what will void a warranty
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Mr_dcj2001
Member
I heard from my Ford dealership, as well as people on here that as long as you buy Ford parts and have them install it, the warranty will not be voided. Good luck on that insurance for that car. Male, 18yo, little driving experience, 300hp 05 Stang=$$$$$$$ 
Federal law allows manufacturers, including car manufacturers, to void their warranties if there is any sign of abuse. "Racing" is considered abuse, both the official track kind and the street kind. If you make high-performance mods to your car, the manufacturer could claim that those mods are evidence of racing, and therefore, evidence of abuse. Their thoughts are why did you make those high-performance mods if you weren't going to use them.
However, a lot of this all depends on the dealership. It is really their judgment call. They can ignore the mods, and just let it slide, or they can make a big deal about it, and void your warranty. So, make friends with the service department. Tell the service manager he lost weight. Bring in donuts for all the guys. Stuff like that there.
However, a lot of this all depends on the dealership. It is really their judgment call. They can ignore the mods, and just let it slide, or they can make a big deal about it, and void your warranty. So, make friends with the service department. Tell the service manager he lost weight. Bring in donuts for all the guys. Stuff like that there.
Dotanukie
New Member
Man thats funny. I've often wondered about this myself. Obviously, putting in a supercharger or nitrous setep is a dead giveaway for a voided warranty. But how about just a cold air induction setup or a free flow exhaust? You could claim that you made both mods in the interest of bettering the cars gas mileage, and neither of those mods submits the motor to any undue stresses, like a S/C or the bottle would. My past philosophy has always been that, while the car is under warranty, don't make any mods that I can't easily remove and put back the stock pieces if it should unexpectedly have to go back to the dealership for service.
Also, I wonder how this would work with a car like a Viper. The car was built to race more or less. I could see if you tried to hotrod a Ford Taurus, and blew up the motor, the car was never meant or designed for that type of use. But something like a Viper, especially the ACR version, was built with track use in mind. Where would they draw the line at voiding your warranty?
Rootus
Officially Addicted
Generally, bolt-ons will not void the drivetrain warranty. Power adders and chips will, if they find out about it.
As for abuse, that is tougher to prove. For example, if you bring it in on a flatbed with the slicks still on and the wheel wells filled with rubber, don't expect them to warranty the differential. But if you clean it up good and it looks stock, maybe you get away with it.
Also, the dealer does not really have that much control over what voids the warranty and what does not -- unless they choose to lie outright on your behalf. They call the hotline to get approval before covering something, so Ford makes the call. For big stuff (i.e. the engine) Ford might send a rep out to assess it in person.
I say don't mod anything you can't afford to fix yourself. Ford is not here to sponsor your fun, they are here to fix the car if it breaks from a legitimate defect.
Dave
As for abuse, that is tougher to prove. For example, if you bring it in on a flatbed with the slicks still on and the wheel wells filled with rubber, don't expect them to warranty the differential. But if you clean it up good and it looks stock, maybe you get away with it.
Also, the dealer does not really have that much control over what voids the warranty and what does not -- unless they choose to lie outright on your behalf. They call the hotline to get approval before covering something, so Ford makes the call. For big stuff (i.e. the engine) Ford might send a rep out to assess it in person.
I say don't mod anything you can't afford to fix yourself. Ford is not here to sponsor your fun, they are here to fix the car if it breaks from a legitimate defect.
Dave
Dotanukie
New Member
Hey Rootus, man, I love your avatar. It's killing me, I can't remember what movie that is from. I know I've seen it before, can you help me out?
Dotanukie said:
The warranty void for abuse is total. The entire warranty is void.
I do disagree a bit with Rootus, and believe it really falls a lot into the service manager's hands. He (or she) could choose to make a big deal over some mods, or simply ignore them. For example, you could bring your car in because a CD is jammed in the Mach 1000. The service manager might notice the supercharger under the hood, and the rear inner fenders are filled with melted rubber. From that, he might just up and report it to Ford and void your entire warranty, or just pretend he didn't notice. It is all up to him because he is "at the front lines".
Actually, I have read a lot about D-Chrysler doing this to Jeeps which have major off-road mods. And, I can say, to me, aren't Jeeps suppose to be able to do some serious off-roading?
Unfortunately, the federal laws just states that for abuse, they can void the warranty. It doesn't define abuse, nor does it draw a line as to how much is abuse and how much is not abuse.
the sweet thing is that i think i get a x-plan dealie, my grandpa worked for ford so i get a discount of roughly 8k and 0% financing is what my g-ma said and stuff like that but tints and rims and stuff like that wouldnt void the waranty would it ??A Service Manager just writes up the paperwork, brings it to a warranty manager and he decides whether it's covered. I have High-Flo Cats, Cat-Back system, CAI, '03 Cobra wheels/tires, and a performance chip. My Service Manager said as long as nothing is bolted up to the actual engine, you should be ok. The chip should be taken out before bringing it in. So if you get underdrive pulleys, headers, or anything that directly bolts up to the engine, you may have some issues. New throttle Body, upper intake would fall into the direct bolt-up catagory. But exhaust (catted mid-pipe, cat-back), wheels, CAI shouldn't be an issue. I was told that if I went in with O/R pipes, that my full warranty would be voided. I guess they're serious about emissions.
