Does any one know how the Magnuson-moss warranty act of 1975 affects the harley warranty on using other companies aftermarket parts? I wanted to have installed S&S cams and the dealer told me it would void the warranty. But as far as i can tell by this warranty act no manufacturer can say that you have to use only their parts to keepthe warranty intact. Help please

 

Sure it applies but could get mucky in the details. If you fry a valve HD would make a claim the "aggressive" cam caused damage to the valves. You would need to line up experts to prove otherwise.

If your tranny strips a gear they might try same but would have a much tougher case to prove on their side IMO.

 

the s&s cam is the same as a hd but they r geardriven instead of chain.

 

Engine mods that increase power, unless done by the dealer, will void the warranty on the engine. It's written in the warranty.

 

the dealer would of installed the cams before the bike was picked but the dealer still said it would of voided the warranty as long as they were not hd cams

 

S&S makes both chain and gear driven cams

 

That's total crap... they can write whatever they want but it doesn't over ride federal law...You can put any damn cams you want in her and have absolutely no effect on your warranty, (for what that's worth anyway).....

If you had an engine warranty claim after installation the burden of proof that the cams caused the issue is on the manufacturer..... and when push comes to shove, history has show that they will honor the original warranty.....

Now if you tear her down and your twin cam now has three of them... well, that's another story

 

Give this man a prize! We have a winner!

That is exactly what the law states... Your dealer can try to intimidate you, many people on this forum will say silly things like adding an aftermarket screw nullifies your warranty. But that doesn't change the law.

This link takes you Drago's Bike Works website. (I hope Frank doesn't mind.) Please read the section about the Magnuson-Moss act. Then you won't be required to ask people what they "think" the law means.

http://mysite.ncnetwork.net/res11gba9/id5.html

I am not getting down on people asking the questions. I am getting down those people who give out bum dope like it was holy writ...

 

To put it simply, the warranty does not cover aftermarket parts or any damage they may cause.

 

The only time the entire warranty can be "voided" is when a vehicle is totaled and rebuilt under a salvage title.

The proper term is claim "denied". The aftermarket part must be shown to be the proximate cause of the failure.

If you put cams in an Ultra still under warranty and the CD player goes south, it is a warranty repair. It gets gray when performance parts are installed and the trans lunches out. What was the cause - operator abuse - extra power - a bad part. It takes an expert to determine the cause.

Still it is on the manufacturer to show that it is more likely than not that the performance part is at fault. Yes it does in most cases takes a trip to small claims court to prevail. You must have the gonads to stand up for yourself.

Keep in mind the Warranty Act puts the burden of proof on the manufacturer not the owner. That is why there is a great odds of prevailing in small claims court because of that. You just stand there.