GOLFMK8
GOLFMK7
GOLFMK6
GOLFMKV

Oil Leak Under Warranty with Tune

Chogokin

Autocross Champion
Location
So Cal
Car(s)
GTI Sport | Audi A3
VW should send someone out to look at the car. A TD1 does not automatically void your warranty. I know someone that works for VWoA. He's one of the guys that VW sends out to evaluate the cars to see if they will warranty. He told me that they need to prove that the tune caused the part to fail. They can't just flat out deny you warranty just because you have a tune.
 

tigeo

Autocross Champion
Where to start?

Let's start with your link and what the aftermarket folks love to bandy about to validate their assertions. They are betting that nobody has actually read the MM warranty act.

The purpose of the MM Act is to preclude "tie in sales" where a manufacturer says "in order to keep your warranty, you need to buy all of your maintenance and parts from us".

In layman's terms, the Act prevents a company from refusing warranty service based on the mere presence of a substantially similar replacement part - so you can go into Autozone and say "I need the replacement brakelight bulb for a 2015 Golf and it doesn't matter if it is a Bosch, Osram or Sylvania bulb.

However, any performance part is not (by definition) substantially similar", so they don't fall under the Act.

As a useless factoid, the MM Act came about because a vacuum cleaner manufacturer (I think it was Eureka) refused warranty service merely because the owner used an off brand bag. In short, the manufacturer must show that the aftermarket part caused, or contributed to, the failure - but remember that the presence of a performance part is not covered, so the manufacturer can say "you have a performance XYZ that caused the failure, so we won't cover it under warranty."

Other consumer laws still require a manufacturer to connect a mod to a failure, but it isn't the MM Act.

Now, a note about "voiding the warranty" - a term that we, dealers and service advisors love to throw around.

There are only a few things that will void your warranty. Water damage, branded titles, cars with so many mods that virtually no part of the car is untouched by a mod and racing.

Years ago, Mitsubishi voided the warranty of a bunch of cars they saw at a track meet and BMW voided the warranty on a car that had been heavily modded and the owner tried to reverse the mods before taking the car in - but left such a mess that it would have taken the dealer forever to figure out what was what.


What we really mean is "the dealer is denying warranty service for that failure based on..."


Accordingly, if your car is tagged TD1 (modified ECU) TG1 (modified DSG ECU - I think it is TG1) or TD4 (evidence of a piggyback tune), the you can assume that the manufacturer will deny warranty coverage on most drivetrain issues - unless the issue is known to happen to non-modded cars as well, but you may need to be persuasive.

If you've modded your lighting, then expect issues with any electrical woes and so forth.

That said, If I had a problem with my car, I wouldn't even think about modding it until I had the problem addressed.

Can we tie an oil leak to a modified ECU? Probably, but there is an equal chance that the dealer will recognize it as a known issue. Do you want to roll those dice?
Wisdom. I am tuned and had a recirc door motor replaced under warranty. I should see if I have a TD1 flag on my VIN next time I'm at the dealer..curious if they scanned it when it was in for that. I don't bother flashing back to stock...I'd rather be up front about it and reasonable with my expectations of a manufacturer's warranty when I've modified my car.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
 

tigeo

Autocross Champion
VW should send someone out to look at the car. A TD1 does not automatically void your warranty. I know someone that works for VWoA. He's one of the guys that VW sends out to evaluate the cars to see if they will warranty. He told me that they need to prove that the tune caused the part to fail. They can't just flat out deny you warranty just because you have a tune.
They can actually do whatever they want and you can take them to court and lose.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
 

johnnloki

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Bowmanville ON
There is a mod friendly dealer in Arizona that's been spoken of on this forum. As far as warranty stuff they can probably help you with some minors, but catastrophic majors would probably still be a big problem.

Assume the dealership wants your service business. Assume VWOA doesn't want to pay for any sort of warranty work on any modded cars. Assume that insurance companies want to take money from you for nothing paid out whenever it's possible for them. Assume that banner ads promising additional inches by eating more of a certain vegetable are lying to you. We all know it's only raw fish eyes that will do that.

Only losers use Tapatalk
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
There is a mod friendly dealer in Arizona that's been spoken of on this forum. As far as warranty stuff they can probably help you with some minors, but catastrophic majors would probably still be a big problem.

Assume the dealership wants your service business. Assume VWOA doesn't want to pay for any sort of warranty work on any modded cars. Assume that insurance companies want to take money from you for nothing paid out whenever it's possible for them. Assume that banner ads promising additional inches by eating more of a certain vegetable are lying to you. We all know it's only raw fish eyes that will do that.

