Invalidated My Warranty!

[GeeUK]

Well, you might remember me saying that my Clio cuts out at juntions.
Well, took it back to Dixon Renault and its took them around 7hrs to tell me that the modifications I have made has invalidated my warranty!

To tell the truth I think it may of been my filter as it was a REALLY hot day, but I will never know now!

b******s, gonna go pick it up now.

 

[RobFenn]

Remove filter, go to different dealer.

-Rob

 

[Roamer]

What modifications have you done to it? I am under the impression now that the garage has to prove that mods have caused the issue and then that issue isnt covered under warranty but I didnt think they could just invalidate it... hell Ive had warranty work carried out on mine recently (Very expensive sat nav system replacement) and they didnt bat an eyelid to all the work that the could see had been done - hell mine didnt have an interior or half of what they thought made up the engine LoL

 

[GeeUK]

What about my zorst, lowering springs, alloys etc?
Theyll say the same thing probs, plus aint all the computers interlinked?
With the service history etc?

 

[GeeUK]

Quote: Originally posted by Roamer on 19 August 2004

What modifications have you done to it? I am under the impression now that the garage has to prove that mods have caused the issue and then that issue isnt covered under warranty but I didnt think they could just invalidate it... hell Ive had warranty work carried out on mine recently (Very expensive sat nav system replacement) and they didnt bat an eyelid to all the work that the could see had been done - hell mine didnt have an interior or half of what they thought made up the engine LoL

Yeah, Ive heard of this, so where do you think I should go with this?
I dont know if they even found out whats wrong with it or if they even bothered investigating. Ill see what they say when I go down.

 

[RS-Steve]

springs an alloys certainly dont make a car stall!!!!

 

[Roamer]

first off do your own investigation, take the filter off and use the original, if that cures it its a problem with your mod, if not, take it to another with the original filter on - dont worry about the computer system being interlinked as youll probably find that the dealership you went to cant be arsed with the warranty paperwork and thats why they fobbed you off.

 

[Swervin_Mervin]

When I spoke to seat about my g/f making mods to her Ibiza a while back, they said thered be no problems, but that it just wouldnt cover the parts affected by the mods.

So if your engine failed and youd had new wheels, springs or poss even exhaust theyd still honour the warranty.

[Edited by mike8579 on 8/19/2004 5:07:07 PM]

 

[Toypop]

Depends why the engine failed? If sensors start malfunctioning etc couldnt they say that your large after market wheels and stiffer suspension resulted in more vibration? Vibration is a strange thing, you can crash over big bumps and do no damage but a constant small vibration at the wrong resonance can do all sorts of damage.

Or for example perhaps sunroof rattle was caused by the huge vibrations from a sub loosening everything. Ive seen fresh air/heater vents in a 6 month old car flopping up and down uselessly and unable to be fixed pointing up at the driver due to a large sub being used. Whats to say that or the vibration from modded suspension/wheels isnt doing the same sort of damage to mechanical parts as opposed to just the trim.

I have to take the manufacturers side on this one, it doesnt matter whether you buy a car or a completely different type of product you shouldnt tamper with it during the warranty period if you ever plan on claiming.

Too late now though, just do what Rob says, put the original kit back on and go to another dealer.

 

[GeeUK]

Looks like im fooked. Oh Well.

 

[Ali]

Nah, just wopp the filter off and go to another dealer.

 

[JAY172]

put the original filter back on and go somewhere else. you have been fobbed off

 

[GeeUK]

Well, if it starts doing it again I will.
Cheers all.

 

[R3OBC]

w**kers!!!! I never had any problems with my last clio going there, or any with this one when it went for its new wiring loom - the std fault of that stupid cover eating through the cables! Guys always seemed to be ok with me, pissed me off when my car was sat for a week immobilised cause they were too busy tho!!

Gee, try Halifax? With std airbox n filter buddy

 

[GeeUK]

Cheers R3OBC, will do if it start again.
Just hope they dont have the history on computer or Ill look like a right dodgy b*****d!

