I constantly hear about protecting your warranty around here. Where of the stories of someone having an issue, while doing something even remotely sensible? Reading the suggestion that interpreting "severe service" incorrectly could give you warranty problems put me over the top. And the, "you can't use a 30, they said 20, you'll void your warranty" are abundant as well.
Voided Warranty?
- Thread starter hatt
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Would you rather we advocate that people disobey what the manufacturer says?
After all, it's the manufacturer who stands behind the warranty and not some anonymous poster on BITOG.
After all, it's the manufacturer who stands behind the warranty and not some anonymous poster on BITOG.
I wouldn't say that the manufacturer would automatically void warranty for using 30 instead of 20 oil, but they definitely could hold out on fixing a failed engine under warranty once they found out wrong oil weight was used or much longer OCIs were done.
Warranty is always a valid point and a vild card, so why take the chance?
Warranty is always a valid point and a vild card, so why take the chance?
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Even though using 5w30 in a 5w20 engine probably won't matter and i'm actually still not even sure if they ever changed the design for an engine to run on 5w20 but you aren't helping yourself by not using the oil that is printed on the oil cap.
I disregarded warranty stuff for my car. Something to do with my rust proofing (I use Krown) and I have used 5w30 in my car once because I had some I wanted to use. I do not care. Even if I had to make a claim for something within the engine internals, I can provide many other receipts for 5w20 use.
I just do not go out of my way to stay within warranty guidelines. I knew I wouldn't have to make a claim and with only 10KM remaining on mine, its looking like I won't have to. (Knock on wood)
I just do not go out of my way to stay within warranty guidelines. I knew I wouldn't have to make a claim and with only 10KM remaining on mine, its looking like I won't have to. (Knock on wood)
Whats a 'warranty'?
My cars come with 80k miles to start. No engine failures yet.
My cars come with 80k miles to start. No engine failures yet.
Originally Posted By: surfstar
My cars come with 80k miles to start. No engine failures yet.
It's a judgement call. If there's some bad internal part in your engine and it fails in warranty, in theory the car company will cover it, IF you have adhered to their maintenance schedule.
If a $4k+ engine is easily within someone's budget they can run whatever oil they want.
However for most folks I'd imagine that paying for a new engine when the warranty would have is enough incentive to go by the oil recommendation.
My cars come with 80k miles to start. No engine failures yet.
It's a judgement call. If there's some bad internal part in your engine and it fails in warranty, in theory the car company will cover it, IF you have adhered to their maintenance schedule.
If a $4k+ engine is easily within someone's budget they can run whatever oil they want.
However for most folks I'd imagine that paying for a new engine when the warranty would have is enough incentive to go by the oil recommendation.
Originally Posted By: Kuato
Originally Posted By: surfstar
My cars come with 80k miles to start. No engine failures yet.
It's a judgement call. If there's some bad internal part in your engine and it fails in warranty, in theory the car company will cover it, IF you have adhered to their maintenance schedule.
If a $4k+ engine is easily within someone's budget they can run whatever oil they want.
However for most folks I'd imagine that paying for a new engine when the warranty would have is enough incentive to go by the oil recommendation.
I've never had to have warranty work done on any car we've ever bought new, four of them Hondas, one a Subaru and one a Ford.
We've certainly never had an engine failure in any vehicle at any mileage.
However, let's say that something really bad happens to one of our cars engines while still under warranty.
Do I really want to get into a peeing contest over why I used an oil grade or spec outside of OEM recommendation?
There are those botique blenders who claim that they'll stand behind you on any warranty denial, but do I really need to go through a protracted process to get my engine fixed or replaced?
I'd also spend more on a lawyer myself than I would just buying a replacement engine.
The manufacurer would still have more legal firepower than I would.
The answer is simple.
If you want to be able to use the warranty, use the recommended oil.
If you really don't care, use whatever you want.
The warranty is part of what you pay for in a new car.
Why put it at any risk?
