Warranty

[96A4FwdJimmy]

My friend is thinking about to mod his car. His car has roughly about 5000mile on it. Will aftermarket chip or exhaust violate the dealership's warranty? Is it a good start to play with his baby? Any other ideas?

[vtracer20]

most aftermarket chips allow you to run the stock program (apr uses the cruise control switch, giac uses a flash loader), so when you goto the dealer just put it back to stock. Plus a dealership needs to be able to PROVE that the chip was the cause of the fault.

My dealer said any work to an aftermarket exhaust is not covered underwarranty, that means if something breaks on the aftermarket exhaust they will charge you.

He will be very happy with a chip, i would go chip/suspension, suspension changes the car drastically, in terms of looks and ride. I currently have h&r springs (waiting to return to states to put on coilovers) and i like the ride and the over all look of the car, i dont like the s-line/stock look of the car, way too high for. It all depends what your friend wants from the car. Performance? Looks? Ride comfort? If he wants performance go with chip/exhaust, Looks -- suspension/chip, ride comfort -- s-line suspension with rs4 rear sway bar. Also do warn his once he starts modding......it will be hard to stop ;)

[96A4FwdJimmy]

Thanks for the input. It helps a lot. Would it be a problem that having the aftermarket exhaust on the car when he takes the service in the dealer. The only thing that scares my friend is violating the warranty. Maybe it is a better idea to ask the dealer before everything's being put on the car.

[AudiWxGuy]

A chip will void your engine warranty. If you get a chip, make sure to put the car in stock mode when it goes into the dealer. 99% of the time, if something goes wrong, and the car is in stock mode they'll take care of it for you. However, if it's something major, i.e. tubro, etc...and if the dealer suspects something, they will find your chip if they look hard enough. So in short, if he wants a chip, he'll most likely be fine. The car will most likely be fine as will the warranty. However, just know you're taking a chance.

Also...most dealers are cool with exhaust. It's actually good for the engine.

[96A4FwdJimmy]

Thanks man. Will definitely let my friend knows.