Those running w/ no CATS, please come in...

[SLEEPERstang21]

I am going to put in a MAC off-road h-pipe soon but I'm having concerns because I'll be running without any cats and still have 2 years on my warranty left. What if I have to bring the car in to the dealership for some type of problem that the warranty still covers? Will they say anything about me not having cats???

 

[Defleshed]

dont EVER bring your stang into a dealership without cats on, depending on where you live, you could even get a fine for doing so. And yeah, chances are the dealership will at least ATTEMPT to void your warrenty.... Some dealerships will do so for so much as an aftermarket filter. (Chrysler, to name one).

If you have a prob. put the old H pipe back on before taking it anywhere.

 

[Screaminyellow7]

My buddy brought his car in to get a new tranny put in under warrenty from dealer, and thats pretty much right near the mid pipe, he has a BBK no cats. They didn't say anything.

 

[DTMach1]

it's called the magnusson-moss warranty act, look it up.

 

[YallarStang]

They may not be able to void your warranty because of the provisions set forth in the Magnussus Moss warranty act, but if they wanted to play hard ball they could still turn you in. It is federal law to have cats on your exhaust.

 

[SFStangGT]

A dealership can not turn you in for not having cats. They are not law enforcement. I took my cats out with 1000 miles on my car and I have been to about 4 different dealerships about 20 times and I never had a problem.
The only way you can get ticketed is if a police officer pulls you over with probable cause and then searches your vehicle with your consent and discovers you have taken your cats off. Then you get a nice $400 fine and you are ordered to have cats put back on your car and show up at a impound yard, DMV, or police station to show the law that you have put cats back on your car.

 

[KAILUAZ]

The officer doesn't need your consent to search, as the cats are on the outside of the car and have no exception to privacy. I doubt a cop is going to crawl under your car to try to give you a ticket. The only thing you have to worry about is emissions testing if you even have it in your area. Other than that rip'em off.

 

[Jesus]

The dealership doesnt have to work on the car if it has no cats. The dealership may refuse to work on the car because they can get fined for working on a car that doesnt have its emmissions system.

 

[Islander03GT]

the warranty for your exhaust will be voided. whatever part you modify, the "system" that it's part of gets voided. So, lowering springs voids the warranty on the suspension, an x pipe voids the exhaust, etc.

 

[GTvert01]

It all depends on the dealer. I have friends at ford, so they pretty much let me do what I want.They put my 4.10s in and didn't say a word about warranty

 

[zcs626]

going to your original question:

if you have an issue with your car that should be covered under warranty... from what ive been told from friends at dealerships/techs/etc is that they have to prove that your aftermarket part (ex: o/f H pipe) has caused the problem to occur that you're bringing the car in for...then they have the right to refuse to warranty work it.

 

[spikeGT_99]

easy solution: keep the origonal h-pipe and put it on whenever u need to go to the dealership, i dunno if u are going to put the pipe on yourself but i put my prochamber on and theres nothing to it, dont see why the stock would be any different, oh and if a cop stops u say u put the o/r h on cuz u went to the track this weekend and havent had a chance to put the catted one back on yet

 

[xseler8]

I thought the fines for cat removal was $2500 PER CAT. Check you local laws
& make sure you will pass emmisions(I won't pass where I live..PA.)Your inspection station will advise you.Call them. HTH

 

[bdcardinal]

um, you are in CA. why the hell are you taking off your cats. if you get pulled over and the police even look under your car and dont see cats, you bank account is $10,000 lighter. the dealer can refuse to work on your car if they choose because your car is in violation of numerous laws in CA. the magnussen moss act covers things like oil changes, tires, filters etc. however removing your cats is illegal in CA. when you see them listed in catalogs notice they dont have that nice and pretty "50 state legal" or CARB approved picture next to them. if they dealer really wanted to be asses, they will call the police, and when you leave have a cop waiting to pull you over. the ford dealerships usually have contracts with police departments to do major services to the interceptors. so its a you scratch my back, i scratch yours kinda thing. and if you do decide to go ahead with taking your stock pipe off, keep it, THERE ARE NO LEGAL MIDPIPES IN CA EXCEPT FPR THE STOCK ONE!!!! the only aftermarket cats you can use on 96+ cars is the magnaflow cat, and the car must be out of the state required 8 year/80,000 mile emissions warrenty. the magnussen moss act does not allow you to put on aftermarket cats in CA, because the only legal ones to run are stock.

 

[Islander03GT]

just weld 4 cat shells over the OR-X. Problem solved...

 

[SFStangGT]

The dealership doesnt have to work on the car if it has no cats. The dealership may refuse to work on the car because they can get fined for working on a car that doesnt have its emmissions system.

The dealership only gets fined if they took off the stock pipes and installed an O/R pipe. That is why you must install O/R pipes yourself.
As for the fine I know here in South Florida if your car is newer then 1975, I think, it must have Cat's or it is a $400 fine and then you must show that you reinstalled the cats back on your vehicle. Different areas have different local laws.
And as for the consent of searching your car it is still needed, because of the Plan View Doctrine, but then again local laws differ from place to place. I have seen some O/R pipes contain cats that are close to the headers do to ground clearance and those cats are not in plan view.

just weld 4 cat shells over the OR-X. Problem solved...

That is one heck of an idea....

 

[KAILUAZ]

You dont have an exception to privacy anywhere on the outside of your vehicle. IE: if drugs are suspected in your vehicle, a K9 can sniff the air around your vehicle and if he hits on it, thats probable cause to search the inside. At least in Florida.
I dont know anyone thats going to get down on the ground in thier clean uniform and check for cats, you would really have to be pushing things to get to that point.

 

[jadesville]

um, you are in CA. why the hell are you taking off your cats. if you get pulled over and the police even look under your car and dont see cats, you bank account is $10,000 lighter. the dealer can refuse to work on your car if they choose because your car is in violation of numerous laws in CA. the magnussen moss act covers things like oil changes, tires, filters etc. however removing your cats is illegal in CA. when you see them listed in catalogs notice they dont have that nice and pretty "50 state legal" or CARB approved picture next to them. if they dealer really wanted to be asses, they will call the police, and when you leave have a cop waiting to pull you over. the ford dealerships usually have contracts with police departments to do major services to the interceptors. so its a you scratch my back, i scratch yours kinda thing. and if you do decide to go ahead with taking your stock pipe off, keep it, THERE ARE NO LEGAL MIDPIPES IN CA EXCEPT FPR THE STOCK ONE!!!! the only aftermarket cats you can use on 96+ cars is the magnaflow cat, and the car must be out of the state required 8 year/80,000 mile emissions warrenty. the magnussen moss act does not allow you to put on aftermarket cats in CA, because the only legal ones to run are stock.

$10,000? I dont believe its that high in california, last time I talked to a cop it was a fixit ticket. Its not Ford's job to enforce the law, they are there to sell you a car, and do repairs on it, if they cant get any money out of it, then they wont even bother.

Usually Ford does not have a contract with a police agency in California, the majority of the police forces repair their cars in city & state Corporation Yards. Infact, its a libality issue why they dont, for a great deal of reasons.

 

[SLEEPERstang21]

daym. good feedback from everyone and most comments seem plausible. thanks for peace of mind, but my cats are comin' off this weekend. tell me, is the sound that much better with the new o/r h-pipe on? (and flowmasters)

 

[bdcardinal]

buddy of mine got tagged with a $10,000 fine in his camaro, the problem was that he took it to the ref still without cats on. in santa barbara, the police depts do little services(oil changes) but anything else they take it to the dealer, same with the ambulance companies, except they have the dealer do everything.