Tadge Addresses Concerns About Potential C7 Warranty Issues Caused by GM Performance Parts

Early last month came news of a list of GM Performance Parts for the Corvette Stingray that Chevrolet was going to offer. Cooling-enhancing vents, upgraded brakes, hardcore suspension components, and many more. Really promising stuff. The only problem was the fine print that raised serious questions about how the upgrades would impact C7 warranties.

Forum member AliZ51 did a fine job of asking one that many of you wanted answered as well:

“GM performance part group is finally on the move and we are hearing one announcement after another with regards to the release of new components. This is great until we read the disclaimer and that all these parts would/ will void the powertrain warranty. How can GM justify voiding a powertrain warranty even for a carbon fiber cover?”

Tadge Juechter, executive chief engineer of America’s sports car, was kind enough to answer it. Turns out that the words in the catalog that featured the parts were in need of some tweaking. Many of the parts won’t affect New Vehicle Limited Warranty or Powertrain Warranty coverage at all, but some restrictions do apply to those components that alter the intended uses of the C7 or “take the vehicle out of compliance for public road use.” Going forward, Chevrolet will make the limits clear to prospective C7 GMPP buyers so they can decide whether or not they want to install the hardware.

Tadge went on to address specific components:

-Secondary Radiator and 600w fan – this was a misprint in the catalog – there are no warranty restrictions on these parts. These will not void the New Vehicle Limited Warranty.
-Carbon fiber braces – these parts are intended for off-road use only. Our long term, 10 year corrosion testing is not complete and therefore warranty claims for corrosion at the attachments of the brace to body will be restricted. The remainder of the factory warranty is intact.
-Z51 brakes for Stingray – in this kit, the mass dampers were removed from the stock Z51 pads in order to fit inside of the base Stingray wheels. Mass dampers are used to tune the system for brake noise, and therefore this kit is not warranted for noise performance. The remainder of the factory warranty is intact.
-Z06 brakes for Z51 – this application is for off-road use only because the stock Z51 wheels do not fit over the Z06 brakes. We cannot test or certify to all of the potential solutions. Any failures occurring as a result of the non-production wheels selected by the customer would not be covered. The remainder of the factory warranty is intact.
-T1 suspension kit – this suspension kit is designed for off-road, racing use only. Generally speaking we expect vehicles equipped with the T1 content would also be outfitted with track slicks and raced, both of which do void the general vehicle warranty.

He also mentioned the next version of the catalog will be updated accordingly. I have a feeling many of its pages will be dog-eared in record time.

Chime in with your thoughts on the forum. >>

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