what a dealer would charge the customer directly. Any service manager will tell you the same.

 

Of course, customer pay work is preferred, but trust me when I tell you, dealers make a lot of money in warranty work as well. Toyota often pays better for warranty work too than many other manufacturers. I was a tech at the height of the frame recalls on these trucks, and the dealers made boat loads of money during that recall! So did the techs! The 90L throttle pedal recalls was another one that produced a lot of revenue.

 

This...

 

I don't have any receipts, but for now on I'm going to save dose receipts.

 

I believe the new car 3 year 60,000 mile or 100,000 km is the warranty provided by Toyota Motor Corp not the dealer. Dealers will sell additional extended warranties usually from a 3rd party insurance company which is secondary to the Toyota warranty. Dealers are agents of Toyota not a subsidiary or anything like that.

 

The answer is a little more complicated than just citing the Magnuson-Moss act. The dealer *could* deny warranty service (really it’s Toyota’s call in the end) if there was a failure that could theoretically be traced back to maintenance performed by you, whether through neglect or incorrect execution.

Proving that it’s NOT your fault isn’t the requirement of the legislation, but it’s essentially could happen in practice. It’s important to keep records of the maintenance you did and ensure that you do it correctly and on the correct schedule. And purchase receipts of the material used.

Which dealer is also a variable. Some will do everything possible to ensure your claim is covered. Others will not. The other variable is the actual defect and whether or not it can be logically connected to scheduled maintenance. If you change your own engine oil and a driveshaft u-joint fails, they couldn’t possibly be related. If you change your own engine oil and have an engine failure, there could be a question about whether it’s a manufacturer defect or improper maintenance…

Complicated topic.

 

My free oil change at the dealer a few weeks ago cost me $30. I had to pay for a car wash and air because they somehow forgot to wash it and didn't bother to air up the tires.

No you do not have to have it serviced there. The only hang up would be if you had a problem and they blamed lack of maintenance as the problem. That would be something like a sudged engine.