Warranty friendly mods

[Mk1Macca]

Yes we all love our new cars, but some of us also enjoy tweaking them a bit. 

Can we start a list of mods that can be done that wont affect the warranty?

[GTI7me]

Definitely interested in this. So far i would say light cosmetic mods such as vinyl wrapping.

Would love to lower the car, remap it, louder exhaust, performance CAT and intake. The warranty concerns me though. Always a bit of a grey area.

Anyone got any past experience with this?

J

[Darlo]

I had these concerns before. Suppose that's why I went for the tuning box, so easily removed and undetectable when it comes to warranty.

A nice 30mm drop would be nice but with the issues with the suspension I have already had I don't think this will be happening anytime soon!

I asked the question when I was going to lower my jcw mini, think the general rule is they won't void the whole car, just the parts related to it.

[Gnasher]

As Darlo says, normally the only parts that you lose the warranty on are those that are changed, but be careful of some mods.

For example, in some instances I've heard of a turbo back exhaust voiding the warranty on the turbo due to the drop in back pressure it gives, so be careful.

[corgi]

You need to be careful with mods and warranties. It is not only the parts that are directly replaced that are voided but you need to consider as stated that there may be parts connected that are voided also. For example, if you lower the car just using springs VW could potentially refuse to warrant the dampers or other suspension components because of the extra stress that is being placed on them...

I heard of an upgraded clutch voiding the warranty on the gearbox and diff because of the extra load it allows you to transfer through these parts...

[Ian.C]

Ive done a few mods to all my cars and never had any problems....Our last car Scirocco was lowered - remapped - full exhaust and had several warranty jobs done no problems.

Ian

[SA-GTI]

My ex GTI was modded (MK V). K04 after warranty but during warranty, it had DP, intake, software, S3 IC, sports springs and struts etc. and never had issues with warranty although I didn't claim much through warranty. When I took delivery of the 7, I was told that any mods done to the car would void the applicable parts warranty due to TD1 and ODIS.

[GrahamFR]

Only cosmetic would be safe from warranty arguments. Just try and swap parts that are easily accessible. Putting an induction kit on is easy to change and if you think about it, towing your car to get to a garage to put your oem exhaust back on isn't that big a step if your engine blows and you need to look standard

[SRGTD]

Whether warranty friendly or not, make sure you inform your insurer of any mods you make, so you don't invalidate your insurance.

Some mods won't affect your premium, but make sure you tell them, so you don't give them an excuse to repudiate a claim, should the unthinkable happen.

[gazmondo35]

I really want a tuning box,but have been put of by suggestions that if there was for example a engine failure, vw can read the data from the ecu & question why the torque was so high.