Mods and Warranties

[Excepcion13]

Good Morning, All!!!

So, I want to mod my car but am concerned with how it will affect my warranty. I want to put on a new intake, new headers, and dual exhaust. Then I will get a flash tuner to maximize the new mods performance. Everything else I want to put on is for pure appearance. What can I expect when I go in for warranty work? Does anyone have any experience with this? Does anyone work for Ford who can weigh in? Should I just be honest with the dealership and come up with some sort of agreement with them up front? Any information would be greatly appreciated!!!!

 

[05V6inMD]

You don't want to go in with the car’s computer program other than the stock program. If you use something like the Xcal2 for reprogramming, you can at least load the original/stock program before going in for service.

No dealer will give you a separate warranty agreement based on the mods you put on.

While it is true that a problem must be traced to the mod for Ford to deny the claim, it must also be stated that the burden to fight the decision to not cover a problem is going to fall on the consumer.

The mods you list are pretty benign and will not likely result in a dealer not honoring the warranty, except perhaps the retune. Real trouble comes in when you add anything that gets inserted into the drive train, like pulleys and of course superchargers.

 

[fazm83]

I've seen numerous people that have gone into the dealer after usign an xcal2, some flashed back to stock, some didnt, and nobody that i have seen has had a problem yet.
If you did all these mods and your fuel pump failed, they will have to fix it, no questions asked. If your mass air goes out, thats a different story, you might have to fight that tooth and nail.

 

[Excepcion13]

Thanks! I was wondering whom the burden of proof would fall on and had a nagging suspicion it would be me....

My next question is if they can tell if I retuned with an Xcal and then put it back to stock before I went in. Would disconnecting the battery for 20 minutes after putting the stock config back erase any trace of a tune?

What if they put on the GT duals (assuming they would), I didn't put the headers on until later, I removed my CAI every time I went in for work, and I always returned it to the stock config (as detailed above)? I just got this car and don't want to be screwed if the engine throws a rod or something and the dealership says, "Wouldn't have happened if you wouldn't have modded the car!"

 

[fazm83]

Basically you wont know until you go in with that situation, every dealer is going to be different.

 

[Zodiac]

They cant claim an intake cause you to throw a rod, it has to atleast be "reasonable"