atx blown ak 20k and mazda wont cover!!!

[steven4264]

i have a 2006 mazda 3 2.0l atx with 20,000 miles on it and sunday night it started making a weird noise on light throttle i bring it in to the stealership today and they look it over and said my trany is going that it will be $4200 to fix because they just voided my warrenty because i had a sri and catback exhaust and i was "making too much hp and tq and that blew my trany" which i think is outragous because at the most im maybe putting 7hp more down to the wheels which shouldnt have kill it. i dont know what to do, im trying to get a hold of corprate mazda and try and get this taken care of. if you have and comments or suggestions as to what i should do that would be greatly appreciated.

-steven

[nate0123]

put stock intake & exhaust on, and try a different dealer

hope they haven't flagged your VIN

[steven4264]

i think they have because they have to call corp to get approval on big warrenty work. and i already had to talk to someone there im tryin to get threw toi the regional guy

[Betelgeuse]

i think they have because they have to call corp to get approval on big warrenty work. and i already had to talk to someone there im tryin to get threw toi the regional guy

Yeah but don't just assume. Try the regional but just for the heck of it, try another dealer with the stock parts back on it. You never know, it might just be a lot easier that way. Did they tell you exactly what was wrong with the tranny? Sometimes the problem is something pretty simple.

I agree though, an SRI and catback on an n/a motor shouldn't destroy a tranny. But I'm not surprised considering the multitude of dealer horror stories and voided warranty complaints all over the web. And it's not just one model or manufacturer, it's across the board. The funny thing is it seems like the 'light' modders are the ones that get the shaft more often than not. Good luck.

[krimsonviper]

the stealership has to prove that those mods did the damage or else they cant actually/legally void your warranty. if it comes to blows, tell them you'll call a lawyer. they might call you bluff, but which is cheaper: getting your tranny fixed for free and actually calling a lawyer and grabbing the dealership by the balls or paying the money to get it fixed w/o warranty ?

[steven4264]

i probably are going to have to get a lawyer involved. what i dont understand is if my intake and exhaust makes too much power for the trany then what do they do about their own mazdaspeed intake and exhaust they offer for my car?.... i think someone is trying to rape me?

[Powerslave]

get an attorney, you will win.

[Kestrel]

Get the public defender !!! Even he could win that case.
Theres a federal law that protects you in this situation my friend. I forget what its called off the top of my head (Which is why im a salesmen [not a car salesmen] and not a freaking lawyer. )

[Captain KRM P5]

fight fight fight call mazda N/A

[AtenzaNY62]

"making too much hp and tq and that blew my trany"
oh wow, how nice of mazda stealerships... fight this man, the dealer that i bought my car from, told me an intake or catback wont void the warranty as long as you dont touch the cat or something

[Kestrel]

oh wow, how nice of mazda stealerships... fight this man, the dealer that i bought my car from, told me an intake or catback wont void the warranty as long as you dont touch the cat or something

The US Fed is the reason why theres a cat in the first place. If you dont have one of those heh on a new car then well no ones going to honor an free oil change certificate.

[xxxmonoxidechil]

the stealership has to prove that those mods did the damage or else they cant actually/legally void your warranty. if it comes to blows, tell them you'll call a lawyer. they might call you bluff, but which is cheaper: getting your tranny fixed for free and actually calling a lawyer and grabbing the dealership by the balls or paying the money to get it fixed w/o warranty ?

i can vouch for this from working at ford. they need to prove that, the mod's DIRECTLY made the trans fail. and guess what, there not gonan be able to do that, and with the very few mods you have, there's no way in hell they can even try to argue that fact.

sounds like a shiesty mazda dealer. id go to your next closest dealer, and never go back to that original one.

[MM3Canuck]

A performance intake won't cause you to fail smog, and installing one won't void your vehicle's warranty. Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, dealerships cannot deny you warranty service on your vehicle unless they can directly prove the aftermarket part (in this case, an air intake) is the cause of damage to your engine - a highly unlikely scenario. In fact, dealerships carry both performance filters and intakes, and may even try to up-sell you on either item when you're shopping for a vehicle

[krimsonviper]

the only thing it will void is your emissions warranty

[steven4264]

i dont really care about my emissions warrenty ky doesnt test smog but i do care about my transmission not working which i am still fighting mazda i got BBB involved and they said they would talk to mazda and get back with me next week so im keeping my fingers crossed

[Akaveli]

this really sucks man. Its just so sad how the stealerships are so quick to void a warranty on a car when it comes to actual warranty work that needs to be done.

[Tom03es]

A performance intake won't cause you to fail smog, and installing one won't void your vehicle's warranty. Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, dealerships cannot deny you warranty service on your vehicle unless they can directly prove the aftermarket part (in this case, an air intake) is the cause of damage to your engine - a highly unlikely scenario. In

In the first post of the thread, he says the dealership tried to claim that his intake and cat-back added too much power and torque. And we all know that even the 7 HP at the wheels the OP stated is generous given those 2 mods.

Fight man. Good luck. Keep us updated.