Only losers use Tapatalk

I don't know which AZ dealer you're talking about but Penske in Scottsdale is mod friendly.
 

Chogokin

Autocross Champion
Location
So Cal
Car(s)
GTI Sport | Audi A3
They can actually do whatever they want and you can take them to court and lose.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
No...no they can't.

VW pays the dealer...they have the final say on what get warrantied or not. Friend of mine had a cat go bad on his mk5 Jetta. The dealer he went to did not want to change out his cat...even though emissions gives him up to 70k miles for the cat. He called VWoA. They called the dealer and they gave him a new catalytic converter. I know the reigonal service rep. They need to send someone out to look at the car before denying warranty even of the car has a TD1.

Sent from my Mi A1 using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
Just was doing some googling and read that. Thanks for confirming. I'll be going there from here on out.

Ask for Brad he is the shop foreman and works on my car exclusively. And use Gabriel for the service writer.
 

tigeo

Autocross Champion
No...no they can't.

VW pays the dealer...they have the final say on what get warrantied or not. Friend of mine had a cat go bad on his mk5 Jetta. The dealer he went to did not want to change out his cat...even though emissions gives him up to 70k miles for the cat. He called VWoA. They called the dealer and they gave him a new catalytic converter. I know the reigonal service rep. They need to send someone out to look at the car before denying warranty even of the car has a TD1.

Sent from my Mi A1 using Tapatalk

I think you misunderstood my post. Yes, I understand how warranty work works. What I was trying to convey is that often in these posts, there is the notion by owners/posters that VW (VW, not the dealer) has to prove the tune didn't cause the issues. My point was that they do not have to do anything - the burden of that will often land on the owner which *may* require a trip to the courtroom in which they will likely lose. They can deny any powertrain warranty claim by a dealer on a tuned vehicle with very little recourse by the owner. Sure, some get these covered but that is being driving by dealers that work the system to ensure that VW will pay the claim - they will work to clearly show that the defect is common on non-tuned cars and not caused by the tune.
 

Mk_GTI

Go Kart Champion
Location
Hellinois
Car(s)
2018 Golf R
VWOAs legal team might not recognize superchips' website as gospel on whether or not they should cover repairing an engine that ate some turbine chunks.

Only losers use Tapatalk

If you had actually read the page, they will recognize Federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act issue by the FTC.
 

tigeo

Autocross Champion
If you had actually read the page, they will recognize Federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act issue by the FTC.

And as I said above, good luck with that when you bring your tuned car in for a new turbo. I suggest everyone watch the following:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW25ZxVPqxg&t=530s

The MM is so misunderstood by folks on the forums w/r to how it applies to mods especially ECU tuning. It's intent was to make it so that VW can't deny warranty coverage b/c you got your car's oil changed at Jiffy Lube or b/c you DIY'd it with oil/filter from Advanced Auto.
 

johnnloki

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Bowmanville ON
So.... you're trying to say that my screen door aftermarket open air filter feeding air to my Aliexpress GTX3076m with my StaSiS tune won't be covered, if my engine inhales bits of impeller?

I don't buy it. Superchips website says they've got to cover it.

Only losers use Tapatalk
 
Last edited:

JC_451

Autocross Champion
Location
NJ, one of the nice parts.
Car(s)
2017 GTI Sport
People continuously not understanding that VW doesn't need to prove anything other than:

You've violated the warranty agreement by tuning the car.

You might get coverage for common failure items under the power train and you shouldn't run into too many bumper to bumper problems but...

Any expensive power train item requires the car to be scanned. If it comes up TD1 you're probably gonna pay to play.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 

tigeo

Autocross Champion
People continuously not understanding that VW doesn't need to prove anything other than:

You've violated the warranty agreement by tuning the car.

You might get coverage for common failure items under the power train and you shouldn't run into too many bumper to bumper problems but...

Any expensive power train item requires the car to be scanned. If it comes up TD1 you're probably gonna pay to play.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

100% correct.
 

cb1111

Newbie
Location
Virginia, USA
Wisdom. I am tuned and had a recirc door motor replaced under warranty. I should see if I have a TD1 flag on my VIN next time I'm at the dealer..curious if they scanned it when it was in for that. I don't bother flashing back to stock...I'd rather be up front about it and reasonable with my expectations of a manufacturer's warranty when I've modified my car.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
A dealer can't tell you if your car is flagged. The dealer only finds out if you have a warranty issue that is denied based on the flag.


The flag is placed, and stored, in a database at VW in Germany and only rears its ugly head when a warranty claim is made, not when the car is scanned.
 
Top