After Market Remote Starters

[KenA]

Does anyone know if it would void the Toyota warranty if I were to have an after market remoter starter installed by a recommended installer (other than Toyota)?

[pancit175]

In short, NO it will not void the warranty. Upon a part of the terms of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. Magnuson-Moss Warranty Improvement Act states, a vehicle manufacturer may not make its vehicle warranty conditional on the use of any brand of security system unless the manufacturer provides the system free of charge or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has specifically published that only the vehicle manufacturer’s product may be used. To challenge a false claim, ask the person to put it in writing, or request the vehicle manufacturer’s security system free of charge. If you are charged for the security system, or they refuse to give you a written statement, there may be a violation of Federal law.
In many cases they claim that it voids the warranty as a scare tactic to have you buy the equiptment through them. Which if they don't have an OEM add-on piece, they will just install an aftermarket system anyway, and probably charge you more to do it.
And I have witnessed the dealerships/mechanics try blame aftermarket alarms/remote starts for problems that may occur without looking for the problem. Usually once they see it installed, they turn around and blame the product/install and charge you for the full diagnostic. For example, I had a guy come into my shop stating the mechanic said that the system we installed was to blame for the ignition problems he was having with his car not running properly. But what the mechanic didn't realize is the system we installed was only a simple aftermarket keyless entry system, and had nothing to do with the ignition system. We still looked it over, but told the guy to get his money back. Several times we inform the customer that our system did not cause the problem, and instruct them to have the stealership/mechanic to call us directly and explain the problem in detail. Usually we never hear from them again, but if we do we find that the technician was either talking out of his ass, or didn't do a proper diagnostic of the problem.

[fk.dude]

Originally Posted by pancit175

In short, NO it will not void the warranty. Upon a part of the terms of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. Magnuson-Moss Warranty Improvement Act states, a vehicle manufacturer may not make its vehicle warranty conditional on the use of any brand of security system unless the manufacturer provides the system free of charge or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has specifically published that only the vehicle manufacturer’s product may be used. To challenge a false claim, ask the person to put it in writing, or request the vehicle manufacturer’s security system free of charge. If you are charged for the security system, or they refuse to give you a written statement, there may be a violation of Federal law.
In many cases they claim that it voids the warranty as a scare tactic to have you buy the equiptment through them. Which if they don't have an OEM add-on piece, they will just install an aftermarket system anyway, and probably charge you more to do it.
And I have witnessed the dealerships/mechanics try blame aftermarket alarms/remote starts for problems that may occur without looking for the problem. Usually once they see it installed, they turn around and blame the product/install and charge you for the full diagnostic. For example, I had a guy come into my shop stating the mechanic said that the system we installed was to blame for the ignition problems he was having with his car not running properly. But what the mechanic didn't realize is the system we installed was only a simple aftermarket keyless entry system, and had nothing to do with the ignition system. We still looked it over, but told the guy to get his money back. Several times we inform the customer that our system did not cause the problem, and instruct them to have the stealership/mechanic to call us directly and explain the problem in detail. Usually we never hear from them again, but if we do we find that the technician was either talking out of his ass, or didn't do a proper diagnostic of the problem.

i dont think this relates to a canadian model as the FTC cant dictate canadian policy

i too am curious about this as winter has arrived.. and well.. its not fun

[KenA]

Hello, and thanks for the replies. I live in Canada so I was really hoping for a more "local" answer. The laws here are not always the same as in the U.S. and I doubt if Toyota has the same the same policies. I do appreciate the time taken for the answers though. I guess I'll just ask my dealer.

I hope everyone here has a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

[KenA]

Originally Posted by fk.dude

i dont think this relates to a canadian model as the FTC cant dictate canadian policy

i too am curious about this as winter has arrived.. and well.. its not fun

I just checked with Sun Toyota in Edmonton and they said that this would not in any way hurt the warranty. So there we go, right from the horse's mouth

[tm1]

where do people get their aftermarket starters? do they work with manual transmissions?

[KenA]

Originally Posted by tm1

where do people get their aftermarket starters? do they work with manual transmissions?

You can get them at Visions, Best Buy, Canadian Tire, Future Shop, Visions, and most electronics stores. But they're not cheap! Maybe check after Christmas for sales, if you can, or hint at one for Christmas They are available for manual transmission as well. Also, make sure you check the installation price as it is quite expensive.