[ameers335i]

will it i am so undecided what to do?

[F32Fleet]

Depends on what's broken. Why did you screw with your exhaust is the larger question.

[ameers335i]

No I just got a new one installed aftermarket one of course

[1sicke92]

no it wont. theres a specific law i forgot what it was that states in order for the dealership tp void your warranty they must PROVE that the aftermarket exhaust caused the problem.

[Outlaw 06]

Originally Posted by Sairafe

no it wont. theres a specific law i forgot what it was that states in order for the dealership tp void your warranty they must PROVE that the aftermarket exhaust caused the problem.

This statement is NOT true. Once a car's warranty claim is denied by BMWNA, the burden is on the car's owner to sue BMWNA in civil court and prove that the mods couldn't have caused the damage (in the U.S.). This distinction is a huge misconception (about the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act) that seems to be prevalent on these boards. If BMW denies a several thousand dollar warranty claim on a modded car, how many competent attorneys would actually take a case like that? (Answer: none.) How much time, effort, and expense is it really worth pursuing such a claim anyway? After all that wasted time, effort, and expense, all you’ll be left with is a broken car + costly attorney’s fees to show for it; and it would have been a lot cheaper and less time consuming to just have paid for the repairs yourself.

[cb1111]

Originally Posted by Sairafe

no it wont. theres a specific law i forgot what it was that states in order for the dealership tp void your warranty they must PROVE that the aftermarket exhaust caused the problem.

SEMA keeps trying to keep that myth alive but the facts are simple:

If the dealer believes that your mod caused the failure then they have an obligation to BMW to deny warranty service for that failure.

Once warranty service is denied, then your first step should be to call BMWNA. If BMWNA ultimately sides with the dealer then you'll have a long row to hoe. In that case you can bet the farm that BMW believes that they have sufficient evidence to defend their denial.

Like TJ said, once BMW has shown that your mod caused the failure (easily done - all they have to show is that the "performance part" changed the performance parameters of the system - clearly the definition of "performance part.)

Once they've done showing that the performance part brought the car out of specs, then it is your turn to prove that it didn't - and you can't do that.

This is different from the part that is marketed as a direct replacement - for example a direct replacement muffler advertised as being substantially similar to the OEM part. This falls under the MM act and the dealer/BMW must prove that the part caused the issue - either by being defective or by not being substantially similar to the OE part (ie - a "performance part.)

That said, you'll need to research what types of issues can be caused by a performance muffler - at the very least you can have issues with emission systems, driveabilty concerns and some drivetrain issues since a performance exhaust alters the backpressure.

How likely are warranty problems? That's hard to say - many have no issues and some have multiple issues.