What sort of upgrades can you do that will not void the warrenty? I am sure a regular K&N filter will not void the warrenty, but what about a CAI? Underdrive Pullys? Reflash the car? Gears?

Any other ideas?

EDIT: I did a search before posting and I couldn't find anything.

 

Much has been said on this subject.
The consensus is that you will not be denied warranty repairs unless your mods caused the problem.

 

The best thing to do is talk to your service department. Some will be okay with it and some won't. If you dealership is a Roush, Steeda, or Saleen dealer they may be okay withe those parts if they install them. My guess would be that replacing exhaust components will probably be okay, but reflashing the computer and underdrive pullies might not. I plan on talking to mine in a few months.

 

Good advice above.

In the US, to be denied warranty claim, the manufacturer must show that the mod caused the problem.

In reality, the problem is that most dealers are quicker to deny warranty work, and you have to take them to court or at least threaten legal action in some cases.

Bottom line, I only plan to do mods that I can un-do before taking it in for warranty work. That may be the best approach.

 

Ford seems to be pretty good for honoring warranties , but it can't hurt to call a few service departments and ask (anonymously of course!). I had a new 5.0 that I added CAI, pulleys, and gears to and never had issues getting warranty work done.

I know some manufacturers will void a warranty if they can prove "abuse", even if the car is bone-stock. Mitsubishi, for example pulls names from Autocross registrations and internet forums to void warranties.

Also, do a quick google search for:

Magnussen-Moss Act

Lot's of info there to sift through.

 

I've said this here in a few places: If you have to ask, you probably shouldn't be doing it. Just assumbe worst case scenario. I've burned up my clutch due to too much wheel hook. Smart move by Ford though. Think about it...clutch is a wear item, typically not warrantyable. Make that the weak point and you have your perfect "fuse." The clutch will go, they won't have to pay for it, therefore they take care of their abuse issue. No one should be doing mods, that will potentially cause damage, if they can't pay out of pocket to repair.

 

gears will void a warranty no matter what, friend of mine learned the hard way with an 04 GT last year.....

 

Why would a dealer deny warranty work? They make very good money on warranty repairs........

 

They make much MORE on non-warranty work.

On warranty work it's like a fixed cost. There's no room for any additional labor, which is where service deptartments make their money.

 

I understand sixtysix, but let's say they deny warranty work on a vehicle and traditionally, dealer service charges are higher than other local shops, they would loose the business because people like me would either do the work ourselves or find a mechanic. Again, theoretically. My 05 GT has a small defect on the passenger side quarter window and they were trying to convince to get a new one. I didn't want them tearing up my car plus the tint covers it. The guy clearly told me he makes good money from Ford on these things.

 

If it's any thing like Harley's they have a set amount of time for different things. And whoever figured these times is the world's fastest mechanic. The dealer can make money at the given times, but it's just as easy to run into other problems that neither Ford nor the customer will pay for. So if they're a busy shop they would rather take in work they know they can make more money on, and deal only with what warranty work they have to do. It's not right, but it's probably what they're thinking.

 

well if you do get gears, get them from ford, and have them install. they probably wont void any warranty if they are using ford parts and installing them.