Extended Emission Warranty Question

[mrgarland]

Hi,

I "inherited" (long story) my first Acura - a 1996 TL 2.5l just a couple of weeks ago. It seemed a bit noisy, and when I took it in to have it looked at, I'm told it can't pass inspection because there is a leak around the manifold. I had done some research and found (on this forum!) the extended emission warranty. My question is (bear with me, I know very little about cars), the prior owner put an aftermarket air filter (K&N) but supposedly didn't replace/alter the air intake. Would installing the aftermarket filter be considered "tampering"? Or possibly void the warranty? Also, I believe the prior owner told me he had an accident last year - he ran into the car in front of him. Needed a new bumper, radiator, hood. Is it possible the manifold was cracked in the accident? And if so, how would that be determined?

I figured I ask here before taking the car to an acura dealer for service. I'm always wary of auto shops since I know so little.

Thanks for your help!

Mary

[hondacuraworld]

Probably a good thing that the previous owner didn't alter the intake, just an air filter alone is not enough to void a warranty.

It all depends, I imagine, on what exactly is wrong with the manifold, and what it can be traced to. Is it the intake, or exhaust manifold?

[mrgarland]

Thanks for responding, Tim. Glad to hear the filter doesn't void the warranty.

As far as where the leak is coming from, I don't know. The prior owner had told me the exhaust gasket on the manifold needed to be replaced, but that it was a lot of labor to do so, and wasn't causing a problem just noise, so he didn't get it fixed.

I then did some research, read how a cracked manifold can be a problem with these cars, and asked him about it. He said it wasn't cracked, but I don't know - is the manifold visible without taking stuff off?

So now, the mechanic I took it to said it won't pass inspection due to an exhaust leak which would involve replacing the manifold. But I don't know how he knows it needs to be replaced. Maybe he's just going by what I said until Acura looks at it? But if the problem originates with the air intake, could that have been damaged in the accident and therefore void the warranty?

I guess I just need to bite the bullet and take it in and hope for the best. But the other thing I didn't understand was that the Acura service center said the charge to look at the car and see if it might be covered under warranty is $100. If it is covered under warranty, then the $100 would be waived. Does this charge seem reasonable?

[hondacuraworld]

The crack may or may not be visible, if there is one. You should be able to peer around under the hood with a flashlight, and see some black exhaust staining something....either at a joint or a crack.

Seems to me that I've seen a crack before on one of these, but it's nothing that I would refer to as problematic.

The charge seems plausible, and as far as the warranty goes, it covers defects in workmanship and materials, therefore anything accident related of course would not be covered. An aftermarket air filter certainly couldn't cause an exhaust leak, therefore the two things are independent of each other. Certainly a shift of a pipe in an accident *could* cause a leak, but these things won't become evident without further examination.

[mrgarland]

Thanks for your insight, Tim. I'm taking it in next Wednesday to a local Acura dealer and I'll let you know what happens (plus I'll probably have more questions).

Enjoy your day!