Proof of maintenance and warranty?

[Doctor Steve]

Approching 600 miles on My new SV. Will the warrany be voided if I do my own servicing?? Or are the dealerships cool? Thanks in advance. Steve

[linp]

To paraphrase Carolyn Boyce (http://www.bluepoof.com/motorcycles/),
The warranty can't be voided for doing your own services (provided that you don't F something up royally and expect them to fix it for you for free). I believe that's covered, along with installing aftermarket parts, by the Magnuson-Moss Act of 1975. See http://www.usdieselparts.com/mmwa.htm for more details. :)
Keep your receipts of parts.

[Doctor Steve]

Understandable..

[91Vette]

The dealership where I purchased my bike stated that I could do my own maintenance if I wanted and the warranty would be fine.

Being a newby to bikes, I am going to have the dealership do my 600 mile service (I'm @ 530 miles now). Although I am sure I could learn the basics, I want the dealer to check out the chain (and maybe sproket) noise I am experiencing.

[wraven]

I am relatively mechanically inclined, and have my SV mainly to save my hard earned cash. So, I think I have decided to do the maintenance myself on the bike. The only thing I am concerned about is if I need call upon the warranty, what is considered proof that I maintained the bike? Will reciepts of oil/filter suffice for example? Or do I have to take my SV into an authorized shop to keep the warranty valid?

Also, where do our local Ventura people go for oil/filters/random stuff? I gave CalCoast the finger the last time I was there, and would rather not acknowledge their existance (had nothing but bad experiences with them)

Anyway, any input will be greatly appreciated :D

[GMAN]

I usually save all receipts for work done or materials purchased. I've never been queried for proof of maintenance whenever I've brought my bikes in for warranty work.

I guess if you're really worried, the best thing would be to have servicing done at a qualified shop. If you can do the work yourself, this would be a waste of money. The dealers that I go to shield me from the political and bureaucratic mess of having to deal with Suzuki directly anyway should I need warranty work.

[Reddog99]

I believe that it's unlawful for a manufacturer to require that the maintenance to be performed by their dealer to maintain the warranty. You should keep your receipts for your oil & filters. Make sure you're using only oil types/weights recommended by Suzuki, and don't use off-brand filters. Keep a log of the dates & mileage at which you perform the maintenance. That should keep you out of trouble. A lot of the info you need is in the owners manual.

Pat

[Trixie]

Or are the dealerships cool? Thanks in advance. Steve [/B]

FYI - I just had my 600 miles service done at the dealer (OC Suzuki in Costa Mesa) for convenience. It cost $172 (137+32 oil change parts). After this, I'll do my own oil changes. I bought Suzuki oil, filter, etc. which cost $27. The dealer charges $47 for an oil change. They said I could do my own changes w/o voiding the warranty. Just save the receipts. There's a thread somewhere about oil.

[bwarbiany]

Originally posted by Trixie
FYI - I just had my 600 miles service done at the dealer (OC Suzuki in Costa Mesa) for convenience. It cost $172 (137+32 oil change parts). After this, I'll do my own oil changes. I bought Suzuki oil, filter, etc. which cost $27. The dealer charges $47 for an oil change. They said I could do my own changes w/o voiding the warranty. Just save the receipts. There's a thread somewhere about oil.

Anything on the list of things you need to do for normal services up until 15,000 miles (valve check) are really easy... And the valve check isn't even that hard...

Just wait for (or organize) a maintenance day, and anything you want to do related to normal service, you'll have at least 2 or 3 people there who have done it and can teach you how...

That also applies to upgrades and mods, like re-jetting, putting on a pipe, changing the forks or shock, chopping the tail off, etc...

With the resources we have on this board, anyone here local to SoCal shouldn't need to go to the dealer for service...

[yadlosky]

I've been looking on here, but haven't found the answer yet. If I do my own oil changes and services on my 2003 SV, will I have a problem with the warranty within the year? I donated and downloaded the manual (Thanks to whoever had the patience to scan a bajillion pages of that thing) and don't feel like paying a dealer here in St. Louis $210 (yes $210) to do a $19.95 job. Does anyone know what Suzuki says about doing maintenance on your own? Thanks for the info!

