[Fett]

A lesson learned: A tale of warranty denial.

Not sure if this will be helpful...or just funny.

People around here ask this all the time, "will ______ void my warranty?" Well, here is a fine example of what can void your warranty.

Customer brings 01 Ranger in today, headlights not working, other electrical issues. Truck is still under 3/36. Well, first thing the tech sees is an aftermarket headunit, and decides to check there first. Removes headunit from dash, and takes a look at the fried wire harness. Knowing that there is still something else amiss, for a bad headunit will not cause you to have no headlights.....he continues pulling the dash apart. Well, he gets to the headlight switch and dimmer switch, only to see that the harness leading to those switches is also fried. After he removes most of the dash, he sees the whole picture...the entire dash harness is fried, in many spots. So he examines the radio harness closely.

Whom ever installed the radio, decided to use the "cut and splice" installation method. Well, there were some straglers peeking out through the electrical tape splices, and that is what caused the burn out.

Warranty claim OBVIOUSLY denied, it becomes a customer pay issue....including the two hours for diag. Total cost of the repair $5000!! Dash harness, labor for install, labor for diag...totalling around $5000.

Customer has not decided what he/she wants to do...and is VERY upset that it is not covered under his/her 3/36 warranty. But that is what you get when you decide to have a friend do a crappy install of a headunit. Imagine, a correct harness to install said headunit is roughly $10....and that would have saved him/her $5000.

Lesson learned. If you want to modify your car, do it correctly. Do not cut corners....and make sure you can undo anything you did.

 

[Bexcat]

RE:A lesson learned: A tale of warranty denial.

Ha ha dumbazz

 

[Knibbs]

RE:A lesson learned: A tale of warranty denial.

this is a great story and point fett im going to sticky this and keep ontop.. i think this should also be posted in the "how-to" forum.

 

[Fett]

RE: A lesson learned: A tale of warranty denial. Something to consider before modding!!!!!!

Quick postscript to this story.

Customer decided to not have the repair done, and take the truck. He/she paid two hours labor for diag, and went on his/her way. Service writer had story written explaining problem, so if he/she takes the truck down the street to the next dealer, it SHOULD show up on an OASIS. Not that they would need it, even if they reinstall the OEM radio, the harness is still hacked to hell.

They are making another bad decision, because unless they have it repaired at a Ford dealer, with OEM parts....their entire electrical system is now void from 3/36 warranty. Even if thsy start blowing out rear bulbs due to a short, it will most likely be due to this original problem.

It's unfortunate, and a hard lesson to learn. Hopefully it will save others in the future.

 

[JScullin]

RE: A lesson learned: A tale of warranty denial. Something to consider before modding!!!!!!

::Runs out to Tweeter to buy wiring harness::

 

[CougarRida]

RE: A lesson learned: A tale of warranty denial. Something to consider before modding!!!!!!

Hey guys I hope someone can give some insight on this since im currently going through some warranty issues. I want to get in warrantied because the problem I have will run me almost $1000 according to FORD. I got a CEL because of Catalytic below threshold effiency bank 2 if i remember correctly. I got it diagnosed at FORD and they were gonna warranty it under the 8 year 80,000 mile warranty but when they found out I have a CAT BACK exhaust thats WELDED on they said they cannot warranty. I know my rights and things about how they cannot void warranty simply because my cat back is welded on,unless they can prove to me thats what caused the bad Cat in bank2 etc. They said if my exhaust was flanged on than they could work on it. I know I can go back to my muffler shop and have them put a flange on. Im sure after that I can go back to the dealership and have them warranty the problem which would cost me $940 they say. Would this situation of mine work? I dont see why not since they wont have to cut my exhaust no more because of the flange and because i highly doubt my exhaust is what caused the problem. Any help is greatly appreciated, Thank You 12

 

[tropiccougar01]

RE:A lesson learned: A tale of warranty denial. Something to consider before modding!!!!!!

Show them a copy of the Magnasson-Moss Act and tell them to prove thats what caused it.

 

[Fett]

RE:A lesson learned: A tale of warranty denial. Something to consider before modding!!!!!!

Originally posted by: tropiccougar01
Show them a copy of the Magnasson-Moss Act and tell them to prove thats what caused it.

You don't have to show them the act, it is usually printed on the back of the repair order.

Actually that act just backs up the dealers claim, the failed system in question is modified. Contrary to popular belief, no "proof" is required to void a warranty. If the system failed, in this case his exhaust, and said system is modified, then it is reasonable to believe that the modification had something to do with the system failure.

A few weeks ago we had an '02 Cobra in with a bad cat, and catback, so the warranty issue was denied. Customer complained, Ford sent a rep out, warranty claim still denied. Altering the exhaust system very well could have caused the cat failure, thus warranty on that issue was voided.

