What will void my Warranty?

[WOOOOODS13]

I know this might be a really dumb question, but I have never bought a new vehicle or had one with any type of warranty before my 2020 Ram Bighorn I just bought back in December.

I bought it from the dealer lifted, with aftermarket rims and tires and a few other things that they added that are under my warranty.

But I am wanting to add a tailgate light bar, bed lights(since mine didn’t come with them), light bars in the grille and potentially other things in the future. To do a lot of these I have to splice into wires, T-taps or similar, or add auxiliary switches or “modify” the truck.

I’ve done these types of things before on previous trucks but since this one has a warranty, do things like these void my warranty or parts of it? Or what would void a warranty?

I’m not planning any performance upgrades or anything, just visual or to improve functionality.

I know that was a long lead up for a simple question, but I’d really appreciate any feedback or advice anyone could offer.

Thanks I’m advance!

 

[Aseras]

nothing per se will blanket void your warranty. that is illegal under the federal magnuson moss warranty act and state laws.

what you modify and can be proven to lead to a failure can lead to the warranty on that specific part and its effects being invalidated. if you hack up the wiring harness, they are not going to replace it because you shorted something out or cut it up and it corroded.

changing the tires is not going to make the radio fail. a poorly done lift and oversized tires could lead to the driveshaft or transmission or suspension failing and could be blamed.

if that happens it is up the them to prove that it led to the failure, which you would have to assert by suing them and they would need to then prove to defend against you.

 

[HAL9001]

You have to do something quite egregious to void your warranty in most cases. It would need to be something that clearly caused a factory component to fail. That said, you never want to give the dealer or the manufacturer a good excuse to deny warranty coverage, so you should proceed with due caution and use common sense, sound methods, and quality components whenever you make any changes.

Adding lights and other such accessories is not likely to void your warranty unless you did such a terrible job of wiring as to disrupt OE operations. For example, if you cut the factory wiring and then poorly spliced in another wire. If that splice failed and disrupted some factory component, that could void the warranty for the disrupted component. Most people would not do this, but I've seen horrendous examples of modifications people have done who had improper skills or knowledge of what they were modifying and thus, no business doing it. We've all seen examples of this. You can't blame the dealer or the manufacturer in such cases for denying coverage.

These days there are usually decent video tutorials on YouTube for installing just about any automotive modification, and you can find loads of good research online. So, there's really no excuse for doing a poor job anymore. One tip for using YouTube tutorials, always read the comments. If the person who made the video did anything wrong, it will usually be called out in the comments.

When you install the lighting, always ensure that you select the right wires to tap into. For example, if you add a light bar that draws 5 amps of current and you tap into a factory circuit protected by a 4-amp fuse, obviously you're going to have a problem. If you then replace the factory-installed 4-amp fuse with an 8-amp fuse to handle the extra load, well then you could void the factory warranty because the 8-amp fuse will no longer properly protect the factory wiring which was sized to only handle enough current for 4-amps. If the wire melts and you go to have it fixed under warranty, it could be denied because you caused the wire to fail by adding an improper fuse and an extra load to the wiring that was not designed to handle it. You can't overload any circuit you tap into. The safest, but not always the easiest, way to properly add electrical accessories is to provide wiring directly to the battery and add a proper external fuse carefully selected to protect the wiring. You also need to be careful about the type and size of the wiring you add. There's a lot to know to do the job correctly and safely.

So, it's very important to do things right. If you don't understand electrical circuits and wiring, then do the necessary research and learn the right way to install add-on electrical accessories.

The bottom line is to always do the job correctly and then both your vehicle and its warranty will be protected.

 

[5thGenRebel_AMK]

nothing per se will blanket void your warranty. that is illegal under the federal magnuson moss warranty act and state laws.

what you modify and can be proven to lead to a failure can lead to the warranty on that specific part and its effects being invalidated. if you hack up the wiring harness, they are not going to replace it because you shorted something out or cut it up and it corroded.

changing the tires is not going to make the radio fail. a poorly done lift and oversized tires could lead to the driveshaft or transmission or suspension failing and could be blamed.

if that happens it is up the them to prove that it led to the failure, which you would have to assert by suing them and they would need to then prove to defend against you.

i agree but i wouldnt go to battle assuming you're going to win the court case if it comes down to it. I wouldnt even consider a court case an option. FCA is the one making the warranty decisions, not the dealer, so if someone wants to take FCA to court and compete against their lawyers on a modified truck then good luck lol.

I know this might be a really dumb question, but I have never bought a new vehicle or had one with any type of warranty before my 2020 Ram Bighorn I just bought back in December.

I bought it from the dealer lifted, with aftermarket rims and tires and a few other things that they added that are under my warranty.

But I am wanting to add a tailgate light bar, bed lights(since mine didn’t come with them), light bars in the grille and potentially other things in the future. To do a lot of these I have to splice into wires, T-taps or similar, or add auxiliary switches or “modify” the truck.

