How many people have blown a motor and actually got a new one under warranty

[serium]

I was just curious of all the people that have blown their motors, how many of you were actually able to get a new one under warranty? Please explain the situation...miles, any dealership troubles and what not. Also what mods were you running when it blew and did you remove them before taking the car to the dealership or not. Thanks!

[glocK23]

as long as u put ur car back to stock, they cant deny it.

keep oil change records

[smakdown61]

Originally Posted by glocK23 as long as u put ur car back to stock, they cant deny it. keep oil change records

They can and they will. Be prepared for a fight.

[serium]

I can't image that if you brought your car in completely stock and where still in the warranty period they would actually deny a warranty. I'm sure you might get a few questions but there is no way they could deny you. I'm just worried because I've lost my license for a year and my car isn't moving...so lets say when i get my license back i get my oil changed first thing then a few weeks later my motor goes and they try to tell me i missed oil changes over the last year and they wont cover it....could that potentially happen to me??

[stevessvt]

If no one is driving it, then you wont have unexplained gaps in mialege.

[serium]

good point...

[glocK23]

Originally Posted by smakdown61 They can and they will. Be prepared for a fight.

Possibly, but doubtful.

[6262ms3]

The only issue I see is that they specify oil changes by a certain number of miles OR by a certain number of months, whichever comes first. So even though the car has done 0 miles they'll still see it as missing oil changes. Also, it's not great for any car to sit that long without moving. It wouldn't hurt to have someone you trust take it for a quick spin a couple of times a month. That's just my opinion, though.

[smakdown61]

Originally Posted by glocK23 Possibly, but doubtful.

They'll claim abuse.

[babcockxmx]

fuck mazda

[glocK23]

Originally Posted by smakdown61 They'll claim abuse.

Fuckers.

I haz much hate for them.

[xxspeed3]

i did lol, i made a mistake with my HKS EVC and BOOOOOOMMMM lol, took it back to stock thank god i wasn't to deep into at the time so it was pretty easy, they did hassle me but i got a new motor. with a red flag along with it.

[Meder]

It is always possible that a dealer may void you even if the car was never ever touched in anyway. They can claim abuse among other things.

With that being said, as long as you can take your car completely back to stock, dont have a sliced up ecu, dont have all sorts of signs that you've been fucking with things and replacing things no matter what it is you should be ok. Truth is they should not really be able to deny you, but you can bet they will try and find any way they can to do so.


Make sure you cover all your bases. Take off your sts, springs, everything. Take off your fancy recirc hose! Make sure you're putting all the stock shit back on from springs, shifters, hoses, to bolts. Oil change records are going to be the big go to thing if they dont have you on mods. Keep your records and even make copies. Try not to rip up your heat shielding when changing exhaust and all the small stuff. Fuck, you could even buy a brand new k and N air filter incase they question why your air box filter is so dirty.

really, they will do anything to void you, but as long as you completely put it back to stock and do not go in with a fucked up clutch/shredded tires/burnt rubber on the wheel wells(heard of this one) you should be ok.


You will be in for a fight though. They will play hard ball, but they should not have anything on you. I think a fair bit of people have gotten new engines, but most of the guys that actually report back with blown engines have several mods and are key members in our community. They want to build the engine, not get another stock one.

[magoo]

I know of a MPS 3 with CAI/TBE etc that had a engine replaced after throwing a rod.

[ptperformance]

We have gotten a few covered but we never tried to hide the mods. Given that the mods were not huge and the boost was not excessive. You need to talk with your dealer, ask them what they would like you to do in order to get it covered. I have many times asked and they have said no, but I never try to hide what might have caused the problem. Be honest with them, and they will work with you.

[cosmicspd3]

I am actually almost out of the 36k mile warranty and was going to consider a extended power train warranty to cover my ass if the engine, turbo or tranny goes. I do my own oil changes but i havent been hassled yet about keeping oil receipts, the salesman did say to keep them but my dad buys all the oil. I just bring my car to his garage and change it.

[kwsmithphoto]

Originally Posted by Meder It is always possible that a dealer may void you even if the car was never ever touched in anyway. They can claim abuse among other things. With that being said, as long as you can take your car completely back to stock, dont have a sliced up ecu, dont have all sorts of signs that you've been fucking with things and replacing things no matter what it is you should be ok. Truth is they should not really be able to deny you, but you can bet they will try and find any way they can to do so. Make sure you cover all your bases. Take off your sts, springs, everything. Take off your fancy recirc hose! Make sure you're putting all the stock shit back on from springs, shifters, hoses, to bolts. Oil change records are going to be the big go to thing if they dont have you on mods. Keep your records and even make copies. Try not to rip up your heat shielding when changing exhaust and all the small stuff. Fuck, you could even buy a brand new k and N air filter incase they question why your air box filter is so dirty. really, they will do anything to void you, but as long as you completely put it back to stock and do not go in with a fucked up clutch/shredded tires/burnt rubber on the wheel wells(heard of this one) you should be ok. You will be in for a fight though. They will play hard ball, but they should not have anything on you. I think a fair bit of people have gotten new engines, but most of the guys that actually report back with blown engines have several mods and are key members in our community. They want to build the engine, not get another stock one.