[RACERX]

make sure you keep ALL receipts and documentation proving that service was done.

[Chicago_SV]

If you can do the work and feel comfortable with the tasks
do it yourself ;) . I do all my own work. I distrust the workers "tech" at my dealer. Doing your own 600 mile service will not void the warranty.

SAVE ALL RECEIPTS

To show that you purched the Oil / Filter ect....
Keep a note book / log of all that you do.

600 service in Chicago $265.00 I said "for an Oil Change"
the "tech" said 'thats not all.... we check all the bikes bolts. BS!!!

Save your money. Buy a torque wrench and a good set of metric tools. Learn your bike and do it yourself

Heck in 6 month you will read so much your SV's won't even look close to the one you bought.:eek: You will do mods right?

[TIE_Pilot]

I would definitely check all the bolts, but be prepared to spend 2-3 hours to do all of them, i.e., the rear suspension will require removing a bit of stuff in order to get to the bolts. I don't for a minute believe a dealer's mechanics would check those.

[Toad]

from my dealer: The work does not need to be done by a suzuki technician, but does need to be documented." Keep a notebook of date/milage at time of service, and what was done

-- James

[Dr. D]

I recently did a big cleaning/maintenence on my bike at 15K. It took a while but, I checked nearly ever bolt on the bike, and you know what? They were all to spec if not over tightened. I ride real hard too, so it's not like I baby the thing. Point is once you go over the basic stuff you shouldn't ever have a problem with bolts loosening, do your own service it pays off in knowing your bike inside out.

[Tillers_Rule]

Yea, I always do all the work on my bike that I am capable of. I have found that even when special tools are required, it is cheaper to buy them, even if you only use them once, than it is too pay the mechanic stupid dollers an hour to do the work.

[yadlosky]

Thanks for the info guys. Just got the oil and filter. It cost $22 from the dealer, genuine suzuki parts and all. I'll keep a log of everything.

I WILL do mods as the cashflow permits. I want a belly pan for my '03 650s so it looks like its big brother. I love the look of the 1000s, didn't like the price. I've seen pics of a 2004 650 with the belly pan, and I can't wait to get one on mine! Oh yeah, and one of those yoshimura exhaust contraptions.

[tmonroe]

full synthetic racing oil... $12.95 a quart, but for 12.95 a quart, it'll make your bike shift like butta...

[cncharge]

When is a Level 1 service done?
I have about 11,600 miles, and the shops recommend a level 1 which costs about $350 plus parts. I'm not sure if I need to do this and what it consists of. Or should I wait til 15000 miles.

[poopoohead]

Do I have to go back to the dealer that I bought the bike from to get warranty work done?

[linp]

no

[loanguy]

So My 650 started making a knocking noise about a week or two ago, a buddy of mine thinks it is a spun bearing or rocker arm our of adjustment. I took it in to the dealership where I bought it, Puente Hills Suzuki. The service department started questioning me about the service history on the bike. It is about 4 months old with 4500 miles on it. I did the 600 mile and the 4000 mile service myself.

They basically told me that I would probably have to prove that the service was done in order to get the work approved by Suzuki.

Anyone had a problem like this?

[fourstrokin]

I would guess you should be able to just show them your receipts from when you bought you oil and filters. Hopefully you kept track of that stuff. I have never had to deal with it though, but I keep all my receipts and write the mileage and what I did on them. That way I can show a service history. But I guess in the end it's a matter of how lame or cool they want to be at the dealer. Good luck.

[Tillers_Rule]

Well, does your warranty card/paper specify that you HAVE to have gotten the previous serivces done?

I know alot of dealers use that excuse, but when I looked at my paperwork, there was nothing about having receipts, or proof of the services.


Which, now that I think about it more, is definitly bullshit. A normal car has at least a 3yr/36K warranty..at LEAST, do they ever ask for "service" documents??? No, because they are not needed.
Fuck that shit. The dealer needs to look at, and fix any problems your having, for FREE.

