Mods vs warranty

[mudblood]

Read this thread esp to the new folks..

http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f24/voided-warranty-12670/index3.html[/QUOT

Thank God us "new" people have you to guide us.
Listen, do you have a clue about the expense of litigation. I would expect you know little or nothing about legal issues but would simply pound your chest and initiate the M&M Act. Ford will not honor your warranty.....what do you plan to do? What you attempt to litigate will quickly outstrip the warranty expense. You don't think Ford knows that? You don't think Ford has plenty of attorneys on staff and even more on retainer. I have had dealings with Ford among other large conglomerates that tend to simply wear down the small firms and empty the
Litigants pocketbook. This act is purely symbolism for politicians and is little help to the average Joe. If you are planning to expect this act to protect you plan on spending a lot of money for the litigation to enforce it. This is just a true fact of legal life.

 

[sonoma]

Not really, i just think with the manual shift ability off road why bother?

You saw what I was doing out there

Huh....well someday show me that way I can see the difference. I think the tuner really ups performance, but I wish I could see data on it now. Have to google and ask people.

But in terms of warranty that's something I need to pick apart in detail especially with mods. It can be done but I need more information and having a connection is helpful but you still risk coverage being denied...depending on the part that's an issue

 

[mudblood]

Huh....well someday show me that way I can see the difference. I think the tuner really ups performance, but I wish I could see data on it now. Have to google and ask people.

But in terms of warranty that's something I need to pick apart in detail especially with mods. It can be done but I need more information and having a connection is helpful but you still risk coverage being denied...depending on the part that's an issue

I have a son who is a master technician. Many years ago they could tell if you ever altered the tune through the ECU. Even if you have removed the tune back to stock. I think you weigh your prior experience with warranty issues and the chance this would impact you and your driving as well as how long you keep your vehicle. I know I asked him about warranty denials when he was working at a GM dealership and at that time he could think of only about five instances where GM denied a warranty due to alterations in the vehicle.

 

[MagicMtnDan]

Raptors have been out for years now so the early problems that I and other 2010 owners (and others) experienced are much less likely. So worrying about your warranty, especially if you're going to keep the vehicle until after 3 years/36,000 miles, may not be all that important to you - or worth waiting to do mods like a tune.

 

[mudblood]

Raptors have been out for years now so the early problems that I and other 2010 owners (and others) experienced are much less likely. So worrying about your warranty, especially if you're going to keep the vehicle until after 3 years/36,000 miles, may not be all that important to you - or worth waiting to do mods like a tune.

I agree. Make it your own and enjoy the hell out of it.

 

[Brendo310]

Read this thread esp to the new folks..

http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f24/voided-warranty-12670/index3.html

Good info, thanks!

 

[sonoma]

Raptors have been out for years now so the early problems that I and other 2010 owners (and others) experienced are much less likely. So worrying about your warranty, especially if you're going to keep the vehicle until after 3 years/36,000 miles, may not be all that important to you - or worth waiting to do mods like a tune.

No I'm not worried. I have the 3year/36k mile warranty. No extended warranty needed. Good point though, agreed.

 

[Deleted member 12951]

Mods and warranty

As I start to make modifications to mine the warranty issues always come to mind. If I think about it from Ford's mindset, it makes sense. You make changes and it causes something to break, why should they pay for it. The manuals state modifications all over the place. Just a few examples:

Damage Caused by Alteration or Modification
The New Vehicle Limited Warranty does not cover any damage caused by:
• alterations or modifications of the vehicle, including the body, chassis, or components, after the vehicle leaves the control of Ford Motor Company
• tampering with the vehicle, tampering with the emissions systems or with the other parts that affect these systems (for example, but not limited to exhaust and intake systems)
• the installation or use of a non-Ford Motor Company part (other than a certified emissions part) or any part (Ford or non-Ford) designed for off-road use only installed after the vehicle leaves the control of Ford Motor Company, if the installed part fails or causes a Ford part to fail. Examples include, but are not limited to lift kits, oversized tires, roll bars, cellular phones, alarm systems, automatic starting systems and performance-enhancing powertrain components or software and performance ‘‘chips’’.

And always liked this one:
SVT does not recommend modifying or racing SVT vehicles, as they are designed and built to be driven as delivered from the factory. The warranty information discusses vehicle usage and the installation of aftermarket parts and their effect on warranty coverage.

I was debating about getting an ESP because I usually only keep a vehicle for 3yrs so never purchased them but I will most likely be keeping this raptor for longer. My truck only has 4,000 miles so far but as I make modifications, I am starting to think that I have to take the mindset that I need to have enough money to be "self-insured" when it comes to problems on my truck.

So far I've done the mid-perch. So I understand that if I have front suspension or driving problems down the road, the mod can be blamed. But what if I upgrade the front to Icon's or something like that, didn't I just cause warranty issues now on the front end more so than a mid-perch?

I've also upgraded my power steering reservoir to the RPG one with the cooler. Even though I have exceeded the factory specs, it is different so technically if anything happens to my power steering, I am hosed.

I am getting replacement rear springs from WSI so now I have excluded warranty issues with the rear? I have the RPG Stage 2 bump stop but that didn't change out anything but the springs do.

I am getting a replacement exhaust, another warranty issue out the door.

Down the road I would love to upgrade all four corners knowing that I've now added another warranty exclusion.

So the big question is, Do you just get to a point that you say screw the warranty on such a new truck, I am doing these mods and if it causes issues then I need to have a bank account to support all this or do you actually try to fight the dealerships and say your mods didn't cause the problem?

I am also seriously considering getting a SCT X4 tuner with the 5yr/60k warranty add-on for $500 for up to $20k coverage. I wonder if all these vendors who sell mods will eventually come up with warranty coverage's add-ons like this since they are very profitable.

I also realize that some will wait 3yrs or 36,000 miles to start modding but I know I can't wait that long, I mean look where I am right now and I haven't even done the first oil change.

 

[Yukon Joe]

I've mod'ed the hell out of my truck and I've been lucky enough to have some things covered. Some things not so lucky.

RPG steering reservoir: under warranty I had a high side hose failure. It was covered.

RPG tire rods & UCAs & Fox 3.0:
I've had one steering rack covered and one not covered. The dealer even told meet on the one they covered, that they probably shouldn't have. I have had multiple IWEs and other front drive components covered.

SW LT headers & exhaust & tuned:
Recently had an idler pulley covered under warranty. O2 sensor went bad, it was not covered.

I think it depends on the dealer. I'm never keen on taking my truck to them because it typically is a hassle and I really have a hard time trusting them to do the right job. But I'm always polite and very thankful when things are covered. I try to keep a good relationship with the service manager. Hell the last one subscribed to RW's YouTube channel... not really what you want them seeing how you treat the truck, but he thought it was great that we use the truck for what it is intended for.

Yukon Joe
www.RUNRAPTORRUN.com

 

[ZBoater]

Mods and warranty

You gotta pay to play. If you are prepared to pay for your repairs, I'd say go for it. I did. Life is too short, and modding a Raptor is fun. If all I needed was basic transportation, I'd get an Altima. But it want to play. So I gotta pay.

If my AC breaks, dealer better fix it and not blame my mods. I'm pretty sure they will. I too am debating the ESP. $2K for a partial coverage, since I tuned so bye bye power train warranty. I'm now leaning towards "screw it" and not buy any ESP. I'll just wing it. But I do have another car in the garage so my risk is mitigated somewhat.

I'm having a lot of fun messing around with my Raptor. I'm prepared to pay for that. If I weren't, I wouldn't mod.