Question: mods during warranty that wont upset the dealer...

[FeatherWeightDriver]

Hi all,

By way of introduction, I'm a long time lurker of these forums and even longer time admirer of defenders who will hopefully be buying a shiny new MY12 D110 "soon" to replace my existing car: a Suzuki GV that is too low, too small and has too many rounded panels on it ;)

After gleaning tonnes of great info about the things that may need attention during the factory warranty period and modifications, and I'm curious what experiences the group has had with warranty issues that have been complicated by modifications made while the factory warranty is still current. Bonus points for dealers around Sydney inner west as that's where I am.

For example I would think things like suspension lifts, diff locks would complicate claims on drive train parts, and ecu remapping complicate engine claims.

Things like front bar, winch, tree sliders are all available as factory options so I would not think these cause my warranty an issues

How about under body protection, fuel tanks, and cruise control?

Thanks in advance,
FWD

PS: By the time I get around to buying it may actually be an MY13, but I'll save that story for another thread... [bawl]

[n plus one]

I did bar, lights, 2nd battery, mud tyres, tree sliders, UHF, drawers, roof basket and cargo barrier during warranty, with no issues.

Left suspension, snorkel and fuel alone.

[Sandgroper]

G'day mate, I asked the dealer here in Perth where I bought my landie from and he was pretty good in explaining what I could and couldn't do with the landie with regards to warranty. Certainly suspension and diff locks were out of the question but bull bars, winch bars, snorkels etc... Were quite acceptable according to him. I'd suggest talking to your dealer about that when you look at buying one. I know the bloke I bought my landie from is very accessible and is always happy to answer any questions I have regarding the 90, it's worth asking first before you modify anything if you want to keep the warranty good, which is what I want too!

[Loubrey]

Hi FWD,

Warranty issues arise from anything that causes or have the ability to cause mechanical or electronic failure. This includes suspension mods, oversize tyres, ECU mapping and interference with the cars systems.

While some mods will not immediately void warranty, it will usually be blamed for subsequent "downstream" failures.

The majority of armour and protection (bull bars, steering guards, diff guards etc) will not affect warranty, but protection that might again interfere with systems like fuel coolers etc is frowned upon.

Common sense does prevail most of the time and asking a question on here about a specific item will always raise a lot of opinions.

Cheers,

Lou

[juddy]

Its always good to talk to your dealer, and get it in writing.

The last warranty item I had done was the crease on the roof, its a common fault, need resealing etc, and a few rivets looked like they need sorting too on the roof, dealer was fine but I had to remover the roof rack, or LRA would not have passed the claim....

[n plus one]

Its always good to talk to your dealer, and get it in writing.

The last warranty item I had done was the crease on the roof, its a common fault, need resealing etc, and a few rivets looked like they need sorting too on the roof, dealer was fine but I had to remover the roof rack, or LRA would not have passed the claim....

I had exactly the same issue :D

Be surprised if any dealer would give you anything in writing on this though - I have a copy of a letter from LRA to a dealer informing them of their obligation to document all modifications during services with a view to being able to deny future warranty claims on the vehicle :censored:

[FeatherWeightDriver]

Hi all,

Thanks for the sound advice.

The dealer service manager is going to be my new best friend... ;)

Diff locks would be one thing I would like (not need!) to do, but this can wait till after warranty expires. 2" lift and maybe slightly bigger tyres would also be on my standard list of mods I like, but I'm in no hurry to do either until I get a good feel for the car off road, finish my warranty and wear out the factory kit.

FWD