warranty

jono26 · 26-03-2007, 09:53 PM

Does putting an exaust and pod filter on a new 06 ford void your warranty?

Penko13 · 26-03-2007, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jono26

Does putting an exaust and pod filter on a new 06 ford void your warranty?

Hey

i have had an exhaust on my 2005 focus for over a year and a half and ford have said nothing about it. and it has been back in numurours times for services etc.

i also have a pod fited to the car but i am unsure weather this voids the warrenty, i dont think it would, but however when i take it back to ford for services i put the orginal air box back on just in case only takes about 5 mins, worth it in my mind if it could void the warrenty.

cheers

Piotr · 27-03-2007, 12:19 AM

No one mod will "void your warranty". They will only void your warranty on things that are made to fail by the mod. So if you get an exhuast and pod filter the dealer may void the engine warranty but if your suspension collapses or door falls off you will still be covered.

FRA · 27-03-2007, 09:07 AM

We're told anything aftermarket would void the warranty.
My speedo in my 2003 sedan gos off some/most of the time and in early 05 I told Ford where I got my Focus from and I told them what was going on, they said becuase you have a new cd head deck thats why your speedo is playing up.
I told them this was happening before it was put it, and at this stage my Foucs was stock. by the time I got the head deck put in and ford saw that, it was like see ya.

The only reason Ford haven't said anything to you yet about your exhaust etc Penko13 Ford wants you to come back to them, It's when you have a problem with your Focus you'll get told (different voice) Sorry buddy you got this and that on your car, sorry we can't help ya. we can fix it but, it'll cost ya.

1lifeliveit · 27-03-2007, 10:50 AM

Couldn't agree more

FRA · 27-03-2007, 11:33 AM

Oh Oh wait until you hear this 1
My 2003 sedan warranty was just about up and I got a letter in the mail saying dear Sir we see your 3 year warranty is just about up, would you like re'new your warranty for $850.
I called Ford up and told them I dont have a warranty because of all these reason. by this stage I had done a few mod to the Focus after the head deck was put in. So why are you offering to re'new my warranty, you going to fix the problem.
(different voice) You'll have bring the car to get it look at, going to cost me anything, oh we need to have a look at it 1st.
Thats when I lost it, take me off your services list and the incl calling me and letters in the mail.
And no 1 has called us back to win us back.

b2tf · 27-03-2007, 12:05 PM

I have never heard of a warranty claim being knocked back due to an aftermarket CD player!

When I had my old Focus, I put an exhaust on it, K&N too, and never had any problems with warranty.

FRA · 27-03-2007, 01:46 PM

You try and tell Bryan Byrt Ford that.
When they heared about water getting in and the aftermarket CD player
This is why your speedo plays up and that it wouldn't listen to what I had to say.
I fix the water getting in by getting my black sikaflex and after that no more water inside.
I know why the speedo gos off because behind the glove box there is a fuese box so I changed the amp pin for the horn etc and it didn't work.
Its going to cost me over 300 to get a new 1.

Im past upset and moved onto P!$$ off.
I can work on my car and save $100's and stop getting ripe off and when I work on my car I know it gets done right.

jono26 · 27-03-2007, 05:26 PM

so we dont know if it voids they warranty???

photn · 27-03-2007, 05:52 PM

as mentioned before mate, it will only void warranty on what you change. like pie said, if you change exhaust and Air intake it will only void warranty on the engine. nothing else.

plext · 27-03-2007, 06:28 PM

And the complete driveline, don't forget that.

eXtremist · 28-03-2007, 12:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FRA

We're told anything aftermarket would void the warranty.
My speedo in my 2003 sedan gos off some/most of the time and in early 05 I told Ford where I got my Focus from and I told them what was going on, they said becuase you have a new cd head deck thats why your speedo is playing up.
I told them this was happening before it was put it, and at this stage my Foucs was stock. by the time I got the head deck put in and ford saw that, it was like see ya.

The only reason Ford haven't said anything to you yet about your exhaust etc Penko13 Ford wants you to come back to them, It's when you have a problem with your Focus you'll get told (different voice) Sorry buddy you got this and that on your car, sorry we can't help ya. we can fix it but, it'll cost ya.

You can claim warranty claims at any Ford service center, try a different dealer.

