Question #2; power mods and voiding my warranty

[Red99Sport]

Aside from my exhaust mod I would like to do, I want to do something to give me some more power but the big problem is I still have 4 years on my factory warranty. I hate to do anything to void it, and as my luck would have it nothing would ever go wrong until I void the warranty. I know Ford Motorsports makes an air filter similiar to the K&N, but they told me it was up to the individual dealer if they would classify it as a void. Is there anything to spice up my engine that wouldn't void my warranty, or would be hard for the dealer to notice? Again, I have a 99 Sport with the 4.0 V6 SOHC. I would really love to put to shame the new Pathfinders with their 240 horse, but I have a feeling I am gonna have to wait until my warranty expires and do some MAJOR upgrades then. Any help on what I could do now?
Thanks again,
Jason

 

[Robert]

Originally posted by Red99Sport
Aside from my exhaust mod I would like to do, I want to do something to give me some more power but the big problem is I still have 4 years on my factory warranty. I hate to do anything to void it, and as my luck would have it nothing would ever go wrong until I void the warranty. I know Ford Motorsports makes an air filter similiar to the K&N, but they told me it was up to the individual dealer if they would classify it as a void. Is there anything to spice up my engine that wouldn't void my warranty, or would be hard for the dealer to notice? Again, I have a 99 Sport with the 4.0 V6 SOHC. I would really love to put to shame the new Pathfinders with their 240 horse, but I have a feeling I am gonna have to wait until my warranty expires and do some MAJOR upgrades then. Any help on what I could do now?
Thanks again,
Jason

This is a quote I got from FilterTech's website: "The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Improvement Act of 1975 (Chapter 50 Consumer Product Warranties 15 Section 2302) prohibits the manufacturer of your engine from legally voiding your warranty on your engine because you need a third party manufactured item or service. If you have any questions regarding this contact the Federal trade Commission at 202-326-3128." Ford cannot void your warranty just because you installed a different air-filter at least if it is an OEM replacement. Of course if they can prove that your airfilter let dirt in and it trashed your engine or if you over-oil your filter causing your MAF to fail, then those repairs will be at your expense. K&N has wording similar on their site. Using their filter will not void your warranty. Basically you can do about any bolt-on upgrade without voiding your warranty. However, if the items you bolt on do cause damage, I'm sure Ford would void your warranty on the things that were damaged.

Robert

 

[AgExplorer]

Robert,

You're right on with the Moss-Magnuson Act. It's our protection against the dealers and manufacturers.

Jason, you can do a search on the internet and find more info. Sorry I don't have a link but I did this several months ago and found all kinds of info.

 

[Jim F]

I would not be too concerned about a vehicle that the company changed their name from DATSUN to NISSON. "The names have been changed to protect the innocent." OK leave me alone Friday.

I think I need another cup of coffee.

See Ya.

 

[Red99Sport]

Thanks guys for your help, I really appreciate it. I understand you say that the Mag-Mos Act keeps them from screwing us when we have parts we need replaced by a 3rd party, but does it protect us from replacing parts just for performance reasons? Such as chips, lift kits, throttle bodies, etc.
Thanks again
Jason

 

[Cameron]

My understanding is that a manufacturer can only void the warrantee if they can prove that the "after-market" part you installed caused the problem. Now, assuming this is correct, it's kind of an ambiguous situation. Let's say you put on 31-inch tires and then three months latter your transmission goes out. Can they argue that the additional stress of the larger tires cause the trans to fail? I think that if you modify a warranted vehicle, your taking your chances.

 

[AgExplorer]

Cameron is correct that you do take your chances when making performance mods. If something does go wrong, every dealer will handle it differently, just like they do (or do not do) normal warranty work.