Worried about Warranties?

You just bought your new Camaro that you’ve named Bruce Motherfu@$!ing Willis, and you have a Michael and KITT type of relationship with your brand new car.

But behind your back your friends refer to your new Camaro as the Black Bomber because you’re all talk and no action with your mods. One of the problems is that the Camaro is brand new, so you’re afraid of doing something that will void the factory warranty.

What do you do?

• Get new friends
• Say screw the warranty and do whatever you want
• Get educated and make a smart decision on updating your new Camaro

We’d go with Get New Friends, but if you’re choosing to get educated then you should tune into our Facebook Live show Wednesday, March 13 at 1 p.m. Phastek’s Jason and Ricardo will discuss what you can and can’t do that will void your factory warranty.

Will modifications void your warranty?

One of the  biggest question  people have when it comes to planning mods for their new or still under warranty Camaro is, “Will This Mod Void My Factory Warranty?”  

The real answer is No, an aftermarket modification will not void your Warranty.

The Service Advisory at the dealership holds that authority. It is up to the service advisor to make the call on whether or not the mod caused a problem or lead to a problem which could lead to your warranty being denied.

Now most people really don’t want to have to guess whether or not a Mod is going to cause them any grief when taking their Camaro into the dealer for warranty work. So we are going to educate you a little on what passes and what doesn’t.

If you personally create the issue while installing an aftermarket part then it most likely will not be covered under warranty. Point in case. If you decide to clean an area on your Camaro with Laquer thinner before installing a part and the paint comes off, or drop a valve in the engine because you did not correctly install a keeper when installing valve springs, then you are  most likely not going to be covered under warranty.

So let’s get down to it.  First, where do you find your warranty information that you get with your Camaro? Where is this info stated?

If you bought your Camaro new then the window sticker will usually display something under Standard Equipment like 3 yr/36000 miles  Bumper-To-Bumper and 5 yr/60,000 miles Powertrain Limited Warranty, but what does that vague information mean. To find out what is warranted you can look at the booklets that came with your Camaro. One of the booklets will be named Chevrolet Limited Warranty and Owner Assistance Information. This booklet would be paired with the Owners Manual. There it gives you an idea of what will be covered under warranty and what will not be warrantied.

So if you have read your Warranty booklet you will see that the wording does not say that a mod voids a warranty.  Generally what you will read with in the first 15 pages is a title “Damage Due to Accident,Misuse,or Alteration” The first words being Damage Due to. There will be a little more in dept under that title stating The New Vehicle Limited Warranty does not cover damage caused as the result of any of the following. From there it will go on to bullet points under that topic such as

• Misuse of vehicle such as driving over curbs, racing, or other competition.
• Alteration,modification,or tampering to the vehicle, including, but not limited to the body, chassis, powertrain, driveline, software, or other components after the final assembly by GM

Now if you read this correctly, the damage will have to be created by a Modification. So if you install an exhaust and the cooling fan goes out, then your Camaro’s fan should be covered under warranty since the exhaust has nothing to do with the fan.  

What about my Engine Warranty?

Now reading farther into the warranty booklet you will  come across the title “ Aftermarket Engine Performance Enhancement Products and Modifications”. This section basically states that by increasing the horsepower and torque of your Camaro that you could cause detrimental effects on the performance and life of the engine. It also states Damage, failure, or reduced life of the engine,transmission,emission system, drivetrain or other vehicle components caused by aftermarket engine performance enhancement products or modifications may not be covered under your vehicle warranty.  So lets be safe to say that if you do any internal engine mods you pretty much have voided your warranty.

What Popular Mods will or will not void my warranty?

Lets just make it simple and give you a list of things that could void part of your warranty and why.

• Wheels & Tires – Bolting on a properly sized wheel and tire package will not void your warranty. Now if you install the wrong tire and it rubs through the fender liner and cuts the fuel pump wiring then the damaged wiring will not be covered under your warranty.
• Exhaust– If you are properly installing the correct Catback or Axle back exhaust for your Camaro then you will not void your warranty. If you leave the tip loose and it rubs a notch into the diffuser then the diffuser will not be covered.
• Headers – You have 2 different versions. Shortie and Longtube. The shortie headers will not void your warranty, the longtube on the other hand will void your engine warranty because you will have to have the Camaro tuned to disable any check engine lights which alters the programmed software from GM.  
• Cold Air Intakes –  On most applications a Cold Air Intake will not void your warranty.
• Cam Packages– Yes a cam install will void your engine warranty. You popped open the engine. At that time all bets are off with the dealer. Plus it has to be tuned, which is a double negative towards your warranty.
• Body Kits – Properly installed body kits pieces like front splitter, trunk spoiler, side rockers will not void your warranty.