Stang8URMPRT
Active Member
lol, you guys should not disagree with Rootus. He is 100% correct. The dealership does not have control over what is or is not covered under warranty. If you bring your car in for you window motor not working, they find the problem, and call it in to the Ford Warranty Claim Center for approval. Now if you blow up your motor and it has some mods on it, then yes, the dealership can tell Warranty Claims about your mods and let them decide if they want to warranty it, or they can keep hush hush about it and not mention any mods on your car. Getting good with the Service Manager or the Shop Foreman or even the Service Advisor is a very good idea. If you show them you're a good customer, or hell, if they just like you... it WILL help you in any warranty claims. Again, the dealership cannot void your warranty, and they have no say in warranty work other then mentioning what's wrong with the car and why they think it broke, ie... mods, racing it, abusing it. Hope this settles any confusion. I deal with this every day as a Ford Dealer Technician.
Nick
Nick
the deal is this: if the part you put on the car is responsible for the failure then it does not have to be covered by the dealer or mfg. If you are friends with the dealer they could look the other way. for example if you put on a throttle body and air kit and your rear end goes out due to defective clips or bolts then they must fix it under warranty. Now if you slap a blower with NOS and you snap your axles in half due to torque load then they do not have to cover that under warranty.
warranty
You are all wrong, I am a senior master ford tech. this is how it works. The service writter generates a RO (repair oder) It is dispatched to the technician or dispatcher. The technician has the call to say a repair is not warrantable. then the service manager and or ford would get involved if they thought it was not warrantable. get to know a ford tech......The only claims I would turn down is if they were very obvious that someone or some aftermarket component caused a failure.. Most techs I know do the same, just talk with your ford tech if you have questions. Nicks post is also one to listen too.
You are all wrong, I am a senior master ford tech. this is how it works. The service writter generates a RO (repair oder) It is dispatched to the technician or dispatcher. The technician has the call to say a repair is not warrantable. then the service manager and or ford would get involved if they thought it was not warrantable. get to know a ford tech......The only claims I would turn down is if they were very obvious that someone or some aftermarket component caused a failure.. Most techs I know do the same, just talk with your ford tech if you have questions. Nicks post is also one to listen too.
Depends on the dealer. Piss em off and then something goes wrong they could blame it on you changing your own oil. Have friends is the business and that rear end change and supercharger didn't harm a thing.
federal law states that it is a CRIME to void a customer's warrenty unless a modification can be proven the direct cause of part failure, in which case only the part or parts in question have their coverage voided.
most obvious void is a supercharger of course, which can be proven the reason the engine, tranny, drivetrain, rear end, etc might break. in this case, only the warrenty on the parts in question is voided. if ur airbags have a malfunction and go off randomly a wk after the SC install, they are still covered unless the blower directly caused it.
funny, the dealer that we worked with excitedly questioned me on all the mods i planned and wanted for the stang as soon as i bought it, same with the head mechanic there
most obvious void is a supercharger of course, which can be proven the reason the engine, tranny, drivetrain, rear end, etc might break. in this case, only the warrenty on the parts in question is voided. if ur airbags have a malfunction and go off randomly a wk after the SC install, they are still covered unless the blower directly caused it.
funny, the dealer that we worked with excitedly questioned me on all the mods i planned and wanted for the stang as soon as i bought it, same with the head mechanic there
Stang8URMPRT
Active Member
stkdidy said:
Actually the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act States:
"Legally, a vehicle manufacturer cannot void the warranty on a vehicle due to an aftermarket part unless they can prove that the aftermarket part caused or contributed to the failure in the vehicle (per the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act (15 U.S.C. 2302(C)) ."
That means that it doesn't have to be directly the problem, but if it even in any way Contributed to the problem they can void the warranty. That meaning if a rod breaks, and you have a CAI and exhaust on it, they could *try* to claim the extra power caused it OR contributed to the rod failure because of the extra power. It can be very very tricky. Like both us Ford Techs have stated... Get good with your techs and Service advisors.
Nick
Royb, I didn't say "we could say you have no warranty" I just said the techs, have the call, If something is wrong with the car it is in the best interest of the ford tech to fix it as we do not get paid by the hour. We are flat rate paid which means we get paid only to fix the car..... People that come in with after market stuff and have a bad attitude are going to get the same attitude back.... We are not out to screw you, we do not work for ford, we get paid through ford as a representative to fix them. Again, get to know your local tech or advisor.......
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