 

[WeeGad]

I have had probs with my clio cutting out and not starting at all,and even with the mods i have done to my clio every dealer i have taken it to has sorted it under warranty,guess it all just depends on who you take it to!

 

[clioman]

my car was cutting out at roughly 7000 miles when my car was standard. Renualt carried several tests out and couldnt find anything wrong. Then all of a sudden it just stopped and never happened again.



Shaw

 

[Jason C]

For a manufacturer to decline to undertake work on your warranty there has to be a linkage between the mod they point the finger at and the failure youre experiencing.

As mentioned above, Lowering the car does not invalidate your warranty, but they would have reasonable cause if your problem was due say to grounding etc.

If youre running an IK youre probably running lean on idle & hence stalling. Swap back to your original filter to see how it goes.

If the dealer lodged your details with Renault UK you could have a problem - but you should be able to argue your case.

 

[entjm]

surely on idle the mixture will be pretty much the same as standard airbox. at low RPM the flow through the filter wont be much different. i mean if there WAS a major difference at low flow rates (700 rpm) how would a paper filter ever cope with 6000 rpm!

i thought IKs make most of the difference at the mid to top end of the revs when its really sucking and trying to get as much air as possible and the paper filters just cant let as much air through.

when i had my IK on in hot weather the engine was sluggish pulling away from junctions. it never stalled though, i put it down to very hot air collecting in the engine bay when at a standstill. swapped it back and never had the problem again, infact the car probably runs better. miss the sound though.

 

[Jason C]

Theres a greater air to fuel ratio as the aftermarket filter flows air at a greater rate. The car therefore runs lean. The greater the ability of the IK to flow air, the leaner the mix. Depending on the map used, it could be a problem throughout the rev range or points through it.

Warm / hot air being sucked in to the IK will also cause problems as the density decreases so you get less O2 for a given volume.

 

[GeeUK]

Thanks for your comments guys.
It hasnt happened since and Im starting to think it was all the hot air getting sucked in

On another note, I did that little trick well you hold down the reset button (used for checking milage, mpg etc) and it came up with the code --h.

Anyone know what fault code this could be?

 

[Jason C]

--h

--h "elp Ive been modded" ?

 

[GeeUK]

Could be

 

[edde]

The fault code H refers to a fault being detected on the line for the oil level gauge (ie its disconnected or short circuit).

Other codes which can be shown are tJdh you have blanks by the other so you dont have those problems.

t stand for a problem being detected on the coolent temp sensor line.

J stands for a fualt being discovered on the tank sensor unit (it has to be disconnected for 100 second + to be set off)

d stands for a flow meter fault for more than 10miles

 

[GeeUK]

Looks like ive got atleast one problem then eh.

 

[entjm]

Quote: Originally posted by Jason C on 20 August 2004


Theres a greater air to fuel ratio as the aftermarket filter flows air at a greater rate. The car therefore runs lean. The greater the ability of the IK to flow air, the leaner the mix. Depending on the map used, it could be a problem throughout the rev range or points through it.

Warm / hot air being sucked in to the IK will also cause problems as the density decreases so you get less O2 for a given volume.









Yes i know what you are saying but I dont think that at 700 rpm the flow rate on an IK will be noticibly different to a paper filter.

for the volume of air required at idle i cant see a paper filter being any more restrictive than an IK. it will be when the engine demmands a large capacity of air that it physically can not get through the paper quick enough. that is when the less restrictive IK is useful. high revs

for example i can squirt 1 milli-litre of water at the same speed through a straw as i can through a hose pipe. the hose pipe is no less restricive than a straw at low volume. try to pass 1 litre through the straw and it will ristrict the flow. through the hose pipe no problems.

so i dont think that an IK will make the engine run lean at idle, at higher revs maybe. i also thought that the ECU should have sufficient range to adjust the fuelling to cope with an IK. esp on a small capacity engine.