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Warranty Issues after Applying Mods to Your Prius?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Walk_the_walk, Jun 30, 2008.

  1. Walk_the_walk

    Walk_the_walk Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2008
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    Location:
    Central Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    II
    It is my understanding that the Magnusson Moss Act prohibits car manufacturers from voiding your warranty if you install after market parts on your car.

    However, some have installed new features and gizmos to their cars, with much great care, of course, in the hopes of improving their machine or its performance. The EV button is one such add-on. But, a posting on this forum indicates that installing this particular add-on was unfortunate for one Prius owner, whose battery failed prematurely, which resulted in a major warranty coverage conflict with Toyota, that ended in a stalemate where the owner had to remove the EV button to get his battery replaced under the warranty (and bravo to you, for sticking to your guns on this issue).

    I would like to poll other Prius owners to find out IF this same scenario has been an issue for them. Has the dealer ever refused to cover a failed battery, or any other warranty coverage due to any add-on device?
     
    #1 Walk_the_walk, Jun 30, 2008
  2. bbald123

    bbald123 Thermodynamics Law Enforcement

    Joined:
    Nov 13, 2007
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    Location:
    Harrisburg, PA
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    I'm not so sure that your lead sentence is correct. Review the FTC publication here: A Businessperson's Guide to Federal Warranty Law and you'll see that they can't require you to use Toyota parts. But, they can (and I haven't checked the Toyota warranty to see if the have) void the warranty for things such as improper repair or maintenance.

    The way I read it they can't force you to use Toyota branded oil and filters for instance. But, if you install something that damages the vehicle that damage is excludable from coverage. If you install a re-usable air filter that uses oiled foam as a the filter and oil contaminates the MAF sensor, you're not going to get warranty replacement of the sensor.

    It's not a very far stretch to say that a DIY EV button install would get you into warranty problems. I know, I know, they sell the EV button in the rest of the civilized world. The argument would be over the DIY install versus factory install.
     
    #2 bbald123, Jul 1, 2008
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