3rd Party Tracking Device & Warranty

[sunnydude959]

Hello all,

If I were to have a third-party (i.e. not from Mercedes parts) aftermarket tracking system professionally fitted, how would this affect the manufacturers warranty or extended Mercedes warranty?

For example, if the third-party tracking system was electrically powered from (or somehow interacted with) a given electrical circuit which also powers component A, and component A were to fail but *not* due to the third-party addition, would component A still be covered under warranty?

Cheers

 

[Larkone]

Have you asked MB if there are any approved third party trackers?

 

[sunnydude959]

Have you asked MB if there are any approved third party trackers?

they do sell Mercedes Tracker and Mercedes Tracker Plus through the parts department, but they’re more expensive than some other solutions

 

[Larkone]

Balance that cost against possible warranty issues - I would definitely get a statement from MB about their position on 3rd party trackers and warranty.

 

[markjay]

The general rule is that there has to be a reasonable link between the unauthorised modification and the failure.

But yes they can argue that someone not authorised/trained/supervised by MB has interfered with the circuit and therefore they won't accept warranty claims in the relation to the circuit that was interfered with.

They don't need to actually prove that the fault was caused by the modification - or by the person installing it - just that there's a possible reasonable link between the two.

It then falls to you to sue them through the courts if you believe that you can demonstrate that the modification and/or its installation didn't cause the fault.

And, again, keep in mind that they could also argue that the person fitting the device caused damage while fitting it.

 

[wongl]

Some tracking devices 'plugs' into the wiring loom such as the CAN bus etc, often requiring the wiring loom to be spliced. This type of installation will almost certainly invalid your manufacturer's warranty. There is at least one tracking device on the market that uses a patented CAN Bus clip which simply clips onto the CAN Bus wire to read the CAN Bus by induction. The use of a CAN bus clip would probably not invalid the manufacturer's warranty since it does not interfere with the wiring loom.

 

[sunnydude959]

The general rule is that there has to be a reasonable link between the unauthorised modification and the failure.

But yes they can argue that someone not authorised/trained/supervised by MB has interfered with the circuit and therefore they won't accept warranty claims in the relation to the circuit that was interfered with.

They don't need to actually prove that the fault was caused by the modification - or by the person installing it - just that there's a possible reasonable link between the two.

It then falls to you to sue them through the courts if you believe that you can demonstrate that the modification and/or its installation didn't cause the fault.

And, again, keep in mind that they could also argue that the person fitting the device caused damage while fitting it.

Hmmm sounds like it could get quite messy if something were to fail.

I should probably start looking into the Mercedes Tracker/Tracker Plus then !