jimkr

This spring, I purchased a used, Ford Certified 2010 GT. I also purchased the extended Ford warranty. Over the past few months, I have added a CAI, headers, and xpipe, along with Bama tunes. With all of the questions on the forums regarding a voided warranty for cars with mods, I had some thoughts about what should and should not be covered. Of course, I wouldn't expect Ford to cover the parts that I have added/replaced, however here's an interesting scenario. My car has the 5R55s automatic transmission. This particular trans. has a well documented history of failures, solenoid/servo issues mostly. If my trans were to fail with one of these issues, would/should Ford cover the repair? My first thought was yes, as these issues have nothing to do with any mods I've made to the car. Again, these issues are well documented to occur on cars with or without mods. Any thoughts?

redCORTEX

As long as there is not a direct coorelation between the mods and failure (IE the x-pipe falling off the car and damaging the trans on the way out), you shouldn't have an issue with anything up front.

The tune may be an issue - I'm not an expert but if the tune changes anything with the trans at all, like shift points on an auto, I think you'd have an uphill battle.

The worst part of it all is they can say "no" even if they shouldn't - the fight you have proving otherwise is usually not worth it. Here's to hoping you never have to find out - and me either.

AzPete

Adding anything that increases the horsepower output of the engine COULD potentially cause damage to the rest of the drive train. Really would depend on the dealer.

I would suggest you become friends with the dealer you plan on using most of the time. By having them do most of the regular service, they know how you treat the car. Also, talking with the will let you know their basic position.

OSUTX440

If you are honest up front, that may do more good. If you hadn't installed the headers...I would say put the stock airbox back on a return it to stock. They will know it's modded as soon as the lift it up. Might as well be honest.

AMAlexLazarus

This is a tough one- "Magnuson-Moss" gets thrown around a lot on the forums and if you're going to ever have an issue with the dealer and they're claiming that one if not multiple parts caused something to be compromised they would essentially need to give you a detailed explanation as per why. I would try to feel them out to see how mod friendly they are and then go from there.

Alex

Nuke

As mentioned above, it depends on the dealership. IMO, the majority will be azzholes and deny coverage, blaming it on the mods. But there are a fraction of dealers that will be logical and, hopefully, with the intent of winning your future patronage.

I am not a believer in extended warranties. I contend that if you put the cost for an extended warranty into an interest bearing account, you can use it for yor repairs and likely have most if not all of it left when that extended period would have ended.

danzcool

I'd like to know where you can find an account that actually bears interest instead of pennies....
But even assuming the dollars would be stuffed under the mattress, usually you would still come out ahead on repairs.
however with the 2010, the PCM doesn't have the same record of tunes as the 2011+ do, so you could flash back to stock and return all the parts to stock IF you were worried about it, so IF your transmission dies...

johnny_raincloud

Exactly!

The modding game is always a risky one... Always keep your stock parts for this reason.

Amen Dan!

jimkr

Getting the extended warranty for me is peace of mind, i guess. I always keep the stock parts, I've always been that way. My garage is full of old parts! lol. The problem is, sure i can put back the stock intake, but i can't imagine taking the headers and xpipe off, and putting the old exhaust system back on ($$$$$). Yes, I thought of this before having the work done, but figured I'd take the chance. I don't ever expect to blow the motor. But things that can go wrong with any car, alternator, power steering pump, fuel pump...etc are what I hope to cover with the warranty. These accessories have nothing to do with the mods (at least imo). As for the transmission, well we've all seen the track record with the 5R55. Again, I do understand that the dealer will probably try to get out of covering that, but the truth of the matter is, it's not an unusual problem, modded or not.

jimkr

Oh, yeah...as for the extended warranty, I agree, most of the time they're a waste of money. The problem is, I am NOT one to put money away voluntarily!! If I have even $25 left over from paying my bills and whatnot, I will look for something to buy (usually for the car)! Thank goodness my employer has a 401k! Even then I had to be shamed into putting money into it...lol. Thankfully, I was "smart" enough to do that...