I don't know what welding the cat back on would have to do with anything, especially if it's an exhaust manifold (first cat) issue, because the manifold can still be unbolted from the head and the y-pipe. But if you explain that you are a regular customer, dealerships will do anything for regular customers, and you tell them that you want a dealership that you can trust to use for all future warranty and cp (customer pay) repairs. If they know they will be getting your business in the future, they might be willing to help you out.

Good luck, it could be a tough fight.

 

[NorCalCoug]

RE: A lesson learned: A tale of warranty denial. Something to consider before modding!!!!!!

In this case, the failed system comes before the modified system, however. There's no way or reason why a cat-back exhaust would affect the cat, as the exhaust flows through the catalytic converter before the catback exhaust. :shrug: There's no logical reason why that warranty claim should be denied. None whatsoever. :shrug:

 

[mcon99]

RE:A lesson learned: A tale of warranty denial. Something to consider before modding!!!!!!

Originally posted by: NorCalCoug
In this case, the failed system comes before the modified system, however. There's no way or reason why a cat-back exhaust would affect the cat, as the exhaust flows through the catalytic converter before the catback exhaust. :shrug: There's no logical reason why that warranty claim should be denied. None whatsoever. :shrug:

100% agree.

now if the car had some kind of a/f tuning that you could see (chip, apexi, greddy, etc.) then that could cause a cat failure through running too rich and clogging it up

 

[Fett]

RE:A lesson learned: A tale of warranty denial. Something to consider before modding!!!!!!

Coming from the point of view of someone who enjoys modified cars, I also agree. However, Ford does not. Now if you find a dealership that doesn't care and just wants the work, they will just do the repair. But the dealership has the right to deny the repair, and Ford will back them....using the MM act as their defense.

I'm just giving you the facts, I personally would rather see a repair done under warranty than not have it done at all....I only make money on parts sold. The cat on the Cobra was something like $1500, so I was pissed when the repair was denied, because the customer didn't want to pay the money. So now I have a $1500 cat sitting in my wharehouse, and I made $0.

 

[CougarRida]

RE: A lesson learned: A tale of warranty denial. Something to consider before modding!!!!!!

I am so happy right now!!! My dad and I just got back from the Ford dealership and argued are point about the whole situation. Than the guy who was outside brought my dad and I to the managers office to explain are situation. Well after a while of waiting and the manager talking to the techs etc they are going to warranty the job!!! Its funny how when we mentioned the Magnusson Moss Warranty act they decided to take steps on how to resolve the situation. I did not know anything about this act untill some great helpful NECO members told me about it. I appreciate the help NECO and Thank You Very much!

 

[ignernt]

RE:A lesson learned: A tale of warranty denial. Something to consider before modding!!!!!!

Damn... $1500 for a cat? Looks like i may want to rethink my wish to own a Cobra. :ugh:


As a sidenote, my dealer is actually very cool about my mods. When i was having tranny issues a few months back and thought they'd have to fix it, i told them about the mods i had and they said as long as i didn't have a chip it'd be alright. Then when i swung past there when i was taking a break from a car show, the sales manager came out to look at it. Looked at all the mods and one person asked about the UIM and the sales manager was like, "That's a SVT... probably from a Contour... you didn't tell me about that one Donny," saying it with a smirk and laughing. It's always a bonus to have a dealer that likes you.

 

[Fett]

RE: A lesson learned: A tale of warranty denial. Something to consider before modding!!!!!!

Yea, like I have always said, most techs are into cars themselvs. So they understand what it is like to modify a car, they can completly understand. Unfortunatly, we own cars that most techs HATE to work on, and if they can get out of a warranty job, they will.

I am glad to see this situation worked out, but I am sure it had more to do with a slow dealership and a desire to make/keep customers...then it did with the MM act. Again, that can help you in most situations..but it can also hurt us when it comes to warranty work on a modified system.

 

[arskiracer]

RE: A lesson learned: A tale of warranty denial. Something to consider before modding!!!!!!

You could always gut the pre-cats and throw in MIL eliminators.

If a $1500 main cat went out why not just throw in an $80 aftermarket high flow cat? That's what I did when I found out that our stock main cat was going to cost $1000.

 

[dv6cougar]

RE:A lesson learned: A tale of warranty denial. Something to consider before modding!!!!!!

Originally posted by: NorCalCoug
In this case, the failed system comes before the modified system, however. There's no way or reason why a cat-back exhaust would affect the cat, as the exhaust flows through the catalytic converter before the catback exhaust. :shrug: There's no logical reason why that warranty claim should be denied. None whatsoever. :shrug:

yeah, I got my catalytic replaced at Car-Max through Ford's warranty at 79,500 miles and I had a cat back.

 

[99CouGSweetRide]

RE:A lesson learned: A tale of warranty denial. Something to consider before modding!!!!!!

If I was that guy I'd take that car as far away from Ford as possible, and have it done by somebody else. The truck is an '01, the warranty must be almost finished or up by now for the electrical system, so it's pointless to pay that much for Ford parts and labor.

Mike