ddhleigh

So I went to the dealership yesterday to get some work done. Afterwards I spoke to my service advisor about installing f-sport springs. He told me if I did that it would void my warranty. He said he heard Lexus Canada corporate was cracking down on aftermarket installations. Has anyone else heard of this? Should I trust what the SA says? I'm guessing the rules are different between the USA and Canada.

ThermonMer

i know that Lexus Corporate (U.S.) was VERY against the installation of F products on my leased 250. they said they would charge me for it if i returned the car with the products installed.

lexus corporate is the one that holds the bag. they are the true owners and need to flip these vehicles. they dont directly profit from f sports - dealerships do (labor charges). a used car with F Sport items is a hard sale for lexus corporate.

to be honest, based on what i heard from corporate reps, anything involved with F products just became an absolute nuissance for them. F-Sport is an aftermarket line for marketing that boosts lexus image and, inherantly, car sales. but, for corporate/financing, dealing with the actual F product is an annoyance...basically, an inconvenience that is a result of a F-Sport marketing campaign. that said, i dont know if it will truly void your warranty. but one things for sure, corporate would prefer that the car was as stock as possible.

Sango

iTrader: (10)

If it's a car that you own, I do not see why not. If lease, yes I can see why.

I think Kurtz would may have a better say. If I recall correctly from what I read in the past, that is against the law voiding warranty having an installer other than the dealership performing the work.

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

In the US you get 1 year of warranty if you have them installed by someone other than a Lexus dealer.

If you have them installed by a Lexus dealer you get either 1 year, or the remainder of the factory bumper-to-bumper warranty, whichever is longer.

In neither case does it have any impact on the overall new vehicle warranty.



That's in the US though. I'm not familiar with the F-sport line in Canada to say what the case is there.

Here's the summary of what I know about Canadian warranty law from the last time this came up:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/5923158-post7.html

the short version seems to be, again, they can not "void" a new car warranty by using aftermarket parts.

ddhleigh

I decided to email Lexus Canada directly to get a ruling. I'll post the result once I hear back from them.

ddhleigh

They were pretty quick to respond. Here is what they had to say incase anyone wanted to know for future reference:

"We have noted your inquiry and would like to explain that Lexus Canada does not endorse the use of aftermarket products as we do not supply these products, or oversee their manufacture or application. Aftermarket products are applied entirely at your discretion.

The use of aftermarket products does not void the manufacturer's new vehicle warranty; however, should an aftermarket product be the direct cause of a concern with your vehicle, Lexus would not be responsible. The manufacturer's warranty covers defects in material or workmanship; however, it does not extend to problems that are caused by factors other than the manufacturing processes. "

Jeff Lange

iTrader: (1)

It should be noted however that F-Sport Springs are not considered aftermarket products, and thus do not affect, and in fact are covered by Lexus warranty.

Jeff

ThermonMer

^^^ ive heard otherwise

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

Then you heard wrong.

Well, in the US anyway (and you're in NY)... as I said, if the dealer installs it it's covered for 1 yr or the remainder of the factory warranty, whichever is longer.

If it's not dealer installed then it's warrantied by Lexus for 1 year from date of purchase (though obviously only the part is warrantied, not the installation of it since they didn't do it).


If F-sport parts are sold in canada I would expect it to be a similar story up there. (if they aren't sold in Canada then I could see Lexus canada treating them like aftermarket parts, but you still wouldn't "void" the rest of the car warranty by using them).

ddhleigh

I'll respond to the Lexus rep and ask her specifically about the F sport items. I'll report back once I hear back from her.

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

Like Kurtz said, this statement is true if and only if a Lexus dealer installs them. If the F-Sport springs are installed by someone other than a Lexus dealer, then there is only a 1-year warranty on the springs parts alone. If the Lexus dealer installs them, then they are covered by any Lexus warranty you have in the same way that any other OEM part is covered. So if you're still under the factory warranty or if you're under an extended CPO warranty for example, in both instances if you have the F-Sport springs installed by a Lexus dealer then the springs will be covered just like the rest of your car for the entirety and scope of the warranty period.

This is essentially the exact same as the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act in the US: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson-Moss_Warranty_Act. Basically, if you install aftermarket or "non-branded" parts, the original warranty still exists in full, the only difference being that it does not cover the aftermarket parts themselves nor does it cover any damage to covered parts resulting from a failure of these aftermarket parts. So if you install aftermarket, non-Lexus, springs, your original factory warranty still applies to everything on the car except the springs. If your springs fail and cause something else like your control arms to break, those control arms (which would otherwise have been covered by your warranty) are NOT covered by the warranty because they failed as a result of a failure of a non-covered part.

Keep in mind the above distinction though between "aftermarket" and F-Sport. F-Sport parts are technically aftermarket, in that they weren't installed at the factory, however Lexus' clearly stated policy is that since these are Lexus-manufactured parts, if they're installed by a dealer then they're covered the same as OEM factory parts.

Jeff Lange

iTrader: (1)

Yes, F-Sport parts are basically the same as any other Lexus accessory (except in cases where parts are designated Off-Road only, in which case they carry no warranty). Like any accessory, if it is installed at Lexus, the warranty is for 1 year, or the remainder of your vehicle warranty, whichever is longer. Parts and labour are covered.

Accessories/F-Sport parts bought over the counter have a 1-year warranty for parts only, no labour.

Either way, it will not affect your warranty in any way. The only time it could potentially affect you warranty is if you did not install them at the dealership, and they were installed incorrectly, and they could prove that due to the incorrect installation it caused the problem with the vehicle.

Jeff

IS-SV

It's a non-issue at my local Lexus dealership in northern CA.