foodmanry

iTrader: (15)

In the last 5,000 miles I have had 3 SES lights come on. The first two I cleared, one for a code P0420, and the other for code P0430. The third one came up P0430 and I didn't clear it hoping to take it into the dealer under a warranty repair.

Background info on my car and status:

2k GLE with 97,000 miles.
Gold 100,000 mile "bumper to bumper" warranty.
Aftermarket mods: suspension, auto tranny VB, y-pipe, and Injen intake.

I removed the y-pipe and intake and installed the stock pieces prior to taking the car in. I explained to the service tech that I had seen the code three times in the past 5,000 miles. He said they would check it out, but if it didn't apply under warranty then there would be an $87 service charge. Fine with me b/c I thought I was ok with a gold bumper to bumper warranty.

The tech calls back the next day stating that it was the ECU that needed reflashing. He said it was probably due to the aftermarket parts I had on the car. I hesitated for moment and didn't say anything. I asked him if it falls under warranty and he said "NO." He said that if the SES light came back on within the next couple weeks then bring it in again and they would check it out. I was ****ed...I spend a couple grand on a "bumper to bumper" warranty only to find out that it's really not "bumper to bumper." They said it would fall under the 8/80,000 mile federal warranty.

Damn....so now I have to call the service manager and see if I can get my service charge refunded. This is just BS.....at least they washed the car when they had it. I have a strong feeling they just cleared the code and didn't reflash the ECU. Some "gold" warranty...

paralyse

With many extended warranties ECU flashes past 80k (cutoff for federal emissions warranty) are considered "adjustments" instead of "repairs" and not covered. At 97k you are out based on mileage. There is a TSB out for your problem (P0420 codes) where reflashing the ECU is the service procedure.

BTW -- company cannot deny you warranty unless they can prove your mods directly caused the failure (your engine blows up and you have a 250 shot NOS bottle in the passenger seat and a timeslip.)

Zero Deuce SE

I guess you have to really read the fine print on any warranty to see what is not covered. People generally have different interpretations of the same documents. If you only had to pay $87, I would not complain about that as long as they resolved your problem.