I just got my 04 gmc ecsb z71 and I was wondering what mods I could do to the truck that wont make me lose the warnety.
Matt

 

Honestly man there isnt that much you can do that wont void some part of your warranty. If you get a instake it will void the factory instake warranty and if water or trach was sucked into the engine and you had a aftermarker intake they could blame it for the problem. If you get a exhaust it will obvioulsy void whatever parts you replaced. Most dealers are cool about intakes and exhaust because they see them all day. If you want to make your truck alto faster and powerful than it is now you cant be worrying about your warranty! If you want to to a few things to make your truck run alot better untill your warranty runs out I would do the following---Cold air instake, Catback Exhaust,and either a hand held programmer(Predator,Hypertech,etc...) or a custm tune. With a hand held programmer you can go back to stock when you want and with a cusotm tune you put a new PCM in and most likely the dealership will never know but if he does he will just reflah it and you call your tuner to get a new PCM(for free if you use Nelson Performance). If you get a hand held get a Predator but If I were to do it all over again and Im still under warranty I would not waste my time on a hand held and call Allen @ Nelson Performance(he is a sponser on this site). ************Also use the search button it can help you out alot*************

 

The Corsa exhaust is some GM approved product. I think you can even buy it at a dealer... (I would hate to see the price!!)

You could throw some plug wires in - they never hurt anybody. A drop in filter.

You could go with some tuning too. Yes, if they "see" it, there might be hell to pay if it's found to have broken something... but I think all tuning programs out there (handheld or do-it-yourself like Edit or HPT), can be easily set back to stock.

 

Good replies above!

This link will also give you some details of what your rights are with warranty work and aftermarket mods - http://www.magnacharger.com/magnusonmoss.htm. A quick snip from it is -

Legally, a vehicle manufacturer cannot void the warranty on a vehicle due to an aftermarket part unless they can prove that the aftermarket part caused or contributed to the failure in the vehicle (per the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act (15 U.S.C. 2302(C)) . For best results, consider working with performance-oriented dealerships with a proven history of working with customers. If your vehicle manufacturer fails to honor emission/warranty claims, contact EPA at (202) 260-2080 or www.epa.gov. If federal warranty protection is denied, contact the FTC at (202) 326-3128 or www.ftc.gov.

 

All depends what dealer you buy it from and how good of a buddy you become with your service manager. I've had some problems that my mods have caused, but the service manager was cool about it. I wonder if I'm pushing my luck by adding a shot of n2o

 

TBYRNE is right. *Legally* they cannot void your warranty unless they can prove that your mod caused the problem. "legally" and what actually happens in the real world are two different things... Alot of dealerships are complete ******** about modifications to vehicles. I once had a dealership tech tell my parents that my warranty was void b/c I lowered my car - get this - the car WAS NOT EVEN LOWERED! That was a long time ago but I was really ******* pissed b/c he also listed out all of my mods to my parents.

 

Tbyrne is totaly correct but its like this some dealers are cool some are c*cksmockers---Like I said Instake,exhaust,plugs and wires almost no dealer will look down on that but when you start spraying N20 and installing shift kits most of them unless you get a enthusiast arent knowledgable on these mods and if they are they are single minded! You can go to a dealership and some of them actually will sell you alot of performance parts and after they charge the hell out of you they will not "VOID YOUR WARRANTY" -- In my opinion I would get a custom tune(Nelson or Westers) and you will see a good gain and overall driveability and the worst that can happen is the dealer flashes over the program(if they did they wouldnt void your warranty) and you just call your tuner and they will send you a free update! In my case I got the intake then exhaust then thought i was going out on the line and got a Hypertech(dont waste your time and get a custom tune) and after I saw that this stuff was bettering my truck(in my opinion) I said screw it Ill take a chance and do other stuff like shift kit and new gears and N20 and I havent had a problem yet(knock on wood) if you research the mods your interested in you will greatly reduce the chance of having any probelms! The thing is that if you dont want to test your warranty then I personally wouldnt do anything because allt he care of warranty will fly out the window and youll have the addiction we all call PERFORMANCE------good luck man and I would go talk to your dealerships aftermarket guy and see if he is cool and if he his get his thoughts and if not screw him and do it anyways--hell you might hit it off with the guy!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

or buy a Radix and pay an ASE tech to install it for you, pay the extra $200 for the drivetrain warranty through Magnacharger, and enjoy 125 extra ponies and keep your drivetrain warranty intact

this is what I would have done if I knew I would by supercharging it eventually. I would have skipped all the 5-20 hp mods and gone right for the real deal. You can spend thousands on the bolt on mods and end up with maybe 50 extra hp, or get the Radix and have 125 at your disposal, and a warranty.

just something to think about

 

Or you could do the little 5-10 hp mods that will still help you when you get your radix, and wait until your factory warranty runs out, then get the radix with the extra $200 warranty and have 3 more years of drivetrain warranty

 

hmm, good point....however I would make sure the little mods wont void the Radix warranty eventually if you plan on supercharging it, they might be ok with headers and intake and stuff, but a stall, shift kit, tune etc.....they might not go for it.