akaomz

The tranny in my '04 rsx-s just died about three weeks ago. I took the tranny off and realized that the main shaft is what's making the noise. I wanted to make sure that the new clutch and flywheel kit didn't have anything to do with it. The clutch and flywheel were installed about two months ago. They seem perfectly fine. This is the second dealership to deny my warranty. I have 60k on my car right now and am covered until 100k with the extra warranty that I purchased.
I told the second dealership to give me some writing so I can figure our my next move. "Warranty claim denied due to aftermarket parts. Car does not have a catalytic converter. Car has aftermarker pulleys, Cold Air Intake, and headers. Customer advised that aftermarket performance parts can have adverse affect on transmission. No repairs performed."
What do i do now? I've been without a car for almost a month now.
Yea my car might be mildly modded(CAI,RH,Kpro,enjo mounts, IPS-k2's, Tein coilovers) but this is unreal. What does VA law say about this? how can I fight this? Please HELP!!!

dfoxengr

thats stupid, those mods cant really affect the tranny.

akaomz

they claim that my car makes more power now and that is why the tranny is dead.

dfoxengr

yeah man you have an extra 5hp which killed the tranny. theyre just trying to get out of it.

B16b-EJ8

I hate to break it to you but you are S.O.L. if you read through the fine print of the warranty or through whatever papers you have signed when purchasing the car it will state warranty void if Aftermarket parts are installed on the car without express permission or approuval from the dealer...this is why most people fiancing new cars do very few mods because they dont want to void their warranty...had the same kind of situation with my WRX ended up having to pay for it.

dfoxengr

theres some way you can prove though that if it doesnt affect the part that broke then its still under warranty.

good luck regardless.

B16b-EJ8

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dfoxengr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">theres some way you can prove though that if it doesnt affect the part that broke then its still under warranty.

good luck regardless.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Not true...they have the right to void the warranty with the install on ANY aftermarket parts excluding wheels, window tint, anything cosmetic.

92redhatch

put the car back to stock and take it back to a different dealer.

B16b-EJ8

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 92redhatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">put the car back to stock and take it back to a different dealer.</TD></TR></TABLE>

GREAT advice...

Fitti

It sounds like you are dealing with a lot of bullshit. I just went to the Acura dealer here the other day and they are selling turbo kits.

Honda dealers at one point and time were installing all the bolt ons that you mentioned and probably still do.

If you put an intake on a car, then almost every car in America would have invalid warranties.

milkmanLCA

i worked at toyota and if you get approval for the part (usually buying it thru them gets the approval) then your warranty stays, there was a superchargered tacoma and 4 runner there with like 400 hp under warranty, it can be done

onepoint6i

Go to the source...call american honda/acura and speak with the customer realtions rep...complain to him.. more than likely they'll pay for half the labor and parts to fix the trans...its gonna be about 20 hrs labor @ about $82.00 hour.. waaaaaay cheaper than paying for the whole pop though...

Having Aftermarket parts in your car doesnt ruin trannys..its having aftermarket parts that the dealer is assuming you are abusing the vehicle....which is kinda true..

GarageAlchemist

actualy honda is right on this one, the pullys.. thats a big one... aftermarket pullys are not something you want to put on your car. They create extra harmonics which puts stress on the roating assembly, its no wonder your tranny went booom boom

B16b-EJ8

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by milkmanLCA &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i worked at toyota and if you get approval for the part (usually buying it thru them gets the approval) then your warranty stays, there was a superchargered tacoma and 4 runner there with like 400 hp under warranty, it can be done</TD></TR></TABLE>

Exactly what i was getting at.

televascular

Lightly modifying your vehicle does not void your warranty. Please don't spread misinformation. Go to wikipedia.org and look up the "Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act". It's absurd to think that adding an intake or getting new rims will void your powertrain/drivetrain warranty.

That being said, I side with Honda on this issue. You did some major modifications to many different components of the car. These aftermarket parts may not have directly destroyed your transmission, but it shows that you drive your car hard, and probably beat up the synchros doing so.

