C8 Corvette Owner Denied Warranty Repairs Due to Lowered Suspension

As this Corvette Forum member found out, a set of lowering collars caused a dealer to deny warranty work for a faulty front end lift.

New vehicle warranties give us a little peace of mind for what is usually a considerable amount of time after making one of the larger purchases in our lives. That’s obviously a good thing, but as many enthusiasts would remind you, modifying a new vehicle can also quickly void that warranty, leaving you to foot the bill if and when something does go wrong. Case in point – Corvette Forum member fairorth, who was recently denied warranty repair coverage because his C8 has a lowered suspension.

“I have a 2021 C8 with Z51, mag ride, and front lift.” he said. “Ten months ago I got a lowering kit  and had it professionally installed. Everything worked perfectly, my lift engages in my driveway so I probably used it 100 times since I installed the kit. About 4 weeks ago I started to get warning message to service the lift and also messages that the lift was inoperable. I took it into my Chevy dealership and, after a long waiting period, I was told this morning that lowering the car voided the suspension warranty and they would not do anything on the lift unless I restored the car back to its stock height. I am wondering if anyone else is having any issues with the lift system either with a stock height or a lowered car, and also does anyone have any other experiences with Chevy and warranty issues for lowered cars?”

As one might imagine, many other Corvette Forum members feel like this is a dealer problem and not a GM problem. “That doesn’t make any sense,” said blueapplepaste. “If the warranty is voided, then returning it to stock should still mean a voided warranty. But if they’re willing to service it with the OEM springs installed, even if problem was caused when lowering springs were installed, then the warranty wasn’t actually voided. Regardless, I’d first try taking it to another dealership if that’s an option. If not, then just remove the springs and reinstall the OEM ones and get things fixed.”

And as PopsC8 notes in response to another user, many dealers are eager for warranty work. “Last I heard dealers love warranty work. They get paid by the manufacturer, not the owner. Easy money. I’m guessing the dealer doesn’t have a qualified tech and is afraid of problems the tech could cause by working on something he’s not familiar with. Take it to another dealer. No need to mention the one-inch collars. But that’s just me.”

This notion is confirmed by other members that actually work at dealerships, so it seems as if that might just be the OP’s best choice at this point. However, it is also still possible that the dealer was telling the truth, as RKCRLR pointed out. “I agree the problem isn’t because dealers don’t like warranty work. However, for the dealer to get reimbursed for warranty work, the repair has to be approved by GM. It is quite possible that the tech contacted the tech line for support and the subject came up the the car was lowered. At that point GM could have put the kibosh on warranty coverage.”

Luckily, other members chime in with some advice on how to fix the OP’s problem, which could provide a simple solution to an otherwise potentially expensive situation. Regardless, we’re curious to hear what you would do if something like this happened to you. So be sure and head over here and give us (and the OP) your take on this hot topic!

Photos: Corvette Forum

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