hey. i have a 2010 scion tc i got from the dealership a couple months ago with a 7 year warrantee. the dealer told me that the only modifications i can do to my car that doesnt void the warrantee is TRD. i wanted to buy some used TRD shocks and springs from the forum or someplace, but i wasnt sure if the dealer had to install them in. so, if i install them myself, will it void my warrantee? or will it be okay? any help will be appreciated.

thanks in advance....

 

Search on warranties.

Magnusson-Moss act made it so that they CANT void your warranty. They can deny fixing an issue under warranty if your mods caused that issue, but they cant deny the whole warranty. There are exceptions if it specifically calls it out in the warranty paperwork, but you need to read that paperwork to know for sure. If you have a 7 year warranty I am assuming you purchased some sort of added (aka aftermarket) warranty through the dealer? If so, you may want to check, but good chance is that it does not even cover suspension anyways.. alot of them are not bumper to bumper, but only powertrain.

 

Let me just say, it is all up to the dealership and the service advisors. They will either do everything in their power to take the costs away from you, or they will do everything in their power to find anything non-oem on your car and blame it on that (aka jiffy lube oil changes or napa parts).

The only thing i can think of that would potential mess up your car is the supercharger...
Other than that, every other TRD part is a quality product and won't mess up your car.

So, shocks and springs? Won't be an issue at all.
And if you have an engine problem, they can't blame it on the suspension either.

 

so what if to say i bought some used trd parts such as shocks and springs off of ebay or junkyard or whatever. would i be able to install them myself? or would the dealer have to install them for me? because i'd rather install them myself so i dont have to pay their ridiculus labor fee.

 

Are they in good condition?

I would just install them yourself.
But, can you do it yourself? Do you have the proper equipment and tools?

Dealerships charge atleast $100 an hour for labor..

 

well, I wouldnt do it myself, i would get help from my brother. he knows how to do it, he did it himself on his car. so, im assuming he knows how to do it on mine, and that he has the tools.

 

DONT assume anything when it comes to your car. There are many cheap ways to install springs and shocks that just wont last. The main tool he needs is a Spring Compressor.

Look at a shop to do it for less than the dealer and know they got done right. Suspension isnt something you want to go cheap on. Find someone who you know for sure knows what they are doing.

 

I bought an extended warranty on my car as well, and I was specifically told that any modifications had to be purchased from and installed by the dealership. However, I bought my car used with some modifications already done - most of which are TRD parts. I asked the dealership about these and they say they have no record of the sales or installation of the TRD parts. I'm assuming that means that they have no way of knowing wether or not the parts were purchased new or used, and no way of knowing who installed them.

 

lol i've installed 2 dozen sets of lowering springs and coil overs and i have NEVER used a spring compressor. i used the whole car as a spring compressor and NEVER not once had a problem with any of the installs

 

dave just curious how you did that? Did you just take off the nut holding the hat(? can't remember the name lol) of the strut (the piece that holds the spring in place) then slowly loosen the strut itself so the spring decompresses slowly?

How about when you put springs back on? Just curious how you did it Hope I made sense I can't remember the names of the parts for the life of me right now haha

 

I'm curious too!

 

i removed the nut for the shock at the top, on all 4 corners and then lift the car up SLOWLY. then remove everything that way. takes some getting used to and you dont want to lift teh car too much, just enough so that the wheels come slightly off the ground.

and for putting them back on i bring the car almost to the ground w/o the wheels on and jack the lower control arms up untill the shock top is seen through the top and then bolt it all up.

it took me 45 min on average to do a spring install/

 

i just bought a 2010 scion tc too i wna get trd springs. im a noob at this suspension thing but how much is trd springs? n my will it affect my camber or something? someone told me about that what do i need to know? how does it actually work? can anyone show me a link on explainin this. do i just buy the springs n install them? does it cause long term damage to anything else in the car

 

That's pretty handy dave..i'll keep that in mind if i ever have to do my springs/struts again ..spring compressors are kind of annoying

 

spring compressors take too much time.

 

yeah man..I remember when I did my springs how much of a PITA those things were..had to keep resetting the damn thing and compressing and decompressing the spring over and over again..of course that was my first time using it but yeah..

 

i used them once and i swore id never use one again