Aftermarket Radio and Factory Warranty?

[Rkonster]

I am thinking of installing a aftermarket radio into my car, but I am worried about voiding the factory warranty. I was told that if only voids the audio portion of the warranty, but I have heard differing stories. Has anyone had any experience with this?

 

[RagingBITCH]

They would only void your warranty if it has a direct relation. IE, they're not going to void your warranty if you bring your car in because you have an alignment issue, or the windshield wipers don't work right, or the tranny jerks from the 2-3 shift. If however, you start having electrical issues, or your rear speakers don't work, or something directly related to the radio, you could be SOL. (Example, if you were stupid enough to try to direct solder the factory wiring plug to the head unit without a harness, and you shorted something out, you would be screwed beyond belief.) There would have to be ample evidence that the headunit is the source of the problem to deny a warranty claim or void the warranty on that portion of the car.

 

[Vette73]

RagingBITCH is correct.

And just to make it clearer, get the RIGHT harness and dash kit and you should have no problems. DON'T cut into the factory harness.

 

[Rkonster]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
They would only void your warranty if it has a direct relation. IE, they're not going to void your warranty if you bring your car in because you have an alignment issue, or the windshield wipers don't work right, or the tranny jerks from the 2-3 shift. If however, you start having electrical issues, or your rear speakers don't work, or something directly related to the radio, you could be SOL. (Example, if you were stupid enough to try to direct solder the factory wiring plug to the head unit without a harness, and you shorted something out, you would be screwed beyond belief.) There would have to be ample evidence that the headunit is the source of the problem to deny a warranty claim or void the warranty on that portion of the car.

I am worried about the HVAC controls and the like, since I guess it can be classified as electrical. Couldn't they claim that anything electrical is caused by the radio install, even though it was done correctly by a professional?

 

[Rkonster]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
RagingBITCH is correct.

And just to make it clearer, get the RIGHT harness and dash kit and you should have no problems. DON'T cut into the factory harness.

The problem is, a factory amp bypass needs to be done, otherwise it sounds really bad. I did that in my other car, where the amplified output of the aftermarket unit was fed into the factory amp, and the sound quality suffered greatly.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
RagingBITCH is correct.

And just to make it clearer, get the RIGHT harness and dash kit and you should have no problems. DON'T cut into the factory harness.

Yep, what he said - get the right harness and kit. An 8 year old could do it if he knew how to solder (or use butt crimps).

Unless the HVAC controls are directly connected to the HU that's not really something to worry about. (Like my 04 Accord - the HVAC controls are all built into this single integrated unit with the stereo. Luckily if I were to install a seperate head unit, I can use the AUXILIARY port and just get a T harness)

What type of a car is it going into? (If it's a Mustang, the Mach460 system is a bitch, you'll just want to let a stereo shop go about either bypassing it or removing the 460 entirely)

 

[Rkonster]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
RagingBITCH is correct.

And just to make it clearer, get the RIGHT harness and dash kit and you should have no problems. DON'T cut into the factory harness.

Yep, what he said - get the right harness and kit. An 8 year old could do it if he knew how to solder (or use butt crimps).

Unless the HVAC controls are directly connected to the HU that's not really something to worry about. (Like my 04 Accord - the HVAC controls are all built into this single integrated unit with the stereo. Luckily if I were to install a seperate head unit, I can use the AUXILIARY port and just get a T harness)

What type of a car is it going into? (If it's a Mustang, the Mach460 system is a bitch, you'll just want to let a stereo shop go about either bypassing it or removing the 460 entirely)

It is going into an 05 ML500. I'm not really familiar with how an amp bypass works. I was under the impression that it requires modifying some of the original factory stuff?

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: Rkonster

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
RagingBITCH is correct.

And just to make it clearer, get the RIGHT harness and dash kit and you should have no problems. DON'T cut into the factory harness.

Yep, what he said - get the right harness and kit. An 8 year old could do it if he knew how to solder (or use butt crimps).

Unless the HVAC controls are directly connected to the HU that's not really something to worry about. (Like my 04 Accord - the HVAC controls are all built into this single integrated unit with the stereo. Luckily if I were to install a seperate head unit, I can use the AUXILIARY port and just get a T harness)

What type of a car is it going into? (If it's a Mustang, the Mach460 system is a bitch, you'll just want to let a stereo shop go about either bypassing it or removing the 460 entirely)

It is going into an 05 ML500. I'm not really familiar with how an amp bypass works. I was under the impression that it requires modifying some of the original factory stuff?

AMP related stuff really isn't my strongest suit, but it just requires disconnecting the factory amp and running new wire to the speakers. (I think) Thereby bypassing it. I don't know what the rated specs of your factory system are but for a ML500, 2005 to boot, I would think it wouldn't be all that bad.

 

[Rkonster]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: Rkonster

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
RagingBITCH is correct.

And just to make it clearer, get the RIGHT harness and dash kit and you should have no problems. DON'T cut into the factory harness.

Yep, what he said - get the right harness and kit. An 8 year old could do it if he knew how to solder (or use butt crimps).

Unless the HVAC controls are directly connected to the HU that's not really something to worry about. (Like my 04 Accord - the HVAC controls are all built into this single integrated unit with the stereo. Luckily if I were to install a seperate head unit, I can use the AUXILIARY port and just get a T harness)

What type of a car is it going into? (If it's a Mustang, the Mach460 system is a bitch, you'll just want to let a stereo shop go about either bypassing it or removing the 460 entirely)

It is going into an 05 ML500. I'm not really familiar with how an amp bypass works. I was under the impression that it requires modifying some of the original factory stuff?

AMP related stuff really isn't my strongest suit, but it just requires disconnecting the factory amp and running new wire to the speakers. (I think) Thereby bypassing it. I don't know what the rated specs of your factory system are but for a ML500, 2005 to boot, I would think it wouldn't be all that bad.

The system is not bad in the car. It is just that it is not touchscreen, so it is a pain to use, especially for the NAV. My older car died, and I had just put in a nice touchscreen Eclipse unit in there. So I ripped it out, and was planning on putting it in the new car.