My question is regarding the statement that GM makes regarding the warranty and "racing." If the vehicle has the turbo upgrade kit and is used for racing, the warranty is void. What does this specifically mean?

I don't race my car. It doesn't have sponsorship, a number on the door, and I have never taken it to the local drag strip. If I were to have the kit installed and then had a part related to getting engine power to the wheels fail (such as a turbocharger or transaxle) would GM use "not for racing" as a loophole to deny warranty coverage? Their assumption would be that this is a performance vehicle with a performance upgrade installed, a part failed you must have used the vehicle for "racing" so no warranty coverage. I would then have to prove that the vehicle was not used as a race vehicle.

Or is this wording to cover people who take a street car and turn it into a race vehicle and void their warranty? Or have a part failure at the race track which I understand would not be covered?

I would like to have the kit installed on my SS and went to talk to my local dealer about the install. They had never heard of it and I showed them some paperwork I had printed. The service manager was hesitant about the installation due to the warranty and the delaership's liability. I understood from this forum and the many posts that the kit does not void either the 3yr/36k vehicle warranty or 5yr/100k powertrain warranty. I live in the boonies, 2 hours from any city with a population of more than 100k so I'm limited in my selection of dealerships who have knowledge of the turbo upgrade kit or have done an install. I believe my dealer is wrong about the installation automatically voiding the warranty. My service advisor was going to call his district manager for clarification and then get back to me.

However, this conversation with my dealer got me to read up on the warranty information related to the turbo upgrade kit and specifically about "racing."

 

If they see evidence of abuse, it's void. What evidence you may ask, that will have to happen first. Cause a lot can happen. And a lot can be pulled from the computer......

 

Don't show up at the dealer with rubber plastered all over the wheel wells.
Don't post your racing videos online.
In other words, use your head.

 

Yep! Companies are now checking web sites for video's and race results on some of their cars to stop abuse claims.

The WRX people were wiping clutches out Autocrossing. Subaru got tired of paying for other abuse above and beyond normal road driving.

If you race and break something it is up to the owner. People just need to learn many times if you want to play you need to pay.

Videos anymore kill a lot of claims for warranty.

If you want to make a random run now and then it will not be an issue but if you autocross or run drag brackets every week it is your responsibility to pay for the wear and tear.

 

A word of warning about what you say on these forums. A guy with a Duramax had his warranty denied (blown engine) because GM claimed he had power adders and "abused" the truck. A new Duramax engine is north of $13k. GM told him to pound sand. In reading his posts, I don't personally think he abused the truck but appearances are deceiving. The gauges in the truck made GM suspicious (and rightfully so.)

He sued GM and when they went to court, GM had a printout of *all* of his posts from a diesel truck forum. Yes, they watch that stuff. The Duramax engine is costly so GM isn't going to fix self-induced damage and they are prepared to protect themselves. They finally settled, but for nothing near what he expected (or needed.) It took nearly two years. He still had to make payments on a truck that was dead.

Be careful what you post here about your mods and racing (track or street.) This forum is clearly "the" HHR forum and if GM thinks you have abused the car, they will try and find any information they can to deny the claim. And they know where to look....

The Stage 1 kit is fully warrantied by GM but if you have a failure and go in for warranty and you've posted that you have hit the track or post that you have been street racing, they will find out and use it against you. I have heard of two other cases where GM walked into court with forum posts for evidence. Yes, the judges allowed it.

You might think you are anonymous here, but it would be wise to not make that assumption.

And for those that think the Magnuson-Moss Act protects you, well it sure does. But it's not like you can go into a dealer and yell "I hereby invoke the Magnuson-Moss Act and you have to prove my mods caused the failure!" and the dealer will break into a cold sweat and do anything you want. You're right, it does protect you to a point. And two years later you might just win. That act induces no fear in the dealer or GM. Thankfully many dealers use common sense. I have no complaints with any of my dealer services.

I'm not trying to be a downer here but as they say "Once on the internet -always on the internet". Be careful.

 

I think there was a GM service bulletin about the cobalts telling dealers not to replace a cracked transmission. Any cracks were deemed to be caused by wheel hop while being "abused"

 

well with the HHR SS there are limited numbers and then they can even break it down smaller if you have a color like mine. which 235 were made in 2008.

then factor in the racetrack, yes they can figure out where your running and that will further narrow it down.

So if you get denied for warranty because your posting timeslips and videos. you have nobody to blame except yourself.

And check out my post count :)

 

The other point in the argument is that expecting GM warranty department to be your personal pit crew at the track is not only naive, but dishonest. When I added a supercharger to my GTO, I subtracted any expectation of GM subsidizing my weekends at the drag strip. The HHR has the factory turbo modification, and will remain at that level for the duration of the powertrain warranty. If I want to race, I've got a faster car for that, and frankly a FWD car at the strip is about as much fun as a sticky door knob. The HHR is a wonderful quick driver that eats up curves like my GTO and 3/4 of the other cars on the road can only dream about. I'm content with that.

 

It's like an LS1GTO infestation over here!

 

It's really simple.

If you install the kit, the warranty IS NOT voided.

If you abuse the vehicle, the warranty IS voided.