Unbolting your bolt on's won't hide very much - wrench marks on the bolts will prove that you tinkered with it. Also, someone had a problem (I think it was a motor mount) and removed their AP before taking it in. Claim denied because the ECU stored info about the AP being there.

[triplejumper18]

Originally Posted by kwsmithphoto Unbolting your bolt on's won't hide very much - wrench marks on the bolts will prove that you tinkered with it. Also, someone had a problem (I think it was a motor mount) and removed their AP before taking it in. Claim denied because the ECU stored info about the AP being there.

Dealer techs also cause wrench marks.

[kwsmithphoto]

Indeed, but if they find wrench marks on your intake, downpipe, turbo pluming, etc., and there's no service history in their computer for warranty repairs in these areas, you're busted!

[Lex]

No one is going to claim anything based on wrench marks. Maybe you had your car replaced by another shop.

[GFish]

actually every mazda dealership has there one computer system they dont transfer from dealer to dealer

[ms3jake]

Originally Posted by kwsmithphoto Indeed, but if they find wrench marks on your intake, downpipe, turbo pluming, etc., and there's no service history in their computer for warranty repairs in these areas, you're busted!

Give me a break.
In most case if you are stock or went back to stock and didnt slop the stock parts back on you should be fine. Use common sense, some service depts seem to be much worse than others. Check it out first.

[smakdown61]

Originally Posted by kwsmithphoto Unbolting your bolt on's won't hide very much - wrench marks on the bolts will prove that you tinkered with it. Also, someone had a problem (I think it was a motor mount) and removed their AP before taking it in. Claim denied because the ECU stored info about the AP being there.

Link or BS. I've yet to see ANY evidence of a dealer seeing evidence of an AP for ANY platform.

[kwsmithphoto]

Originally Posted by smakdown61 Link or BS. I've yet to see ANY evidence of a dealer seeing evidence of an AP for ANY platform.

I read it on this board but can't find the thread. Sorry.

[kwsmithphoto]

actually every mazda dealership has there one computer system they dont transfer from dealer to dealer

Seriously? The last 4 cars I've either owned or been responsible for were Ford, Lexus, Audi, and Toyota. Any US dealer could see the entire dealer service history of the car. I'll look into that about Mazda, but I'm skeptical.

[cortytx8]

Originally Posted by cosmicspd3 I am actually almost out of the 36k mile warranty and was going to consider a extended power train warranty to cover my ass if the engine, turbo or tranny goes. I do my own oil changes but i havent been hassled yet about keeping oil receipts, the salesman did say to keep them but my dad buys all the oil. I just bring my car to his garage and change it.

You know your powertrain warranty is 60k right?

[kwsmithphoto]

No one is going to claim anything based on wrench marks. Maybe you had your car replaced by another shop.

Give me a break.

First of all, I assume you meant repaired, not replaced. Why would anyone spend their own money doing any engine repairs on a car under warranty?

You guys just want me to be wrong so you feel better. Ok. If your motor blows, give it a try and let us know how it turns out. You might find a sympathetic tech and/or service manager, or you might not. After all, they want the work because it bring in revenue. But It also depends on the zone rep, who might pay a visit to the dealer to approve it, and those guys job is, mostly, to deny warranty claims.

My dad was a mechanic, I practically grew up in his shop. I've done plenty of work on cars myself and spotted plenty of wrench marks, fire wall scrapes, etc. to know if something has been worked on recently, even by a pro. If you don't think they'll use that against you in a dispute you're dreaming.

[glocK23]

Originally Posted by kwsmithphoto Indeed, but if they find wrench marks on your intake, downpipe, turbo pluming, etc., and there's no service history in their computer for warranty repairs in these areas, you're busted!

Epic. Utterly. Failure.

[ms3jake]

Originally Posted by kwsmithphoto First of all, I assume you meant repaired, not replaced. Why would anyone spend their own money doing any engine repairs on a car under warranty? You guys just want me to be wrong so you feel better. Ok. If your motor blows, give it a try and let us know how it turns out. You might find a sympathetic tech and/or service manager, or you might not. After all, they want the work because it bring in revenue. But It also depends on the zone rep, who might pay a visit to the dealer to approve it, and those guys job is, mostly, to deny warranty claims. My dad was a mechanic, I practically grew up in his shop. I've done plenty of work on cars myself and spotted plenty of wrench marks, fire wall scrapes, etc. to know if something has been worked on recently, even by a pro. If you don't think they'll use that against you in a dispute you're dreaming.

Well I am friends with the only mazdaspeed tech at my service dept and he does all of the work on my car including the few bolt ons I have. We took a look yesterday at his house and there are no evidence of wrench marks.
Sure, if a rep were to come out to inspect something and there was obviouse evidence of mods and or racing Im sure there would be a problem. Im not saying anything to feel better, Im feeling just fine.

[Crossbow]

I've yet to see ANY evidence of a dealer seeing evidence of an AP for ANY platform.

