SVT Enthusiast Mag on "mods and warranties"

[Cobra'03]

The latest issue "clarifies" Ford's position on mods.

In the last issue, they talked about pulleys and such, and obviously the guys in the front office of accounting went nuts when they inferred that it might make Ford "mod-friendly" and therefore more culpable for warranty coverage.

In this issue, they go the route we all know and love: mod all you want, but we reserve the right to deny the claim if the part caused the problem. They mention underdrive pulleys, SC pulleys, Chips (which provide extra torque which can "damage the driveline or transmission"), etc. Real chicken-shitt stuff.

In the same issue, they do some slapping on their own backs about SVTOA track events, including one where Steeda "raffled off goodies" including "Triax". Go figure.

I say byte me, Ford accounting. We all know the game, but I would prefer to have that shiznit not rubbed in my face when I read a magazine purporting to be for car guys. End of rant.

See, I can think outside the confines of lubrication. Who saidf I was shallow.
:kaboom:

 

[jeffsavage]

I am surprised that this is the first thread about this article I have seen. At least for better or worse it really clarifies Ford's position on the matter, all the way to the top of the food chain there. I guess I can see their point of view, but then they market the car as a performance car for enthusiasts, in which they are damn sure end users are going to mod it and drive it fast. I guess to sum it up, it is the mantra alot of people say in the Lightning forum on f150online...

"If you play, you gotta pay". I would say "If you play TOO much, you MIGHT have to pay."

 

[03 DSG Snake]

For some reason, I still expect to get some BS from dealers on mods even with waving that thing in front of em..

 

[jjksutton]

That article sucked ass. It clarified absolutely nothing. It's almost copied straight out of the warranty guide that came with the car.

 

[COBRA90GT]

Originally posted by jjksutton
... It's almost copied straight out of the warranty guide...

Bingo. I read it this past week as well & wasn't surprised one bit by it...


(edit) - I went ahead & snapped up some really crappy (lame 1.3 MegaPixel camera-LOL) digital photos of portions of said article; I'm sure someone else will scan the article in its entirety...

 

[JKD COBRA]

I have not read the article yet, but from what you guys have said, it sounds like Ford is trying to lecture us like we are kids playing with some toys? Phrases like "Warranty awareness?" I think most of us know what is ok and whats not. It doesn't make sense to produce a car like this and then hassle us when we come in with a few mods.

 

[Daffy]

Hmm.

I read it & thought nothing of it. What do we expect Ford to say about mods? All the article says is that if you mod your car, like put on underdrive pulleys & the mods causes a failure like damages the alternator, then the failure may not be covered by warranty, this includes supercharger add-ons, chips & the like.

I know no one expects Ford to say, hey guys, slap on a 2.70 pulley & a diablo, if the engine blows we'll fix it under warranty OK.

If you mod it & your mod causes a failure than you pay to fix it. Maybe I need another beer but that seems fair to me. The risk you run on modding is if you bump up the boost & then say the head gasket goes - was it due to your mod or an assembly flaw .. well, that's where a good vs bad dealer may make the difference - if they can honestly tell or just blow you off.

Now, the dealers trying to get out of working on a problem with your brakes because you have a K&N filter kinda a crap is wrong - just as this article says. Anyone having a prob on warranty work denial due to unrelated mods should take this article to the dealer & smack 'em with it. Could help, may not, I dunno.

Seems much ado about nothing, no news really IMHO.

Dave.

 

[Cobra'03]

I think we all agree that major mods are a bnig deal, and I do not blame Ford at all. So that is clarified.

What I do not like is the open-endedness of it - a chip by itself is unlikely to cause the tranny to fail, but who decides? And I think Ford should have a clear way to mediate, short of having to declare war. Maybe a panel of outside experts to review "appeals" - like binding arbitration. If they say the mods were the likely cause, you accept it and live with it. If not, Ford ponies up (no pun intended).

Or....

Many car companies have performance parts they certify as being warranty friendly. Toyota;s TRD for example - they sell power adder kits for cryin' out loud! Even Sabb has performance parts catalogue. I think that there are many out there who do not mod because of anxiety over their warranty, and would gladly shell out $$ to get a part Ford says is OK.

I say they don't so they can cheese out and blaim everything on the customer. That was I was pizzed off by the article.

I think it clarified a lot - we make rules, got it? But I think they are missing the point, and an opportunity. Ford will not be successful by continuing to find ways to drive customers elsewhere, and doing dumb stuff like thinking that not having a decent 4-dr sedan will be offset by truck sales forever.

 

[mike79]

Off topic question, if you go to the end of that mag, theres a small tid bit of info on something called the supercooler? Can we mount one of these on our cars? I know, its ironic im asking this on a thread about modding ur car.

 

[jjksutton]

Dave...I agree with you. We don't expect Ford to blindly repair issues under warranty if a mod is the culprit, but we already know that. We've known that for a good deal of time. When I read the lead-in to the article I thought we were about to get some straight shooting from Ford, but it delivered nothing new...not even original. This article seems to me as some type of "oh shit, we shouldn't have seemed to endorse pulley swaps" article. Volume 6, Issue 1 outlined that pulley swaps could be a great boon to horsepower, but that warranty issues could result. I think that article said it straight, "...aftermarket pulleys are often cited as prima facie evidence for denying a warranty claim..." Now I don't know what prima facie means, but I think it means "if you swap your pulley, expect to get shit from your dealer." The unfortunate thing for Ford though, is the article seemed to endorse pulley swaps. I believe the point of the follow-up article at the point of this thread was some type of damage control with a little bit of spin to make it look like useful information. The thing is, there's no way to say which mods are good and which aren't. If a mod (even an alarm system or stereo upgrade) causes something to not work, Ford won't fix it. We know that. I guess that's the problem with the "SVT Enthusiast" magazine. A company that's worried about paying warranty claims can't give straight info on mods that are good for dear that info could be used against them.

