EXACTLY!! you dont' have to go to the dealer you bought from to get service!!

 

Just a suggestion if theres no dealers other than the one you purchased from or you have a perfered dealer that you'd like to take it in to be serviced. Make sure you have them sign something in writting that they'll still cover anything because of that bolt on. JMO

 

Ahh..the age old question of what will and won't void an automotive warranty.

The Magnuson-Moss act (federal law since 1975) protects you from any 'absurd' warranty avoidance. Here's SEMAs explanation along with specific legal information.

http://www.sema.org/main/semaorghome.aspx?ID=50096


The executive summary is: Unless the aftermarket part was specifically and causally responsible for the failure, the warranty cannot be voided. Put on all the air filters, lift kits and superchargers you want, but realize your warranty pertaining to the specific area of modification will likely void your warranty. Personally, I would stop at a temporarily installed NOS fogger kit before a supercharger and remove it before bringing it in.

To dispel a couple of thread specific myths: Your dealer can't void your warranty if you make mods other than an exhaust. Your dealer can't void your warranty if they just 'feel like it'.

Anyone with a 2004 or 05 arbirating Ford over The Shakes take note---

Another member touched on this in another thread. Ford was requiring the member to have Road Force balancing done on his tires to correct the problem, and Road Force balancing was ONLY available at Ford dealers. This is a crystal clear example of a violation of Magnuson Moss. The member won his arbitration easily.

-Fatz

p.s. K&N filters, despite the hype, let in more dirt in order to flow more air. Here's a link proving why: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest1.htm

 

Now that was some useful information!!

 

Some dealers are more generous than others. Over oiled K&Ns may contaminate the heated wire on the mass air sensor. To void anything, the dealer must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that what you did caused the failure in question. Other than maybe nixxing you over a mass air sensor, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

 

The Magnuson-Moss Act is the correct answer. You can mod your vehicle if you want to. If there is a problem and the dealer says that your mod caused the problem they will have to prove it legally. I would have said so sooner but I just got in. So props to MnFatz for knowing that.

 

I had a K&N FIPK on my Sport Trac, and during the various visits to 3 different dealers not one of them ever mentioned it.

 

Unfortunately that is “not” true. The Magnuson-Moss act does NOT give you any rights to modify your vehicle in the sense you are modifying for performance. What it does do for you is to protect you as a consumer to buy replacement parts that meet the manufactures, Ford, specifications but protects your from Ford dictating to you what brand you can buy or force you to buy only there brand.

As long as the replacement part meets Ford’s specifications the act protects you from Ford voiding your warranty.

So many people misunderstand that act to state you can do what ever you want and that Ford can do nothing about it or that Ford will have to prove what you did caused the problem. If you put a blower on your vehicle and blow your motor Ford does NOT have to prove the blower is the cause, they can deny you on the spot and tell you that your chit out of luck.

Sure you can take them to court if you have pockets overfilling with cash but you will still lose your *** in court. Now that important thing to remember is if you blow your motor because of an aftermarket blower Ford can deny your warranty concerning your motor and transmission but they can NOT deny warranty work on say your electrical system unless of course you added an after market sound system with amps etc.

As far as a K&N filter, if it is not over oiled you should be fine. Personally I do not re-oil mine I simple replace it since it comes pre-oiled to begin with and it has been done correctly at the factory. They are not any more expensive then a standard air filter if you buy them online.

Remember it is easy for anyone to come along and say Ford has to prove it legally but reality will tell you that none of us have the money to take Ford to court if we decide to modify our vehicles, so unless your loaded and/or have no problem with being without your new vehicle for years as you spend all your money in court then go ahead and modify away…

 

Correct, the Magnuson-Moss act is not a license to mod. Buying a non-Motorcraft air or oil filter is one thing, but doing things like lifting, lowering, adding chips, etc. can cause problems that Ford can cry foul on and not cover repairs under warranty. Besides, my Ford dealer sells the drop in K&N filter in it's part department, so I am not worried about that one at all.

 

So what I'm getting from all this is that the basic concern is not to over oil the filter when cleaning. If anything is going to create a problem, then over oiling would do it. Good to know.

I'm not ignoring all the other points that have been made, I'm just taking the information that I want from it, that's all.

 

I've had K&N Intakes on all 3 of the F150s that I've had and I've never had the dealer say anything about it. Actually, it was a great selling point to them when I got around to trading it in for a new truck.

 

Yeah....all this whoha over an after markey filter that doesn't do anything more that the stock filter...


Ford pays Engineers millions a year to build their engines. The EPA bust's their chops over .01 of a mpg over their whole line of cars....

Ford just built 910,000 04 150's.... If they ordered 900,000 K & N filters... how much do you think they would cost Ford???? 40 bucks on the street, buy a mil, price should drop to 50% at least.. Hence 20 bucks added to the price of a 38000 dollar vehicle..


These filter's as advertised increase HP/Torque???


So why would Ford/chevy/dodge leave 20-30hp laying on the table over a 20 buck air filter????


This whole air filter and the induction systems they are selling is a load of CRAP......


Dance to the music if you want, but my truck stock will take me everywhere your will...

 

First:
Those that replied at the begining of this thread are nuckleheads to say the least. If you can't be constructive, go pester someone elsewhere.

Second:
The OP seems to be from Canada. Magnuson-Moss act is US law and has no bearing there.

Third:
K&n filters have a cleaning/oiling cycle of 30,000 miles. Just replace every 2-3 years and all is good.

 

Alright, maybe the better question would be to ask if anyone here has actually ever had their dealer, or FoMoCo blame a mod and refuse to cover something under warranty?

 

I see it like this.

I am sure if you read all the fine print in all those papers you sign when you buy a vehicle, there is something in there to the tune of:

"If you modify the manufacturer's original blah blah blah....bunch of legaleze...bklah blah blah"

Now, in the event of lets say, a truck running lean, and the catalytic converters failed, during the warranty period, normally they would be replaced, no quesions asked. But what if the owner installed an aftermarket intake system. And didn't bother to return the system to stock before taking it in and making a claim? The dealer claims "I'm not going to warranty this, it's cause of that air intake system making it run lean that it failed".

I think it would come down to arrbitration, on a case by case basis, what the outcome would be. If you are good customer and bought 12 vehicles from this dealer, perhaps they might overlook aftermarket mods during a warranty claim.

Everyone that stated "I had a K&N filter on all 3 of my vehicles, and the dealer never said a word about them" - had you ever tried a warranty claim, on a sub-system that directly involved the aftermarket modifications, or just bring them in for service?