Somewhere I remember reading that if a dealer or manufactuer requires a certain part to be supplied only by them they must provide that part at no charge......

Does anyone remember any details in regard to this?

I don’t remember the details but it concerns things like the air filters and such. Like with your ford, you need to pay for the maint yourself, so if you get an aftermarket air filter i.e., K&N, it does not void your warranty, where as when you by a car like a BMW or something with free maint and you put on a aftermarket part it will void your warranty. Basically what it means is that if you replace a maint item on your car with an aftermarket one it will not void your warranty unless the manufacture offers the OEM part for free

right, i heard that too. like if they require a ford fuel filter or else it will void the warrenty then they have to provide that filter for free.

My owners manual states..

IF YOU REPLACE THE FUEL FILTER, REPLACE IT WITH AN AUTHORIZED MOTOCRAFT PART. THE CUSTOMER WARRENTY MAY BE VOID FOR ANY DAMAGE TO THE FUEL SYSTEM IF AN AUTHORIZED MOTOCRAFT FUEL FILTER IS NOT USED.

Sounds to me like they owe me a filter at no charge...

It's called the Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act. It was drafted because manufacturers were requiring the use of only their parts to keep a warranty active and they also charged astronomically high prices for these parts. If Ford requires that you only use Motorcraft maintenance items while under warranty, Ford must pay for the parts.

Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act

Is your car still under warranty? Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, and the general principles of the Federal Trade Commission Act, a manufacturer/dealer may NOT require you to have routine oil changes or use any particular brand of oil filter (or any other car part) unless the manufacturer provides the item free of charge, during the terms of the warranty.

If your car is still covered under the new car warranty and a dealer is telling you that you have to use their name brand filter or your new car warranty will be voided, for example, then you should thank him, and inform him that under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act he now has to provide that oil change and filter for free. It is not true that you have to use the dealer for oil changes, even on a brand new car. If dealers say you are required to use their products or else have your warranty voided, then the work is considered warranty work and must be provided for free. The requirement is to use approved products. In fact, you can do the oil change yourself as long as you use approved products and do the oil changes at the required intervals. If you do them yourself simply keep documentation.


Where it gets tricky, is that under the law, Ford has a legal responsibilty to prove the aftermarket part caused the failure. In practice however, Ford will void your warranty and wait for you to take them to court before giving in and obeying the law.

Originally posted by AjRagno
It's called the Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act. It was drafted because manufacturers were requiring the use of only their parts to keep a warranty active and they also charged astronomically high prices for these parts. If Ford requires that you only use Motorcraft maintenance items while under warranty, Ford must pay for the parts.



Where it gets tricky, is that under the law, Ford has a legal responsibilty to prove the aftermarket part caused the failure. In practice however, Ford will void your warranty and wait for you to take them to court before giving in and obeying the law.

Thats what I was trying to say;) Your the man dude, thanks for posting that.

That was the law I was looking for...

Thanks!

Here is a links to the law...
http://www.legal-database.com/magnuson-moss-warranty-act.htm

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/warranty.htm

However that is a far cry from what was posted above...hmmm I found the above stated here:

http://popular.thewavemedia.com/warranty.html

By the way correct spelling is with one "s" (Magnuson-Moss Act).

The law you are talking about (posted in previous posts)was primarily written so that if a dealer/manufacturer says that an aftermarket part caused a failure, they have to prove it caused the failure if they are going to deny warranty service. As mentioned above, if the dealer requires a certain part be used to meet the warranty, it is considered a warranty item. The only law that I know about where the dealer is required to provide parts for free is the emissions law which, if I remember correctly, states that the dealer/manufacturer must replace or repair emissions equipment if it fails up to a certain mileage/age of the vehicle. This is separate from your standard warranty.