So a few days ago while driving, very suddenly, my speakers stopped working. The deck itself still functions and I can set it to radio or AUX. Doing this, I noticed that my subs were still hitting, but yet no sound was playing from any of the interior speakers. I checked several fuses (two in the dash, one under the hood), and they were all fine. This leads me to believe that the problem is with the main Bose amp (which to my understanding feeds power to all the stock speakers).

My car is an '11 and should be covered, no problem. However, when I brought it to a dealership this morning, I was told that, because I had custom audio installed (my subs), I would have to pay for the repair. They placated me by letting me know that the $115 diagnostic fee would be credited toward the repair. Yeah right - no thanks. I stood up and walked out the door. The only interaction my equipment has with the stock components is a signal out of the Bose amp, and I'm damn near positive that can't and wouldn't cause it to fail.

Is this going to be universal among dealerships? Or is it possible that if I find the right one, they'll do the repair under warranty regardless of my incredulous and nefarious T-tap?

If the dealerships don't want to make any money, I'm fine doing the repair myself. I intend to diagnose the problem by swapping it with the same amp from a friend. If that fixes it, it's just a simple matter of finding a used amp for sale.

 

Return the car to stock, and go into a different dealer.
I can't understand why you would have brought a modified car with a problem in the modified portion of the car into a dealer with all the modifications still in place. That's just asking for the problem you received.

Yes, you are probably correct that it shouldn't impact the stock system, but it just gives the dealer ammunition to use against you.

So, remove ALL of your parts, and the wiring for them, and go to a different dealer.

BC.

 

Yeah, return to stock and go to another dealer. Aftermarket parts can void your warranty if they have reason to believe the new parts are the cause for the malfunction. Since you were fiddling with the audio system, the warranty isn't going to cover any issues with it. Though, if you run into engine problem or anything, they'd have to prove your amp caused the problem to deny you service... In this case though, it's best to just put the stock parts back in and go to a dealer that doesn't know your parts were ever in the car.

 

It's mainly wishful thinking that led me to hope the dealership would be humane and admit that what I've installed has no bearing on the issue. I mean, Mazda pays them to do the work if I don't - it's not out of their pocket. I'll likely still try and check the amp and replace it myself. The cost of replacing it may still be less than driving out to and back from another dealership and the hassle of stripping all the components.

 

Saw the Bose amp for series I for $50

 

Is the amp on the S2 the same as the amp from the S1?

I guess I'll know for sure when I get the chance to take it off, but from some quick googling, it looks like the S1 uses part no. F15166920A and the S2 uses part no. F19066920. I don't know enough about the specs or the harnesses to know if they're interchangeable, but I do know that I don't have seat warmers.

 

Honestly if you're going to replace the amp .... I'd do it with a different amp all together. That bose amp really isn't that good of an amp and you'll find plenty of amps much Better. I have some Rockford amps in mine and love em.

 

Based on everything I've read, you can't replace the Bose amp without also replacing (at least) your front components due to their non-standard impedance. I think you also need to replace the head-unit. This is a cost difference of ~$700 vs $50.

 

Don't need to replace the headunit, but the rest is true. Simply swapping out the Bose amp for aftermarket is not possible.

And as was said, just spend an hour and rip out your subs and amp. You can leave the power/ground wires ran, just hide them. Sucks you have to do this, but most dealers are quick to refuse work. I completely agree that it's bullshit and they should be happy to take in any work they can get. Some dealerships are like that, most are not. But rather than screw around replacing the amp yourself and hoping it works, make them pay for it and do the labor. That's why you paid the price you did for the car. Use your warranty.