I'd say, return the car to stock condition, sell the aftermarket parts, and use the money to buy a refurb transmission.

milkmanLCA

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by televascular &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Lightly modifying your vehicle does not void your warranty. Please don't spread misinformation. Go to wikipedia.org and look up the "Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act". It's absurd to think that adding an intake or getting new rims will void your powertrain/drivetrain warranty.

That being said, I side with Honda on this issue. You did some major modifications to many different components of the car. These aftermarket parts may not have directly destroyed your transmission, but it shows that you drive your car hard, and probably beat up the synchros doing so.

I'd say, return the car to stock condition, sell the aftermarket parts, and use the money to buy a refurb transmission.</TD></TR></TABLE>

how can they prove that you drive hard. the fact is if part are not put on or approved, the warranty can not continue, they cant trust someone who is not a certified honda mechanic to add parts and trust them that they did it right. think about it. lol @ drive it hard.

televascular

I suppose, but think about it. Do you really think the transmission was defective? Do you really think it failed from daily driving, and Honda should be responsible for replacing it? Or is it more reasonable to believe that the OP drove the car extremely hard and abused the cogs? Or even that the aftermarket parts were incorrectly installed?

You don't put aftermarket pulleys, flywheel, clutch, mounts, and aggressive cams on your car in order to drive like a granny. Driven without abuse, Honda trannies will last a long time.

Fitti

regardless of what parts he put on the car if it's under warranty it's under warranty.

Plenty of people beat the **** out of stock cars. If the tranny went out and the car was bone stock then it wouldn't be a problem. The clutch goes out every now and then so why not upgrade it instead of going back to stock.

The only thing that I think would invalidate the warranty would be putting a diff in the tranny. But other then that it should be covered.

Maybe I just had luck with the honda dealers here but I was able to extend my warranty with aftermarket parts installed on my car.

I never had any warranty probelms on the car though. I get discounts on all the work that honda does on my car. I still get parts from the honda Acura dealer at cost.

It helps to get to know the parts and service guys.

milkmanLCA

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Fitti &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">regardless of what parts he put on the car if it's under warranty it's under warranty.

Plenty of people beat the **** out of stock cars. If the tranny went out and the car was bone stock then it wouldn't be a problem. The clutch goes out every now and then so why not upgrade it instead of going back to stock.

The only thing that I think would invalidate the warranty would be putting a diff in the tranny. But other then that it should be covered.

Maybe I just had luck with the honda dealers here but I was able to extend my warranty with aftermarket parts installed on my car.

I never had any warranty probelms on the car though. I get discounts on all the work that honda does on my car. I still get parts from the honda Acura dealer at cost.

It helps to get to know the parts and service guys. </TD></TR></TABLE>

incorrect. you put parts on, it voids the warranty. there are too many factors why the trans pooped on him. he could have beat the **** out of it, he could have installed something incorrectly. he could have used a very powerful clutch and slicks, you dont know, with that said honda doesnt make contracts for all situations, they cover their *** and say, you touch it, its your ***, not ours.

second point here, trans go bad without and mods or beatings, **** happens, and the contract just saved honda some money.

and lastly, with my time at toyota, someone brought in a corolla all riced out. it was a new model at the time, 04. he put an aem CAI on it. no prob, not void. but when he installed it, he used a screw driver witht he detatchable heads and the head fell into the air intake and believe it or not, it was sucked into the head and jammed the valve open. that voided the warranty with that situation.

if you get a CIA and your radio ***** on you, they will still fix your radio. its about what you do.

qat727

If you bought the coverage, chances are it's a Service Contract and not a warranty. You don't buy warranties. They come with the product. I'm not sure what kind of powertrain coverage Honda was running in 2004. Since you're out of your 3/36 basic warranty at this point, the trans would either be covered under an actual Powertrain warranty or a Service Contract. Yes, this does matter as typically they will have slightly different terms.

