Will headers a tune and a CAI void the powertrain warranty?

[shelbygt500_897hp]

I want to wake up my GT350 and add some "bolt on" mods.

But, my GT350 also is one of the cars that consumes oil about a quart every 1200 miles.
Supposedly according to Ford on this motor design, this is within tolerance of what Ford considers accepable.
I know the mods I am looking at our modest and really doesnt effect the dynamics of the motor per say but I can see if the oil leak gets worse that they could easily void my warranty because of the tune. I dont think the CAI or the headers would effect the warranty.

What is everyone elses thought on this?

don

 

[jvandy50]

from what i've read, both will void it. however, my salesman told me to tune mine and take it out if a tow was needed. he just looked at me funny when i asked about headers lol.

i haven't seen anyone start a thread yet saying they were on the hook for a motor because of voiding warranty either...and i spend an embarrassing amount of time reading online

 

[Zemedici]

I'll explain it the same way I do to my customers

A Ford dealership cannot void your vehicles warranty. They can say they do not want to do work UNDER warranty, meaning you'll have to pay for the work.

However, it all depends on the relationship you have with your dealership and the competence of their techs / service dept.

Obviously an air filter is not going to make a wheel bearing go bad, you know? I send vehicles to dodge and Ford dealerships for warranty repairs, and they send me cars they cannot figure out. We have a business relationship and they understand I'm not some fly by night chop shop, and I'm not in the business of tearing shit up.


TL : DR - depends on the dealership

 

[Tob]

Obviously an air filter is not going to make a wheel bearing go bad, you know?

A key statement. A CAI isn't going to cause a shock to go bad, etc. But if your engine suffers damage from running lean/rich, etc, it is definitely something they could hang their hat on. Headers? Bank on it. If you are talking about long tubes then you are implying no CARD exemption number, ergo, not legal for street use on public highways and a federal law violation even if you add "green cats." The EPA doesn't usually go after individuals but certain states can make things very difficult. Including just about any Ford dealer - if they so choose.

 

[Zemedici]

A key statement. A CAI isn't going to cause a shock to go bad, etc. But if your engine suffers damage from running lean/rich, etc, it is definitely something they could hang their hat on. Headers? Bank on it. If you are talking about long tubes then you are implying no CARD exemption number, ergo, not legal for street use on public highways and a federal law violation even if you add "green cats." The EPA doesn't usually go after individuals but certain states can make things very difficult. Including just about any Ford dealer - if they so choose.

Guess it varies dealership to dealership. I've seen plenty of modified vehicles warrantied.

 

[Tob]

For sure, location plays an important role as well. It may be far easier to find a mod friendly dealer in an emissions lax state such as Georgia (at least some areas of Georgia), Florida, etc. Dealers in states such as California, New York, etc, are far more likely to be influenced by the governing emission laws. In essence, liberal states can really suck here.

 

[CO Mack]

Essentially if a CAI is actually useful (makes HP), it will require a tune to get back to the stock type parameters. If it really sucks it might require a tune too.

I know of multiple warranty claims denied on 5.0s due to CAI causing untuned cars to go lean and engine failure Ford would not cover.

I personally will not do any of this to my car unless it's a Ford Performance tune or after the car is out of warranty.

 

[shelbygt500_897hp]

Thats what I kinda of figured ...... and with this motor so new I dont want to fork out money for a worst case scenario ie rebuild how ever un-likely it might be.
My GT500 that was heavily modded I knew I could pick up a block for reasonable money and the same with a tranny ..... however on the GT350's its a whole different ball game $$ wise

don

 

[sono]

I think Ford is better than most if you have a loyal relationship. It's been that way for me. When it comes to high compression I think the rules change because its all or nothing situations. So 20k for an engine because a tune was lean might be a game changer.

 

[Ghoust]

IT really depends on the dealer. I have bought my wife's 2015 Edge Platinum from the local dealer and I used then to work on my GT500 when the gears started whining. The service advisor asked me if I wanted to order 3.31s, 3.55s, 3.73s as part of the warranteed repair! How cool was that?

I think if you have an established relationship with them, then the dealer will work with you.

