I'm sure their are examples both good & bad, but i'd be confident that only in the most extreme cases would this become an issue so stand by it being a very small risk.DragonRR wrote:I'm not convinced that the risk is very small or small. I personally *think* there is a moderate risk which is considerably lowered if you have an insurance backed warranty on top of the manufacturer's warranty. There are plenty of signs on the internet of people claiming of having no problems with tuned cars nor warranty rejections but there are plenty of posts by people who claim they have. I've been told (hearsay!) by a dealer that he knows of warranty claims being refused by (as it happens) BMW; particularly with their turbo diesels, he said that it was "several."
In the states the Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act protects the consumer against a manufacturer voiding warranties if 3rd party products are used unless they can prove that the mod/part caused the fault:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11943
I don't think there is anything quite so specific in the EU but I would imagine the manufacturer wouldn't have a leg to stand on in court if the problem wasn't related to the mod.
This is a link to a company selling tunes and clearly stating what the warranty situation is:
http://www.stage3motorsports.com/Stage- ... ranty.html
The more power you push through the powertrain the more stress you put on the parts and the more chance of failure. The comments that you can service the car elsewhere, refuse software updates etc... makes only a small difference. If a part in your powertrain fails and you want the remedial work done under warranty you run the risk of having your manufacturer's warranty voided in respect to anything (imo) that relates to the modification.
If you have an insurance backed tune then the risk is pretty much non existent, although i guess a tuner could go out of business just as you need to make a claim

Totally agree though that a risk does exist.
As for modified parts, that's a gimme as i'd hope anyone who'd fitted aftermarket brakes or suspension would not be returning to the dealer if a failure occurred with those parts.
Always good a tuning debate. Almost always a yes/no camp & i guess their always will be.