I'm not going to say that the modifications did or did not cause the damage. It's really a moot point to discuss until you determine cause of failure. What it comes down to are the terms of the warranty or the service contract. Most times (and in order to be legal) they will say something to the effect of "Modifications are not covered. Any modified parts installed will not be covered, nor will any damages resulting from the modifications." The clincher becomes determining the cause of failure.

Please stop spreading misinformation. This is not only misleading, it is wholly incorrect.

Pretty much.

Correct.

Yes, and most manufacturers have a policy of this nature. "Goodwill" is what we called it. Basically, corporate pays the dealer warranty rate to repair it outside of warranty. And if you think for a second that if they declined a warranty repair due to modifications that they will go back and pay for it through Goodwill, then you need to get your head checked. Yes, the dealer told you it wasn't covered, but most dealers have standing authorization to make warranty or service contract claims. If they want help, then they involve corporate. And if corporate wants to make a Goodwill decision, who do you think they call to get a cause of failure?

Some of the problems I saw you all quoting were obvious. A screwdriver bit in the valvetrain is not covered. Ever. End of story, go away and cry about it on your own ground. It shouldn't void the whole warranty, though. It should just cause that repair to not be covered. If the customer elects to pay for the dealer to perform the repair, then a claim a week later for a spun bearing should be evaluated on a separate basis, not denied due to the prior valvetrain repair.

If I recall, we're talking about a failed transmission here and no mention was made regarding the engine having a problem. I'd suspect that if the engine had harmonic problems that were severe enough to cause his transmission to fail, we would be hearing about engine problems first, accelerated bearing wear and whatnot. I think the transmission failure was probably due to something else.

OK. On to how to actually deal with the OP's problem. Familiarize yourself with the terms of your warranty or your service contract. If you have a warranty, look for your warranty book. If you have a service contract, look for the provisions. Don't look so much for the actual transmission coverage, look for exclusions. You will probably find exclusions for modified parts, damage, and wear. Those are the typical ones. You will need to know what grounds they can legally deny your claim on if you aim to fight it.

I've seen a lot of people on here say that he probably beat the hell out of the car, resulting in the untimely death of the transmission. There is likely some truth to this. Here's where it gets fun. If you want to press your case, get a firm answer on why they denied the repair.

This sounds like typical dealer crap. I don't doubt for a second this is the actual documentation that the dealer put in regarding the denial. However, it does not actually say why they declined the repairs. Sure, it says it was denied due to aftermarket parts, but they didn't document the cause of failure.

I'm going to go out on a short limb here and say the dealer probably didn't tear down the transmission. They probably looked the vehicle over, found the aftermarket parts and modifications, and said the repairs were denied. No huge surprise here. Now it's time for a brief lesson on how a warranty or service contract claim normally happens.

Customer comes in with complaint. Dealer replicates/verifies concern. Dealer diagnoses cause of failure. Dealer determines coverage of part/cause of failure. Dealer repairs vehicle and returns to customer.

We stopped at the step where the dealer verified the concern and went straight to the determine coverage part. See what's missing? The cause of failure. You will have to press the issue until they determine cause of failure. It really won't matter how many dealers you go to, considering they probably recorded the denial under your VIN in Honda's system. Just pick one and get ready to take it up the butt.

The dealer will have to tear down the transmission to the point of failure. They will probably want to charge you for this, considering it has already been declined. If the dealer performs teardown they can properly determine coverage.

Here's the treat for all of you hollering that he beat the transmission to death. If the dealer determines the cause of failure is accelerated wear, damage, or abuse, chances are, the repairs won't be covered at all, and the OP will be stuck with the teardown and diagnosis bill, and the cost of a new transmission.

On the other hand, if they tear it down and find everything is clean and beautiful except a glaring manufacturing defect, they get to pay for the repair. And if they find a manufacturing defect but still decline it, then you get to contact the FTC and take your complaint straight to the Federal Government.

I've given you some pretty detailed instructions on how this works and what to do. The decision is up to you. What it comes down to is how bad you want to press the issue, and how much you are willing to risk having to spend. Only you know how you drove your vehicle. If you drove it like a granny and you genuinely believe that the transmission failed of its own accord, then by all means press the issue. But if you know you beat the transmission to death, then pressing the issue will cost you more in the end.

