Warrenty risk v.s. after market additions

i think they would have to prove your work damaged whatever it is you are trying to get warranty service on. that being said, 99.9% of warranty service is decided at the service desk. very few who have been denied warranty service move up the ladder, to toyota, arbitration or the courts, where a thorough understanding of warranty policy and state laws would come into play.

at the service desk, the buffoon either says, 'that's covered under warranty', or, 'uh, you damaged the vehicle with your aftermarket work and voided the warranty'. but either way, he/she doesn't have a clue.

 

I dug into this very topic with a previous vehicle and in my state - TN (it does vary some by state) the dealer has to "prove" that your modifications caused a failure to deny a warrantied repair on the failed part(s).

Nexus 6 ?

 

Warranty is a contract! You hold your end manufactors hold up there end according what is outlines and written in your warranty. Best advice is to wait till warranty expires! Install parts that you can remove without any trace!
Or buy a older vehicle that not covered under factory or any kind of warranty. Mod all you want!

 

What you're looking for is the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, specifically the part that prohibits "Tie-In Sales Provisions". Basically, that part says that Toyota can't require you to buy parts from them in order to maintain your warranty. For the same reason, you don't have to buy Toyota oil or Toyota windshield washer fluid. (There are some exceptions, like it's possible for a company to be excepted from this by the FTC, and they can require you to use their parts if they provide them for free.)

What they *are* allowed to do is deny warranty coverage if the damage was caused by something they didn't sanction. So if you add third-party seat heaters that go up to 11 and they fry the DC-DC converter that supplies the 12V system, they would be perfectly justified in denying a warranty claim.

So yes, to be absolutely sure, you're best having only Toyota make any modifications to the car. That said, they'd probably decline to make some changes that you might want. It's up to you whether the risk of your changes causing a problem (or even giving Toyota a reason to suspect they caused a problem) is worth it.

(*NB: Asking for legal advice from a bunch of schmucks on a random internet forum isn't the most reliable way to get an answer. If you really want to know, go ask a lawyer, not us. We're just taking a stab in the dark here. But presumably, the risk of getting a wrong answer was worth it to you for the money you saved by not paying someone who knows what they're doing. )

 

@macman408 calling fellow members of Prius chat a bunch schmucks not good choice of words!

 

Funny, while I'm with you 100% on this, I buy Toyota brand for both those items. The washer fluid 'cause it's not too pricey and seems to do a good job, and the 0W-20 goes for $5.65 (Can) per liter, at my nearby dealership.