"The best they could do"! "revisionist history"! We obviously have different opinions and that's cool. But based on the fact that automakers were notified as early as 1953, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn inquired of Detroit automobile makers as to whether research was being conducted to eliminate emissions. The response was vague. With the threat of mandatory federal regulations, (in the late 50s) the auto industry began to install crankcase blowby devices (which returned unburned gases to the combustion chambers) on their cars. This was a significant advance because crankcase blowby produced 25 percent of the engine's hydrocarbon emissions. This equipment became mandatory on all cars sold in California beginning with the 1963 models. That's way earlier than the 1975 federal mandate. In fact the catalytic converter (for automotive use) was invented in late 1950s by Eugene Houdry whom also sent examples to automotive manufacturers in the early 60s. So no they weren't BLINDSIDED by NEW federal regulations, they knew about them and had already developed systems a decade earlier. As for fuel injection (for automotive use) it was invented in 1925 and mechanical versions were used in all types of vehicles as of the late 1950s Chevrolet even used FI on the limited production 1975 Cosworth Vega using a Bendix EFI system with pulse-time manifold injection, four injector valves an electronic control unit (ECM) with 5 independent sensors and 2 fuel pumps. 5000 of these were built and 3500 cars were sold to the public with this engine. (Yes FI was already in production in 1975 not waiting to be invented). The manufactures could and did offer pcms and fuel injection. Price point and profit margins were how we got stuck with 150hp corvettes and the poor automakers new all about it.


So thanks GOTRPM for the update on the Diablo its much appreciated. Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

 

Sure they can, it happens all the time. Your recourse is to sue them. No that's not right - you could appeal to Chrysler Group LLC, but don't hold your breath. It really depends on the dealer, some are mod-friendly and some are not. The Magnuson-Moss Act says in part: 'Further, under the act, aftermarket equipment that improves performance does not automatically void a vehicle manufacturer's original warranty, unless the warranty clearly states the addition of aftermarket equipment automatically voids your vehicle's warranty, or if it can be proven that the aftermarket device is the direct cause of the failure.' The dealer can offer whatever "proof" he wants, then the consumer has to contest it. Sometimes appealing to the manufacturer works, sometimes not.

A personal example - I had an ignition coil fail on my 2000 Dakota R/T while under original warranty, but the dealer would not cover it because I had installed a high performance ignition when I put on the blower. I certainly couldn't guarantee that the aftermarket part hadn't caused the coil to fail.

I'm not trying to cry the sky is falling by any means, but we all have to go into installing mods with our eyes wide open and accept the fact that performance mods could make our lives more difficult in case of warranty issues. For me the risk is minimal and I accept it. Caveat Emptor.


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I have a transmission problem arise on my old VW. Took it in and they saw the CAI. This was after dropping it off. I get a call for me to come back in and they tell me that since I added a CAI it was modified and my power train warranty was void. I asked why and they actually told me the added power lol had cause the problem in the first gear. I laughed at them honestly. I left and called VWofAmerica and they confirmed that my warranty was voided. I was younger so I didn't proceed. Instead I had the tranny rebuilt and added some more parts and went mid crazy. I did though however loose my warranty at 22k on the speedo.