 

[shelbygt500_897hp]

Ghoust ..... nice GT500 ...... If I could have swung it I would have loved to kept my similiar modded GT500 but alas couldnt swing both

My 07 GT500 also had the GEN II vmp blower and throttle body and all the supportive mods needed when you dyno at 664 rwhp.




don

 

[ANGREY]

Doesn't the dealership simply bill Ford for warranty work anyway? I can't imagine it being any other arrangement given that you can take your car into any Ford dealership to have warranty work done.

I would think then the challenge is ensuring that the dealer can get reimbursed for their time from Ford.

 

[ZYBORG]

It all depends on the dealership and your "relationship" with them. I have seen people with very modded vehicles get warranty work and have seen people be denied warranty work based on adding a catch can/oil separator...

Its a bit of a "roll of the dice"... your move.

 

[DaDonkey]

There is currently a long block being replaced under warranty.. the engine had been built already and supercharged. A defective filter caused loss of oil pressure and Ford's engineer determined this was the cause of the loss of oil pressure on this engine. Obviously this was more than a tune and headers. So, no having a tune and headers won't void your warranty unless something related to those modifications caused the failure. It wouldn't hurt to establish a relationship with the service department at your dealership or one around you that will work with you and not against you.

 

[CobraBob]

IT really depends on the dealer. I have bought my wife's 2015 Edge Platinum from the local dealer and I used then to work on my GT500 when the gears started whining. The service advisor asked me if I wanted to order 3.31s, 3.55s, 3.73s as part of the warranteed repair! How cool was that?

I think if you have an established relationship with them, then the dealer will work with you.

It really does vary from dealer to dealer. And a good relationship with your dealer usually helps.

It all depends on the dealership and your "relationship" with them. I have seen people with very modded vehicles get warranty work and have seen people be denied warranty work based on adding a catch can/oil separator...

Its a bit of a "roll of the dice"... your move.

Very true. I've seen that frequently here over the years.

When I bought my '03 Cobra (new), I had a pretty good relationship with the sales person, who happened to also be the finance manager. After about a month of ownership, the mod bug bit me. So I thought it would be in my best interest to simply ask him what mods were "okay" and what mods "were not okay". His (honest) answer was that mods like a catback, midpipe, intake, shifter were perfectly fine. The tune would not be. I took that advice to heart and then had to make a decision as to what line I was willing to cross and either work to keep my warranty safe, or throw caution to the wind. LOL. I chose the latter and went with the above "safe" mods PLUS the tune. Never regretted it, but I accepted full responsibility IF I would have experienced an engine issue that might not have been covered by the dealer due to my custom tune.

 

[Weather Man]

The dealer may be friendly, but if Ford asks for a read on the computer, they will see if you have been tuned. The dealer may still be able to help with a good will intervention, if they have available. The bottom line is that Ford is not interested in paying for an engine running someone else's software/hardware, nor is it reasonable to expect them to do so.

 

[JAJ]

There's a pretty extensive bulletin on the Motorcraft service website that Ford techs use that outlines how to identify modifications and what symptoms they may cause.

For instance, "if you have damaged pistons in an engine, then look for the following things...". They show pictures of headers, CAI's, blowers and other non-OEM stuff. They also go into considerable detail on how to detect non-standard software ECU tunes, even if the software on the system the day they test is stock. There are counters and switches in the ECU that will reveal that non-standard software was installed, even if it's now long-gone.

They don't say to reject warranty repairs outright, but they do explain when to raise questions with Ford directly. If a tech sees burned pistons on a car with a blower, it's likely that they'll reject warranty coverage. However if there's a

leaking water pump on a car with an aftermarket exhaust, they'll probably say fix it.​

 

[gimmie11s]

Tons of good comments here.

End of the day.... EVERYONE is a human being where a pleasant, dynamic relationship will VERY OFTEN trump the "rules".

Even the people that work at Corp Ford are human beings.

The value of human interaction and relationships in circumstances like this cannot be overstated IMO.

 

[PowerWheels]

Tons of good comments here.

End of the day.... EVERYONE is a human being where a pleasant, dynamic relationship will VERY OFTEN trump the "rules".

Even the people that work at Corp Ford are human beings.

The value of human interaction and relationships in circumstances like this cannot be overstated IMO.

Wait till AI makes all the decisions.

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[Black02GT]

Wait till AI makes all the decisions.

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I don't know I was really good at blowing Nintendo cartridges as a kid...