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Warranty

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This may be an odd question regarding our warranty but after having to use it once on the transmission (rebuild) due to the syncros being messed up, I just want to make sure what's covered and what's not.

I'm posting this without having looked at my total warranty coverage but believe it's from the factory with a three-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty and a five-year, 60,000-mile powertrain warranty.

This being said, here is my question: I like many love to wash/clean our cars.....while cleaning the other day, I noticed my left rear taillight had two small cracks near the base of it. One crack was what appeared to be at the seam of the molding and the other not far from that one.

I've never owned a new vehicle which has a "bumper-to-bumper" warranty and know this damage was not due to negligence or an accident. Would this be covered under the factory warranty?

Any advice, comment or suggestions welcomed!
 

four-walling

Kerry, San Diego
Based on my experience, the dealer would look to see if the tailight damage was caused by an "external influence".

If the damage was not caused by external influenece, you may have warranty coverage-BUT-cosmetic warranty coverage is a grey area and is usually good for about a year or so into the factory warranty period. One year should be plenty of time for an owner to notice any cosmetic flaws.

One valuable lesson regarding warranty coverage-don't give the dealership sh*t about what should be covered and what is not covered.

If the dealer does not repair your vehicle, they do not make any money.

Work with them, they are on your side with regards to warranty repairs.

Just my $.02.
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,424
8,349
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
You were given good advice , and if no externally caused damage is noted you should absolutely no problem getting it replaced. Dealers are reimbursed for warranty issues, and I know our Dealership would be more than happy to assist in an area like this. The Limited Bumper to Bumper Warranty ( virtually the same with GM, Ford and Chrysler ) usually will note that it covers almost everything except common sense wear and tear items.

We would see folks come in right before the end of their 3 years and want new wiper blades. Most warranties exclude these as they are wear and tear items.

Just an example, but you are unlikely to an issue with this unless it is clearly caused from something that hit it.

Enjoy the beast, as frankly Ford is pretty darn good with warranty repairs.
 
168
0
in the case of headlights and taillights being cracked, Ford is actually pretty bad, take it to your dealer and they may just say that it was ' damaged'
thats a grey area of the warranty. my 2 cents/
 
Bill,

I will take your advice and attempt to bring it in either at the Blair or Plattsmouth location for warranty work. Odds are I will just travel to Blair since they are the ones who took care of the transmission claim.

This then brings me to the question of replacement (warranty) of the driver side Recaro seat. It has been brought up by several on this forum and other places Ford's design of accepting the Recaro's may have been wrong. The upper portion of the the seat near the window gets rubbed on and worn by the seatbelt/seatbelt guide pending on where you have the seat positioned.

I understand normal wear and tear if you are the reason for the "damage" but what about if the design of the car wasn't really compatible with the added option? Would warranty cover this too since it's more of a flaw through engineering than usage?

Maybe I am looking at this in a different light compared to a dealership but believe if the location of the upper searbelt bracket was in a differentt location or designed different it would not be an issue. Opinions and thoughts welcomed.
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,424
8,349
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
Understand the seat issue and it is a wear and tear area via many warranties. It could be a likely issue with the car and it is one of those things that one will have to see what the manufacturer does? I would ask them to document it now if you are having alot of wear. If you are just asking that it might be a problem there is really nothing a Dealership or Manufacturer can do unless it does actually become a concern. There are lots of areas with cars ( all manufacturers ) that are perceived as concerns , but until they actually occur it is a bit hard for a problem to be addressed.

Understanding that, I can say over the years that there have been consumer concerns that have just been set aside as there was not a widespread problem. The seat issue may or may not be addressed , but once wear is shown , I would press for it to be documented. I wondered about the seat myself, as most buckets have a plastic loop built into it to avoid what you are asking about.

The catch 22 is simply that you have to actually have a problem before you can attempt to claim, and just because it may become a problem, does not constitute a reason for a fix or replacement.

Stop in if you stop up in Blair and if you go to the Plattsmouth store instead, just let me know and I will be happy to let them know of your concern. I know they got your tranny fixed and took good care of you, but ..............you gotta listen to your Uncle Billy and get a full MGW shift kit, ha!!!
 
I am in search for a good email address to contact Ford Customer Service in an attempt to inform them of the concerns I have about the bumper-to-bumper warranty. Anyone know of a good address?

When going to Ford's website, there is an area I can send an email but it limits me to how many letters/words I can use and no gaurantee I will get a response. If I can't get an email address, I may just call them....but want to start with this route first.

Thanks in advance!
 
SUPRMN said:
Bill,

I will take your advice and attempt to bring it in either at the Blair or Plattsmouth location for warranty work. Odds are I will just travel to Blair since they are the ones who took care of the transmission claim.

