modification vs warranty

[wireeater]

coming from a wrx i see your point. the 5.0 is way more stout than that pos ej motor. my wrx was full bolt on e85 making 360/390 my 5.0 with intake and exhaust and lunds ff tune would kill it. idk i just cant leave a car stock, its funny because you had to tune the wrx because of the shit oem tune, yet the 5.0 will make 700+ and not blink. if you are just keeping the car n/a i wouldn't worry about modding it and breaking it

Well actually the 15 WRX doesn't have an EJ, but an FA, but owning a few Ej's before I still always had that paranoia. It truly is a POS engine. I have 2 friends who have a specialty Subaru shop and the never run out of business from either replacing engines, to head gaskets. FA is proving to be a really good engine (aside from rods). My plans is to just toss mod money into my savings and go FI after warranty is done. Get OPG/FI done and continue to be a happy man. I know I am going that route so like you said, no point in wasting money on tunes/parts for N/A that won't transfer.

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[vernonator]

If you can't afford to fix it don't mod at all. Personally life is short my warranty was gone at 800 miles.

Your warranty was NOT gone, you just increased the likelihood that any claim you make will be denied. As others have said if they can trace the failure back to your mod they CAN deny the work, they may/may not depending upon the dealers communication with Corporate and the level of the failure.

However MODDING DOES NOT VOID YOUR WARRANTY.....

 

[15GTBEN]

coming from a wrx i see your point. the 5.0 is way more stout than that pos ej motor. my wrx was full bolt on e85 making 360/390 my 5.0 with intake and exhaust and lunds ff tune would kill it. idk i just cant leave a car stock, its funny because you had to tune the wrx because of the shit oem tune, yet the 5.0 will make 700+ and not blink. if you are just keeping the car n/a i wouldnt worry about modding it and breaking it

While there is always a chance any car's powertrain failing due to a factory defect and or abuse, I have yet to hear of any S550 NA or GT's (tuned w/ bolt ons or stock) actually blowing up.

Ecoboost stang is another story :gossip:. I would be scared to mod those cars.

The best of course is getting a car that delivers factory performance you're content with. For some no car is powerful enough or is out of their price range.
For me, something like the power to weight of a Stingray would be enough to be content with.

 

[Rogues Gambit]

Be on good terms, ask them a hypothetical and see where it goes from there

NO ONE Blinks at a Drop in filter/CAI and I don't see Cat/Axle backs causing harm

That said, DEFINITELY upgrade the Intercooler on an Ecoboost (http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56367&highlight=sandbag)

 

[Coolmanfoo]

While there is always a chance any car's powertrain failing due to a factory defect and or abuse, I have yet to hear of any S550 NA or GT's (tuned w/ bolt ons or stock) actually blowing up.

Ecoboost stang is another story :gossip:. I would be scared to mod those cars.

The best of course is getting a car that delivers factory performance you're content with. For some no car is powerful enough or is out of their price range.
For me, something like the power to weight of a Stingray would be enough to be content with.

This is a good point. My car is still stock but that's purely because of finances. I was scared to void my warranty but I'm on these forums day after day and no one seems to be having any major issues except for limp mode or software glitches. The 5.0 seems like a solid engine with or without mods.

My plan is to go with the power pack 3 from Ford once it makes financial sense. And maybe a nice catback. Adds power, makes the car feel new and doesn't totally ruin the warranty

 

[Rogues Gambit]

This is a good point. My car is still stock but that's purely because of finances. I was scared to void my warranty but I'm on these forums day after day and no one seems to be having any major issues except for limp mode or software glitches. The 5.0 seems like a solid engine with or without mods.

My plan is to go with the power pack 3 from Ford once it makes financial sense. And maybe a nice catback. Adds power, makes the car feel new and doesn't totally ruin the warranty

Did you throw your dealer a hypothetical? Gauge their reaction to see how they feel.

Definitely a drop in KN Filter, I put those into all the family cars and dealers don't even care, and by family cars, I mean Audi's and Range Rovers

 

[Jay159866]

This is the same discussion over and over again.

Bottom line:

If the dealer can point to the mod as a possible cause of the problem then they will most likely refuse warranty work.

I.e. If you put LED lights in your car and the transmission fails then there is no connection, but if you have electrical issues the dealer can try to blame the LEDs

This. They have to say your mod caused the issue.

Actually a "cat back exhaust" voids the exhaust warranty... lol

How? With installing a "cat back exhaust", there's no way that can deny ANY warranty claim unless you're claiming your muffler is "broken".

 

[EFI]

You can always do basic mods that are easily reversible and leave no trace. For example, air intakes, axle or catbacks etc.

If you have an issue, simply remove it and put back the stock parts.

You won't get the full benefit without a tune, but it's still better than nothing if you must do something.

 

[Detector]

I was going to hit the mods hard at first but when I heard the rumor MAYBE 2018 will see the return of the Mach I and the GT500 I decided I'd leave mine stock for the trade in next year. Well. stock other than the stripes.

 

[brandonsmash]

I've thought long and hard about modifying the car. To this date all I have done has been to add a shifter (I'm quite happy with my Steeda; Boomba Racing, you can go get fucked). The rest of the car will remain stock.

Part of this is because, yes, I worry about the warranty.

The other part?

I would do well to invest that money in driver modification. Learning how to drive the car better will yield better results if/when I do decide to mod it, and until that point I have *tons* to learn. A few extra horsepower is irrelevant if I can't drive to full potential.

 

[SrqGT]

Your warranty was NOT gone, you just increased the likelihood that any claim you make will be denied. As others have said if they can trace the failure back to your mod they CAN deny the work, they may/may not depending upon the dealers communication with Corporate and the level of the failure.

However MODDING DOES NOT VOID YOUR WARRANTY.....

You're correct but 99.9 percent anything wrong with the power train there not going to cover it.

 

[Zimm]

I asked my dealer directly when I purchased and they said that Catback/CAI/Tune were fine; headers/intake/FI/etc would all definitely result in a denied claim. The dealer seemed pretty cool with it, but at the end of the day I'm still hesitant about a tune since I don't have anything in writing.

 

[2015Etrac]

I asked my dealer directly when I purchased and they said that Catback/CAI/Tune were fine; headers/intake/FI/etc would all definitely result in a denied claim. The dealer seemed pretty cool with it, but at the end of the day I'm still hesitant about a tune since I don't have anything in writing.

I added an X pipe, Roush axle-back, and plan on adding a PMAS no-tune intake this winter. I'd love to do a tune but it seems like 99% of people agree that a warranty would most likely be void concerning any engine or transmissions issues. I'm surprised he said a tune would be covered, but like you said, without it in writing I don't think it's worth the risk of losing the warranty or 25HP or so.

 

[jbailer]

Nobody here can tell you if your dealer will honor warranty work if you have mods. Warranty acceptance is determined by Ford after the dealer tells them about the issue and their observations.

The best way to get an answer is to talk to the service manager at your dealer. Explain to him/her what you would like to do and ask how they would treat it.

Sometimes the dealer will just say "NO" and they are wrong. It's always good to discuss with them. In my case the dealer said they wouldn't honor the warranty for my EB if I put a CAI on it. When I asked why, he said because of the need to retune due to the MAF. When I told him the EB used a MAP rather than a MAF he completely changed his tune and said then that wouldn't be an issue. He did say any aftermarket BOV, Wastegate or downpipe would void the warranty but a catback exhaust wouldn't.

That is just my dealer and nothing in writing. Plus, that isn't the final word. They would report what they see to Ford and Ford could always override that since they are paying for warranty repair.

The key is to use common sense and don't be bullied by the dealer unless you don't mind wasting your own money. If there is no way the mod you installed could possibly have anything to do with the failed part, Ford can't refuse warranty work. Of course your only recourse is to take them to court so you'd have to be willing to go that route.

I would think 3 safe parts on the EB are the intake, catback exhaust and the intercooler. For the life of me, I can't think of any way they would cause a problem. Well except when I installed my catback exhaust, 1 of the pipes was too close to the body and the rear reflector warped. I am positive If I tried to get tthe dealer to handle it under warranty, he would say no because it was likely caused by the aftermarket exhaust and I agree.

 

[15GTBEN]

Nobody here can tell you if your dealer will honor warranty work if you have mods. Warranty acceptance is determined by Ford after the dealer tells them about the issue and their observations.

The best way to get an answer is to talk to the service manager at your dealer. Explain to him/her what you would like to do and ask how they would treat it.
.

^^^^^^^^^^^^
The above is my experience as well.

The dealer service manager near me said that they are cool with tune/minor bolt ons and there aren't any ways/tools for them to know if flashed back to stock(regardless of what everyone on the internet says). He's been working there for many years and doesn't recall a warranty being voided due to just a tune. He said the #1 reason for denied warranties is evidence of abuse. I'm still not willing to risk it though.
In the end, it's Ford call when it comes to big warranty claims. I'm sure they can deep dive into the ecu and know whether it was tuned or not.
Ive tuned in the past and felt the mild gains weren't worth the risk and regretted it each time.
Going F/I (whipple)would be worth it imo, if I had the extra funds for in-case something catastrophic were to happen .

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