Vehicle Warranty Concerns from Using Performance Tuner on 2014 Chevrolet Silverado  

Question:

Expert Reply:

It is true that auto dealerships' diagnostic equipment can detect the "footprints" of tuning changes made by performance tuners even after they are removed and the tune returned to the stock settings. However, there is a consumer protection law specific to this issue, the Federal Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act.

The Act states that if something breaks on your vehicle and you take it in for warranty repair, the dealer must honor your warranty unless whatever modifications you have added to your vehicle actually caused the problem in question.

The bottom line is that while the law protects the consumer and provides for enforcement of the warranty, it is very difficult for most people to hire an attorney and fight a voided warranty. It is for this reason that makers of tuners recommend you always disconnect and remove your module and monitor when you take your vehicle to a dealer for warranty work.

Unless there is clear and verifiable evidence that a tuner caused damage to a vehicle the manufacturer will have to honor the warranty as per the provisions of the Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act.

If alteration of a specific vehicle feature - the rev limiter for instance - is specified in the vehicle owner's manual as voiding the warranty of a particular vehicle then clearly changing this feature is something to carefully consider.

expert reply by: Adam R

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