Common Misconceptions

[g35me]

I took the car into Nissan today and I asked about various mods and they said that pretty much anything is ok and wont void the warranty as long as the mod was not the direct cause of the broken part. I.e if you make exhaust mods you are fine, if you do a Cobb tune or something like that you are fine unless it was the direct reason that the engine blew up or something like that. They even said that dispite what has been said they can track when the Cobb has been switched on or off or the tune was done and they are ok with it so there is no need to hide it.

As far as the VDC goes you can drive with it off but they will be asking questions of you if have a warranty issue while it was turned off. If you are trying to free yourself form snow, sand etc that is fine. Just dont think you can fly around the street wuth it off and blow something up and expect it to be covered by warranty, it all sound reasonable to me.

The other pretty much amazing thing they said was that they are more than happy to work on any JDM R35 as they have invested all the money in facilities and staff training so they are more than happy to work on ANY R35. That comment was contrary to pretty much everything that I have read and heard.

[paulR32gtr]

Well that is good to hear. Don't post up which branch this was in case Nissan HQ comes down on them re: JDM R35's!

[Bluprint]

Did you get that from a Nissan dealer, or actually go to Nissan?

I'd want that in writing from Nissan before I believed it.

[LSX-438]

I dont know about these "misconceptions"... i know what Nissan told me and i wasn't hearing things.

it just depends on who you talk to really.

Things will loosen up over time,

i know nissan have missed out big time from me over the last year, i have literally spent tens of thousands on enhancements and consumables.

[g35me]

Well that is good to hear. Don't post up which branch this was in case Nissan HQ comes down on them re: JDM R35's!

This is why I didn't mention what dealership it is but it is an authorized gtr dealership

[Speedah]

Ill bet my left nut they wont cover your engine/trans if it blows after a tune.

I wouldn't even ask for drive train warranty if something goes wrong after mods were done.

[fungoolie]

It's all a bit like getting insurance really. Talk is cheap until they have to honour it. Read the Warranty manual carefully and you will read explicitly that there are pre-defined mixture and boost levels that if the engine EVER exceeds will void the warranty on it. ...

Edited August 3, 2010 by fungoolie

[g35me]

It's all a bit like getting insurance really. Talk is cheap until they have to honour it. Read the Warranty manual carefully and you will read explicitly that there are pre-defined mixture and boost levels that if the engine EVER exceeds will void the warranty on it. ...

This may well be the case, what they were implying is that it is ok to modify it but if your warranty claim is directly related to the modification being the cause then they will look into it harder and not warrant the vehicle. They said that they can see exactly what happened to the vehicle via the computer so if you have a tune then reflash it back they can tell exactly when that the tune was done and removed so one is assuming that if the problem occured during the "tuned" period they may not want to honour the warranty. That is why I was told there is no point in hidding the mods as they know anyway. Changing the exhaust is no issue, they even mentioned Willall as being the best. How is that for advertising. So based on the advise I will probably only change the exhaust which I think is about all I would want out of the car anyway.

I think the main and most interesting point I was making is that they will work on JDM cars which I actually found to be impressive service given everything else that has been flying around.

[fungoolie]

This may well be the case, what they were implying is that it is ok to modify it but if your warranty claim is directly related to the modification being the cause then they will look into it harder and not warrant the vehicle. They said that they can see exactly what happened to the vehicle via the computer so if you have a tune then reflash it back they can tell exactly when that the tune was done and removed so one is assuming that if the problem occured during the "tuned" period they may not want to honour the warranty. That is why I was told there is no point in hidding the mods as they know anyway. Changing the exhaust is no issue, they even mentioned Willall as being the best. How is that for advertising. So based on the advise I will probably only change the exhaust which I think is about all I would want out of the car anyway.

I think the main and most interesting point I was making is that they will work on JDM cars which I actually found to be impressive service given everything else that has been flying around.

I'm still very concerned on the statement that they "may" void a warranty if the damage occurred whilst the car was being operated with the tune when the problem occurred. I really wouldn't trust this at all. That's why I highlighted exactly what the manual states and that is that the warranty on the engine and turbos etc will be permanently voided if the engine ever exceeds those limits. If the tune affects boost and mixture (which all tunes will), I'm 100% sure Nissan WILL void the warranty if you are to believe the Warranty manual. Even if the problem then occurs afterwards when the engine is being run on the standard mapping you're still stuffed based on this wording. It's in black and white and it really doesn't matter what the dealer says, the buck stops with Nissan when it comes to paying for warranty claims. Also an exhaust mod without an appropriate retune could also theoretically allow boost levels to spike to above these thresholds again causing you problems in this department. I would just treat the info they've given you with a healthy dose of skepticism that's all....

And with regards to them working on JDM's. That's good news that there is a "rogue" dealer out there prepared to buck the system. However I'm not sure why any of you JDM owners would want Nissan to work on your JDM car anyway! Most of us with ADMs bring them to Nissan in order to ensure our warranty stays intact. Once the warranty period is over I'm sure there will be other competent workshops out there that will look after our cars as well as Nissan can for a lot less money. The only advantage would be that they now are prepared to sell parts to JDM owners which could be of advantage if you needed something in a hurry that was only held by Nissan spare parts.

Edited August 3, 2010 by fungoolie

[Kujotk]

easy solution, buy an import and tune it how you want it.... if the mods stuff the car up, then you won't have to worry about warranty.

If you are purchasing the car because it is quick and comes with a warranty, then leave it stock untill it is out of the warranty period.... otherwise don't complain if they verbally said they will cover it, and then go back and say it was modded so warranty is void.... in which case you would have been about $80k infront if you just gone straight out and picked up a cheaper import....

Import or Aussie delivered doesn't make much difference, except LC, Navigation and 08 model....

[GTR-N1]

I think the main and most interesting point I was making is that they will work on JDM cars which I actually found to be impressive service given everything else that has been flying around.

Before 'push comes to shove', will the dealership warranty their work on the JDM R35?

Or might you have to sign a disclaimer?

ATM, I applaud them sticking their neck out.