This is what our ear car builder had to say in response to modifications
made to out wild horses:
Thank you for contacting the Ford Motor Company Customer Relationship Center regarding aftermarket modifications.
All alterations or modifications to Ford Motor Company vehicles must be done in compliance with all applicable State and Federal statutes and regulations. The installation or use of any non-Ford product will not necessarily void the New Vehicle Limited Warranty. However, if the non-Ford product fails or causes a Ford part to fail, the cost of the repair and any related damage are not covered by warranty. The vehicle owner would need to look to the manufacturer or installer of the non-Ford product for repairs. Therefore, Ford Motor Company does not recommend modifications to your vehicle.
Furthermore, feedback from valued customers like you enable us to know what our customer needs are. We hope to use this information to improve our services and to enhance the loyalty of our customers.
If you have any other inquiries, please feel free to contact us and we will be happy to address them for you.
Sincerely,
Louie
Customer Relationship Center
Ford Motor Company
The installation or use of any non-Ford product will not necessarily void the New Vehicle Limited Warranty. However, if the non-Ford product fails or causes a Ford part to fail, the cost of the repair and any related damage are not covered by warranty.
In light of the fact that Ford Motor Co. is currently drowning in red ink, you can be sure that any installed aftermarket parts will be blamed for the failure of stock Ford parts, even if they're only remotely related.
Did you expect them to announce that they intended to violate the warranty act?
To be fair, I am at least ever so slightly sympathetic to Ford's point on this given that we happily tear into our cars...
That said, there are dealers who are reasonable about it and will happily ignore your cold air kit when working on the parking brake and then there are those that will not...
And back to the other side - they know darn well who they are selling these cars to, so roasting tires in commercials and then accusing owners of "abuse" when they do the same is not quite right either...
As for Ford's "stated" policy - this is a little like "document retention policies" - they don't have to say "shred everything and run" - all they have to say is "we are limiting your file alotment to 4k bytes - we suggest you keep what is most important to you... "
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'06 GT Vert - Saleen S/C
'05 GT Coupe - Under Construction - currently etching an "11" on the dial
'85 GT T-Top 351W N/A
If you have the money yeah do it. however, people like myself do not
work on our own cars,don't have the money to do so and
need that cushion of the warranty to pay for some repairs.
I would love to "just do it" One day....
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Getting ready to love life again! Dreams do come true! __________________________________________________ 2006 Mustang GT
Also, they released drawings and such to aftermarket companies before the 197 even hit the streets. Rememeber the SEMA shows of the past few years? So Ford knew all this aftermarket stuff would happen, and in my view, encouraged it. It seems to me that Ford should have tested the aftermarket parts with the companies they released the info to before it was tested in the real world on our cars.
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05 GT Premium, Blood Red Metallic, Shaker 500, IUP, My Color.....
70 GTO Conv. Red, Black interior, 400, Auto, Air, PS, PB
How many aftermarke companys did Ford do "engineering data sharing". I think one of the things everyone would like to see is a consistent dealer attitude to mods. There would be a better rapore with the customer.
That was a nice DANCE around the question.
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07 REDFIRE GT 5 SPEED 3.55 gears
C&L Racer CAI XCAL2/Seq signals/GTAs/Steeda UDP/CHE K Member Brace W/Torq Links/J&M LCA/Spider DS/PRO.50 Shifter Hurst handle & "T"/Meziere EO2/ARH LT catted H /Prothane MM/Delet Plates/SLP BOSS 429 Scoop/Accel COP/PowerSlot/Hawk Pads/Tokico D-Spec/CHE Panhard Bar Brace/Steeda Adj. Panhard Bar/BMR F/R Sway Bars/Cervini ducktail spoiler/BMR UCA Mount/CHE UCA/GT\CS Rear Cover/AMChrome Bullets 18x9/10s/Nitto 255/45&295/45
Tillman Dyno Tune 307HP/322TQ
My first dealer, where I bought the car quoted a list with pretty much everything up to but excluding forced induction and N20 beeing 'approved' mods. Anything that fails with a DIRECT association to the mod "you're on your own, BUT, I won't report it to Ford so better luck at the next dealer".
Second place won't touch a modded car under warranty... cpy policy they said...
