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Void Warranty?

2814 Views 4 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  6MTGLI
I have been looking at adding a this cold air intake. My car only has 3200 miles on it. I have bumper to bumper until 2024 and vw care to 2028. I know it won’t the vw care but when I take my car to get serviced they always ask if I have chipped it or added any mods? The vw shop here loves my car I drove 300 miles to buy it cause they don’t sell them around here. Would changing intake void bumper to bumper
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Actually my bumper bumper might only be 2023 It may only be 3 yrs. I won’t come close to miles. I’m not entirely worried about bumper to bumper my car is garage kept and when I work. We have cameras around the lot. The only cars I park next to is Supra and Lancer if I park next to them. I really just don’t want to void recalls or free tuning
This is my opinion. When a dealer scans your ECU, it will automatically detect any aftermarket software and they will flag it with what is called a "TD1" flag that is nearly impossible to remove. What this means that your warranty isn't really voided but it can be denied when it comes to the powertrain repairs. Something like an intake is a visual mod so it doesn't get flagged in the ECU, however the dealer may note that the vehicle has an aftermarket component on the air induction so system. What does that mean ? If your turbocharger decides to check out, the warranty will most likely not cover it. An intake does really nothing it terms of power gain. You can buy a panel filter like AFE pro dry and remove the snow guard in the intake box if you want a little bit extra noise.
How many times has it been in to be serviced at 3000 miles... whats with them "always" asking if you chipped it or modified it, I'd probably have to tell them to pound sand... and mine's completely stock.

On to your question... assuming you are in the US - no it won't void your warranty, however it is possible that it could create a headache if something downstream of the intake fails. As mentioned it is unlikely to give you appreciable benefit except noise... but if you decide to do this you can reduce your chance of hassle by using a quality product with a CARB EO#.
If you are curious, you can always read the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. My understanding is that for a dealership to void a normal warranty repair, they must prove (to what exact degree I do not know) that whatever broke, failed directly because of something you did to the car. For example, if you have a tuned car and a window regulator breaks, the regulator would still be covered under warranty - no relationship to the tune. But an engine or transmission failure with a tune? That’s a different story. The likelihood is extremely low that a properly installed CAI will cause any problems, but you never know. May ask what attracts you to the CAI? If it is a power gain, a drop-in K&N filter (or similar mesh filter) will yield the exact same 5-7 hp gain as a CAI. It just won’t change the intake sound any, if that is important to you.
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