Warranty and mods on 2017
Tourer
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 476
Likes: 90
From: Westchester, NY
yes this has been beaten to death.. plenty of threads on this. You can sort through a million posts and still come out more confused than ever. For me, I follow one set one set of rules. One, I expect to void my warranty if I change anything on my bike (EPA compliant or not) because it really comes down to what MoCo says not the EPA. It's a Harley product you're buying. Do you really think they will repair your engine free of charge if you modified it with other aftermarket items? It's common sense.
Yes, you can battle it out in court but your broken down bike will sit there for months or more until it is resolved. And since I has determined to change just about everything I can on my bike, I decided to purchase the major components through my local HD shop and have them install it. This keeps them in business and according to them, keeps my bike under warranty. Don't get me wrong, they will not sell me just anything. I do have to follow their recommendations as it relates to tuners, etc. So far they have supported me on every visit. And i'm a pain the rear when it comes to my bikes.
Yes, you can battle it out in court but your broken down bike will sit there for months or more until it is resolved. And since I has determined to change just about everything I can on my bike, I decided to purchase the major components through my local HD shop and have them install it. This keeps them in business and according to them, keeps my bike under warranty. Don't get me wrong, they will not sell me just anything. I do have to follow their recommendations as it relates to tuners, etc. So far they have supported me on every visit. And i'm a pain the rear when it comes to my bikes.
Club Member
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 11,467
Likes: 3,569
From: Idaho
This has indeed been beaten to death. To death. So, I'll keep it short:
1. The MM Act does not apply in this case.
2. Adding any aftermarket performance parts to your 2017, no matter what they are, does not "void your warranty".
The kicker:
3. If you do add aftermarket performance parts, then you have to tune the bike. If you use any aftermarket tuner other than the Screamin' Eagle Pro Street Tuner, then according to the Consent Decree that Harley-Davidson, Inc, signed, your dealer "MUST" deny all powertrain warranty claims.
So, if a dealer is saying they will honor warranty claims even though an aftermarket tuner was used, there are only two ways to do this; The dealer will either lie to the MoCo about an aftermarket tuner not being used, (very high risk), or simply not charge you for repair work, and eat the cost themselves.
1. The MM Act does not apply in this case.
2. Adding any aftermarket performance parts to your 2017, no matter what they are, does not "void your warranty".
The kicker:
3. If you do add aftermarket performance parts, then you have to tune the bike. If you use any aftermarket tuner other than the Screamin' Eagle Pro Street Tuner, then according to the Consent Decree that Harley-Davidson, Inc, signed, your dealer "MUST" deny all powertrain warranty claims.
So, if a dealer is saying they will honor warranty claims even though an aftermarket tuner was used, there are only two ways to do this; The dealer will either lie to the MoCo about an aftermarket tuner not being used, (very high risk), or simply not charge you for repair work, and eat the cost themselves.
Tourer
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 476
Likes: 90
From: Westchester, NY
That is why you should always go with the recommended SE tuner. That seems to be the area that MoCo is focusing on... The 16 breakout has the FP3 but the m8 has the SE tuner.. and btw, the SE tuner is not a bad tuner. Seems to be working well with the stage 2 kit and full exhaust. Couldn't be happier.
Road Master
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 1,205
Likes: 216
From: Davenport, IA
That is why you should always go with the recommended SE tuner. That seems to be the area that MoCo is focusing on... The 16 breakout has the FP3 but the m8 has the SE tuner.. and btw, the SE tuner is not a bad tuner. Seems to be working well with the stage 2 kit and full exhaust. Couldn't be happier.
Tourer
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 476
Likes: 90
From: Westchester, NY
nope.. HD swapped out the head pipe and mufflers. no cat. They said Harley would have no problems as long as I used their SE tuner.. again, it's a risk I'm willing to take. From what I see HD is not worried about your exhaust. They're worried about getting paid by MoCo for doing warranty related work. If your engine fails for whatever reason, and you have a non Harley part installed on it, they can easily say the cause was that. Now if you had a non-Harley part that they sold you and installed for you then they must stand behind it.
One thing we need to remember is that there is a huge difference between being EPA compliant and voiding your Harley warranty. We understand the EPA ruling, which has been in effect for years.. And we know the penalties HD paid out. And we know they are cracking down for 2017. But the whole Harley warranty thing is more of Harley not wanting to be responsible for paying for any repairs on bikes that have been modified by you, using non-Harley parts. Do you really expect them to do so? They're not calling EPA for direction. They're calling MoCo because they need to get the warranty repair approved.