I’ve done these types of things before on previous trucks but since this one has a warranty, do things like these void my warranty or parts of it? Or what would void a warranty?

I’m not planning any performance upgrades or anything, just visual or to improve functionality.

I know that was a long lead up for a simple question, but I’d really appreciate any feedback or advice anyone could offer.

Thanks I’m advance!

What kind of lift is on your truck? is it the mopar lift?

 

[WOOOOODS13]

i agree but i wouldnt go to battle assuming you're going to win the court case if it comes down to it. I wouldnt even consider a court case an option. FCA is the one making the warranty decisions, not the dealer, so if someone wants to take FCA to court and compete against their lawyers on a modified truck then good luck lol.


What kind of lift is on your truck? is it the mopar lift?

It is a Fabtech 6 inch lift.

thank you all who have answered so far, I really appreciate it. I feel a little better about adding the few modifications I want.

@HAL9001 thanks for the advice. I always use YouTube videos or forums like this and make sure I know how everything I’m even thinking about cutting or splicing or anything works before I actually do it. I definitely have seen some shawty work done and back in my younger years definitely did some questionable things lol.

 

[WOOOOODS13]

nothing per se will blanket void your warranty. that is illegal under the federal magnuson moss warranty act and state laws.

what you modify and can be proven to lead to a failure can lead to the warranty on that specific part and its effects being invalidated. if you hack up the wiring harness, they are not going to replace it because you shorted something out or cut it up and it corroded.

changing the tires is not going to make the radio fail. a poorly done lift and oversized tires could lead to the driveshaft or transmission or suspension failing and could be blamed.

if that happens it is up the them to prove that it led to the failure, which you would have to assert by suing them and they would need to then prove to defend against you.

Thank you for the info, it makes a lot of sense. I always wondered how all that worked.
Like I said, I don’t plan on doing anything too crazy or wild, but will definitely be mindful when I do anything.

 

[sefar]

I ran into this a few years ago with a diesel box and long story short, the dealer backed down. I practice law and can tell you that the dealer has the burden of proof. That is a pretty difficult hurdle to clear for engine and the like. Someone mentioned wiring and with the electronics in modern trucks, it is fairly easy to throw a code for something that is remote from the computers so be aware!

 

[Richard320]

I worked at a dealership. A warranty claim starts with the technician.

He gets a repair order that says, "Customer states..." and he has to see what's what. If the complaint is that the dash lights behave erratically and two minutes after he gets the repair order he's looking up under the dash at a rat's nest of add-on wiring, he's done. It gets sent back with the note, "remove aftermarket wiring and return for diagnosis." Is it related? Who knows? But he's got the factory wiring diagram and that's all, and playing the odds, it's more likely to be add-on stuff than factory. Point is, he's not looking at the lift or the wheels.

On the other hand, if the complaint is a separated CV joint or worn out ball joint then the lift is relevant. In cases like that, I'd get the foreman, he'd look, agree with me, and make foreman's notes on the repair order. Whatever happened after that I don't know. I never got a car back to do whatever after warranty was declined.

I had plenty of brake noise complaints. It didn't matter that the guy had done a crappy job installing some aftermarket radio, or light strips underneath. The problem was out at the end of the axle.

The technician has a lot of people looking over his shoulder, but he doesn't get paid if he doesn't do anything. It's to his advantage to fix something. But he also gets dinged hard if he fixes something and it isn't fixed. Meaning, if there's any doubt that the problem could be caused by something aftermarket that will cause it to happen again, he won't do it. The phrase is "married to it." Nobody wants to be married to a problem car.

So if you lift the truck, don't expect it to be easy to get suspension complaints addressed. If you add a bunch of wiring, you could get grief for that if it's any way related. Add-on driving lights teed into headlight wiring is going to be a huge red flag if there's a problem with the light switch. But the mechanic will not likely make the assumption that the driving light has anything to do with a misfire code in the engine, or a squeaking sway bar..

 

[Aseras]

yes precisely. I would recommend not modifying anything while you are under warranty that cannot be removed. particularly in the wiring. never cut the stock harness. only use a inline male to female tap at a factory harness point. the furthest I would go would be to add a pin into a factory harness which in trucks there are lots of empty ones to tap into almost anything without cutting and are findable with a service manual.

don't force connectors. pins do not bend or break themselves.

never use scotch locks. ever.

 

[OldMarine]

everything, and anything will void it now..you aren't even allowed to drive it. Just looking at it the wrong way, and..."poof"...there goes the warranty. Don't touch it, don't drive it, don't even look at it.

 

[Goatmann]

Posting questions about what will void your warranty on a forum, will definitely void it!

 

[Richard320]

Posting questions about what will void your warranty on a forum, will definitely void it!

Is this Warranty Club?

 

[OldMarine]

Is this Warranty Club?

first rule...don't talk about your warranty...second rule...(see first rule)