[gargoyal]

Hey , that info looks very familiar ! where is my byline! JK

I would add a few things.

1) this is for the USA only. I notice there are a lot of people from around the world that are using this site.

2) The law states that if the modification damages another component the manufacturer can deny the warranty claim for that damaged component. The law puts the burden of proof on the manufacture. Not you. It is illegal for a manufacture to do a blanket voiding of your warranty because of a modifications. The reality is if it‘s reasonable that your mod had something to do with the problem, you should expect to pay for the repairs (when it is not clear cut who is at fault you can negotiate. some time the manufacture will pick up a portion). The one exception to this is a known pattern of failure. If there is a known issues (service bulletin, field fixes, recalls, or other documented problems) the manufacture must fix the issue, even if the problem could be associated to a modification.


3) some people think this is a big hassle. I’m just going to hide my mods from the dealer. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt me. This is a very common approach in the tuner community. I am personally against it because it resolves nothing and creates more distrust between the dealers and the car enthusiast. Make no mistake, its takes longer and is more of a hassle to be up front about your modification. But my experience with other manufactures has been that they will work with you once they understand their and your responsibilities. If you educate them and build trust, the problems go away. For those who choose to hide their mods from the dealer, be very careful not to defraud the dealer on purpose or by accident. Lying to a dealer to get them to pay an expensive claim is possibly a criminal act in your state. With the current zero tolerance for the tuner culture by most district attorneys and police departments you don’t want to leave yourself open.


4) From the E90 fourm posts it appears that BMW is new to people doing lots of mods to cars under warranty. They are still learning what their responsibilities are ( the lawyers know, but not everyone down the chain). IMO they are moving in the right direction, but still are learning. You need to be prepared to "educate” them if you are going to mod your car.