RoadRacer78

This is about my F-150 exhaust system, but pertains to Magnaflows warranty policies as a whole so I thought I would post here. Mods, if you don’t want it here please delete.

This is not intended to be a “bitch letter”. Simply an account of my experience with Magnaflow and their lifetime exhaust warranty policies/process.

I consider myself a good Magnaflow customer, maybe one of their best. I have had Magnaflow systems on 4 of my diesel trucks and my 2003 Cobra. I currently have systems on my 2007 Mustang GT (which is on its second system), my 2012 Mustang GT, my 2012 F-150 and I was planning on buying a system for my 2015 Mustang GT. I’m guessing there are not that many customers that have or have had that many systems. I also recommend Magnaflow to anyone who asks for my opinion on what to buy.

I’m very frustrated with Magnaflow right now. I have had some problems with the cat back system on my 2012 F-150 EcoBoost which is my daily driver, not a race/play car that I have the option of parking for long periods of time when things get fixed. The systems part number is 15458. It only had 22K miles on it. The exhaust hanger directly behind the muffler was not braced correctly and tore itself free from the tubing leaving a hole about 1”x1”. Obviously not ideal. I called the warranty/customer service number and was told that I had to process the claim through the retailer/shop I got it from. Ok, not a huge deal, but already a pain. Why do I have to deal with the selling shop/dealer? My warranty is not with them, it’s with Magnaflow. I’m a very busy person and going through them would require a minimum of 2:20min of drive time to go pick the warranty system up. I called the shop and told them what was going on. They said they would get the ball rolling.

While waiting to hear what was going on I decided that I would pull the system, weld the hanger back on to the tube and brace it correctly so it would not happen again. I couldn’t take the chance of the remaining hangers ripping out because of the extra load that was now on them and I wasn’t sure how long a replacement would take to get. At the time I did not have easy access to the stock system that I had stored so swapping that in was not an option. When I pulled the system I was on my back on the pavement outside the shop because the shop was full and there was no room to fit the truck in there with all of the projects that are going on. When I pulled the system, which would only come out in one continuous piece (which was a giant pain) because every single slip joint was “welded” together I noticed that the flex joint was already rotting away and leaking a little. So really the system had two problems. Broken hanger/hole and a disintegrating flex joint.

It’s a good thing I did fix it and not just let it go, it took just over 6 weeks to get a warranty system in at the shop. I don’t know why it took so long to get the warranty system in and I frankly don’t care. Shops fault, Magnaflows fault or alien interference. Taking a long time to get the system in is not even close to the real problem, just a contributing factor to the overall frustration and something you should be aware of.

At about the 6 week mark I was told by the shop the warranty system would be in the next day and that I would need to bring the damaged/old/repaired system in to drop off when I picked up the replacement. What?!?! That was a huge problem for me and terribly inconvenient. How exactly was I supposed to haul the old system to the shop without my truck? The old system was “welded” together due to corrosion and so long that it would be sticking out of the bed of the truck. It wasn’t getting taken out there in any other vehicle I own. I thought that was simply ridiculous so I called Magnaflow customer service to find a solution. I was looking to have the warranty system shipped to me (like it should have been in the first place) so I could pull the old system off and put the new system on, but they were having any of it. I explained my situation and how much work and time it would take to accomplish and it fell on deaf ears. I asked why they needed the old system back in the first place, it was effectively worth its weight in scrap. I got an answer somewhere along the lines of “policy”. I asked if they could ship me the warranty system and I would ship them the old one back. No go there too. I get where they have a risk that I wouldn’t ship the old system back, but seriously, if I didn’t the most they would be out is some scrap metal……and a shipping charge. They certainly did nothing to help my situation and the tone I got was they didn’t care.

If I was simply shipped a replacement system it would have saved me HOURS of work/screwing around, and I made that abundantly clear. But obviously it was more important to stick to policy then save me, one of their good customers, a lot of aggravation. The customer service rep told me that they would contact the shop (I have no idea why, there is nothing they could do) and that was that. He never asked for my last name and he never asked me for any contact info so he could get back to me and let me know there was a resolution/solution to my problem. Which means he had no intentions of doing anything at all!