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KJ, poorer but happier
Thanks to: Modular Depot Fox Lake Racing Tunable Induction Power House 411 Sun Coast Creations
I think Ford's response makes total sense. Why should any company be held liable for someones else's work? If you overclock your Pentium and it burns up should Intel be obligated to give you a new one free?
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2009 GT500, Vista blue w/ white stripes, C&L intake,VMP tune, Corsa exhaust, Griggs Racing ST suspension, Saleen Heritage wheels
My plan is to not do anything major until the Mustang is paid off and out of warranty anyway.
Then, I can buy a beater (Focus), and put the money that was going into the payment into mods. The Mustang will be a pleasure only ride, the beater will be my daily driver.
Then, if the Mustang does break due to a mod, I still have the Focus to drive until I fix the issue with the Mustang.
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I Hate GM, deal with it.
One shot, One Kill! Don't waste ammo, it's pricey!
2005 GT Screaming Yellow: SLP Loudmouths
Ibanez guitars, S&W revolvers, Glock Semi's
Republican write in Presidential Candidate 2012
Actually it's not even that, it's just a paraphrased version of your rights under the warranty act passed by congress years ago. It's pretty much all that can be said by Ford for legal reasons.
If, for example, they told you to go ahead and modify your exhaust however you liked, and the mufflers you chose caused an unforseen complication such as an O2 sensor failure, then they'd be liable for that failure. However, if your exhaust mods caused that failure, and they gave you the scripted response above, they'd be able to legally deny your claim because it'd be your fault. It's a simple stop-waste measure that they're using to protect themselves. Ford knows as well as the rest of us that reputable performance parts companies in general sell quality parts that they themselves have tested extensively (sometimes even with Ford's approval and/or assistance) but they also know that newer companies with fewer resources that are trying to make a name for themselves quickly may cut corners, either on purpose or due to a lack of R&D and cause unforseen issues with their parts.
Granted, some dealerships and the maufacturers themselves sometimes abuse this (such as the time a customer of mine had a warranty claim on his valve cover gaskets denied because they found a K&N air filter (a stock-replacement air filter, mind you) under hood at the dealership he took his car to.) Taking it to another dealership solved his problem, and the first dealership ended up having to send him an apology after he complained to the manufacturer of the car.
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1976 Ford Mustang II Ghia: 302 with a 600cfm Edelbrock carb, Edelbrock Performer 289 intake, Dynomax Blackjack headers, 2.5" exhaust with Flowmaster Super 44s. RJS 11-gallon fuel cell, C4 tranny, chrome 16" pony wheels, fuzzy dice, brown vinyl half-top, and painted in the tackiest color ever (harvest gold, that's why I call it "The Goldenrod").
Also have a 2003 Dodge Ram (lightly modded daily driver/tow rig/office/dining room/home away from home/workshop... I call it "The Big Blue Dawg".)
I've seen so many threads on warranty issues, but one thing that is not being said here....
Generally speaking, if you buy your own Ford Racing parts and have them installed by anybody other than a Ford dealer, a Ford dealer will not warranty the parts or installation. If you go onto the Ford Racing website, they specifically state that parts they sell are NOT covered by Ford (except certain crate engines). Ford Racing parts are produced under a Ford license, but are not Ford parts.
But, Ford will cover genuine Ford Racing parts sold and installed by certain certified and approved Ford dealers performing these installations. The warranty has to be explicitly written on the work order and/or receipt that the parts and labor are covered under the Ford factory warranty. Other than this, there's nothing else new in that letter from Ford.
Ford has intellectual property agreements with most large aftermarket companies including Roush, Saleen, Shelby Autos, and Steeda. Roush even provided design and engineering services to Ford under contract in the development of the 05 mustang.
Regardless of Fords contractural relationship with these aftermarket companies, if the aftermarket parts we put on our cars are not manufactured by Ford nor installed by an authorized Ford dealer, why should we expect them to warranty those parts and installations??? We just need any reputable Ford dealer NOT to try and blame a faulty parking break that should be covered under warranty on an aftermarket CAI (using the previously mentioned example).... common sense baby.... common sense.... that's all we can ask for.
Ford's answer to warranty question 
