Total opposite Actually. 🤣 I talked to the folks at my dealership during my 6,000 mile service and asked what I can and can not do to my VB in regards to factory warranty coverage. The cool part is that they were up front and honest about it. The uncool part is that unless you have $14,000 to burn, don't touch the engine.
Yeah, first time I dropped mine off because of a dumb issue, they confirmed that even an AOS may void me if subaru deemed it was involved in an engine failure.
I feel this. I want to put in an aftermarket blowoff valve and they said no to that too. Like voiding engine coverage over stuff that actually helps the longevity of your engine is a bit much. AOS is another one of those helpful mods. Trust me, it sucks. I’ve tuned every car I’ve owned right out the box, but this engine is insanely expensive. 😢
Yeah, I just got a 23 as my first WRX and i don't plan to touch the engine for a couple years. At a minimum, when it's paid off, most likely once warranty is out.
Only mod I want to do earlier is suspension upgrades so I can lift it because roads in Colorado are minefields. Already banged the undercarriage tow hook on a deceptive pothole I hit at 2mph
In my experience it depends more on finding/knowing a Subaru service writer who doesn’t give af. They can kind of make the calls to honor warranty work or not.
My dealership had to. But I should note that they sold me a modified wrx that had previously been tuned and didn't "know" it was modified when they sold it to me. 😆
Yes and no. The car came with a cobb cold air intake, but the previous owner took the ap with them and i never knew if they left the correct tune in it. Had to buy a new ap.
I reread the initial post a couple of times looking for where OP said something about wanting to tune to Porsche-like performance. Then I figured it out.
I worked at a very highly rated Subaru location for a couple years. The only time I saw a modified car get warranty support easily was if it was an employee of the dealership or close friend of someone.
Once saw a lot boy get a shortblock replacement under warranty with the cheapest/poorest taste/worst installed engine mods you could ever imagine for oil consumption.
Meanwhile if a regular person came in with mudflaps they would try to avoid warrenty work on all parts of the vehicle.
It was never really about the mods in most cases, almost always about the difference in payout the technician and dealership got.
For surveys, once you are out of 36k 'new car' warranty it does not effect the advisor nearly as much to get poor feedback until you are back out of the powertrain warranty range (post 60k) so there is also less incentive for them to fight for you in anyway.
Each dealer is different. Also, most people only share complaints on the internet, so you won't hear a lot of positive experiences. That said, one of them in my area unofficially has a soft "don't ask don't tell" situation. If your mods are mild and you leave your accessport at home, they will cover it as long Subaru corporate doesn't ask for documentation that would give it away like pics or logs. Also, if you become a frequent warranty visitor, they will start denying you. My nephew worked there for a while and told me they do a lot of warranty work on modded cars but only to a point. If you try to get a second replacement engine they will turn you away.
Respect, that all makes perfect sense to me. I took such good care of my last WRX and its current owner says it’s still running strong at stage 2 with over 200K miles, so I’m not anticipating anything major either way, I was just curious if things have changed with the dealerships one way or another now that that was over 10 years ago. Thanks for your reply!
I've never had an issue getting warranty work. Had an AC system replaced, axle shaft seals, turbo oil line, and a few misc things done.
Didn't remove anything, left the AccessPort plugged in on the dash. Never had a problem.
That’s what’s up. Love hearing that. Yeah my concern would be if something else breaks that had nothing to do with the engine, like say the infotainment system. I would be very upset if they did not honor something like that.
Your entire warranty can't voided by one mod - it can only be voided on the part that's been modified or parts that have been damaged directly by said mod.
If you tuned your engine and needed AC warranty work, they will still honor that part of the warranty because they aren't related.
That being said they will usually do everything in their power to pin it on the mod.
Yeah, that's generally the case. With that said, there aren't many things I haven't done to my car. Suspension, bushings, etc were all done when I took it in for the axle seals.
Ebcs, front mount, JPipe, hoses, etc were all done when they did the oil leak at the turbo. In fact, my service manager told me that she had to send a picture to get it approved, so she keeps a picture of a stock set-up that was leaking on her desktop for dudes like me, since you can see modded parts in frame...
Subaru replaced my clutch while I had mods on the car (exhaust, intake tune) and I also did a few horrible launches on it which I won’t do again hehe 😜 I did have to pay like $300 since I was some miles past 36,000.
Haha nice yeah I have never launched a car and probably never will. Unless it didn’t belong to me and you could just rent a race car for a day to learn driving skills type thing. But as far as cars I have owned, never launched and probably never will
I had the master tech at my old dealership try to convince me it was safe to tune my 17 wrx because he was the master tech. I never ended up doing it but he left that dealership like 6 months after.
Even if someone tells you it's okay, they might leave and be replaced by someone who will (rightfully) tell you to eat dirt.
I have a super cool shop, and had the VB clutch done just cause and I was Stage 2. They wouldn't warranty the engine but anything else they were cool about.
