Void warranty due to aftermarket suspension. VWOA case open...

[AustinChappell]

I've been having multiple noises and clunks coming from the front end of my 2012 Volkswagen CC. All the issues started while i lived up north in MN with a completely stock CC. Volkswagen of Inver grove informed me that the noises were caused by the cold weather and grime on my front suspension and it was just something id have to deal with. It started warming up and the noise continued.

We moved back to Texas where i put an aftermarket coilover suspension on the car and did a mild drop thinking the noise would go away with a new setup but it continued. I took it to west houston vw who immediately pointed the finger at the aftermarket suspension saying that the load spring and the main spring were causing the noise even though i explained to them that i just put them on and the noise has been going on. The next dealer to look at it was VW of alamo heights who said it was my sub frame shifting and that my bushings were shot. i already hated this dealer from the beginning due to horrible customer service.

I contacted VWOA and opened up a case. The regional case manager contacted me and i informed her of everything thats been going on. We then scheduled an appointment at north park volkswagen. I dropped the car off and was contacted the same day by North park saying that my subframe looked perfect and that the noise was coming from the right cv axle needed to be lubed and that it was not going to be covered by VWOA. I left it at that and picked up my car.

The following day the regional case manager with VWOA contacts me asking why i denied repairs and picked up my vehicle. I informed her that i did not deny repairs but that north park told me that you guys denied coverage. she said she did no such thing and was still waiting to here back from north park. She asked me to schedule another appointment to finish the diagnoses and i informed her that i had an appointment with alamo heights in regards to a prior repair. The steering column had been replaced and i now have a rattle coming from inside the steering in the car that sounds like plastic on plastic. She said that would be perfect as we could get a second opinion on the cause of my issue.

Dropped the car off again with alamo heights who then diagnosed the issue and agreed that it was coming from the right CV axle. They said that because my car is lowered my right cv axle is rubbing on the front sway bar and also due to me being lowered it causing the axle to press into the differential causing it to bind instead of fitting loose. They also blamed my rattle in the steering column in the car on my suspension.

VWOA has voided my factory and extended warranty on my CC due to an aftermarket suspension....

PLEASEEEE HELP. Have you guys ever heard of this? They would not show me the issues while i was at the dealer and i have no idea how their diagnoses is even possible.

VWOA's regional case manager is unreachable now....

[Kzoo]

I'm really not trying to be a d!ck here, so keep that in mind

You should have had VW fix the issue BEFORE you modded your car.
This is par for the course for any manufacture, if you mod your car you run the [very high] risk of having your warranty voided.

Sorry to hear that you've lost your warranty!

I'm not saying give up, I'm just saying that they are not likely to change thier mind on this.
Good luck though!

[deagle]

you have to get manufacturer's policy on aftermarket parts NOT voiding manufacturer warranty, and find the fine print for the aftermarket part NOT voiding manufacturer warranty (so that one doesnt over-ride the other)

might not be something that can be resolved

[xJOKERx]

1. I wouldn't have modded the car and then kept on further investigating. Regardless of how much you wanted/not wanted it lowered it can wait.

2. I would have made them stick with one dealership instead of trucking you around to different people with different answers. (happened with my sunroof issue i had a big case on as well. I politely said i'm dealing with 1 dealership here and i'm not going to another shop for this issue.)

3. I would take it somewhere else other than VW if you're modded (after the fact) there are tons of help here before the fact, and i'm sure there are people in the area that would love to help you figure out what the problem is.

4. At this point i think you might have to do like the above and read the fine print, and build a case for yourself against the decision made. But you have several opinions in it now, and all pointing to the suspension which cannot be changed at this point. So read up on the fine print, and then contact once you have your info in order.

best of luck!!

[bluesbrothers]

and the lesson is that warranty work cost company's lots of money. So they will find any reason to void your warranty. i had a 2002 gti with the standard option of coil pack failure. needless to say my car was not stock and if wasn't for my dad being a vw tech i don't think they would have replaced them even though it was a known problem.

[TOMPASS]

Its my understanding that the mods would void the warranty only on the modified parts, not the entire warranty. Not so in your case?
I wanted to have my VW dealer install a factory upgraded sway bar on my 05 Passat wagon and was told it would void my warranty as related to the rear suspension-even though it was a VW part, ordered through and intended to be installed by the dealer. I had my indie mechanic install it and thankfully never had a problem.
While surprised that a factory part would affect my warranty, I certainly understand any manufacturer not wanting to provide warranty service on aftermarket parts for which they have no control of the design, engineering and quality as well as their impact on vehicle safety.
Since your problems began prior to the modifications, they should have been addressed then.

[Kzoo]

Its my understanding that the mods would void the warranty only on the modified parts, not the entire warranty. Not so in your case?
I wanted to have my VW dealer install a factory upgraded sway bar on my 05 Passat wagon and was told it would void my warranty as related to the rear suspension-even though it was a VW part, ordered through and intended to be installed by the dealer.

1) Your car has a factory warranty or it doesn't. They don't pick and choose which pieces do or don't keep the warranty. As soon as you mod your car with non oem pieces and they find out, it's gone. You've just saved them a bounch of money by giving them an easy out on honoring the remainder of your cars warranty.

2) If you are buying a VW Accessory that was produced for over the counter purchase as an upgrade for your year and model then it absolutely will NOT void your warranty. Period! You were lied to. It wouldn't make any sense for a manufacture to produce parts for their cars (as an upgrade) that meet their quality standards just to void your warranty if you buy and install them.

[wantacad]

you ****ed yourself with the coilovers.

[stratclub]

Lowering your car is one of the best performance downgrades you can do. It changes the suspension geometry, usually in a bad way.

You should have kept it stock until the problems you are having were rectified through warranty.

They can't void your entire warranty because of the mods you made. They can only void the warranty for problems related to those mods. There is a law that protects you in such cases.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson-Moss_Warranty_Act

Between the dealer and VOA, it sure sucks that you got jacked around.

[TOMPASS]

1) Your car has a factory warranty or it doesn't. They don't pick and choose which pieces do or don't keep the warranty. As soon as you mod your car with non oem pieces and they find out, it's gone. You've just saved them a bounch of money by giving them an easy out on honoring the remainder of your cars warranty.

2) If you are buying a VW Accessory that was produced for over the counter purchase as an upgrade for your year and model then it absolutely will NOT void your warranty. Period! You were lied to. It wouldn't make any sense for a manufacture to produce parts for their cars (as an upgrade) that meet their quality standards just to void your warranty if you buy and install them.

1) Follow the link in Stratclub's post.
2) While I wish you were correct, the rationale was that the suspension is a "system" of coordinated by design components and the dealer/VW would not honor warranty claims on modified "systems" regardless of the source of the parts. FYI, it was a 1BE rear sway bar for a 4motion Passat. I completely agree that factory parts shouldn't void the warranty, but I don't get to make that decision. BTW, this from a dealer I'd been dealing with for almost 20 years and 6 cars with no-yes that's no- complaints about sales or service. As I said, I had it installed by my indie mechanic and it never became an issue.

[Carbon Steel]

If you want to continue to pursue this:

Get the paperwork from your first visit to VW dealer in MN, that told you it was a cold weather/grime issue.

The obviously didn't want to or didn't know how to fix your car, then if you have paper work that shows when the lowering took place you could use that as evidence that the problem existed before lowering the car.

Present this to a new VW of Rep. Good luck.