Will aftermarket performance upgrades actually void warranty?

[5ohaejun]

I was at my local Ford dealership a few days ago and talked to one of the guys who worked there. He told me that installing CAI and running E85 with tune won’t void warranty. I asked him about headers too but he wasn’t sure if headers would or not. Does anyone have more clear information about this? Will I be able to add a CAI, headers, and run e85 without voiding warranty or was this guy just talking out of his ass?

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[LOL WUT]

The dealer has a lot of discretion on these things so it’s impossible to give you a yes or no answer.

Many people will say the dealer has to prove that the aftermarket part is what caused the warranty issue to occur. Many dealers will laugh at you when you bring that up.

 

[ORRadtech]

Ahhhh, if only it was as easy as a yes or no question....
Bottom line, if you develop a problem and can they can prove a particular mod caused the problem they can deny warranty for that particular problem.
A CAI is unlikely to cause a problem. Nor are headers. On the other hand a poorly done tune could.
But, voiding any particular part of a warranty doesn't necessarily void another part. Meaning that if you somehow void the engine warranty n the transmission is probably still covered as would be the rest of the car.
It also depends a lot on what the warranty actually says. In other words it's quite complicated.

 

[GrabberBargeCaptain]

Can guarantee most Ford dealers would not look kindly on your aftermarket tune if your engine went kablooie.

 

[GrabberBargeCaptain]

The dealer has a lot of discretion on these things so it’s impossible to give you a yes or no answer.

Many people will say the dealer has to prove that the aftermarket part is what caused the warranty issue to occur. Many dealers will laugh at you when you bring that up.

Well, yeah.. if you want to take them to court they then have to provide burden of proof. They don't have to prove it to YOU.

 

[gone_n_60]

From what I'v read here in threads and heard from others at Mustang events it's custom tunes, engine and transmission mods that often create issues for warranty work. If a dealer's tech see the ECU has been flashed by non-Ford maintenance they can deny or powertrain mods.

I have a CAI on my GT and some Steeda suspension mods, needed transmission work done due to overheating at the track. The dealer never twitched about providing warranty service for the GT.

 

[5ohaejun]

Ahhhh, if only it was as easy as a yes or no question....
Bottom line, if you develop a problem and can they can prove a particular mod caused the problem they can deny warranty for that particular problem.
A CAI is unlikely to cause a problem. Nor are headers. On the other hand a poorly done tune could.
But, voiding any particular part of a warranty doesn't necessarily void another part. Meaning that if you somehow void the engine warranty n the transmission is probably still covered as would be the rest of the car.
It also depends a lot on what the warranty actually says. In other words it's quite complicated.

Hmm I see. I think the guy said something about it would still be under warranty unless, like u said, they can prove that it was bc of the mods.

 

[luc]

I was at my local Ford dealership a few days ago and talked to one of the guys who worked there. He told me that installing CAI and running E85 with tune won’t void warranty. I asked him about headers too but he wasn’t sure if headers would or not. Does anyone have more clear information about this? Will I be able to add a CAI, headers, and run e85 without voiding warranty or was this guy just talking out of his ass?

Beside the warranty issue, both the headers and cai, if not carb approved, will make you fail smog

 

[GrabberBargeCaptain]

Beside the warranty issue, both the headers and cai, if not carb approved, will make you fail smog

They also check your ECU now for tunes. Fun times.

 

[Cordero1]

I feel like it's based a lot on how good your relationship with said dealer is. I purchased my car 3.5 hrs away. At 200 miles my radiator sprung a leak. 1st thing the slip writer said was "that's what you get for buying out of town". Had to call the dealership I bought it from, they called my local one, had a few choice words & my car was fixed. They left the engine bay, belts, & pulleys covered in antifreeze. The belly pan also had a good puddle, took me a bit to clean it up. They didn't even top off the reservoir. I'm sure it was out of spite. Funny thing is, my local dealer was one of those that had absolutely no inventory when I was out looking to buy, so it's not like they had one for me to buy. I've gotten into it with them with previous trucks/cars, so I avoid them at all costs. Haven't even done a single recall due to how hard they are to deal with.

 

[ice445]

The only mods that Ford would consider overlooking are ones under their umbrella, i.e the Ford Performance stuff. And even then, those usually come with a separate warranty rider that covers issues directly caused by the mod itself. But at least they (should) respect your warranty when it comes to other failures, even on related systems.

With that said, as others have said there is nuance to it. Sometimes things will be overlooked or not checked. But Ford has cracked down in recent years on things like engine replacements and they will want to see exactly what was installed, freeze frame data, etc. Sometimes they will send an engineer down to get their opinion on the root cause. So yeah, in those cases even a mod friendly dealer can't save you.

 

[young at heart]

The dealer has a lot of discretion on these things so it’s impossible to give you a yes or no answer.

Many people will say the dealer has to prove that the aftermarket part is what caused the warranty issue to occur. Many dealers will laugh at you when you bring that up.

This.

They don’t have to prove it did. You have to prove it didn’t.

Well, yeah.. if you want to take them to court they then have to provide burden of proof. They don't have to prove it to YOU.

Sure, but by then you’re in court and paying a lawyer. Even if you win, you lose.

As others have pointed out, your best bet is a good dealer relationship. It’s the most hassle-free option.

 

[EFI]

Dealers don't void warranties, Ford does.

And they can't just "void" your entire warranty for one or more aftermarket modifications. They simply can deny warranty work for areas of the vehicle that are directly impacted by said modifications, but the rest remains as is.

 

[Jose1962]

I went to dealer for recall on brake issue they saw my car says it’s tuned n wouldn’t do update because of tuned ecm

 

[ORRadtech]

I went to dealer for recall on brake issue they saw my car says it’s tuned n wouldn’t do update because of tuned ecm

Probably because there have been reports of tunes not allowing and/or interfering with the software update for the brakes. There was a thread about this a while back. On guy said he was a Ford tech and had a work around for it. Goes back to what a dealer is willing to do to work with their customers vs worrying about their liability.

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