This then brings me to the question of replacement (warranty) of the driver side Recaro seat. It has been brought up by several on this forum and other places Ford's design of accepting the Recaro's may have been wrong. The upper portion of the the seat near the window gets rubbed on and worn by the seatbelt/seatbelt guide pending on where you have the seat positioned.

I understand normal wear and tear if you are the reason for the "damage" but what about if the design of the car wasn't really compatible with the added option? Would warranty cover this too since it's more of a flaw through engineering than usage?

Maybe I am looking at this in a different light compared to a dealership but believe if the location of the upper searbelt bracket was in a differentt location or designed different it would not be an issue. Opinions and thoughts welcomed.

BMW re-dyed my seat when it showed wear on the leather on the butt bolster, as it was a common issue in the X5. If it happens, no harm in asking.

I however have had no help at all from Ford with my mechanical warranty issues and messaging Deysha so far has gotten no response. They did try to help with the paint issue I had, but in the end I just let it go so that I wouldn't need to have it resprayed.
 
badasbullitt, I will try Deysha and see if she can help.

Just to clarify why I'm trying to reach Ford Customer Service: I am not calling them because the dealership wasn't able to do anything for me....it's just the opposite! The dealership has done everything for me and even went as far as trying to fix the issue after Ford denied it. My hats off to them! The vehicle wasn't even purchased at the dealership I use for service.

Ford has accepted the claim on the damage to the Recaro's due to the rubbing of the seatbelt and bracket on the seat. The Recaro's as we know are not even a Ford product so I'm sure it's manufacture (of the seat) who picked up replacing the seat cover.

The dealership was told by Ford they would not replace or cover the damaged taillight even though one can tell just by looking at it the cracks had to be caused internally. There is no evidence of any damage or marking to the outside lens.

I'm somewhat confused as to what Ford covers in their "bumper-to-bumper" warranty. We've all had a chance to read what fbbob96 had posted about the blown motor and I personally am impressed how it was backed/fixed by Ford.

His statement in his post was as follows: "Service writer said he talked to Ford on Friday and I just heard back today (Monday) that a NEW engine had already been ordered and should arrive at the Dealership by the end of this week...
And YES it is ALL covered under Factory Drivetrain Warranty..."


So I will try and reach Ford and express my concerns and see what they say. If not, Ford wants around $400 to replace the cracked taillight! The dealership has done all they can do and I am happy to continue using their services!
 
My car has been experiencing multiple random and cylinder specific misfires every single run on track days. I have been trying to work with Ford Racing and a local dealer to resolve the problem but they have been little help. Ford Racing keeps telling me to take it to the dealer for a diagnostic and the dealer keeps telling me there is nothing wrong.

As for the Warranty - dealer told me yesterday that they will not work on the car anymore, as their regional Rep told the Service Manager that since the car has been on track that their is no longer any warranty coverage. I mentioned this in my last email to Ford Racing and they did not comment.

To date, Ford Racing has not helped much (other than telling me to take it to the dealer for a diagnostic each time I contact them) and the local dealer will not (in there words) "spend anymore time acting as my tuning shop". They istalled TK and once they were confident it wasn't causing the problem they basically told me to pound sand...

Needless to say, I am very disapointed with the service overall and really expected better from Ford Racing.

Getting back to the point...keep an eye out for warranty issues on the Boss. I'd recommend not ever mentioning that the car ever sees the track.

As for me, unless Ford Racing surprises me and comes through with some actual help, I anticipate 1-2 stops every track session to deactivate limp mode and clear codes...
 

zzyzx

Steve
299
0
Sean,

I created this thread for the random misfire issue:

https://trackmustangsonline.com/boss-302-general-forum/cel-%27random-misfire%27-%28recurring%29/

I'm hoping we can get enough people together to "motivate" Ford to take more specific action. Please post your experiences in the thread above.

Thanks!
 
KBBOSS1086, try dealing with Ford Customer Care directly instead of Ford Racing. I was getting nowhere on my issues (other than the paint) until I went to FCC and now it looks like they are going to be fixing my car. Honestly from now on, for any issue I have that is not fixed by the dealer the first time I bring it in I will be calling FCC instead of dicking around with the dealer.

SUPRMN, cosmetic defects, in my dealings with Ford, are only covered if they were present from the factory and they will say it was not present if too much time has lapsed because if it was there on delivery then you would have noticed it sooner (2 weeks was the general vague answer I got from FCC when I asked how big a window they generally use). The various chips in my paint which I found after getting the car home and waxing it were not covered by Ford as per FCC, because there was touch up paint in them which they said must have been done post delivery to the dealer and thus is the dealer's responsibility and not Ford's. Ford said they would cover the pits in the factory paint job as that was obviously caused while being painted at the factory. Unfortunately your lights are probably not going to get fixed unless they crack enough to let moisture in.
 
