Now that our CorkSport Power Series Short Ram Intakes for the 2.3L DISI turbo-charged engines are 50-state legal (Press Release), I would like to revisit a past blog post as I think it is important for every car owner to understand.
A little over a year ago, we put a blog post on our webpage that outlined some of the laws and tips regarding your vehicle’s factory warranty and aftermarket parts you put on your vehicle. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (US code – Title 15, Chapter 50, Section 2301-2312) was put in place to make it illegal for your dealer to void your warranty just because you put a non-OEM part on your vehicle (see SEMA Article). However, if you bring in your vehicle for a warranty claim, and it was obvious that the aftermarket part caused the issue, then you are out of luck.
The best way to avoid an issue is to have a good relationship with your dealer and to know in advance how accepting they are of vehicle modifications. Even though you have the law on your side, if they are not accepting of your vehicle modifications, you may want to find another dealer. No one wants to spend time dealing with a lawsuit or fighting over something that you can just as easily avoid in the first place. However, if you do run in to the unfortunate event where you believe that your dealer has wrongfully voided your warranty, you can contact the BBB Auto Line at 1-800-955-5100.
Please note that improper installation of any factory or non-factory parts that cause damage to your vehicle, are not covered under your warranty. Also, driving through water deep enough to cause water to be ingested into the engine will not be covered even with the factory intake installed.
If you have a specific question or concern about a CorkSport product, feel free to call us at 360-260-2675 or email and we will be happy to answer your questions.
– Jake
In my defense I towed my broken engine to a dealer in which said they could fix it but not until a regional rep from MazdaNA(North America) could do a second and final inspection due to it being a warranty repair. So I was not able to take it and bring it to another “mod friendly” dealer because the dealer initially said they could do something about it. Not until after the Regional MazdaNA rep inspected it and denied my warranty due to a Cobb AP and a BOV. From now on my VIN is blackballed from MazdaNA for any warranty repair.
Thanks for the information Jake. I was told that i had one of the first generation turbos on my 2008 mazdaspeed 3 that tends to smoke at around 30,000 or in the use of the wrong oil grade. For someone like me, who only has 15,000 on the car, what is the proper course of action as far as aftermarket upgrades if i wish to stay under my warranties? I am hesitant to do anything to the car in the case i need the revised turbo. Thanks again.
hello i just bought a new 2015 mazda 3 2.0 and i obviously bought my short ram intake from corksport. will it void my warranty ? please help before i install it