Warranty denial- HEADS UP

[broncorik]

Pretty much all of these points are addressed earlier in the thread. I’ll let you go read them there. Sometimes things fail due to modifications. Sometimes things fail because they are defective. The two can be easily conflated, particularly when it’s to the dealer’s advantage. Good luck.

Mine is stock so fingers crossed if a CV (or my engine or anything else) lets go Ford will (hopefully) warranty it. Good luck to you and anyone else with any mods and may the dealers that you encounter rule in your favor.

Sponsored

 

[broncobase1]

I wanted to let everyone know what my dealership experience was like at my local Ford dealership.

At 5500k miles I noticed grease on my driver side LCA during an oil change.

I quickly realized it was CV boot grease. I brought the bronco into the dealership at that time. They confirmed that this was the case and they said that it was a known issue that occasionally the heat press process used to bind the rubber boot to the shaft can fail. The technician said he “he knew what it was as soon as he saw it”.

They take pics and send them to the person that makes these decisions because their service manager is not in that day. This other person looks at the pics, approves the CV replacement under warranty and away we go. Parts ordered and arrived. Repair day arrives.

I’m told after the fact that the service manager was annoyed because he would not have approved it if he wa at here because of my spacers and 37s.

Note- my CVs are have perfect geometry. This should have been a clearly warrantied repair.

For funsies, I go to pick it up and as I’m pulling away I here the steering linkage clunking. Nope. Back right up to the service bay and shut her down again.

It was the tie rod nut. Clearly it was not tightened or torqued correctly. The tech had match marked it like it was a wrap but the nut was loose by 4 THREADS on the bolt relative to the opposing side (visually easy to compare).

Nope tech insists he did his job and that this is because of a single use nut failure. I am now waiting for 4 more days while they fly in a nut from out of state.

Great.

So I came out on top but just be aware.

With these kind of mods you can not expect to get warrantee service on parts affected by the mods. You can say the geometry is the same ETC, it doesn't matter.

 

[NJNMDoc]

With these kind of mods you can not expect to get warrantee service on parts affected by the mods. You can say the geometry is the same ETC, it doesn't matter.

Agreed. My point is that if there’s a manufactured defect in a part and it fails you may get denied.

I was just trying to bring attention to it.

It doesn’t mean it’s right, or actually causal, but it’s just something that we all need to be aware of if we mod our broncos. In many cases (not all) the dealer will look to find a reason not to cover it if possible.

 

[BadlandsA51]

Changing tire size has absolutely no effect on CV joint boots. Warranty will NOT be denied by Ford for modifications unless there is a solid cause/effect established between the modifications and the failed part. And Ford will normally give the benefit of the doubt to the customer. If the truck had been lifted, different story. The increased angle of the half shaft’s would affect the boots, but even then, if the boots are a known issue, Ford would probably make the repairs.

I know this from experience handling many, many situations like this in my career at Ford. Now, what a dealer employee spouts off can be, and often is, completely different, and they are more likely to spout something like this off if they are not your selling dealer. They don’t want to get left holding the bag for a visiting owner if the claim were to be denied

Ford is not going to lose a customer over something like a CV boot.

 

[7sKnuckledragger]

Yeah, but lift “properly” and you don’t have any issues. Also, lifting doesn’t necessarily mean bigger and heavier tires.

I know there are a million and one opinions on this, but it’s an old discussion point in off-road vehicles versus the cost to “properly” lift a vehicle.

Spacers are often a no no when wheeling; this also goes for Wranglers and Tacos, etc.

Lifting an IFS can get pricey, fast and for most guys with a Bronco, that’s a new concept. Lifting Wranglers is much easier and cheaper, but even they can have issues depending on which parts or mix of parts are used and the type of off-roading you’ll ask the vehicle to tackle.

For a Bronco not on HOSS 3.0, going to 37s really means an updated rack which is expensive as all hell, and suspension upgrades to keep geometry in balance. Again, expensive, but most of us want to do these things to achieve certain ”looks”. Whether or not we need these lifts is up for debate.

Can’t expect a dealership to eat money on some quick mods that we screw up or hammer too hard on.

Pretty soon, some of these engine tunes are going to cause some heartache as well and the whining there will hit record heights.

Sorry to pour water on the ambitions, but careful quality is what we’re going to need to focus on and the $$ will continue to piss guys off.

Everyone wants 37’s+ until the bill comes to properly outfit tires of that size.

 

[omi205]

Im considering adding a slight lift to my sas badlands. Something like a perch lift or 1.5-2" spacer. Nothing serious. But stories like this have me worried. Considering I have the extended warranty to 100k miles. Kind of locks you, as the customer, into not making any mechanical upgrades. Am I correct in thinking that or am I over thinking it?

 

[cbrenthus]

They can not legally not honor their warranty just because of that. They must have evidence that the CV angle is outside of specifications. There are numerous ways to mount larger tires and maintain CV angles.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ffs-lets-all-stop-referencing-the-magnussen-moss-act.609911/

 

[Butzy]

Kinda makes you wonder what some service managers are thinking. Does corporate need to know the vehicle is modified? Do they get something from denying a claim? Is it just a power trip? I know the profit margin is tighter on warranty claims but is that worth the cost of customer satisfaction?

 

[BadlandsA51]

Im considering adding a slight lift to my sas badlands. Something like a perch lift or 1.5-2" spacer. Nothing serious. But stories like this have me worried. Considering I have the extended warranty to 100k miles. Kind of locks you, as the customer, into not making any mechanical upgrades. Am I correct in thinking that or am I over thinking it?

If the modification is the cause of the failure then the warranty claim would likely be denied, as it should be. The manufacturer can’t be expected to cover damage caused by modifications, they didn’t sell it that way, they didn’t engineer it that way.

The example I saw frequently was customers who tuned their Ford diesels to put out 30 to 40% more power than stock and expected warranty coverage if cracked or melted pistons. They thought the engine “should be able to handle the extra power “ or “the seller of the tune said it wouldn’t hurt the engine and wouldn’t void the warranty “. The answe that the customer got from me was to call the tune manufacturer and see if they wanted to replace the engine that their tune wouldn’t damage.

But if they were tuned and their power window didn’t work, no problem. Warranty would cover the window.

 

[omi205]

If the modification is the cause of the failure then the warranty claim would likely be denied, as it should be. The manufacturer can’t be expected to cover damage caused by modifications, they didn’t sell it that way, they didn’t engineer it that way.

The example I saw frequently was customers who tuned their Ford diesels to put out 30 to 40% more power than stock and expected warranty coverage if cracked or melted pistons. They thought the engine “should be able to handle the extra power “ or “the seller of the tune said it wouldn’t hurt the engine and wouldn’t void the warranty “. The answe that the customer got from me was to call the tune manufacturer and see if they wanted to replace the engine that their tune wouldn’t damage.

But if they were tuned and their power window didn’t work, no problem. Warranty would cover the window.

Thats understandable. And I would not expect that from any dealer/manufacturer. But I am speaking more about the lift and/or tire size increase modifications. Just like the example in this post. The dealer/ford are claiming that the CV issues are from the larger 37" tires which are not stock sas tires (35"). So that now tells me, as someone who is considering going 37", that I am going to (likely) void my manufacture and extended warranty. I guess I could upgrade and stay 35" but a different tire. I wonder if you have to always keep the same stock sas 35"s to stay in warranty?

 

[BadlandsA51]

Thats understandable. And I would not expect that from any dealer/manufacturer. But I am speaking more about the lift and/or tire size increase modifications. Just like the example in this post. The dealer/ford are claiming that the CV issues are from the larger 37" tires which are not stock sas tires (35"). So that now tells me, as someone who is considering going 37", that I am going to (likely) void my manufacture and extended warranty. I guess I could upgrade and stay 35" but a different tire. I wonder if you have to always keep the same stock sas 35"s to stay in warranty?

Just going to 37” tires won’t affect anything other than speedometer accuracy, as long as you stay with stock offset wheels. Ford won’t void your warranty or extended warranty for that. The dealer may give you some trouble if they aren’t your selling dealer, but if they do, you can contact Ford Customer Service and get it straightened out. It’s ALWAYS best to buy from the dealer you intend to use for service, they will be much more accommodating with warranty work. Buying from a dealer hours away to save a few hundred dollars often is not a good deal, especially when you need warranty work. A non-selling dealer often won’t be willing to do a warranty repair if there is any chance the claim will be disputed by the manufacturer, they will be more willing if they sold the car. Warranty work is not as profitable as retail repair work, and they would rather be doing retail work anyway.

The lift can affect CV joints, U-joints, ride and handling. Warranty coverage might be in question if you have trouble with any of those things, but it may not, depending on how service department handles the situation.

 

[Cysquatch]

Not true. There are tolerances.

I'm on Kings w/37s with the fronts on the lowest setting (2" above SAS). The CV angles are TERRIBLE. Already overextended the driver side and didn't even try to warranty it. Bought the Ford Performance OEM shaft kit and replaced the driver side. Now I have a spare passenger CV. I would love to upgrade to the spicer or rcvs but a diff drop or limit strap scenario is way more affordable.

 

[Cysquatch]

Thats understandable. And I would not expect that from any dealer/manufacturer. But I am speaking more about the lift and/or tire size increase modifications. Just like the example in this post. The dealer/ford are claiming that the CV issues are from the larger 37" tires which are not stock sas tires (35"). So that now tells me, as someone who is considering going 37", that I am going to (likely) void my manufacture and extended warranty. I guess I could upgrade and stay 35" but a different tire. I wonder if you have to always keep the same stock sas 35"s to stay in warranty?

I still have my stock 35s. I definitely considered throwing them back on for warranty purposes. My guess is that they would blame the King coilovers so didn't bother.

 

[akturbo]

What is the obsession with 37s on a Bronco? We know what's defective on the Bronco so don't be shocked when warranty denies parts that we already know suck. Just replace with upgraded aftermarket parts or go back to stock.

 

[Cysquatch]

Sorry, missed it. Not saying warranty shouldn't apply, but it's a good skill to have. Boots get torn easy

A Bronco CV axle is way easier to replace than the CV boot (if you can find boots).

Sponsored