Catless Downpipe Void Warranty? *SOCAL*

[WhiteTgr135i]

Hello all, i know this topic has been addressed countless times, but haven't really found out my answer, and i don't really feel comfortable calling dealerships asking this question since i know what there answer will be. Anyway, i am located in Southern California, Orange County to be exact.

Question for all you people in Southern California with E82 running mods. Do you guys know any mod friend dealerships in SoCal? Reason being, i am thinking about going with a catless downpipe but afraid that will void the warranty for the entire engine / turbo etc. I know a catless dp will void the exhaust warranty which i don't mind.

Reason why i am asking is, i installed a drop-in filter on my car and couldn't get one of the tabs onto the intake box, so i took it to Shelly BMW and they refused to put the clip back on because it had an aftermarket filter. So i took it to Crevier and they too were iffy on putting it back on but they did anyway.

So i am afraid if i install a catless downpipe, they will void the entire warranty since it interferes with emissions, plus i only have 4k miles on the car. Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

-Tycho


(Yes i used the search button )

[Rodzilla]

From my experience when I lived there and Cali's stringent emission standards. I am pretty positive that they will void at least your exhaust. But, and I am saying but. If one of your turbos were to malfunction, they can blame it on the DP's and void you warranty as well. That is why I am hesitant on putting DP's while still in warranty, even though that is all I am missing from being full bolt on.

Luckily you have the N55 which would make it easier to swap DP's. If you need to make a trip to the dealer.

[IZAGLO]

even MOD "DEALER FRIENDLY" is only friendly till a motor, CEL, issue comes up and then they will still be friendly and tell you they will not work on your car till the DP's are off. Or they can be friendly and tag your car in it's vehicle history report which would suck. I had a friendly dealer, one who was cool till the management was changed, and then not so friendly. I refuse to put DP's or anything else on my car that can not be taken off easily till it's out of warranty..i learned my lesson and so did mu buddy who had a full bolt on 335i till his HPFP went and the 'FRIENDLY"dealer would not work on his car till the bolt-ons were off. He agreed, took the bolt-ons off and sold the car for a S4...The same thing i did when my friendly dealer would not work on m y car till the DP's were off..I sold that car and bought the 135i..... i learned something here..dealers are not mod friendly when it comes to warranty work. I take off my JB4 EVERY dealer trip..f.....k There are no really mod friendly dealers..only put mods on you are willing to take off quickly if a warranty is needed. If a warranty is of no concern mod your balls off and enjoy!!

[mdputnam]

Due to the increase in penalties for removing smog equipment here in California (like jail time is now available!) I doubt that there will be any California dealers willing to work on the engine out of concern of of even being accused of removing or disabling a cat.

[Hondamxracer51]

I am a parts guy at Shelly. Shoot me an email with some of your questions and I'm sure I can point you to someone who will be cool with it. It kinda depends on the problem and if it was caused by the mod. Ryanm@shellybmw.com

[JimD]

I will admit this is my standard answer but I think if you word your question differently the answer becomes more obvious. If you ask "If I put on catless downpipes will any dealer assume liability under the warranty for problems caused by the modification?" the answer is pretty obvious. On the other hand if you were to ask "If I put on catless downpipes and have an unrelated issue are there dealers that will not hassle me and just fix my car?" the answer is less clear. Hopefully there is a positive answer. As a matter of federal law, the answer to the second question has to be yes, no dealer has a right to refuse warranty coverage unless they can show your modification caused the damage. But enforcing that could be far more costly than paying for the repair.

I would also think a court would not rule favorably for a car owner complaining about a dealer when the modification they performed was to remove required pollution control equipment. Once the car owner breaks the law, it could be hard to get the court to side with you relative to a car dealer who has any sort of argument for why they don't want to be involved.

Jim