posted this in the warranty forum but the traffic there is nill, plus i was hoping you could recommend any dealerships...

a bit long but here goes...

a while ago i installed a boost gauge to measure boost levels on my 05 wrx. at the time my only mods were a catback, k&n filter, and a snorkel delete. boost gauge read about 7psi max and i thought i "felt" it pulling less.

i inquire at the dealer if they could check my boost because it is lower than what it is supposed to be.

they quickly ask, "who installed the boost gauge?"
"i did," i tell them.
he says, "well if we didn't install it, you voided the warranty."
i say, "even though the only real "modifying" i did was tapping into a hose?"
"yes but we still didn't install it," he insists.
i say, "o.k., but what if the boost problem existed before and i didn't know about it until i installed a device that could measure it?"
he thinks and says, "its possible, but not likely."

the last statement clearly told me not to deal with this particular dealership. i know that each one is different and that i might find one that is more symphathetic. however, i grow impatient and start doing other mods.

anyway, fast-forward to today and my mods now include a catless up-pipe, and cobb ap stage 1. boost is now peaking at 10-11psi. according to my gauge AND cobb realtime boost. i have looked into adjusting the wastegate and using the hwg map on ap already and nothing seems to help.

my question is, with these new mods, is it possible to find a dealer that will find out about my low boost problems? or was the addition of the uppipe and or the engine management one mod too many, for a dealership to look into it "under warranty?"

 

i'd be more worried about your car not boosting, take your mods off and go into a dealer.

 

go back, tell them that you know they can only void the warranty if they can prove through reasonable doubt that the mod you did is what caused the problem. Unless you didnt seal the hose well, I dont see how installing th guage could cause less boosting.

 

here is my catch 22. if i had no boost gauge, they would tell me my car is "fine" and probably just my imagination that it doesn't pull as hard. install the boost gauge to prove it and i have "voided" my warranty.

 

first, I would de-mod all the way leaving the boost gauge. Check boost. If you are still under boosting, I would take it to another dealer (can't recommend one, sorry). While it's true they cannot "void" your warranty without proving that what you did caused the problem, you can't make them work on your car. Every dealership/business can refuse service to anyone.

My 2001 audi a4 didn't boost for **** and I took it to the dealer and they just wrote me off. I just kept taking it back until they would take a real look at it. They ended up replacing my turbo.

 

save yourself some time or $ from demodding and take it to a local specialist shop to get it checked out. You can probably find somewhere local in any of the vendor forums that would give you a good deal on checking it out for you.

If they determine it's some defective part or something the dealer would take care of if you weren't modded you can go from there.

And yes you can screw up your boost by poking holes in vacuum tubes..or by disconnecting wires or hoses. You might even just have a defective meter.

 

oh, and another thing...you can't have a warranty completely voided by installing a boost guage. That will never hold up in any court or any arbitration. They know this...they even offer boost guage options on the car themselves. They're messing with you because you're young and they know if they get tough you'll just leave.

 

lol

 

lot of laughing today.....and it's not even 4.20pm yet. :-)

 

= LOL!

 

it is now