If they fix your problem, they get $$ from Ford for vehicle faults per hour spent fixing the vehicle unless they are just plain lazy and want the easy jobs!

Martyvan · 28-03-2007, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FRA

You try and tell Bryan Byrt Ford that

Didnt need to read any more.... Thats the problem. I only ever had BAD Dealing with them, even when i worked across the road, they couldnt get anything right... :(

More revs · 30-03-2007, 10:23 AM

A correctly installed pod and exhaust will not automatically void a warranty. If however the pod fell of one day and some foreign body was ingested damaging the engine wouldn't we reasonably expect Ford to be reluctant about covering this?

To mess with stuff while under warranty is a grey area so either wait till warranty is over or be prepared to cover any remote possible damage yourself.

It's your car and you can modify the hell out of it it's a free country BUT be reasonable and accountable for your own actions...

thats my 2 bob

gtfpv · 30-03-2007, 12:17 PM

a mate of mine put a steering wheel cover on , his power steering pump started humming and his suspension collapsed . ford knocked him back because he had altered his driveline !!!!!

Penko13 · 30-03-2007, 12:56 PM

i have had a good experiance with the warranty and i know that is rare with after market parts.

i got pedders sport ryder suspension installed, by pedders, lowered the car quite abit. after about a month the sterring started to grind, i took it to ford and they said the springs weren't sitting correctly on the spring plate.

however they decided ti fix it under warrenty and it didn't cost me a thing, and i no i could of gone back to pedders but i was surprised that ford fixed it for me.

cheers

zetec · 31-03-2007, 12:39 AM

My cat converter blew just before warranty end (K&N, exhaust) but they couldn't prove it was the exhaust so they replaced it under warranty. I knew of many others with a blown cat so it must have just been a common problem.

I've never had an issue with warranty on my car, it has been lowered twice and had multiple rims, exhaust combinations.

The official stance is that if the mod you install directly causes something to fail, then Ford has every right to not pay for a warranty claim on that part. Fair enough too. If you got your house plumbed and then tried to triple the water pressure and some pipes blew under your house, would you expect the plumber to fix his "dodgy" pipes or would you see that you caused it?!!

I also hate the stance of changing parts to take the car back for a warranty claim. Try and be a little honest like I have always been with my Dealer and you'll be fine. It's all about the relationship in my books. Don't like your Dealer? There's hundreds across Australia. I pay for a service, I don't expect the world handed to me on a polished golden platter, just a good honest service and in return, I try not to rip them off. It's a two way street.

eXtremist · 31-03-2007, 10:27 AM

As far as I know, service centres get money from Ford for hours spent fixing cars still under warranty.

Regardless if its a manufacturers fault or not, they say it is so you don't have to pay for parts.

Its shifty, but that's the way its done.

FRA · 31-03-2007, 10:36 AM

Thats what I was told as well and yes it's shifty.

pupmeister · 03-04-2007, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FRA

We're told anything aftermarket would void the warranty.
My speedo in my 2003 sedan gos off some/most of the time and in early 05 I told Ford where I got my Focus from and I told them what was going on, they said becuase you have a new cd head deck thats why your speedo is playing up.
I told them this was happening before it was put it, and at this stage my Foucs was stock. by the time I got the head deck put in and ford saw that, it was like see ya.

The only reason Ford haven't said anything to you yet about your exhaust etc Penko13 Ford wants you to come back to them, It's when you have a problem with your Focus you'll get told (different voice) Sorry buddy you got this and that on your car, sorry we can't help ya. we can fix it but, it'll cost ya.

I can very easily see how Ford would reject a claim due to fitting an aftermarket head unit, especially considering the sensitivity of ECU units fitted to most modern cars. I am also sure that if you fitted an aftermarket head unit that it wasn't a basic low power installation, but rather something that draws a lot of power that again could affect any of the electrics on the car. The speedo is an electric unit and not a cable unit as fitted to older cars.

I am also sure that ford (or holden or toyota etc.) have heard plenty of claims for faults that occurred before a modification was done to the car ("I promise you that the headlight light was broken before I drove into the wall")

Piotr · 03-04-2007, 08:25 PM

Ive got over 800W RMS in my car and have no problems with electricals.

pupmeister · 03-04-2007, 09:05 PM

I hate getting into debates about things like this. I never meant to say that this was a cause of the problem (I seriously doubt that FRA would gain anything from lying in this forum about the fact that the problem started before he installed the radio), however I understand how Ford could say that the sound system could cause the problem in the ECU system do to the fact that the only proof that the problem existed before was FRA's word. All modern ECU systems are extremely sensitive to voltage spikes, that could be caused by a number of things including incorrectly wired up radio systems.

