Warranty???????????

[Woodyslo93]

Who is a mod friendly dealer in SC? I am going to take my truck to DAVE but I have to reasure my wife the money for our extended Warrenty was not thrown away. And to put this in perspective I am going to get 90mm MAF, K&N filter, 6# Lower pulley, Super chip -flip chip, 4X4 trans' pan, Line mod valve, oil breather cap, boost bypass kit, and spark plugs. So is there anyone if I were to blow my motor that would even talk to me?

[tlangvardt]

extended warranty... from Ford?

probably not - supposedly Ford and dealers have been cracking down and voiding warranties on modded vehicles (or at least not fixing things that may have been caused by the mod) - and it clearly states in the manual that damage caused by "performance chips" will not be covered. In other words if modded - you are guilty until proven otherwise...

if ESP is not from Ford - check the fine print on it. (I had an ESP not from Ford on a vehicle I bought used and had 22,000 miles on it - at 22,560 miles on it, it swallowed the aircleaner stud and poked a hole in a piston :mad: and was not covered under ESP as it was "part of the fuel system caused the damage" - ie fuel system wasn't covered?!?! - took me a couple days of screaming at the none-Ford ESP people to refund my money so I could put it into rebuilding the HO motor.
------------
so, I am doing nothing to mine until ..
a) my 36/36 warranty is up
or
b) I am mentally and financially prepared to take care of a blown motor on my own.

check http://www.sema.org/content/?ID=22237&criteria=void+warranty
for more info...

PS: why are you posting this on Ford owned/sponsored (monitored) site?:spank:

[Jstas]

This site is not owned or sponsored by Ford or SVT or any of thier affiliates.

Read the fine print on the main page.


About your warranty, the ESP is a Ford deal. Extended warranties from other companies are only offered on non-Ford certified used vehicles at the discretion of the dealer. The ESP plans are a Ford thing and cover almost anything that is not considered a wear item like brakes, plugs, light bulbs, belts, filters and very few mechanicals. Things like suspension bushings and joints are not covered but a fairly expensive thing like a control arm or transmission would be.

Expecting a dealer or manufacturer to fix a car that has worn out a part after say 100,000 miles is unreasonable and if you are expecting that to happen then be prepared to be disappointed.

Also, if you want to keep your warranty and your warranty agreement specifically prohibits the inclusion of vehicles whose condition has been altered from it's "as-delivered" stock state then don't modify your vehicle. Simple as that. If you are going to get mad about a dealer not honoring a warranty because you violated the terms of the warranty agreement then, get mad. It won't do you any good. Unless the dealer nit picks over something simple like a wear item change or a different set of wheels and shocks then, you really have no case.

[BlueOvalBolt]

Originally posted by Woodyslo93
Who is a mod friendly dealer in SC? . . . . So is there anyone if I were to blow my motor that would even talk to me?

Doing some homework is the key to success here. Interview Service Managers at different dealerships to get a feel for how they view these things.

Personally, I think the best you can hope for is to find a dealership who will work with you if something should go wrong after you have installed aftermarket parts. When I say to find someone to work with you, I am talking about each of you being realistic about the situation at hand taking the position that if he can show you that your modification caused the failure, you are responsible. If the parts you installed has nothing to do with the problem, the Ford warranty applies.

However, even if you find a dealer that is friendly and have a major problem requiring Ford Engineering assistance, they may want to review a download of the PCM or require a dealership visit from an engineer to investigate and if they determine a chip was installed, all bets are off as Ford strictly prohibits the installation of these. You can argue Moss Magnuson until you are blue in the face but your chances of winning are slim.

An example, I interviewed a guy at a dealership in town who said if he saw a K&N installed, he would void my warranty, no questions asked, regardlessof what I brought the truck in for originally. Now granted, this is an extreme case and technically illegal according the Moss Magnuson Act but nonetheless, there are idiots like this out there.

Ford has been known to troll websites of all types. I saw one instance where part of Ford's denial of a Lightning engine replacement was due to this guy posting, in detail, what mods he did and how it happpened. Not very smart.

Does your wife have a valid concern, probably (there's nothing worse than the "I told you so" speech). Is it all doom and gloom, not by any means since there are literally thousands of modded L's out there doing fine but you should be aware of the risks. IMO, finding a reasonable dealer and maintaining a good relationship along with finding an experienced tuner who is aware of your what your concerns are and will tune accordingly to the level of risk you are willng to accept is a combination that will serve you well.

[jimmylightning]

So I guess from what you all are saying..Since the only mod I've made to my truck is the exhaust system and chrome wheels, then any engine problems I ever have will not be covered by the warranty.

Jim

[BlueOvalBolt]

Here's a timely thread from F150online:

http://www.f150online.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=98765

[BlueOvalBolt]

Originally posted by jimmylightning
So I guess from what you all are saying..Since the only mod I've made to my truck is the exhaust system and chrome wheels, then any engine problems I ever have will not be covered by the warranty.

