[KovyForteSX]

Do not trust your dealerships "do's" and "don'ts"... The only reason I have a Forte and not my Cobalt SS is because of an air intake. Magnuson Moss Warranty Act will only get you so far before you have to hire a lawyer. I went two months with no car because they said the cause of the engine failure was the intake system. As false as that is, they just used that time to come up with a "technically sound" explanation to basically screw me over. If you want to modify your car with bolt-ons and tunes go for it, BUT when you have a problem put everything back to factory. Never bring it in for services with the aftermarket on. Now, obvious GM was in more of a financial jam than Kia, so they did not want to warranty any work at all even though my car was still under the 36,000mile bumper to bumper warranty. The only reason I gave up was I needed a car and I didn't want to lose my job... so I had to sacrifice the SS.

 

[KovyForteSX]

I agree with ForteSX2.4 and tcope, in that if what you do DOES cause a problem (high compression pistons, etc) then you are not covered. ECU issues MAY arise if you go with a CAI, but does not give the manufacturer cause to deny any claim because of it.

My hope is that having this knowledge, and letting the dealer know that you have it, could help with shady warranty claims.

This argument did not help me win obviously BUT if they will say that a CAI or SRI caused the engine problem (not oil tainting the MAF or hydrolock that's a different story), If they say an intake caused detonation or any other engine failure due to excessive heat or bad spark the problem I have is that the MAF or MAP is there to adjust the fuel/air mix... so if the amount of air coming in is higher (in some cases lower) and the temperature is differen the ECU should be able to immediately make up for it. My old car actually had what they called "learn down" feature to keep the car at stock specs no matter what you bolted on, even then I could not win... but that's what car manufacturers do. The best thing to do is buy a beater car and mod it to hell and back, that way if it blows up you just part it out and don't worry about a warranty.