The Petroleum Quality Institute of America

The Petroleum Quality Institute of America receives a number of Inquires from consumers asking if a new car dealer can refuse to honor their vehicle's warranty if someone other than the dealer does an oil change. Whereas PQIA's responds to these inquiries by advising that dealers cannot deny warranty coverage only for this reason, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a "Consumer Alert"  last month that specifically addresses this issue.

In short, the Federal Trade Commission says a dealer cannot refuse to honor the warranty that came with your new car if someone else does the routine maintenance or repairs. In fact, the FTC says, "it's illegal for a dealer to deny your warranty coverage simply because you had routine maintenance or repairs performed by someone else. Routine maintenance often includes oil changes, tire rotations, belt replacement, fluid checks and flushes, new brake pads, and inspections."

In an effort to assure this information is available to the broader public, a link to the FTC 's Consumer Alert follows: