General Question - Voiding Warranty With Aftermarket Parts / Mods?

[AcesandEights]

Got a question for people waiting to modify their vehicle. Why wait?

I keep seeing posts from people saying they won't … because they don't want to void their warranty, so they'll wait until year four or five. Again, why wait? What's the point of driving around in a vehicle that you don't get everything out of that you want? If you want something aftermarket, don't you really want that aftermarket thing and not the stock thing? So, why not replace the stock thing as soon as you can? Why would you want the dealer to replace a warranty item with the same stock part anyway? Isn't going aftermarket what you ultimately want? If your … fails, why wouldn't you just replace it with the aftermarket part you wanted on day one? So, why not just "upgrade" to the aftermarket part up front?

Seems like a waste to drive around for three or five years because you don't want to void the warranty on a part you don't want, that you're going to replace as soon as possible anyway. If a stock part fails, seems like a great opportunity to replace it with something better, something aftermarket. Even better than that is replacing that stock part you don't want anyway with an aftermarket part you do want.

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[Deleted member 13702]

Probably not popular, but will be able to mod the crap out of it direct from Ford. They will offer lift kits, wheel upgrade and quite a few other parts that will all be covered under the warranty if installed by the dealer.

Understandably not the best option for people that like to work on their vehicles themselves. But, for those that don’t want to wait

 

[HotdogThud]

That and it's illegal for a manufacturer to void your warranty on the vehicle for simply modifying it in small ways. (Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act)

Just because I put an aftermarket bumper on my truck doesn't mean ford gets to void the warranty, it simply excludes them from having to deal with the implied warranty of that item, which would then fall to the aftermarket manufacturer. Part of why when push comes to shove and I get a tune on my 2.3L, I'll get one that's blessed by Ford Performance, just to remove any ability for a dealer to try to claim something isn't 'OEM'.

*edit* and in my experience in dealing with this s**t with both VW/Audi and BMW, the manufacturers seems to care very little, it's the dealers being opportunistic and trying to get that extra revenue stream of making a customer pay for something out of warranty

 

[Apples]

That and it's illegal for a manufacturer to void your warranty on the vehicle for simply modifying it in small ways. (Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act)

Just because I put an aftermarket bumper on my truck doesn't mean ford gets to void the warranty, it simply excludes them from having to deal with the implied warranty of that item, which would then fall to the aftermarket manufacturer. Part of why when push comes to shove and I get a tune on my 2.3L, I'll get one that's blessed by Ford Performance, just to remove any ability for a dealer to try to claim something isn't 'OEM'.

*edit* and in my experience in dealing with this s**t with both VW/Audi and BMW, the manufacturers seems to care very little, it's the dealers being opportunistic and trying to get that extra revenue stream of making a customer pay for something out of warranty

Agreed. It's not all or nothing, though some dealers may try to pull that crap on you. If you add aftermarket suspension, that doesn't mean they get to void your drivetrain warranty. They could refuse to fix, say, a control arm issue though with "altered suspension geometry" as a valid reason to do so.

 

[flip]

If a modification causes a covered part to fail it's non-warrantable. Don't everyone Moss-Magnuson Act me all at once. Is a push bumper going to cause u-joints to go out? Probably not. Trying to climb a rock outcropping and an axle snaps? Judgement call by the service manager and tech. Obvious alteration/abuse/neglect leading to something failing, especially high dollar, you bet it's going to be denied.

Not sure how picky Ford is going to be with Bronco warranty. Let's face it, they are marketing this thing to do "off road" stuff. Unless they specify warranty limitations in the owner's manual or direct us to deviate from how we handle warranty currently, just assume if you break it doing non-on road stuff, it's coming out of your pocket. They have gotten so dumb with warranty in the last few years they will kick an entire engine claim for not using a surface prep towelette.

Most "lifetime" or other warranties probably won't cover off-road abuse either. If you are getting or buying one you better read the coverage or exclusions from top to bottom. Nothing worse than having an inspector come in and not only deny the claim but they will void the warranty completely. YMMV.

 

[2Jeeps&PatriotX1]

Because some people are uneducated in the area of modifying new vehicles.

ive had a 6” (non-Ford) suspension lift, 35” Mt tires and new wheels on my truck for its first 50k miles of life. Had zero issues getting any parts outside of those I installed warrantied by Ford. They didnt come back and tell me they couldnt warranty the hub because of my heavy tires & wheels.

ive modified every vehicle the moment it left the lot with at least larger tires/wheels. When I take a vehicle (jeep & ford) in for service, I return the vehicle’s software to its original state so no issues there.

 

[HotdogThud]

Agreed. It's not all or nothing, though some dealers may try to pull that crap on you. If you add aftermarket suspension, that doesn't mean they get to void your drivetrain warranty. They could refuse to fix, say, a control arm issue though with "altered suspension geometry" as a valid reason to do so.

And to be honest, I like to think that I'm reasonable enough that if I put something like heavily altered suspension on there and it jacks up a directly related system, that it shouldn't get replaced for free. Part of doing ones homework when modifying your vehicle.

My issues start when my local bmw dealer tries to void the warranty on my entire new vehicle, because I coded the car to blink 4x for a lane change instead of 3. (Really happened)

 

[rapidredbronco2021]

Aren't Ford Performance parts covered under warranty? If so I'd probably do mods from their catalog.

 

[Paul Gagnon]

They have to be able to prove that the modifications you did caused the failure in order to deny your warranty.

 

[Toccoa]

I say do what you want.

That said, you might want to think about the “new vehicle” problem. There will be something in a year or two that needs to be recalled and replaced, because the part can’t handle normal wear and tear. However, if you wear that part out early before everyone else by adding stress to it from mods that made it wear out faster, don’t be surprised if it’s not covered or you have to work really hard to get it covered.

 

[Apples]

Aren't Ford Performance parts covered under warranty? If so I'd probably do mods from their catalog.

You can do that. You're just greatly limiting your options and paying a premium for that warranty coverage.

That being said, there are things I'm going to specifically go Ford for because of the warranty. The engine tune for one.

 

[AcesandEights]

Aftermarket parts are warrantied too.

I appreciate the responses. I've just always wondered "why" when I read posts about waiting. Just seemed odd to me.

I agree with the previous poster too about not getting bent out of shape if something isn't covered, legitimately. If I put a lift on and my trackbar bushing wears prematurely because of the angle I'm putting it at (as an example), then that's on me. I'm not going to get upset that Ford doesn't cover something that I know going in was probably related to my modification.

 

[Apples]

Aftermarket parts are warrantied too.

I appreciate the responses. I've just always wondered "why" when I read posts about waiting. Just seemed odd to me.

I agree with the previous poster too about not getting bent out of shape if something isn't covered, legitimately. If I put a lift on and my trackbar bushing wears prematurely because of the angle I'm putting it at (as an example), then that's on me. I'm not going to get upset that Ford doesn't cover something that I know going in was probably related to my modification.

Aftermarket parts will will warranty product defects. Good luck getting them to pay out for ancillary damage caused by adding those products to your vehicle. And to your point, a bit of common sense goes a long way. If you modify your vehicle you're transferring a level of responsibility for repair work to yourself.

 

[pan-y-cerveza]

That and it's illegal for a manufacturer to void your warranty on the vehicle for simply modifying it in small ways. (Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act)

Just because I put an aftermarket bumper on my truck doesn't mean ford gets to void the warranty, it simply excludes them from having to deal with the implied warranty of that item, which would then fall to the aftermarket manufacturer. Part of why when push comes to shove and I get a tune on my 2.3L, I'll get one that's blessed by Ford Performance, just to remove any ability for a dealer to try to claim something isn't 'OEM'.

*edit* and in my experience in dealing with this s**t with both VW/Audi and BMW, the manufacturers seems to care very little, it's the dealers being opportunistic and trying to get that extra revenue stream of making a customer pay for something out of warranty

It's not always as simple as them denying a warranty claim and you just telling them there's an act to cover it. It can be a battle. I'd, for the most part, try to eliminate the potential for this battle while under warranty. An OEM tune shouldn't cause much issue. Some other unaffiliated tune could be a headache.

All depends on how much you care about this or not.

I'll keep most mods reasonable while in warranty. I usually like to upgrade when something breaks anyway as opposed to modding something that works fine.

The Bronco will be easier to get with the features you want than most new vehicles. It's not unreasonable to think that some will get it close to what they want from day one.

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