The dealership logs any and all use of the WDS platform. They can pull up the date your car was last connected, and compare it to the date on the PCM. If the two are not identical, they can have a case against the modification. Of course I've never heard of service departments hating someone so much that they start digging in the nitty gritty for data like that...but it's definitely possible.

[smakdown61]

Originally Posted by Crossbow The dealership logs any and all use of the WDS platform. They can pull up the date your car was last connected, and compare it to the date on the PCM. If the two are not identical, they can have a case against the modification. Of course I've never heard of service departments hating someone so much that they start digging in the nitty gritty for data like that...but it's definitely possible.

Whats to say they've ever connected in the first place?

[specvspeedfreak]

a tech can tell when you mess with your car. some of the bolts have markings. if it doesnt line up then they know.. Its all up to the tech and service manager if he wants to be nice and hook you up..
Ill give you some examples.
-1st ...I had my MAF sensors replaced twice by 2 different dealers cause i was using a cheap foam filter on my intake at the time and it went bad. one told me to put my stock air box back and bring it in... and when it happened again he told me he couldn't do it do it again " take it somewhere else".. so i did... I put it back to stock and got it fixed... but guess what the service guy said " i know you messed with the intake just dont think we are stupid.. there are marks that dont line up on all the bolts"
-2nd ... I got a brand new engine 2 miles away from 60K miles and it had all the bolt-on's possible for that car at the time.
-3rd.. just got a new turbo under warranty and they installed my DNP manifold i bought just for the install ... thats w/ having a CAI and DP

.... so basically never be scared ... you dont have to take any parts off if you take it to the right place and/ or got the hook up lol

[smakdown61]

Originally Posted by specvspeedfreak a tech can tell when you mess with your car. some of the bolts have markings. if it doesnt line up then they know.. Its all up to the tech and service manager if he wants to be nice and hook you up.. Ill give you some examples. -1st ...I had my MAF sensors replaced twice by 2 different dealers cause i was using a cheap foam filter on my intake at the time and it went bad. one told me to put my stock air box back and bring it in... and when it happened again he told me he couldn't do it do it again " take it somewhere else".. so i did... I put it back to stock and got it fixed... but guess what the service guy said " i know you messed with the intake just dont think we are stupid.. there are marks that dont line up on all the bolts" -2nd ... I got a brand new engine 2 miles away from 60K miles and it had all the bolt-on's possible for that car at the time. -3rd.. just got a new turbo under warranty and they installed my DNP manifold i bought just for the install ... thats w/ having a CAI and DP .... so basically never be scared ... you dont have to take any parts off if you take it to the right place and/ or got the hook up lol

The whole thing about bolt marks is complete bullshit. Whose to say I didn't take the part off to clean it or something? Just b/c the part was removed does not prove there was something aftermarket there in its place. Tech's can talk like that all they want b/c they obviously have no clue what would stand up in court.

[Meder]

Originally Posted by kwsmithphoto Unbolting your bolt on's won't hide very much - wrench marks on the bolts will prove that you tinkered with it. Also, someone had a problem (I think it was a motor mount) and removed their AP before taking it in. Claim denied because the ECU stored info about the AP being there.

While I can see it happening, I doubt it. Many of us have not touched the big things like manifold, turbo, downpipe, so on..


For those that have I would not worry about it. Maybe if you break a trans mount and you have the bolt marked up to hell, they may question it. The car stock comes with *bolt marks* all over. Are they going to void me for my bolt marks on the intake clamps? I have heard nothing about the ap and its been said that it is pretty un detectable at the moment as far as everyone knows. It IS always possible to find out, but this really is not something dealerships go through. It would take up a lot of time going through the ecu looking for any signs of things that have been changed when everything is flashed 100% back to stock, even the ecu stored dates and times. The dealership is going to have to be pretty brave to try and void a warranty based off of bolt marks. Ive seen my stock exhaust bolts and they do indeed have marks on them among other bolts on the car. ive never touched them.

[Meder]

Originally Posted by Crossbow The dealership logs any and all use of the WDS platform. They can pull up the date your car was last connected, and compare it to the date on the PCM. If the two are not identical, they can have a case against the modification. Of course I've never heard of service departments hating someone so much that they start digging in the nitty gritty for data like that...but it's definitely possible.

The ap is said to reflash this to the date and time that the ecu was last hooked up before the Ap.

[glocK23]

Just save your stock ECU map to the AP before you mess with flashing. Simple. Solution.
Why. Must. It. Be. So. Complicated.

[myspeedy07]

slip the service writer a $100

[serium]

+1

[kwsmithphoto]

Originally Posted by myspeedy07 slip the service writer a $100

That won't work with a zone rep though...

When big warranty claims come on, zone reps have to approve them, and they'll either come out or send somebody to make sure the claim's legit. It's their job. The service writer can't stop them.

[kwsmithphoto]

Originally Posted by GFish actually every mazda dealership has there one computer system they dont transfer from dealer to dealer

I looked into that. Service visits, oil changes etc., stay local with the dealer.

But warranty claims go into the national database and can be viewed by any dealer.