So fast forward a couple of weeks. I told the guys at the shop that I had to pull the Magnaflow system, put the stock system back on (which I am lucky I saved) and drive out there. They offered to have me drive out and they would swap the systems for me while I waited. A very nice gesture. But I declined for two reasons. The first is that during their business hours I barely have enough time to drive there and back, let alone wait around while they swap systems. And it’s a good thing I declined because it would have turned into a complete disaster (details below), taken forever and I maybe would have ended up having to leave the truck there and find some way of getting back……well out of the allotted time I can be away. And obviously taking the truck out there, dropping it off and arranging rides was completely out of the question. That would have involved 2 additional hours of drive time for me (in addition to the two already being spent) and four hours of drive time for the people(s) giving me a ride. Utterly ridiculous.

On 10/10/14 I found a chunk of free time and the weather was nice. I was going to be working on my back again outside because there is no room in the shop for the truck. I drove the 1:15 (2:30 round trip) to where I had the stock system stored and brought it back. I pulled the Maganaflow system all in one piece. Not a huge deal, I had just had it off 5-6 weeks previous to fix/weld it. I laid the stock system down next to the Magnaflow system and noticed that the Magnaflow system re-uses the stock resonator, which is now effectively “welded” to the Magnaflow system. I put a quick call into my buddy at the Ford dealer to see how much a resonator was. My cost, which is pretty close to dealer, $128. And they wouldn’t be able to have it until the next morning. Scratch that idea, I’m not spending $128 on my warranty replacement and I’m not waiting with the truck disabled until the next day.

I called the guys at the shop to see if it was OK for me to cut the system. I was wondering because it was getting returned to Magnaflow. Would they accept a cut up system? They told me feel free to cut it up if I wanted to. Hmmmmmm, what exactly does Magnaflow need with a cut up junk system? And could it be so important as to inconvenience me the way that they did?

After cutting it off at the resonator I was left with a resonator with a piece of tubing “welded” in it. The clamp, that is part of and tack welded to the resonator was pretty much welded together too. I took me about an hour to free up the clamp with liberal use of penetrating oil and a torch. I thought of running out to find a clamp so I could just cut it off. But the clamp is only available from Ford with the resonator and no one local to me had that size band clamp on the shelf. So using a die grinder I managed to cut enough of the stuck tube on the ID of the resonator to remove it. That was probably about a half hour. Then some time grinding out the ID of the resonator so the stock system would slip back in.

I get the stock system on the truck and find that the Magnaflow system doesn’t use all the hangers that the stock system does. The stock system weighs quite a bit more, it’s reasonable for Magnaflow to not use them all. The problem is that when the shop put the system on they unbolted the “doughnut” hanger that is at the junction of the resonator and the flex tube. I either never got it back, or it disappeared in my possession. I was not aware that I needed to keep track of it, I had a “lifetime warranty” system on the truck. Why worry right? I did not want to drive the truck without the hanger because the weight of the under supported stock system could stress and crack either the resonator or the Y-pipe. And who would pay for that? Certainly not Magnaflow, they weren’t willing to do one thing for me. It would be me. So I called the Ford dealer again looking to buy the hanger. Of course it was not on the shelf locally, they had to get it out of Memphis. Which meant that the truck was down from 10/10/14 to the afternoon of 10/13/14.

I got the new exhaust hanger/doughnut on the 13th and again I was on the pavement on my back putting it on. And it was raining. Yep, soaked.

The next day I was able to go pick up the replacement system.

And here is the kicker, the new replacement system has the “questionable” hanger welded on in the same way as the previous system. No changes. No updates. So that means I couldn’t put the warranty replacement system on right away. I had to weld a brace on first, or it would just tear out again in another 20-25K miles.

See next post for more.....