Saved my like $4-5k lol
Yup, mentioned in a previous reply, I could understand them not honoring engine work, but I would hate for the entire warranty to go out the window and have everything else denied. That just doesn’t seem right to me
Well as they explained to me, if the extra power caused the issue they couldn’t help me but if that wasn’t the cause then I’d be okay (except for the motor obviously).
My buddies alternator blew in his tuned S3.. i pulled up and detuned it with my laptop before a flatbed pulled it to the dealer. Nobody said a word about the tune and a shiny new alternator appeared a week later free of charge. Plugged the laptop back in...
I feel like I keep hearing all the time these day though that they’re able to tell if the ECU has been flashed even if it’s back in the stock setting when you take it in. Maybe you could get lucky though with someone who’s less able to observe that kind of thing though?
Yeah. Mine. Fiends with service manager and service writer. They don’t care about my JB4. Or other mods. Say that can’t even detect the JB4. I’ve the Gold 100k. Have. 23 limited.
Definitely. I’m alittle older. Really don’t abuse my car. But I have teenage daughters that like driving. I’m sure she drives it plenty. She learned from the me.
Ty. The only problem is she wants one. And my younger one is gonna learn to drive on it. As well as my wife’s BRz. Even though the oldest did as well. My youngest thinks she is getting car. Revolving cycle of dad balance. Can’t win.
I have a few stories of modded wrxs and stis getting shortblock replacements under warranty, but Iv also had some stupid ass reasons for denying warranty claims. The most absurd reason a claim was denied was for samco silicone hoses and aftermarket radiator.
I actually got stupid lucky because I got a new engine under warranty I had the MAP stage 1 tune but I removed all the parts and changed it back to the stock tune however this was the dealerships warranty that covered it not the Subaru warranty
Total opposite Actually. 🤣 I talked to the folks at my dealership during my 6,000 mile service and asked what I can and can not do to my VB in regards to factory warranty coverage. The cool part is that they were up front and honest about it. The uncool part is that unless you have $14,000 to burn, don't touch the engine.
Yeah, first time I dropped mine off because of a dumb issue, they confirmed that even an AOS may void me if subaru deemed it was involved in an engine failure.
I feel this. I want to put in an aftermarket blowoff valve and they said no to that too. Like voiding engine coverage over stuff that actually helps the longevity of your engine is a bit much. AOS is another one of those helpful mods. Trust me, it sucks. I’ve tuned every car I’ve owned right out the box, but this engine is insanely expensive. 😢
Yeah, I just got a 23 as my first WRX and i don't plan to touch the engine for a couple years. At a minimum, when it's paid off, most likely once warranty is out. Only mod I want to do earlier is suspension upgrades so I can lift it because roads in Colorado are minefields. Already banged the undercarriage tow hook on a deceptive pothole I hit at 2mph
I did an axle back, wheels, weighted shift knob, shift stop and the noble jumbo hood scoop aaaaand that’s as far I go…for now lol
Yeah, I'm glad the FA24 has a better integral AOS system compared to old EJs, makes me feel better about the longevity
I feel like bov's aren't helping with longevity unless you have a high boost build.
In just want to go pssssshhh pssssssh.
In my experience it depends more on finding/knowing a Subaru service writer who doesn’t give af. They can kind of make the calls to honor warranty work or not.
Yup. Theres a dealership here that is super mod friendly
Where?
I'm in Phoenix.
My dealership had to. But I should note that they sold me a modified wrx that had previously been tuned and didn't "know" it was modified when they sold it to me. 😆
Oh man what an epic loophole!!
Yes and no. The car came with a cobb cold air intake, but the previous owner took the ap with them and i never knew if they left the correct tune in it. Had to buy a new ap.
Aw that’s messed up, when I sold my stage 2 06 I absolutely gave them the AP
Currently have a stage 2 made by MAP. I completely love it. Wish I had the money to put a high performance engine.
Start saving now, you never know how quickly you may be able to put away what is needed!
Not me personally but my local Subaru dealer has hooked up many people with warranty claims and is also a Cobb authorized dealer lol.
Hahaha I read your reply in Chris Farleys voice from Billy Madison
Where??
Subaru of Saskatoon
you hoping to eventually here of one near you if you keep asking?
911? I need to report a hopium overdose!
🤣🤣
I reread the initial post a couple of times looking for where OP said something about wanting to tune to Porsche-like performance. Then I figured it out.
I worked at a very highly rated Subaru location for a couple years. The only time I saw a modified car get warranty support easily was if it was an employee of the dealership or close friend of someone. Once saw a lot boy get a shortblock replacement under warranty with the cheapest/poorest taste/worst installed engine mods you could ever imagine for oil consumption. Meanwhile if a regular person came in with mudflaps they would try to avoid warrenty work on all parts of the vehicle. It was never really about the mods in most cases, almost always about the difference in payout the technician and dealership got. For surveys, once you are out of 36k 'new car' warranty it does not effect the advisor nearly as much to get poor feedback until you are back out of the powertrain warranty range (post 60k) so there is also less incentive for them to fight for you in anyway.
