I have a question that I know has been covered but most of the threads are pretty old that I could find. Thought I'd ask it here as it directly applies to me.

I've booked travel to San Diego but the outbound is via Los Angeles with a seven-hour layover and then the return is direct. I was going to just rent a car and drive from LA to SD but now I'm reading that the airline could cancel my return if I do that. Is that still the case? Even if I call the customer service line as the flight's departing w/ a tale of woe?

Help!