Hello All,

I am having some confusion (caused by the Service Department at the dealership) about voiding my warranty. I recently took my '23 FXLRS to the dealership to have some recall work done. I had removed the ugly heavy breather that came factory and replaced it with a 117 Ventilator style breather from a '22 CVO Tri Glide. So while I was waiting for my bike to be done, I asked if replacing that would void my warranty, and they said "Technically no, since its a Harley factory part". They then followed that up by saying that they generally don't void warranties. However, if the Inspector comes through randomly, that they would void warranties for intake work, exhaust work, etc. I asked them if it would be voided even if I used the SE Pro Street Tuner, and they said "Yes, the inspector will void it regardless".

It was my understanding that due to the recent lawsuit from the FTC, the warranty cannot be voided for using third-party parts. Below is a summarized version of the section of the lawsuit I am referring to.

"The FTC alleges that these terms harm consumers and competition in multiple ways, including:

• By telling consumers their warranties will be voided if they choose third-party parts or repair services, the companies force consumers to use potentially more expensive options provided by the manufacturer. This violates the Warranty Act, which prohibits these clauses unless a manufacturer provides the required parts or services for free under the warranty or is granted an exception from the FTC."

My questions are, has anyone else been told the same thing, or is what I was told a complete BS story/scare tactic by the Service Dept.?

Thanks !!

 

They can't out right void your warranty, if you have an issue and they can relate the mod to the failure then they don't have to cover it, usually if the dealer installs it then the warranty will stay intact if something fails.

 

That was my understanding too, but the dealership service department is telling me otherwise.

 

Unless you've got a map from a third party tuner. Their software will detect that immediately upon plugging your bike in and flag/void your warranty. But that shouldn't be a problem since you're using a Harley tuner.

I've never heard of a Harley-Davidson "inspector" walking around a repair shop, that sounds pretty silly to me.

 

That is true. I was thinking hardware.

 

Not entirely true

If you change any factory part that has anything to do with the emission system with a non EPA approved part ( these are mostly HD parts except for some slip on mufflers) Or you tune the bike with any other tuner other than the HD tuner....They will void the powertrain part of your warranty. Now that is not to say the Dealer will not take care of you but the factory Powertrain part of the warranty will be void. Also as a side note changing anything to do with the emissions system with non EPA approved parts ( Exhaust, tuner, cams, air intakes ) is technically against the law ( even though most of us do it anyway

 

At least around the Detroit area, dealers will basically put any hardware on the bike and assert that your warranty would not be voided as long as you use the SE tuner.

I think practically speaking that has been true, but technically, if you remove the catalytic converter, use aftermarket cams, etc they could deny a warranty claim for a power train issue.

 

I thought that seemed pretty silly and unlikely as well, which is what made me question the whole thing.

 

The Official Harley-Davidson Warranty Kommisar is no joke, you'd better make sure both of your mirrors are installed and adjusted at the correct angles!

 

BAHAHAHA.....you aren't wrong !!!