If you remember we had one individual that was denied warranty because they found an FP3 tuner connected to the bike. It wasn't an EPA conversation.. it was a non Harley tuner. Whether or not this caused the problem is irrelevant. They have it in writing that if you modify the bike they can void your warranty. It's all case by case. Do not confuse the two. If you want to avoid problems then work with your local HD shop and buy from them and have then install it. And use the SE tuner for now. It may cost you a bit more but saving a few bucks now could mean spending a lot more later down the line so why risk it?
One thing we need to remember is that there is a huge difference between being EPA compliant and voiding your Harley warranty. We understand the EPA ruling, which has been in effect for years.. And we know the penalties HD paid out. And we know they are cracking down for 2017. But the whole Harley warranty thing is more of Harley not wanting to be responsible for paying for any repairs on bikes that have been modified by you, using non-Harley parts. Do you really expect them to do so? They're not calling EPA for direction. They're calling MoCo because they need to get the warranty repair approved.
If you remember we had one individual that was denied warranty because they found an FP3 tuner connected to the bike. It wasn't an EPA conversation.. it was a non Harley tuner. Whether or not this caused the problem is irrelevant. They have it in writing that if you modify the bike they can void your warranty. It's all case by case. Do not confuse the two. If you want to avoid problems then work with your local HD shop and buy from them and have then install it. And use the SE tuner for now. It may cost you a bit more but saving a few bucks now could mean spending a lot more later down the line so why risk it?
Last edited by Drodrigueznyc; Jun 5, 2017 at 01:45 PM.
Thread Starter
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Road Captain
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Lon
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Joined: Jan 2008
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From: State of Confusion
But Wait! That's not All! If you act now you will also need to buy the Muffler End caps and Clamps for another $200! Don't delay, this special offer can only be found by maxing out your VISA account thru a HD Dealership!
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Road Warrior
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 1,395
Likes: 364
From: Okmulgee
nope.. HD swapped out the head pipe and mufflers. no cat. They said Harley would have no problems as long as I used their SE tuner.. again, it's a risk I'm willing to take. From what I see HD is not worried about your exhaust. They're worried about getting paid by MoCo for doing warranty related work. If your engine fails for whatever reason, and you have a non Harley part installed on it, they can easily say the cause was that. Now if you had a non-Harley part that they sold you and installed for you then they must stand behind it.
One thing we need to remember is that there is a huge difference between being EPA compliant and voiding your Harley warranty. We understand the EPA ruling, which has been in effect for years.. And we know the penalties HD paid out. And we know they are cracking down for 2017. But the whole Harley warranty thing is more of Harley not wanting to be responsible for paying for any repairs on bikes that have been modified by you, using non-Harley parts. Do you really expect them to do so? They're not calling EPA for direction. They're calling MoCo because they need to get the warranty repair approved.
If you remember we had one individual that was denied warranty because they found an FP3 tuner connected to the bike. It wasn't an EPA conversation.. it was a non Harley tuner. Whether or not this caused the problem is irrelevant. They have it in writing that if you modify the bike they can void your warranty. It's all case by case. Do not confuse the two. If you want to avoid problems then work with your local HD shop and buy from them and have then install it. And use the SE tuner for now. It may cost you a bit more but saving a few bucks now could mean spending a lot more later down the line so why risk it?
One thing we need to remember is that there is a huge difference between being EPA compliant and voiding your Harley warranty. We understand the EPA ruling, which has been in effect for years.. And we know the penalties HD paid out. And we know they are cracking down for 2017. But the whole Harley warranty thing is more of Harley not wanting to be responsible for paying for any repairs on bikes that have been modified by you, using non-Harley parts. Do you really expect them to do so? They're not calling EPA for direction. They're calling MoCo because they need to get the warranty repair approved.
If you remember we had one individual that was denied warranty because they found an FP3 tuner connected to the bike. It wasn't an EPA conversation.. it was a non Harley tuner. Whether or not this caused the problem is irrelevant. They have it in writing that if you modify the bike they can void your warranty. It's all case by case. Do not confuse the two. If you want to avoid problems then work with your local HD shop and buy from them and have then install it. And use the SE tuner for now. It may cost you a bit more but saving a few bucks now could mean spending a lot more later down the line so why risk it?
Now that the warranty is gone I'm free! And it runs so much better than the canned HD tune for the TQ cam. Now to get rid of the cat.