Warranty Coverage Question, Who pays?

I want to throw out this semi-hypothetical situation to the FC crowd. I am looking for honest answers and feelings , opinions, concerns, etc.

I attached a private poll, so you can also vote your opinion without giving up who you are.

So, here you go:

You bring your in factory warranty vehicle in to service with an electronic concern. You say that the car has multiple malfunction lights showing , up to and including the check engine light. You are asked the traditional service write up questions like " When did the light come on " , " Are you noticing a change in performance " , " Any strange noises or odors associated with when the lights come on " , etc.

The shop takes your car in under the assumption that the repairs will be covered under your factory warranty and proceed to perform their diagnosis based upon factory policy and procedures. Check this, check that, ohm this, ohm that, get various values, inspect component A, B, C, and so on. The cause of failure is not a quick and easy find. The technician contacts the manufacturer ( again per Policy and Procedure ) with their findings.
The technician then follows their direction and continues with diagnosis.

You as the client are being kept up to date on a daily basis , the process is being explained to you, and what is and is not learned through the diagnosis process. You are informed on or about the 4th day, that the faults have been isolated to an ECU fault and a replacement ECU is being sent from the factory for your car to continue diagnosis and/or correct the problem. It is also explained to you that the faults may be with the ECU, that the ECU is sending out incorrect signals regarding the electronic gas pedal. Because it is a safety item ( gas pedal failure could be a problem, right? ) you are provided supplemental transportation while we are waiting on the ECU ( 7-10 business days away )

ECU arrives, is installed and coded to your car, the faults are still present! At this point you are informed that the regional factory rep has been called to come to the dealership and help find the problem. After several hours of following diagnosis procedures the factory rep opens the glove box and sees an invoice from where you had an aftermarket drive by wire controller installed.

Hmmm... interesting. This was never mentioned before. Upon closer inspection this component is located , well hidden as it blends well within the tangled mass that lays behind the dashboard. The control unit is taken out of the loop and all systems are back to normal. Plug it back in, faults come back, remove it, faults go away...

You as the owner of the car obviously know that this had been installed in your car less than 30 days ago. ( Per the invoice with your name on it and cc receipt in your glove box )You had it installed at an independent shop rather than the Dealership. ( speculative as to why ) and through the numerous conversations and updates, you chose to not mention it to the advisor.
So now, many hours have been spent on your car. The factory rep has flown in to assist, and there is a non-returnable ECU installed in your car....

Here's the questions: WHO is responsible for the cost associated with this repair?

Consumer: Your car Your choice to add aftermarket stuff that would clearly void that portion of the warranty ( Feel free to reference the Magnuson-Moss warranty act http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson%E2%80%93Moss_Warranty_Act )

Dealership: They are the experts, they should have been able to find the problem. They should have found the aftermarket bits...

Manufacturer: They made the car, it's under warranty, enough said.

Other: Some combination of the above?

Can you imagine had I written the LONG version of this situation?

LOL

S

 

No reason to go into the glove box, until the factory rep arrived. Then you'd have to remove the glove box in order to access componants behind it.

S