Hi, I just bought my first new BMW this week and the dealership made me sign a waiver stating that any aftermarket parts can void the warranty somehow, which I didnt have to do for the car I bought last year for another brand. Ive read online that there is a Magnusson Act (?) that somehow protects the warranty, in that the dealership must be able to prove that the defective part is linked to the aftermarket part somehow. My question is, will a seemingly cosmetic mod like installing aftermarket aluminum pedals (the ones you just drill on top of the current ones), affect the warranty in anyway? I'm leaning towards no, but then I'm thinking perhaps by adding aftermarket parts to the pedals, it would change the weight of the pedals, etc, and the dealership can somehow connect that to the brakes or clutch wearing down faster because you push down harder than normal. Any thoughts or personal experiences?
They're mostly worried about Juice Box and other engine mods, and electrical system mods (including radios) that break what is a particularly troublesome system on these cars. Catalytic converter deletes, etc. One particular item of discussion off-and-on is oil: best to stay with the BMW-specced oils (on BMWNA) and other fluids. Changing over to non-run-flat tires has not voided their warranty, so I wouldn't worry about pedal covers or other stuff like that.
Technically any alteration to the vehicles engineered specifications is grounds for voiding the part of the warranty impacted by the alteration. The Magnuson Moss Act only applies to replacement service parts not to alterations to the engineered specifications. The use of LL-01 oils of the proper viscosity is also a warranty requirement for U.S. vehicles with gas engines. All of this info. is in the owner's manual.
The salesman that sold my parents their 2008 335i told them that they should never, ever, under any circumstance change the oil anywhere but a BMW dealer (and sticking to their 15K mile intervals) or else their warranty will be void. Told them the same thing about replacing the RFTs with regular tires too. Needless to say the car has gotten fresh oil in between the BMW maintenance and is now riding on fresh Continental DW rubber.