 

[JKD COBRA]

I think Cobra03 is exactly right. I was thinking the exact same thing. The relationship between Ford and the customer could be so much better if they were more mod friendly, or at least admitted that the only reason to buy this car is to mod it. Ford could also make some money, for example: if they sold mods at the dealership that they were comfortable with putting on the car and still keeping the warranty as long as the dealer put it on. I think that would be great.

 

[03cobrablack]

jjksutton I thought the same thing when I was reading it. I think someone was just trying to cover their a$$. It was just a waste of print space in my opinion.

 

[SVT4ME]

Modd and go, worry about it later

 

[Cobra'03]

Originally posted by jjksutton
Dave...I agree with you. We don't expect Ford to blindly repair issues under warranty if a mod is the culprit, but we already know that. We've known that for a good deal of time. When I read the lead-in to the article I thought we were about to get some straight shooting from Ford, but it delivered nothing new...not even original. This article seems to me as some type of "oh shit, we shouldn't have seemed to endorse pulley swaps" article. Volume 6, Issue 1 outlined that pulley swaps could be a great boon to horsepower, but that warranty issues could result. I think that article said it straight, "...aftermarket pulleys are often cited as prima facie evidence for denying a warranty claim..." Now I don't know what prima facie means, but I think it means "if you swap your pulley, expect to get shit from your dealer." The unfortunate thing for Ford though, is the article seemed to endorse pulley swaps. I believe the point of the follow-up article at the point of this thread was some type of damage control with a little bit of spin to make it look like useful information. The thing is, there's no way to say which mods are good and which aren't. If a mod (even an alarm system or stereo upgrade) causes something to not work, Ford won't fix it. We know that. I guess that's the problem with the "SVT Enthusiast" magazine. A company that's worried about paying warranty claims can't give straight info on mods that are good for dear that info could be used against them.

prima facie is Latin for "on the face of it" - being pre-med had its benefits - it helps to know Latin to write those Rx's:

Sig: Beer 1 qid prn means
"write this: Beer, four times/day as required"

prn means pro re nata (as required). Ever see a bumper that says "Love a nurse PRN"? Always wanted to call one out on that".

 

[jjksutton]

So beer prn = never leave the couch and Cobra prn = never leave the car, ergo (big word for me...I don't really know what that means either but it sounds pretty cool) beer prn and Cobra prn could not coexist!

 

[Daffy]

Man, I could not agree more on the Ford certified mods topic.

Dinan, AMG, TRD, etc, all ex's of warranty friendly mods you can add to your BMW, MB, etc. Does a Dinan CAI & chip cost more for your 740iL than another brand, yup, but when your engine costs $22K it's worth the parts cost increase to know your warranty is sacred.

FRPP packaged mods with warranty coverage, can I getta Hell Yea!

Dave.

And for the guys with bogus warranty denials: Noli nothis permittere te terere

 

[BALDSNAKE]

Ford relishes it when you dudes go to the tracs, 1/4 mile and open, and kick some GMC and Dodge ass. They pat us on the backs, encourage us, and even attend in person and share the glory. But, have an internal problem and they see a K&N on the car ....kiss your warranty bye bye. I've been in the automotive business for over 40 years and I am an SAE member. Trust me...they could, if they wanted to, increase the sales price as little as $500 per unit and with a larger warranty reserve they could cover their public persona by standing by their no. I fans, you and me....the ones who press the envelope and enjoy the chit out of our Fords. Otherwise they are what they are ...corporate weenies!

 

[POINTCOVER]

Originally posted by jjksutton
That article sucked ass. It clarified absolutely nothing. It's almost copied straight out of the warranty guide that came with the car.

Well said.....I agree 100%

 

[mswaim]

Toyota TRD may sell power adders, but they routinely void warranties when there are problems. Check any of the forums out there, this is a universal problem for them all.

But I must say, I find it really gutsy for Ford SVT to sell ad space in the same magazine to companies such as Vortech, Steeda, Paxton, etc.

 

[Blue03]

I just got my issue and read this article too. I understand the whole warranty thing but I just seen a Kenny Brown Cobra advertising 475HP and 475 lbs/ft torque available for purchase at participating dealers.........and..............it has a warranty! Looking at those numbers they are typical of exhaust, pulley and throttle body mods plus ECM recal. Aren't these the typical mods made?? My point; as someone earlier stated why doesn't Ford offer packages(Stage 1 - cat back exhaust, Stage 2 - exhaust and CAI, etc). Even as a bean counter you can see there is money to be made and if the dealer installs it then there should be no warranty questions. If you are marketing this car as an enthusiast's car why not provide these types of options?? I know Dodge is coming out with Stage packages for the SRT-4(I don't think those are warranty friendly but at least a step in thr right direction). The Kenny Brown car even lists the mods and it looks like they pulled it right of any number of signatures on this forum. I think the car should be built right from the start with these types of options in mind.