Originally Posted By: surfstar
My cars come with 80k miles to start. No engine failures yet.
It's a judgement call. If there's some bad internal part in your engine and it fails in warranty, in theory the car company will cover it, IF you have adhered to their maintenance schedule.
If a $4k+ engine is easily within someone's budget they can run whatever oil they want.
However for most folks I'd imagine that paying for a new engine when the warranty would have is enough incentive to go by the oil recommendation.
I've never had to have warranty work done on any car we've ever bought new, four of them Hondas, one a Subaru and one a Ford.
We've certainly never had an engine failure in any vehicle at any mileage.
However, let's say that something really bad happens to one of our cars engines while still under warranty.
Do I really want to get into a peeing contest over why I used an oil grade or spec outside of OEM recommendation?
There are those botique blenders who claim that they'll stand behind you on any warranty denial, but do I really need to go through a protracted process to get my engine fixed or replaced?
I'd also spend more on a lawyer myself than I would just buying a replacement engine.
The manufacurer would still have more legal firepower than I would.
The answer is simple.
If you want to be able to use the warranty, use the recommended oil.
If you really don't care, use whatever you want.
The warranty is part of what you pay for in a new car.
Why put it at any risk?
About a decade or so ago I worked at a shop that offered a $19.95 basic oil change with Valvoline conventional 5w30. We had a customer who only brought us his Mercedes (I think it was an SL500) for that oil change deal and he did so when the FSS thing reminded him to do so. His engine did fail within the warranty period and he said he ended up paying about $32k out of pocket for repairs.
That's the only example I personally know of where someone was denied warranty coverage for using the wrong oil. It's not the sort of thing you would ask about on Bitog and get a lot of people saying "That should work well except for the warranty."
That's the only example I personally know of where someone was denied warranty coverage for using the wrong oil. It's not the sort of thing you would ask about on Bitog and get a lot of people saying "That should work well except for the warranty."
"INDIANS....SCHMINDIANS" Gen. George Armstrong Custer
"WARRANTY...SCHMARRANTY" The Jake
"WARRANTY...SCHMARRANTY" The Jake
I've always been curious how an extended OCI with an appropriate oil could have a warranty claim refused. A mfg saying an engine was not maintained while simultaneously pointing at a spotless drivetrain.... It doesn't pass the everyman test. Not saying they wouldn't try, but really? would it stick?
Sort of like the floor guy @ home depot telling me kerosene heater wicks were a seansonal item and wouldn't be on the floor too soon since it still not the season; this while standing next to about 20 snowblowers lined up.
Sort of like the floor guy @ home depot telling me kerosene heater wicks were a seansonal item and wouldn't be on the floor too soon since it still not the season; this while standing next to about 20 snowblowers lined up.
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Well, if you just don't want to do what the manufacture recommends on a new vehicle, tell the sales manager you want to purchase the vehicle, but not the warranty, maybe they will nock a couple thousand bucks off the selling price and not worry about a warranty. Just saying...
What really gets my blood to boiling is when anyone follows the maintenance guidelines as closely as possible. Even having all the maintenance work preformed at a dealership, and when a problem does come and you have to make a warranty claim, they do everything they can to keep from covering the cost of the repair. That really burns me up!
What really gets my blood to boiling is when anyone follows the maintenance guidelines as closely as possible. Even having all the maintenance work preformed at a dealership, and when a problem does come and you have to make a warranty claim, they do everything they can to keep from covering the cost of the repair. That really burns me up!
Company's want to market that they come with warranties, but they're looking for every opportunity to not spend a dime. If you brought paperwork with used oil analysis having only been using top oils, they only care about the fine print. I tend to like places like Costco and Apple because they're really cool about returns/replacement when stuff goes wrong.
Originally Posted By: hatt
that interpreting "severe service" incorrectly could give you warranty problems put me over the top. And the, "you can't use a 30, they said 20, you'll void your warranty" are abundant as well.
The issue is not the warranty.
The issue is the manufacturer's accountants.