Thanks for the info guys. I added my expereince to the misfire thread. I included some info at the end about what I found out about our wiring harnesses and track use if your interested in reading it.

Do you have the number handy for FCC? I responded to Ford Racing one last time and am hoping they will step up. If not, I will definitely call FCC.

Does anyone know if what the regional rep told the service manager regarding track use and warranty is true? (everything is void once the car is tracked)
 

zzyzx

Steve
299
0
I'm calling BS on the voided warranty due to track usage. I would agree on the strategy - take it up with FCC. It Ford can have pages in the Boss Owners Manual that addresses Track Preparation and not mention anything about a voided warranty in those same pages, then I would think it'd be problematic to outright void a warranty.
 
zzyzx said:
I'm calling BS on the voided warranty due to track usage. I would agree on the strategy - take it up with FCC. It Ford can have pages in the Boss Owners Manual that addresses Track Preparation and not mention anything about a voided warranty in those same pages, then I would think it'd be problematic to outright void a warranty.

Below is straight from the Manual. Ford left some wiggle room when it comes to honoring warranties. In one part they say tracking the car is not of concern. BUT then go on to say "racing" or modifying, or even "competition" may void the warranty. So, in other words, it's up to them. Simply putting your car on a track will not void the warranty, but racing or competition might. Very very shady. And very risky. Especially with some of the issues people who are tracking their cars are seeing. Also, many of the people tracking their cars are modifying them, which this is pretty clear in the manual will void the warranty. Good luck.

Ford does not recommend modifying or racing Ford vehicles, as they are designed and built to be driven as delivered from the factory. The Ford Motor Company Warranty Guide discusses vehicle usage and the installation of aftermarket parts and their effect on warranty coverage.
Please see the Warranty Guide for complete information.
In the event the vehicle is intended for track use, and the loss of warranty coverage is not of concern, the following vehicle durability modification is required:
• Ford recommends that you change your axle lubricant and friction modifier after the initial (first) hour of high-speed operation or if the vehicle is subjected to track or competition conditions; thereafter changing the axle lubricant and friction modifier every 12 hours (under these conditions).
• Ford recommends you change your oil and filter after your vehicle is subjected to track and/or competition conditions.
Additionally, perform multi-point inspection and the maintenance outlined in the 150,000 mile (240,000 km) normal maintenance schedule of the scheduled maintenance information after track use. Refer to the vehicle service manual for removal and installation procedures. Replace with Genuine Ford and Motorcraft
 
Not to mention our cars come with a track prep supplement. Doing a HPDE should not void the warranty.
 
This part didn't paste and leaves the competition factor up to Fords interpretation.

These modifications may not necessarily protect your engine from damage in competition conditions. Subjecting your vehicle to competition conditions even with these proposed modifications may render repairs non-reimbursable under the warranty.
 

zzyzx

Steve
299
0
An HPDE/Track Day is neither racing nor competition.

This is a legal distinction imposed not to protect a persons warranty on their car, but for liability purposes for the event in question. This is why HPDEs are (almost never) not timed events.

Furthermore, it against Federal law to "void a warranty" in whole. Each warranty claim made must be appraised. The fact that many people don't understand this, and give up is besides the point.

Now, modifying the car is another matter altogether. Still, the same law applies. Technically, using a non-OEM tire is a "modification", as would be window tint, undercarriage neon lights, the sound-pipe delete, etc.

There must be some reasonable / demonstrable connection between the modification and nature of the failure / warranty claim.
 
CaliMR said:
SUPRMN, cosmetic defects, in my dealings with Ford, are only covered if they were present from the factory and they will say it was not present if too much time has lapsed because if it was there on delivery then you would have noticed it sooner (2 weeks was the general vague answer I got from FCC when I asked how big a window they generally use). The various chips in my paint which I found after getting the car home and waxing it were not covered by Ford as per FCC, because there was touch up paint in them which they said must have been done post delivery to the dealer and thus is the dealer's responsibility and not Ford's. Ford said they would cover the pits in the factory paint job as that was obviously caused while being painted at the factory. Unfortunately your lights are probably not going to get fixed unless they crack enough to let moisture in.

I attempted to deal with Ford Customer service and that basically got me nowhere. They just told me how the taillight cracked (external forces) and how it wasn't covered under their bumper to bumper warranty. When I asked them to entertain me on how it couldn't have been cracked (internally) they responded by saying they were not trained to make such a determination.

So it boils down to a couple photos the dealership took, Ford looking at those photos and making their decision. They chose not to take the opinion of "their" own employees but allow someone in a cubicle (miles away) to make a decision based on what he/she saw in a picture.

One lesson learned here: Warranty=Many shades of gray!
 

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