[shaggylemur]

i had a dealership mess with me like that back when i bought my jetta... they tried to claim that i had not bought the extended warranty when i bought the 5 year... then when i moved to ga i went to get someservice done and they had false paperwork... now the dealership that i bought the warranty from is closed

[pick41]

i dont really care about my emissions warrenty ky doesnt test smog but i do care about my transmission not working which i am still fighting mazda i got BBB involved and they said they would talk to mazda and get back with me next week so im keeping my fingers crossed

are you having any luck with this?

[steven4264]

not so far im just kinda of waiting at this point for BBB to get back with me and for my attorney to write a letter, im thinking about getting the local news involved as well

[steven4264]

i had a dealership mess with me like that back when i bought my jetta... they tried to claim that i had not bought the extended warranty when i bought the 5 year... then when i moved to ga i went to get someservice done and they had false paperwork... now the dealership that i bought the warranty from is closed

ya i even bought the extended warrenty as well its supposed to be 100K or 8 years but alot of good it does me at this point

[ehidle]

ya i even bought the extended warrenty as well its supposed to be 100K or 8 years but alot of good it does me at this point

Assuming Mazda's sales agreement is uniform and has the same language everywhere I have good news and bad news.

The good news is that they are very vague about "Alteration, modification, tampering, etc.." on Page 11 (2008) of your Warranty Information Booklet. They do not define what "Alterarion," "Modification," or "Tampering" are, nor do they use the typical "Including but not limited to" legalese, but rather a more informal "etc..."

The bad news is this: You are required by the terms of the warranty agreement to maintain your vehicle according to the appropriate service schedule outlined in the warranty booklet in order to be able to enforce the warranty. If you did not keep meticulous records and if you cannot prove with certainty that you followed Schedule 2 maintenance, they can deny you coverage based on the language on page 13 under "Your Responsibilities."

The argument will probably be made by someone that it is a warranty booklet and not a contract. But, if you look at the standard sales agreement that you signed when you purchased the car, it says:

"THE PRINTED NEW VEHICLE WARRANTY DELIVERED TO THE PURCHASER WITH SUCH A VEHICLE OR CHASSIS AND HEREBY MADE A PART OF HEREOF AS THOUGH FULLY SET FORTH HEREIN IS THE ONLY WARRANTY APPLICABLE TO SUCH A NEW VEHICLE OR CHASSIS AND IS EXPRESSLY IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE"

I am not a lawyer, but it seems that this language makes your Warranty Information booklet enforceable as part of the sales agreement, and you agreed by signing to follow maintenance according to the appropriate schedule outlined in the book.

In my non-legal opinion, it would seem reasonable that your act of modifying the car to increase performance would necessarily indicate a Schedule 2 Severe Driving maintenance plan, and if you cannot prove that you followed that maintenance plan and provide receipts, you might be up the proverbial creek.

You can probably argue that there was no transmission service required, even in Schedule 2, up until the point of failure. In other words, you performed all transmission service according to the schedule by virtue of the fact that none was required.

The "EXPRESSLY IN LIEU OF" language would also seem to make null and void any extended warranties you may have purchased, at least for the period that the factory warranty is in effect, even if it is unenforceable due to breach on the part of the purchaser.

Just my $0.02, and something you probably want to make sure you talk to your attorney about before you push to sue Mazda. This is where most disputes end up being decided in favor of the Manufacturer. It is quite insidious, but very effective for them in defending against large warranty claims.

[shaggylemur]

to me that sounds like the point that would end it but you still have a chance if you kept meticulous records of your service

[R-X-R]

Welcome To The World Of Stealership.,.,god I Hate Stealership.,.,,

[Tom03es]

I don't know of any service requirements for a transmission before 30K miles.

[bazooka joe]

legally they have to prove that the modifications had a direct result in the failure of the part in question...of course that desn't mean they're going to oblige...good luck, maybe even the mention of an attorney will get them moving!

[69RMSP]

What a fucking joke, I would of slapped that hooker in the face.

[ehidle]

Welcome To The World Of Stealership.,.,god I Hate Stealership.,.,,

Not a very helpful comment, especially when you are perfectly free to read and understand the contracts and agreements BEFORE you sign them, and also you are free to elect not to enter into them.

I am neither advocating nor condoning any fraudulent or illegal business practices that some dealers may decide to engage in, but at the same time, I am neither advocating nor condoning complete ignorance on the part of the buyer.

And no, I do not work for Mazda.

In this case, I believe the outcome will be a determination that the car has been modified in violation of the contract. Notwithstanding their vague or absent description of "modification," the language there places the burden on the purchaser to clarify that definition before engaging in making changes to the car.

It is clearly stated that modifying the car makes the warranty unenforceable, and the buyer either knew or should have known that ripping parts out of the engine and replacing them with other parts with the sole purpose of increasing the output of the engine would be interpreted as a modification.

Again, IANAL, but if I were an arbiter or juror, this is how I would find.

[steven4264]

thanks for all your research if i dont make any progress in the next month i might just throw in the towl and get it fix myself, on the service paper it says that they suggest replacing the whole trany but the mazda mechnic said they think its only the torque converter going bad, i might take it to a transmission shop find out what really is bad and if it is just the torque converter have a new one installed and just trade it in for something else later down the road.