Jim

I hope I didn't give you that impression from my post. Technically Ford has to prove that your mod caused the failure. I think it would be quite a stretch for them to deny a broken water pump claim on your installation of an aftermarket exhaust system for example. It would be hard to think that any reasonable person would connect the two as cause and effect.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that when you start talking about mods like chips, pulley's, transimission mods, nitrous, things that can leave a "trail" of evidence behind if they really look hard is where you have to be careful.

I think you have to be careful too about how "overt" you are with your mods as well. A fresh air system or a throttle body shouldn't really affect your warranty but when some dealers see these things, they start to ask themselves, "What else has this guy done?" This is where developing a good relationship comes in to play. Or taking it into the dealer after you've been to the track with shoe polish numbers on the window with massive amounts of burnout rubber in the wheel wells is probably not the smartest thing to do when trying to get a transmission problem looked at.

Like I said, build a relationship with people at the dealership like the Service Manager, your service writer, and even the techs (a couple dozen donuts on a Friday morning goes a long way). Usually, if you can demonstrate that you have respect for where they are coming from and take responsiblity for your actions, they will go out of their way to help you get through and around (when possible) the Ford system. Maybe my experience has been unusual but it has gotten me out of more than one jam at more than one dealership over a questionable repair or even doing little extras on the side for me.

[Jstas]

From what I understand, a cat-back system cannot void a warranty. A gutted cat or removed cat can and will void a warranty. Headers, unless they have provisions for all the necessary sensors, can also void a warranty. If they use the stock sensors though, they usually won't void the warranty.

Basically, an exhaust system has to be replaced eventually because it is one of the biggest abuse takers on any vehicle. All the bad stuff that comes out of a car passes through it. They wear out and need to be replaced. There is no law that says you can't replace it with a better unit than what it originally came with. Same with the headers and cats. They do have to make provisions for the computer sensors though.

A new exhaust system, a cold-air intake, a K&N filter, synthetic oil, an A/C delete pulley or what have you should not void a warranty. It's when you start replacing items like brakes or blower pulleys or computer programs or cams or heads where you start getting into warranty voiding. Things like a lowered suspension are a gray area.

Part of the problem with this whole thing is, it's left up to the dealer's discretion concerning modifications which leaves way too much room for interpretation of the rules.

The only sure fire way of knowing you won't blow your warranty is by not modifying your vehicle at all. I rely on mine as a daily driver so I am keeping my modifications to a minimum to ensure that I will have a warranty if the truck does break. When the warranty dies in another 4 years, I will most likely have another daily driver to beat on and the Lightning will have been garaged with hopefull 50-60,000 miles on the odo. Then I can modify it or leave it the way it is.

Bottom line is though, chrome wheels and an exhauist system should not void a warranty. The chrome wheels are not covered under the Moss Magnuson Act but I do believe that an exhaust system is covered mainly because it is considered an item that will have to be replaced before the end of the life of the vehicle which makes it a wear item. There is just no way around it. However, catalytic converters are covered by fedral emissions laws and tampering or removing them before the vehicle hits 45,000 miles is punishable by something like a 15,000 dollar fine and 2 years in jail.

But chrome dress ups like wheels should not void a warranty. I had an extended warranty on my Thunderbird and I stuck a set of 17x8 inch Cragar wheels on it. They were much larger than the 15x6 inch wheels that came stock but were only 1.5 pounds heavier. The dealer gave me some flak about wheel bearings wearing out, brakes wearing out and tie rod ends breaking because of it. Truth is, I never had a problem with the wheel bearings, the brakes are not even covered by a warranty anyway and the only reason the tierod had to be replaced was because the stupid wrench monkey they had working for them cross-threaded and stripped it out.

[jimmylightning]

Thanks for the replies,

The only mod I'd made was a stainless catback magna flow exhaust..much better than the stock, plus now the truck sounds like I thought it should sound like from the factory. As for the chrome wheels, Ford will take your stock wheels a chrome them for you for $650.00, but it takes about 6 weeks to get them back and you would need to put new wheels and tires on it until you get them back. I opted for another option with the same chromed stock wheels and didn't have to buy another set of wheels or tires and got a 1 year 12,000 mile warranty with them. With that being said if Ford would do the chroming, you'd think they wouldn't say much about chrome wheels at all.

Thanks

Jim

[Jstas]

Wheel size and weight capacity make more of a difference than chrome. they are more likely to void the suspension warranty if you use over-sized wheels and tires than under sized or stock sized aftermarket wheels and tires.

[IrmaInfante]

so does that mean if something happens to my engine for example the manifold, could it be caused by the muffler?:jawdrop:

[Jstas]

Where are you getting that from?

Things break. It happens. That's why we have warranties. It's not the end of the world if the dealer has to replace a damage part. If you don't have to pay for it and it's covered by the warranty, why worry?

[IrmaInfante]

I wasn't sure if a flowmaster would cause the manifold to need replacing, trying to figure what cause the prob is all. :jawdrop:

[Jstas]

othing could have caused it to break. It was probably just a bad casting from Ford. It happens. If you want to know why, ask the dealer that did the repair. It is highly unlikely that you exhaust system caused a problem with your intake system.

[IrmaInfante]

well you sure did set my mind at ease. thanks alot :allhail: