On the edge about voiding the warranty, looking for opinions

[offroadkarter]

This is a 3am rant/musing so I apologize ahead of time

I've been having an internal debate about this subject for a while now, my car has had the driveline vibration since I bought it new 2 years ago. I've had it back to the dealership multiple times and so far they've swapped the driveshaft last year under the SSM and re-balanced the front tires twice. I've since put brand new PS4S on all 4 corners and as of today the vibration feels better, I wouldn't say it's 100% fixed but it felt really good at 60 where it was normally the most problematic.

I'm no stranger to fixing Ford's shortcomings, I figure at this point I might as well just take a stab at fixing this myself for good. I'm getting the itch to change things up on the car as it's been virtually 100% stock since I bought the car brand new and I'd really like a bit more low end grunt out of the engine(my E39 M5 has a lot more low end pull than the S550) as well as a bit less float in the turns when pushed.

I figured I could throw some BMR subframe braces at the rear to align the subframe and check the driveline angle, shim if necessary. If no change, re-balance the driveshaft on the car and see if that eliminates the issue. I spoke to two Ford field service engineers this past summer and one of them said re-balancing the shaft on the car is how he eliminates the issue.

Now the reason I'm on the fence about saying "screw the warranty" at this point, aside from me taking my car in multiple times and not having this issue fixed, I recently had the Evap core leak problem on my car which was fixed. When I got the car back, I found a nut, plastic rivet and a broken clip sitting on my floorboard as well as my rubber cup holder insert was missing. My dashboard also had a new rattle over rougher roads which could not be "tuned out" with the volume knob on the radio. I went back to the dealer and got them to rectify all these issues but I'm tired of my brand new car getting more and more fucked with by flat rate tech's who are on a time crunch to get a car in/out instead of taking time and doing things slow.

My fear about throwing caution to the wind with the warranty really lies in the evap core again. It's a 150 dollar part but a lot of labor to install. Do I retain the warranty in case that fails? Or do I just buy the part and do it myself if it craps out again.

My thoughts are as follows:

Screw the warranty - JLT/Lund tune, MGW Shifter, BMR Subframe braces, coilovers + catback in 2019, actually start enjoying the car

Keep the warranty, it's a Ford! - Ride it out til July 2019 when my 3/36 is up just in case I have any other issues like the EVAP taking a shit again. I've got plenty of other cars I can throw money at mod wise.

Risky option C - My dealer is mod friendly, they are Roush authorized and do aftermarket part installs for customers (even did a T56 Magnum conversion on a S197 Roush), I could get an extended warranty from Flood Ford, still do what I mentioned in the first plan and if something goes wrong, hope it's not related to any aftermarket part I threw on the car and continue to use the warranty. If my Evap took a shit I don't think they'll care if I have a tune and shifter.


Just looking for some opinions before I pull the trigger and go to a place I can't turn back from, I do enjoy driving this car but Mustangs are a platform to be improved upon, and I think it's time to improve upon things as I find myself reaching for the M5 keys more than I do the S550 keys (only put a little over 2000 miles on the car this year versus 9000+ on the M5).

If you made it this far, get yourself a beer as your reward

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[fiveoboy01]

As a general rule... They have to prove your modification affected the failed part to deny warranty.

Evap core should be covered under warranty if you’ve got a tune and exhaust.

I just put a blower on my car, it’s got 4,000 miles on it. Worth it to void the powertrain warranty? Absolutely.

 

[bluebeastsrt]

Modding a Mustang is what this hobby is all about. And the mods your speaking of. Are very mild ones. Enjoy.

 

[NoVaGT]

Your warranty will not be voided. Why this has to be explained several times a week is beyond me.

And why the OP couldn't use the damn search function is also beyond me.

 

[Fatguy]

Mod the car up if you feel like it! Drive it like a fool and spin it out into a guard rail twice on a 14 lane freeway like I did! Climb out the car window and look upon a car that looks like a banana. Then get a call from the new owner asking if I had any issues as the car has a weird vibration at a certain speed. Yup, that actually happened with my first 5.0...

 

[Cobra Jet]

Well either way you go, it’s still not gonna resolve the driveline vibe... nor will new tires. The vibe will come back and get worse again in the 55-70mph range... multiple tire balances, tire rotations, clocked and replaced driveshafts (stock or aftermarket) won’t cure it either.

I was in your position with my prior 2016, with the same damn driveline vibe. You probably read the many detailed posts by me and others in that huge driveline thread.

Talk about pissed, infuriated and having the same feelings as you with a brand new Mustang - but 1000% worse when my vehicle was off and on in the shop for MONTHS at a time for over a year from 1,009 miles to over 36k - with Ford Engineering involved multiple times and with (3) visits from a Ford FSE with specialized equipment. My 2016 had more warranty work and down time sitting at a Ford Dealership in 1 year of ownership than my 24 yr old 1994 Cobra has had in my 14 years of ownership.

Unlike you, I finally had enough, demanded a Ford Buy Back - and got a new 2018 S550 replacement... That’s the easiest way to solve the dreaded 2016 driveline vibe...


Probably not what you want to hear - but I can surely relate to your thoughts and perils you’re going through with the car.

 

[Bluelightning]

AC will still be covered regardless of the performance modifications made to the car.

 

[offroadkarter]

Your warranty will not be voided. Why this has to be explained several times a week is beyond me.

And why the OP couldn't use the damn search function is also beyond me.

If you're implying "magnuson-moss act", that is only related to aftermarket parts that are an equivalent to an OE replacement part. They can't claim my engine died due to me using an amsoil oil filter or a Bosch O2 sensor. Replacing the stock clutch with a Mcleod RXT then blowing my MT-82 to pieces, I can't claim that a RXT is a OE equivalent part.

I understand that they can't void my entire warranty if I come in with an engine issue and have BMR vertical links installed, but I'll sure have a hell of a time if I come in for anything engine/driveline related and I have a tune.

Well either way you go, it’s still not gonna resolve the driveline vibe... nor will new tires. The vibe will come back and get worse again in the 55-70mph range... multiple tire balances, tire rotations, clocked and replaced driveshafts (stock or aftermarket) won’t cure it either.

I was in your position with my prior 2016, with the same damn driveline vibe. You probably read the many detailed posts by me and others in that huge driveline thread.

Talk about pissed, infuriated and having the same feelings as you with a brand new Mustang - but 1000% worse when my vehicle was off and on in the shop for MONTHS at a time for over a year from 1,009 miles to over 36k - with Ford Engineering involved multiple times and with (3) visits from a Ford FSE with specialized equipment. My 2016 had more warranty work and down time sitting at a Ford Dealership in 1 year of ownership than my 24 yr old 1994 Cobra has had in my 14 years of ownership.

Unlike you, I finally had enough, demanded a Ford Buy Back - and got a new 2018 S550 replacement... That’s the easiest way to solve the dreaded 2016 driveline vibe...


Probably not what you want to hear - but I can surely relate to your thoughts and perils you’re going through with the car.

I have thought about this, I don't know how much I have to go on with the lemon law but I guess it's theoretically possible. Honestly if I actually did lemon law this car I don't think I'd step into another new mustang as I've read of 2018 + cars having the BBQ tick and driveline issues still. I'd probably go buy a terminator and swear off new cars for a long while.

I know some people had luck fixing this by adjusting the driveline angle and making sure the subframe was aligned. It has to be a fixable issue as not every single car (that I know of) has this problem.

 

[NoVaGT]

If you're implying "magnuson-moss act", that is only related to aftermarket parts that are an equivalent to an OE replacement part. They can't claim my engine died due to me using an amsoil oil filter or a Bosch O2 sensor. Replacing the stock clutch with a Mcleod RXT then blowing my MT-82 to pieces, I can't claim that a RXT is a OE equivalent part.

I understand that they can't void my entire warranty if I come in with an engine issue and have BMR vertical links installed, but I'll sure have a hell of a time if I come in for anything engine/driveline related and I have a tune.

It's all about the relationship you have with your dealership. Most don't GAF about stuff like tunes, CAIs, and such. They WANT to do warranty work, it's a cash cow for them. The dealership service departments are motivated financially to disregard your mods, and won't raise them as an issue, unless it's really clear that something you did caused some other issue. And even then, they would be acting against their own best financial interests.

I've seen Mustangs at dealerships getting warranty work that they could easily have not done, due to the customer's mods to their cars, or how they treated the cars. I even saw a BOSS Mustang getting new front rotors that the owner admitted to the Service Advisor he toasted at the track, and the SA went ahead and got them covered under warranty. Then the owner of the car told me and the SA standing next to me, he had purchased some vented/slotted/drilled rotors for the track, and would use the new stock/OEM rotors for the street. The SA knew all about all of this, and it wasn't an issue.

I myself had a cracked intake manifold, and my car had a tune on it. It was never mentioned, not an issue, and everything was taken care of under warranty.

Trust me, you're making an issue out of nothing. And as far as the evap core goes, nothing you would do would create an issue for that.

 

[offroadkarter]

It's all about the relationship you have with your dealership. Most don't GAF about stuff like tunes, CAIs, and such. They WANT to do warranty work, it's a cash cow for them. The dealership service departments are motivated financially to disregard your mods, and won't raise them as an issue, unless it's really clear that something you did caused some other issue. And even then, they would be acting against their own best financial interests.

I've seen Mustangs at dealerships getting warranty work that they could easily have not done, due to the customer's mods to their cars, or how they treated the cars. I even saw a BOSS Mustang getting new front rotors that the owner admitted to the Service Advisor he toasted at the track, and the SA went ahead and got them covered under warranty. Then the owner of the car told me and the SA standing next to me, he had purchased some vented/slotted/drilled rotors for the track, and would use the new stock/OEM rotors for the street. The SA knew all about all of this, and it wasn't an issue.

I myself had a cracked intake manifold, and my car had a tune on it. It was never mentioned, not an issue, and everything was taken care of under warranty.

Trust me, you're making an issue out of nothing. And as far as the evap core goes, nothing you would do would create an issue for that.

I'm already looking at lund tune/JLT combos, if I had my PCM code I would have ordered it at work today.

 

[Jay-rod427]

Lund tuned, Full catless exhaust, CAI, circle D converter, big and little drag tires mine went in for evap replacement no probs. Now if it went in with engine probs would likely be a different story.

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