Before I get attacked about this statement, I am in any way implying that FRA did not wire up his system properly. I just think that before somebody blames anybody for rejecting a warranty claim they should consider the actual reasons for why the claim was rejected.

I work in the reliability field and I know that if the something like this appeared on my desk, the first thing that I would have investigated is the radio installation before I consider anything else.

**Jastel** · 03-04-2007, 10:31 PM

Your LUCKY to get warranty on a standard car these days

But as said they can knock you back if the aftermarket item is linked to the warranty you are claiming and they get pretty inventive trying to link them together

My best excuses were the aftermarket LPG caused the brakes to fail and it was a police car so thats why the air con won't work

WTF????

pertuan · 03-04-2007, 10:38 PM

I know exactly what you're talking about pupmeister and I agree. Its like when I was working as a techie fixing mobile phones. We would knock back all warranty claims if the backlights had been changed no matter what the customer's claimed fault was.

FRA · 04-04-2007, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pupmeister

I hate getting into debates about things like this. I never meant to say that this was a cause of the problem (I seriously doubt that FRA would gain anything from lying in this forum about the fact that the problem started before he installed the radio), however I understand how Ford could say that the sound system could cause the problem in the ECU system do to the fact that the only proof that the problem existed before was FRA's word. All modern ECU systems are extremely sensitive to voltage spikes, that could be caused by a number of things including incorrectly wired up radio systems.

Before I get attacked about this statement, I am in any way implying that FRA did not wire up his system properly. I just think that before somebody blames anybody for rejecting a warranty claim they should consider the actual reasons for why the claim was rejected.

I work in the reliability field and I know that if the something like this appeared on my desk, the first thing that I would have investigated is the radio installation before I consider anything else.

I wouldn't have any idea how to wire my head deck in but, when it comes to PA speakers, amps, lighting etc I can understand all of that like no worries.
My head deck hasn't been working for sometime now so I pulled it out and put my stock head deck back in and guess what my speedo still is plays up.
JB-HI did the work.
It's not the ECU.

FRA · 04-04-2007, 04:32 PM

Lets talk about aftermarket part warranty as well.
Theres no or next to F@#% all warranty.
I haven't had any problem so far of buying parts but, it's the buyer problem.
Not the manufacturer, distributor or retailter.

Piotr · 04-04-2007, 05:02 PM

It comes down to the individual dealership as well. My car has been into warranty two times (both drive related) with modifications on it and was given warranty without question both times. I simply went in explained what was happening and they solved the problem.

If you find a good dealership stick with them

pupmeister · 06-04-2007, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FRA

I wouldn't have any idea how to wire my head deck in but, when it comes to PA speakers, amps, lighting etc I can understand all of that like no worries.
My head deck hasn't been working for sometime now so I pulled it out and put my stock head deck back in and guess what my speedo still is plays up.
JB-HI did the work.
It's not the ECU.

Again, I was not saying you were lying when you said that the problem originated before you installed the head unit.

I work in the world of reliability and a big part of my job is trying to find out what causes failures in equipment (if somebody is interested look up Root Cause Failure Analysis) and I also know how often something that seems unrelated is the actual cause of the problem. This is why a company like Ford would try to reject any claim when any after market changes are done to the vehicle (I can see links in all the mentioned aftermarket items as to why a claim would be rejected (except for the steering wheel cover))

Again saying this from Fords perspective, removing the head unit after the problem started and reinstalling the original unit, does not necessarily mean the problem would be solved as the installation process could have been the cause of the problem. I do not know the quality of J-B HiFis installation, but having looked at some other so called professional installers and can understand again why this would be suspected.

The best way to make a successful claim is not to disturb any of the evidence before taking in the car for the claim. Unfortunately this is not always possible and this is where this is what the dealers / manufacturers exploit to reject claims. This is why I normally shy away from extended warranties due to problems with the claims process.

Lastly, Ford are definitely not unique in there approach to this, I deal with a lot of suppliers in my job and I have seem the same sort of problems when it comes to claims.