The old exhaust / warranty dilemma?
 

Not an original post, have seen similar and commented before but….

How many MY04 (or newer) sti owners have actually changed their back boxes without either worrying about the warranty issue, not had any problems to date and had no problems with the dealer at service etc?

My dealer said it is not a problem until there is a problem – then IM will wriggle out of the warranty repair.

I want to go for a Ninja or an Afterburner Vortex but don’t want to have to change back etc for servicing or Subaru Assist.

I guess I could go the Prodrive route but have no idea how they compare for noise etc.

Any advice, similar thoughts appreciated.

Thanks
T

Ive got the Ninja BB on my 03MY STI. Like you said, I dont worry about the servicing aspect, as I will just swap the boxes back over. Atleast that will only be every 12 months or so. What I do worry about though is if I have to call out Subaru Assist. I've had to do this once (flat battery) and they didnt actually check the car over, so I guess I'll just cross my fingers and hope that they dont check next time.

I had an STI box on the back of my MY02 WRX, OK not a great change, but still not an original part. Also got several other non standard uprated parts. I've had several warranty claims and all have gone through.

But more importantly has there EVER been a reported instance of an exhaust causing damage to an engine? EVER since time immemorial?

Dismantled a back box and theres nowt to them, just a bit of pipe with holes and thats wrapped in glass fibre, different dimensions and a few acoustic differences thats about it so will have no effect on the engine. you can put a BIG bore back box on but its only as big in real terms as the pipe that comes from the front. powerman

I was informed by my dealer after fitting my exhaust that my warranty was void. but if your lucky (like I was) you will run out of warranty before you need to fix anything. I got to enjoy 3 years of the benefits of an aftermarket exhaust with no side-effects. But the other side of the coin is that if something had have happened I would most likely have been up the proverbial creek without a paddle. Its a risk but I guess most Subaru's if looked after are super reliable.

I still find it hard to believe that after 3 years and 55,000 miles I have only ever changed the oil (every 6000 miles) and air filters (every 10,000 miles) :)

Some useful comments. I guess I am just nervous of giving the dealer any option to be difficult. Don't really fancy having to change the box each service but may be the easier option. As for Subaru assist - I still have AA cover (don't ask why I have both) so in theory they could sort me in a dire emergency.

Like another post says - I haven't heard many (sorry any) horror stories titled 'my new exhaust has ruined by engine'.

I am no techy, so can't begin to consider what a change to the 'back pressure' would do to the engine. The dealer was pretty relaxed off the record.

Will get the 10k service out of the way in March and go from there.