They will use ANY excuse they can find (like using 30 weight instead of 20 weight) to say "Sorry we're not replacing your engine" and then you'll find yourself tied-up in a court case. As example look at the 1/4 million customers who had their Toyota engines die at 20-30,000 miles & warranty voided, even when they had dealer records of regular oil changes. Accountants don't care if they screw-over a customer so long as they can show they saved $5000 by voiding yur warranty
.
that interpreting "severe service" incorrectly could give you warranty problems put me over the top. And the, "you can't use a 30, they said 20, you'll void your warranty" are abundant as well.
The issue is not the warranty.
The issue is the manufacturer's accountants.
They will use ANY excuse they can find (like using 30 weight instead of 20 weight) to say "Sorry we're not replacing your engine" and then you'll find yourself tied-up in a court case. As example look at the 1/4 million customers who had their Toyota engines die at 20-30,000 miles & warranty voided, even when they had dealer records of regular oil changes. Accountants don't care if they screw-over a customer so long as they can show they saved $5000 by voiding yur warranty
.
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Originally Posted By: DrDusty86
yonon..my [censored] meter is pegged..32k? come on man..really
If it was done by the MB dealer, and they put in a brand new engine, including dealer labor rates, that price may not be far from the truth.
Of course it would have been cheaper to find a used engine and have an indy shop put it in.
yonon..my [censored] meter is pegged..32k? come on man..really
If it was done by the MB dealer, and they put in a brand new engine, including dealer labor rates, that price may not be far from the truth.
Of course it would have been cheaper to find a used engine and have an indy shop put it in.
I had heard that people with Subarus and Mitsubishi that tracked them and put them on the web and facebook had warranty claims denied when they blew the engine up. Apparently the companies did a search and had evidence that the cars were being tracked and abused.
Originally Posted By: blackman777
[ As example look at the 1/4 million customers who had their Toyota engines die at 20-30,000 miles & warranty voided, even when they had dealer records of regular oil changes. Accountants don't care if they screw-over a customer so long as they can show they saved $5000 by voiding yur warranty
What is the source of that figure. Were there really 250,000 failed Toyota engines due to sludgeing?
[ As example look at the 1/4 million customers who had their Toyota engines die at 20-30,000 miles & warranty voided, even when they had dealer records of regular oil changes. Accountants don't care if they screw-over a customer so long as they can show they saved $5000 by voiding yur warranty
What is the source of that figure. Were there really 250,000 failed Toyota engines due to sludgeing?
I have never heard that, Toyota had 1/4 million engines fail inside of 30k, when was that?
Originally Posted By: blackman777
Originally Posted By: hatt
that interpreting "severe service" incorrectly could give you warranty problems put me over the top. And the, "you can't use a 30, they said 20, you'll void your warranty" are abundant as well.
The issue is not the warranty.
The issue is the manufacturer's accountants.
They will use ANY excuse they can find (like using 30 weight instead of 20 weight) to say "Sorry we're not replacing your engine" and then you'll find yourself tied-up in a court case. As example look at the 1/4 million customers who had their Toyota engines die at 20-30,000 miles & warranty voided, even when they had dealer records of regular oil changes. Accountants don't care if they screw-over a customer so long as they can show they saved $5000 by voiding yur warranty
.
Originally Posted By: blackman777
Originally Posted By: hatt
that interpreting "severe service" incorrectly could give you warranty problems put me over the top. And the, "you can't use a 30, they said 20, you'll void your warranty" are abundant as well.
The issue is not the warranty.
The issue is the manufacturer's accountants.
They will use ANY excuse they can find (like using 30 weight instead of 20 weight) to say "Sorry we're not replacing your engine" and then you'll find yourself tied-up in a court case. As example look at the 1/4 million customers who had their Toyota engines die at 20-30,000 miles & warranty voided, even when they had dealer records of regular oil changes. Accountants don't care if they screw-over a customer so long as they can show they saved $5000 by voiding yur warranty
.
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