What good would that do? No matter what he tells me it is ultimately up to Ford whether a drivetrain problem would be covered or not. Can the service manager speak for Ford and say that it will be fully covered. Thankfully i dont have any problems and i am not looking to cause an issue where there isn't one. Just don't understand how a dealer can have a brand new car on the lot and sell it with the possibility that warranty matters won't be covered. And on top of that be offered an extended powertrain warranty for it.

 

He can speak for his dealer and what they will or won’t do regarding this vehicle if the issue arises, imeyers302. Also, those parts may indeed have their own warranty, which he would have the answer to this. He can also answer to your dealer being able to offer an extended warranty as well.

Deysha

 

I will tell you how it works.

That particular Dealer will warranty the work as long as you can prove the car came that way from that dealer. I would suggest you make sure your paperwork includes all the Steeda parts on it, and that it was sold new, with a warranty. And make sure there are no disclaimers, because I can tell you a lot of dealers won't want to work on a modified car whether it was sold like that brand new or not (for one thing, most ford dealers won't be trained to deal with those modifications).

No other dealer will warrant the work. You also have to be careful of this with extended warranties as well. Some dealers offer their "own" extended warranties that are not good at any other dealership. At least that USED to be the case. It may not be anymore. I really wish Manufacturers could sell directly to the public to avoid this kind of confusion. There are a lot of dealers out there that don't play by the rulebook.

The way the laws are now, Ford has limited control over what the dealers do and don't do. Ford controls what dealerships get how many cars and what types of cars, and that's about it. The dealer itself can deny warranty work, then you have to go through the escalation process where Ford might be able to put pressure on the dealer to do the work, but ultimately, it's up to the dealer.

Chrysler is dealing with this very same issue with the Hellcats right now. Dealers up-pricing the hellcats in stock when Chrysler doesn't want them to, but the only control they have is to stop sending hellcats to those dealerships who aren't playing by the rules. Technically, the dealers can do whatever they want, pretty much. The manufacturers have little say.

Tesla is trying to change the rules so they can sell directly to the public. But it's a slow road and has to be done state-by-state.

 

Be aware the manufacturer does not simply get to "void" a warranty- even if they can prove you have used aftermarket parts on your car. In fact, BMW/Mini just got tagged by the FTC for "requiring" owners to use a specific brand of motor oil. (Part of my job is responding to FTC inquiries regarding my company's products, so we keep an eye on other company's issues.)

Basically, if you add a tune, CAI, axlebacks, etc. and a problem occurs, one of a number of things can happen.
1.) The problem clearly had no relation to the modification (e.g., a #8 cylinder problem occurs after you've installed aftermarket axlebacks- no relationship between those issues), in which case the manufacturer is on the hook to resolve the problem. Note, the #8 issue hasn't been around for a while now.
2.) The problem clearly has a relationship to a modification you've made (e.g., you install a cam or modification to get a "lopey idle," and you subsequently have an issue with your catalytic converter... that's obviously related), in which case the manufacturer- rightly- denies your warranty claim.
3.) The problem may or may not be related to your modification (e.g., you install a tune, and subsequently have an internal engine issue). That's when things get squiffy, and you are in for some back-and-forth. If the tune advances the timing, and the failure can be traced to detonation- the manufacturer has a pretty good case to deny your claim. Still, the manufacturer is going to have to do more than simply claim "you changed the tune" to deny your claim- they are going to have to a.) identify what has failed, b.) make a reasonable connection between the failure and a modification you have made.

 

Coming from the dealer world, AND working for a major diesel engine manufacturer warranty administration team, I'd say this would be a very straight-forward way to deny warranty coverage. If you're willing to go the legal route and take it to court, that is a different story. But that is a time and money consuming risk for the customer, with no guarantee of success. It really boils down to how strict your dealer is going to be, and if Ford's warranty department requests an ECM image and such. If you REALLY want to maintain your warranty coverage, I'd avoid any tunes or performance adding mods to the intake, exhaust, or engine.

When I worked for Cummins and anyone tried to cover a failure on an engine that had customer performance enhancing modifications or a failure related to OEM components (things like the charge air cooler and cooling system were OEM components, not Cummins), then THEIR job was on the line. It's in the warranty administration handbook and would be a mistake to cover under warranty. You'd be hard pressed to find someone willing to put their job on the line to cover your engine under warranty if it has been modified.

 

Oh, I agree regarding tuning and engine modifications. However, I've seen many, many threads talking about people's hesitancy to install an axleback- and I have a very hard time believing a dealer would even attempt to deny an engine warranty claim based on modified axleback exhaust modifications!

Even the addition of a non-tune required CAI would make it hard for a dealer to deny a claim (or at least to defend the denial in court). Of course, if/when I install a CAI, I will be keeping the original factory CAI and will reinstall it before making a warranty claim if the engine were to blow.

On a previous car ('07 Saab 9-3 Aero), I installed a custom tune (that really woke up that turbo) and subsequently encountered a problem with the ignition modules (which are a known issue on that car). Took it back to the dealer (with the tune still in place) and had no problem with the claim.

To sum, if you install an aftermarket tune and blow something up in the engine, I'm sure the dealer is going to try and blame the tune (and they have a good chance of being absolutely correct in doing so). However, if you're modifying the exhaust behind the cat or making some other modification that doesn't directly involve the engine, you're not giving the dealer carte blanche to reject any warranty claim.

 

I thought if you kepted it under 650rwhp they would cover the motor. Lol

 

Yes and no. They can blame anything that adds more HP, even an exhaust on a transmission failure, or rear end failure. Not saying they will but they could. I had an STi for a while. You won't believe the stories I heard of Subaru warranty claim denials. On stock cars. They will even inspect the tires to determine if the driver was launching the car hard. I miss the old days when I had my 1991 5.0. Break it and they fixed it. Beat the living daylights out of that car and never had so much as a hiccup with any warranty issue. Question is will they not cover a common problem such as the 5.0 ticking issue that some have had because of a tune, even though it happens to 100% stock cars.

 

That engine tick man....it's driving me nuts.

 

It's just getting worse and worse especially for publicly traded companies. they try to SQUEEZE everywhere that they can. The company that I work for is no different. They generate 20% profit margin and its not good enough. They always want more for their shareholders and will do whatever it takes to make that margin.

 

Of course. God forbid some top executive gets a $20 million bonus instead of a $40 million bonus. Unfortunately that's the way the world works today.

 

haha I remember a 20 billion dollar company I used to work for would go on a firing spree if they made a couple million dollars less than projected for a quarter. "OMG we only made 99% of what we guessed we would make for this quarter. FIRE EVERYONE!!"

 

Our company still does that with divisions out west. It's crazy.


I'm glad that I'm the only one in IT for my division, covering 8 different offices. They can't run any leaner than how it is right now

 

PM sent.

 

Thanks, CriticalmassGT! I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Deysha

 

Thanks. Now I'm worried it's not attached to my VIN. lol. I'm OCD. What can I do besides take another Xanax.

 

Lol! Please, speak with your sales or finance manager at your selling dealer, CriticalmassGT. They'll be able to assist you with this.

Deysha