Your car service warranty is a contract between you and the people you bought your car from. It protects you from paying for faults or defects you didn't cause as long as you keep your end of the agreement. Otherwise, you risk voiding the warranty.
To prevent your car service warranty from being voided, you must (1) abide by your vehicle’s regular servicing requirement, (2) avoid using aftermarket parts or modifications that might violate the warranty terms, and (3) never neglect it or tamper its odometer.
Car service warranty rules aren’t too complex to understand, especially after reading this guide. You’ll learn what voids a warranty and discover a few rules you should follow.
What Will Void a Warranty?
A car warranty can save you from financial pain and stress, but only if you honour the terms of that warranty and don’t violate any of its terms.
Here are some of the things that will void your warranty:
1. Using Aftermarket Parts
During the warranty period, you must be careful when using aftermarket parts. Car service warranties typically have terms forbidding or regulating the use of aftermarket parts.
In simple terms, putting unapproved parts in your car could violate the warranty and risk voiding it.
So, if you intend to use aftermarket parts in your car, you must first check the terms of the warranty. To be extra safe, contact your car manufacturer and ask their permission to use those parts.
2. Modifications Not Covered by Warranty
It’s one thing to use aftermarket parts in your car; it’s another thing to get modifications done on the vehicle.
Modifications, especially those explicitly forbidden by the terms can result in a voided warranty.
Again, carefully check the warranty’s terms and contact the manufacturer first if you want to get any modifications done to your vehicle.
3. Neglect or Failure to Maintain
All cars have regular maintenance tasks that you must perform according to their schedule. When the manufacturer or dealership can see that you’ve neglected the vehicle or failed to maintain it as you should have, they can choose to void your warranty.
Remember: a car service warranty is a contract, a deal, between you and the people who made your car. They’re required to honour it, but you must also handle your end of that deal. They can void the contract entirely if you neglect your end of the agreement.
4. Unapproved Use or Tampering
You own your car outright, and as such, you are free to do with it whatever you please. However, you must also remember that the car has approved and unapproved uses. Crossing that line and using the vehicle in a way that’s not approved will void the warranty.
For example, your four-door sedan is designed to transport passengers. You should never take it off-road or use it to haul cargo. If you do that and violate the warranty’s terms, the manufacturer or dealership has every right to void the warranty.
Besides that, tampering with the odometer will also void the warranty.
5. Acts of God (force majeure)
Lastly, be wary of the ‘acts of God’ or force majeure. That term refers to situations no one can predict or foresee, like floods and other natural disasters. Your warranty might have a clause that clearly states it does not cover damage due to force majeure.
So, if your car is destroyed by one of those, the warranty might no longer apply.
Does Missing a Service Void a Warranty?
You should never miss a scheduled servicing for your car. However, missing one service usually won’t void the warranty entirely, if the vehicle is still in an overall good condition.
Dealerships and manufacturers are typically quite understanding as long as you follow up with the next scheduled servicing and your car is in good condition overall.
The situation typically becomes problematic if you display a pattern of neglect, like missing multiple logbook servicing appointments and letting your car deteriorate to a horrible condition.
When that’s the case, they’ll likely void the warranty or refuse to cover the costs for the repairs you need.
It's always easier to stick to the terms of the warranty and service your car when it says you're supposed to. Of course, doing so might disrupt your schedule just a little bit, but that's a small price to pay for the protection offered by the warranty.
How Long Can You Delay Logbook Servicing Without Voiding Warranty?
It’s only normal to wonder how long you can delay a car service without voiding the warranty. Well, here are some things you’ll probably want to know:
- Delaying your logbook servicing by a couple of kilometres will not void the warranty. The service intervals you see in your warranty documents are approximate figures.
- Delaying your logbook servicing by a few days won’t void the warranty.
Again, this sort of thing usually only becomes a problem if you’ve been delaying for extended periods, like by many weeks or months. Plus, the likelihood of voiding a warranty is lower if your car is in excellent condition.
While it’s always best to follow your logbook servicing intervals as best as possible, delays by a few kilometres or a few days are quite understandable.
What Are Important Car Service Warranty Rules to Live By?
Here are a few more car service warranty rules that you should never ignore:
- Read the fine print: This has been said, but it’s worth repeating. Your warranty is a contract, and that means there are terms and conditions that both sides must honour. So always read the fine print at least once, no matter how boring it seems. You must understand what you’re signing up for.
- Don’t rely on what’s said: Most car salespeople are honest, but they’re still human. They can make mistakes too. That’s why you shouldn’t rely on anything they tell you regarding the car service warranty. Instead, read the fine print yourself and ask questions about anything you do not understand.
- Don’t modify your car: Everyone wants to customise their vehicle and express individuality. Still, don't rush into it if you have an active warranty. Check the terms and ask whether it'll violate the warranty. Get everything in black and white, too!
- Service it when you should: Stick to your servicing schedule as closely as possible. Show them that you’ve done your part to care for the car, and the likelihood of your warranty being voided stays incredibly low.
Stay tuned to the Blog at CarpartAU to learn more about being a responsible car owner and driver. We update the blog regularly to bring you informative articles teaching you more about your car, including car service warranty rules and plenty of other topics.
By Ray Hasbollah