If you have other warranty questions, ask or PM me. I'm interested to see how this turns out.

ti3st0

what u r saying is totally wrong...
the dealer has every right to refuse repairs.. when he bought the car he signed that if he did any modifications other then aesthatics, warranty void.. check the contract. the only thing he can hope for is getting it repaired at ta reduced price. nothing more then that.

milkmanLCA

exactly. lots of people putting wrong info in here.

H22Apowered

qat727 is for the most part right the law states that in order for a warranty claim to be denied because of aftermarket parts the dealer/manufacturer in question has to prove that the part failed as a direct result of the installation of said aftermarket parts however since you stated that you have your catalytic converter removed they can void your extended coverage contract that is one of the dealers "loopholes" because removal of the catalytic converter is a violation of federal law if you are not replacing it with another one that is of equal function meaning you cant put a cat from a 70s model vehicle on a 2000 model car nor can you take your cat off and remove its internals and put it back on also i believe another "loophole" is that wiring harness and ecu mods void the service contract (ie. piggy back ems,fcds,and many other tuning methods.
so basically you would be very lucky if you can convince the warranty claims department to cover even half of the repairs but more than likely they have already voided your entire service contract on the grounds that by removing the cat and driving your car on federal/state roads you are in violation of federal law even if you lie to them and tell them you do not drive the car on the street they will term the car "modified for racing useage WARRANTY DENIED/VOID for breach of service contract.

dtapia

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by akaomz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The tranny in my '04 rsx-s just died about three weeks ago. I took the tranny off and realized that the main shaft is what's making the noise. I wanted to make sure that the new clutch and flywheel kit didn't have anything to do with it. The clutch and flywheel were installed about two months ago. They seem perfectly fine. This is the second dealership to deny my warranty. I have 60k on my car right now and am covered until 100k with the extra warranty that I purchased.
I told the second dealership to give me some writing so I can figure our my next move. "Warranty claim denied due to aftermarket parts. Car does not have a catalytic converter. Car has aftermarker pulleys, Cold Air Intake, and headers. Customer advised that aftermarket performance parts can have adverse affect on transmission. No repairs performed."
What do i do now? I've been without a car for almost a month now.
Yea my car might be mildly modded(CAI,RH,Kpro,enjo mounts, IPS-k2's, Tein coilovers) but this is unreal. What does VA law say about this? how can I fight this? Please HELP!!! </TD></TR></TABLE>

ok so if you say the car has 60k why did you have a after market clutch and fly wheel installed ? simple fact you either been racing the car and wanted more out of it so please tell the real truth about this you screwed up and trying to get some one to pay for your mistake.i work for acura and love it when cars come in saying i was driving on the freeway and the cel came on and dont know why. well after scanning with the hds and find the awsome over rev code their done.time to get the wallet out we here all kinds of bs about im not racing the car and never hot rod it yea right !! man up and pay the piper and don't blame the factory for your mistake.or how about this did your installer not fill the trans with the correct amount of mtf now that would cause a main shaft bearing to fail in a short amount of time. not a clutch or light weight pullys or intake lack of lubrication is the culpret.

Chiovnidca

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dtapia &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

.i work for acura and love it when cars come in saying i was driving on the freeway and the cel came on and dont know why. well after scanning with the hds and find the awsome over rev code their done.time to get the wallet out we here all kinds of bs about im not racing the car and never hot rod it yea right !! man up and pay the piper and don't blame the factory for your mistake.</TD></TR></TABLE>
A few years ago an s2000 got towed in, customer said they were just driving along and it died. Freeze data showed nearly 11,000 rpms!!! 20,000 miles, a couple dropped valves and no help for em from Honda. They said sorry about your luck hotrod.

I hear the 6-speed rsx acuras get overrevved and drop valves often.

For the op, teardown the transmission and replace the damaged parts. Honda manuals are easy.