[johnparjr]

As far as I know getting some warranty work done on mine Suzuki does require proof about the service doesnt need to be dealer done just receipts showing that you purchased what was needed to do the maint schedule

[bevivino1]

Well, some states have different rules than others regarding warranties, so this may not apply to you.

You need a record of work done, however there is not set standard of what that record needs to be. While it is nice to have all kinds of receipts, think about if for a minute... just because you have a receipt for an oil filter does not prove that you put it on the bike.

That being said, you are not a criminal here, there is no CSI probing your horrible crime of not paying $70/hr to a dealer!!

You have a maintenance schedule in the back of your owners manual. I just check off the items that are listed for the service I am doing, and then initial and date at the bottom. Even that is above & beyond... if you did the work and are stating it to them, how exactly can they challenge you?? They are calling you a liar?? Do you need video, or a notarized statement from 3 witnesses, just to change your oil??

Read your warranty, it does not say that all maintenance must be performed by a Suzuki dealer, does it?? Nor does it spell out any requirements for documentation if you do the work yourself. So there is no standard that they can show you.

The dealer is being an a$$hole. Problem is, if you force these guys to work on your bike, do you really think you can trust them to fix the problem correctly?? Just go to the next dealer and see if thay will step up and do the work under warranty, as they should.

[Dom]

They can't require you to use a suzuki dealer and they can't require you to use suzuki parts for things like oil filters and air filters and the like. If you have the reciepts that would be good, even if you don't these people are giving you a hard time. I might try taking it somewhere else or talk to the owner of the company or the highest supervisor you can find. Remind them that when you're looking for a bike again you'll be sure not to buy from them supervisors and owners understand the implications of this and will usually do what you want them to do.

[LaPiñaLoca]

That is BS. I took my bike in to Bert's for an oil leak about 6 months into the warranty and they hemmed and hawed about there being 12k miles on the bike and that I had not taken it to a dealer to get serviced; they did not ask for receipts as proof of service, but they did ask me questions about the different services I had done to make sure I did them, the guy even insinuated I should've done a valve adjustment. When it came right down to it, they looked at the bike and determined my oil leak was excess chain lube and charged me 40 bucks for looking at it because it was not a warranty issue.

I took the bike back two weeks later after diagnosing the problem myself. I showed them exactly what to replace and they did it, I also demanded my 40 bucks back, which the manager grudgingly did.

So, like everyone here has said, they have to fix it regardless of who serviced the bike, but make sure they fix what is wrong and don't short-change you, it is your responsibility to ensure they fix your bike, they may (read will) make mistakes.

aaron

[Burst]

aaron, was the oil leak a countershaft oil seal? mine had that problem but it didnt come about until around 65k miles.

[LaPiñaLoca]

was the oil leak a countershaft oil seal? mine had that problem but it didnt come about until around 65k miles.

You got it. It was replaced at around 12k; the bike is at 46k now and i haven't had any problems since.

aaron

[Burst]

yeah, I replaced mine myself... it was easy enough. I havent had any trouble with it since. replaced it around 35-40k miles ago.

[Tillers_Rule]

Originally posted by Burst
aaron, was the oil leak a countershaft oil seal? mine had that problem but it didnt come about until around 65k miles.


Wow, how funny. I just isolated/repaired my oil leak, and it was indeed that seal, after 30K or so miles, not to bad. Now, since then no problems, quick and easy fix, thanks to Charlie for the help.:)

[GMAN]

Originally posted by Tillers_Rule
Wow, how funny. I just isolated/repaired my oil leak, and it was indeed that seal, after 30K or so miles, not to bad. Now, since then no problems, quick and easy fix, thanks to Charlie for the help.:)

Didn't you write about that problem a month or so ago to which I mentioned it was bound to happen to all TLR's?

The bike must have come with a crap seal because that problem is written up in practically all of the TLR web sites. Well, at least the fix is cheap and easy...like Setter. :D

[soulofadra6o]

i did my 600 mile service myself, changed my oil and such...i lube and adjust my chain myself, sucks that i dont have a rear stand so i gotta roll the bike back and forth...anyone know this annoyance i speak of? well i think im pretty much set, according to the manual my sprockets r still good (the teeth shape is good i mean)