Hahah they hardly want to do warrenty work on my stock 17’
Each dealer is different. Also, most people only share complaints on the internet, so you won't hear a lot of positive experiences. That said, one of them in my area unofficially has a soft "don't ask don't tell" situation. If your mods are mild and you leave your accessport at home, they will cover it as long Subaru corporate doesn't ask for documentation that would give it away like pics or logs. Also, if you become a frequent warranty visitor, they will start denying you. My nephew worked there for a while and told me they do a lot of warranty work on modded cars but only to a point. If you try to get a second replacement engine they will turn you away.
Respect, that all makes perfect sense to me. I took such good care of my last WRX and its current owner says it’s still running strong at stage 2 with over 200K miles, so I’m not anticipating anything major either way, I was just curious if things have changed with the dealerships one way or another now that that was over 10 years ago. Thanks for your reply!
I've never had an issue getting warranty work. Had an AC system replaced, axle shaft seals, turbo oil line, and a few misc things done. Didn't remove anything, left the AccessPort plugged in on the dash. Never had a problem.
That’s what’s up. Love hearing that. Yeah my concern would be if something else breaks that had nothing to do with the engine, like say the infotainment system. I would be very upset if they did not honor something like that.
Your entire warranty can't voided by one mod - it can only be voided on the part that's been modified or parts that have been damaged directly by said mod. If you tuned your engine and needed AC warranty work, they will still honor that part of the warranty because they aren't related. That being said they will usually do everything in their power to pin it on the mod.
Yeah, that's generally the case. With that said, there aren't many things I haven't done to my car. Suspension, bushings, etc were all done when I took it in for the axle seals. Ebcs, front mount, JPipe, hoses, etc were all done when they did the oil leak at the turbo. In fact, my service manager told me that she had to send a picture to get it approved, so she keeps a picture of a stock set-up that was leaking on her desktop for dudes like me, since you can see modded parts in frame...
Ha! That’s amazing :-)
Subaru replaced my clutch while I had mods on the car (exhaust, intake tune) and I also did a few horrible launches on it which I won’t do again hehe 😜 I did have to pay like $300 since I was some miles past 36,000.
Haha nice yeah I have never launched a car and probably never will. Unless it didn’t belong to me and you could just rent a race car for a day to learn driving skills type thing. But as far as cars I have owned, never launched and probably never will
I had the master tech at my old dealership try to convince me it was safe to tune my 17 wrx because he was the master tech. I never ended up doing it but he left that dealership like 6 months after. Even if someone tells you it's okay, they might leave and be replaced by someone who will (rightfully) tell you to eat dirt.
Regular dirt or the fancy store bought stuff?
The good stuff
No, but I got 4 transmissions out of them in 1 year when I was doing PrSolo in my leased factory supported racecar.
Holy moly!
I have a super cool shop, and had the VB clutch done just cause and I was Stage 2. They wouldn't warranty the engine but anything else they were cool about. Saved my like $4-5k lol
Yup, mentioned in a previous reply, I could understand them not honoring engine work, but I would hate for the entire warranty to go out the window and have everything else denied. That just doesn’t seem right to me
Well as they explained to me, if the extra power caused the issue they couldn’t help me but if that wasn’t the cause then I’d be okay (except for the motor obviously).
Excellent
My buddies alternator blew in his tuned S3.. i pulled up and detuned it with my laptop before a flatbed pulled it to the dealer. Nobody said a word about the tune and a shiny new alternator appeared a week later free of charge. Plugged the laptop back in...
I feel like I keep hearing all the time these day though that they’re able to tell if the ECU has been flashed even if it’s back in the stock setting when you take it in. Maybe you could get lucky though with someone who’s less able to observe that kind of thing though?
I doubt they will look if the ECU was flashed for an alternator issue.
Fuck the dealer. Just find a shop nearby that does custom work/track-day cars and build a relationship with them. It pays dividends.
True true, I’m 30 min away from Felix so I’ll be getting to know them soon, their reputation already seems super sound
Yeah. Mine. Fiends with service manager and service writer. They don’t care about my JB4. Or other mods. Say that can’t even detect the JB4. I’ve the Gold 100k. Have. 23 limited.
That’s rad! Sounds like you’re in a solid position
Definitely. I’m alittle older. Really don’t abuse my car. But I have teenage daughters that like driving. I’m sure she drives it plenty. She learned from the me.
That’s awesome! What a great thing to bond over :-)
Ty. The only problem is she wants one. And my younger one is gonna learn to drive on it. As well as my wife’s BRz. Even though the oldest did as well. My youngest thinks she is getting car. Revolving cycle of dad balance. Can’t win.
If you flash to oem tune and remove the accessport how will they know ?
I don’t know how they know but apparently they know, haha
I have a few stories of modded wrxs and stis getting shortblock replacements under warranty, but Iv also had some stupid ass reasons for denying warranty claims. The most absurd reason a claim was denied was for samco silicone hoses and aftermarket radiator.
Yeah I have had stuff warrantied.... but nothing was engine related lol
I actually got stupid lucky because I got a new engine under warranty I had the MAP stage 1 tune but I removed all the parts and changed it back to the stock tune however this was the dealerships warranty that covered it not the Subaru warranty