I see a cheating scenario happening where cars will open up only while physically present in MA as reported by cars own systems, and then on top of that require a million dollar decrypting computer or some other stupid stunt, don’t know how the law is phrased and if it will allow for loopholes like that.
Why would, the place of service be important?
Free services simply remove the cost associated with performing said service. If you can provide satisfactory evidence of service, albeit with parts and receipts, not much can be said. They’d have to provide irrefutable direct evidence that the service was subpar and caused the failure.
I do have to agree though, if you need a warranty repair, having all services performed at the dealership allows for customers to not worry about documentation and records. In addition, one probably has had a chance to build a relationship with the SA.
Ban torx screws period.
I would love to know what engineering benefit that led to the invention of Torx as a standard of fastening, besides being able to strip the head so quickly, if you even dare looked at it the wrong way.
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I think they were designed just to make it more difficult to open stuff! I can appreciate that on a bus or train, though they have become much more available so that benefit is probably mostly gone. I definitely don’t appreciate it in my glove box securing my air filter!
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The interface design on a torx head is way better at force transfer from the tool to the screw for consistent torque application and preventing the tool camming out and slipping. Unfortunately, not camming out and being good at transferring load makes it easy to strip the screw if you overtorque the screw. This is usually controlled by using torque limiting screwdrivers in factory environments, which is where the advantages of the design happens to shine.
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The last sentence?
Quote:
Do I have to use the dealer for repairs and maintenance to keep my warranty in effect?
No. An independent mechanic, a retail chain shop, or even you yourself can do routine maintenance and repairs on your vehicle. In fact, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which is enforced by the FTC, makes it illegal for manufacturers or dealers to claim that your warranty is void or to deny coverage under your warranty simply because someone other than the dealer did the work. The manufacturer or dealer can, however, require consumers to use select repair facilities if the repair services are provided to consumers free of charge under the warranty.
This is what my lease agreement says:
The only answer to this question is to read your lease.
Generally, you probably have an “equal quality or design” clause in the maintenance terms of your lease agreement, which means you can get service and repair anywhere you choose. The lease agreement generally controls over anything else you have signed, so read it and do what it says.
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I read this as repair services though, particularly those covered under warranty. Not necessarily routine maintenance via the manufacturer or some of the dealers that throw in “free” oil changes or whatever. Unless it was tied to one dealership and incredibly inconvenient I would probably just take advantage of whatever they were offering me. The best part of EV ownership is not really having to worry much about any of this. I just let my complimentary maintenance visit lapse on my Bolt because it just wasn’t work making time to use it. They are just going to rotate the tires, which only have around 3,000 miles on them so what’s the point?
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I did see that. I’m not sure if that was just sloppy copy or if they really did intend to limit it to “repairs”
unlikely sloppy…can you imagine the company’s size of the legal department putting together the lease agreement?
It’s a website that could very plausibly have been done by a contractor
You are absolutely right.
I started looking into this language and it ended up sending me on a deep dive trying to find the origin of this exception. This exception is in the FTC guidance rather than the actual law. But I can’t find when the FTC actually did the notice and rule making for this relatively important caveat to the law. I also can’t find any instance of any OEM trying to invoke this defense in a warranty claim or telling consumers they must use the free services to keep warranty valid.
I am very curious exactly how the FTC sees this exception being used and why no OEM has ever tried to use it.
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I suspect it really applies to Recalls. Free Repairs that only the OEM can do.
Such as the Takata Airbag recall, they don’t want Independent shops working on it and not correcting it with the right parts / quality / (Actually performing the recall)
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Recalls are free by definition
This applies to a broader category of work done by dealers.
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This makes sense based on the FTC website but I have my doubts that’s actually what it means.
Hyundai, BMW and Jaguar all offer free service for life of warranty, while many other brands offer some free scheduled maintenance. Service departments are money makers I can’t imagine every manufacturer is willingly be passing up the opportunity to 1. Force millions of customers to service their cars at the dealership. Even if oil change is free they can sell you tire rotations/other crap and trap you in showroom for hours. 2. Pass up the chance to void the warranties of people who didn’t get car serviced at dealership and happen to need expensive repairs/maybe be lemon law eligible.
Also, this isn’t part of the statute it is part of the FTCs interpretation which unless I am wrong, they did not flesh out through notice and rule making. A plain reading of their website raises obvious questions. What if Honda says we will give you a free oil filter every 6k miles since we have found a lot of problems with independent shops oil filters. But you either have to pay for the oil for the oil change or take it to a different shop after we put the oil filter in to get new oil. Or what if i takes 3 days to get a free oil change unless you add on other services. What if the dealership you bought the car from closes and the next closest one is hundreds of miles away.
One issue I’ve had in the past (many years ago) with third party is that they cannot cancel service lights on the dash. They can perform the necessary service, no issue, but cant extinguish the service reminder light.
any decent place can reset the lights nowadays
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Yeah that shouldn’t be a problem at all.