RoadRacer78

..........Continued from post above

Thanks a lot Magnaflow, because you wouldn’t send me a replacement system and had to have the junk one back you have turned a simple exhaust swap that should have taken a couple of hours max (I would still have needed to mess with the resonator and brace the hanger on the new system), with very little aggravation, into this complete cluster.

Here is a run down of what this “warranty” job has cost me in time and money:

-Remove/re-install system fix/brace broken hanger/hole. Try and free up slip connections with penetrating oil/torches (failed). 2.5hrs.

-Drive to go pick up stored stock system. 2.5hrs and $35 in fuel

-Remove Magnaflow system/swap in stock system. 2.5hrs

-Time on phone talking to Magnaflow, tracking down parts, etc. 1hr

-Truck down and not able to drive. 3-3.5days

-Replacement exhaust hanger. $20 and $8 in fuel to pick up

-Put new hanger on in rain .5hr

-Time to drive out to shop to go pick up warranty system. 2.5hrs $35 in fuel

-Weld hanger brace on replacement system. 1hr

-Put replacement system back on the truck. 1hr

-Drive to where I can store the stock system (probably a good idea to save it huh?). 2.5hrs and $35 in fuel

-Time to write this post, write a email to Magnaflow, deal with Magnaflow, follow up on the system, etc. 1hr

Totals:

-Time spent getting the warranty done/accomplished 14.5hrs. I bill my time out at a MINIMUM of $25/hr and as much as $150/hr. I don’t have “free time”, so this time was lost productivity for me. And even if it wasn’t, I have better things to do with my time. In reality this cost me a minimum of $362.50 in unearned income.

-Time truck was down and useless 3-3.5days

-Cash out of pocket $113

90% of the above could have been avoided if I had been shipped a replacement system directly. I can’t for the life of me see what sort of value the junk system could possibly have to Magnaflow that would offset the cost of my time and aggravation.

I’m a straight shooter that believes everyone makes mistakes. It is how those mistakes are dealt with that separates the good retailers/shops/people from the bad ones. I contacted Magnaflow about my issues in detail (I actually used the email I sent them as the basis for this post). I gave them the opportunity to throw me a bone and make the situation right. All I got was a phone call (wasting more of my time) effectively quoting policy and the offer of a free T-shirt or hat. Are you KIDDING me!!!! One, I have plenty of shirts and hats. And two, why would I wear Magnaflow anything? Magnaflow has done nothing but let me down, I’m not advertising for them! I suggested maybe a free or discounted cat back for the 2015 Mustang. I was effectively laughed at. And that was the end of the line for me right there. I have been in retail for years. One of the best and most sure fire ways of placating a customer is to shovel something to them free, or at least at dead nuts cost. If it is done at cost the customer is happy, gets a good deal and remains a customer. And it cost the retailer exactly ZERO DOLLARS, ZERO. It would have cost them more money to send me a T-shirt and hat than cost me out a system for the Mustang. I told Magnaflow that I would be writing this post and I would never be a customer again, they didn’t care.

Magnaflow doesn’t care about their customers (or maybe just me). They were not willing to set aside policy to make my life about a million times easier and the most it would have cost them was a junk system (if let’s say I didn’t return it). And then to retain a customer they were not willing to cost me out a new system for the Mustang, which would have cost them NOTHING. There are plenty of other exhaust manufacturers out there to choose from. In the future I will be choosing ones that are not Magnaflow.

I did not write this to “bitch” as much as I did to inform the community as to what they can expect from Magnaflow, their lifetime warranty and their desire to take care of customers. Caveat Emptor.

jthorn9

Sucks that you had to go through all those problems, but I've been in retail long enough to know that product warranty only covers manufacture defect and most have very strict guidelines that have to be followed which can incur fees and other things. It sounds like the problem may of been with the install itself causing the issue with the hanger. I'd honestly be happy Magnaflow did warranty the product cause they could of taken the easy road out to blame the installer leaving you to absorb the complete bill.

PNYXPRESS

Boo f--ing hoo. Your system tore. You chose to spend money you didn't have to because you didn't want to drop your truck off at the shop the first time. They replaced the system like they promised and now you want a FREE system because of that?