The important point is that the second of your changes is the one that voided the warranty: Replacing the tire to run in an unsafe way will void your warranty too. Modifying the ECU, on itself, doesn't do anything to the warranty.

And it is up to the manufacturer to prove your specific modification is unsafe. Claiming that some parts are inherently so complex that any change voids your warranty is legal bullshit for cars.

If I understand your argument well, it is that for cell phones the OS is so complex that any person on this planet should be declared unfit to make changes to it, except the manufacturer.

* First of all, the very audience of this site disproves this statement. Note the 'hacker' in hacker news.

* Second, I invite you to take a look to the garbage you find in most software powering our hardware. Someone going trough the effort to examine a device and create a modification is almost guaranteed to create better quality. There is something Darwinian going on here: Software mods, when they are supported for some time, give by their very existence away something of the persistent and qualified nature of their creator (otherwise they would not have been published).

* Third, the nature of software is that it is hard to create and easy to copy. Only 1 person has to create the firmware modification. The rest of us can copy it. This is exactly the reverse of the tire example and makes firmware mods a lot more easy.

UPDATE: After rereading, this post sees a bit harsh and a personal attack. So let me add that I have respect for your 2 posts. You provide a valid viewpoint in a reasonably toned, adult post. I also respond to more than can be found in your posts alone. I disagree with people downvoting you. I do however respectfully believe your viewpoint is incorrect and dangerous.