Advice on taking car to dealership

[whadapanch]

My extended warranty is up in March and have noticed there is a general vehicle check in my dash info set for right around this time. I want to take it in for this general check in the hopes that, if they find anything, I can get the warranty applicable stuff done before it expires.

1. I have Akrapovic slip on but everything else OEM for exhaust. I have an aftermarket intake and wheels. No tune. Other than that, everything is stock. Do I need to bother replacing my OEM intake and axle back exhaust or do these items have no chance of voiding a powertrain warranty?

2. My warranty was extended but my maintenance has been out and I have been doing it myself since. This included a spark plug change, oil changes, brake fluid flush and differential fluid change. Fluids were BMW OEM branded but my spark plugs were just the correct brand and type, and not official BMW OEM. Do you think any of this will matter with getting warranty work done?

[Beemdog]

1. Those items cannot void your warranty. See Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

2. It should not matter and you are allowed to have an independent shop or yourself do maintenance. However, you should keep some records and receipts to document the work was done.

[jphughan]

Originally Posted by Beemdog

1. Those items cannot void your warranty. See Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

2. It should not matter and you are allowed to have an independent shop or yourself do maintenance. However, you should keep some records and receipts to document the work was done.

Agreed on #2, but I wonder if an aftermarket intake could theoretically be used to deny certain engine-related claims. They couldn't use it to void the warranty on the entire powertrain due to the law cited here, though. Obligatory sigh here about people who want to run aftermarket parts and still maintain perfect warranty coverage rather than just accepting that you can't always have it both ways in life -- not legally, anyway....

If the spark plugs aren't OEM, they could maybe be used to deny warranty claims on issues that could be caused by plugs, or at least cause you to have to fight with BMWNA for a while before getting coverage -- but the spark plugs themselves definitely won't be covered by your warranty. And from what I've read from Mike Miller and others, even though Bosch/NGK make BMW's OEM plugs, sometimes the Bosch/NGK plugs purchased aftermarket that cross-reference with BMW part numbers aren't always the same product, even visually. They do work, but I'm not sure how or even if that affects their performance compared to OEM.

[BzsBimmer]

Find a mod friendly dealer in your area.
Typically unless a dealer can find/claim that your aftermarket modifications caused that specific part/system to fail, it should not affect your warranty.

Like another poster stated, keep good records and receipts for services you did yourself however you won't be completely without risk. If it was found that a fluid or service was done and not done correctly or caused an issue, they will hold you liable since you are not a BMW dealer tech. Even if you took it to an independent shop to have maintenance stuff done, the dealer will send you right to the indy shop to settle the claim since they fubar'd it in the first place. You really wouldn't expect BMW to pick up the cost of warranty when someone else may have caused the issue right?