Thinking about adding alarm and foglights to my LX.. that would probably void the warranty right?

 

Warranty for what? Probably not for your suspension or your glass, etc. It may for the electrical system, but Honda has to prove that the fog lights were the culprit that caused the electrical malfunction. I'm sure this site has some information on what will, and will not void warranties and which warranties they will void. If not, just Google the Magnusson something act. Or "will fog lights void my warranty?"

 

The issue isn't whether it would legally void your warranty, but whether it will give the dealer servicing the car an excuse to refuse the warranty service. I've seen dealers try to refuse warranty service on the basis of aftermarket wheels that were the same size as the stock wheels!

Few customers want to invest in the time, effort, and money to contest an arbitrary refusal. You might win in the end, but the victory might be costly.

I prefer to leave the waters unmuddied, so the only mods I do during the warranty period are those that can be undone without a trace.

 

Perfectly summed up, George. Dealers know they have you by the cajones if you do anything, as it's generally easier for a customer to bite the bullet and self-void the warranty than it is to fight it in court. The Magnuson-Moss Act of 1975 isn't worth the paper it's printed on in the real world; it was a nice try, though.

 

How much grief (if any) a dealer gives you very much depends on the dealer. My hunch is that a dealer that would try to avoid warranty coverage due to unrelated mods would probably try to find some other reason to avoid warranty coverage if you had no mods—asserting misuse or abuse, etc. On the other hand, there are good service departments that won't bat an eye; not enough of them, often, but they do exist.

Of course, if the trouble is actually caused by your mods, there is no legal (nor ethical) reason why Honda should provide warranty coverage for that.

If my Fit is any indication, you don't have much to worry about in practice because you won't have to make any warranty claims either way.