by Matt Konkle
Managing Editor
They sit on large hunks of rubber that at once seem absurd and yet somehow feel normal. With ground clearance that can almost fit a pre-teen underneath standing straight up.
You’ve seen them. Perhaps headed down the road, or maybe something owned by a friend or co-worker. Something that just looks different than your stock vehicle.
A Jeep modified with a lift kit.
Of course, not all lifted Jeeps careen up to the sky. Most are reasonably set up at around 2 to 2.5-inches. But some can head into the 4 to 6-inch range.
And if you are looking to join the multitude of those who have added these kits, one of the first questions asked is whether that lift will void your factory warranty.
It is definitely a valid question, mostly because a Jeep salesperson may have casually mentioned any installed non-MOPAR product will void the Jeep’s warranty. They probably did not do it maliciously, but because they heard it from someone else. Or they simply do not have enough vehicle experience.
Maybe your friends, even the ones who have installed a kit, think the same way.
Well, the answer — the real answer — is perhaps. It really depends on the warranty claim.
If you, say, order a Quadratec Maximum Duty 2.5” Suspension System and install the thing, it will not totally override your Jeep’s warranty. If there is an engine issue down the road, or something electrical, for example, and the Jeep still is under warranty, then it will be covered.
The only parts not covered by the factory warranty will be the ones you replace with the kit — stuff like coil or leaf springs, shocks, control arms, sway bar links and brake lines depending on the kit. For any dealership to deny you on a warranty claim, they would have to prove one of your lift kit replacement parts was to blame for the failure. That means if they denied you warranty coverage on your transmission, they would have to prove your lift was the cause of the transmission failure.
Here is the reason: the 1975 Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.
The Federal Trade Commission passed this legislation specifically to ensure you have the freedom to add aftermarket parts to your vehicle without fear of losing your warranty. Additionally, it was designed to prevent automobile manufacturers from misleading customers that they must have all services performed at a dealership with original equipment replacement parts.
Still, it is up to you as the owner to make sure what you are adding (or don’t add) to the Jeep makes sense with a lift kit. This means stuff like knowing the right tire size to fit that lift when you are upgrading tires, because even though that tire may fit the vehicle, it could cause excessive stress on factory steering components or axles.
Additionally, brake lines could need lengthening depending on the lift kit size and your vehicle’s year, and other issues like gearing or front end parts such as factory control arms, tie rod ends and ball joints could be affected by a lift kit and denied warranty work.
For more on Jeep lift kits, head to our Jeep Lift Kit Q&A.
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