Can Ford void my warranty because of the installation of a 6" ProComp lift?

I had the lift intalled yesterday (literally) and now it would appear that I have a serious probelm with my 4WD system. It is my understanding that the two have nothing to do with each other except the horrible timing...

I heard the same "racheting" or "clicking" sound that is apparant when the 4WD system has a vacuum solenoid problem, so being a complete IDIOT, I put the stupid truck into 4WD at 45 mph on dry pavement. The result was a rather disturbing werbling sound, followed by some terrible clunking. When I flipped it out of 4wd into 2wd (the elapsed time was approximately 20 second) the clunking and terrible sounds did NOT go away.

TO make a long story short, I towed the stupid truck to the guy who did the lift (thinking it had to do with the lift). Now that I've done some research here, it would appear that I have 4WD failure due to my idiocy of driving on dry pavement.

Soooooo, the big question I have is whether I should PAY my mechanic to put the vehicle back to stock height and then take it to a Ford dealership for warranty repairs or can I leave the lift intact???

Also, will they void my warranty if they suspect that the truck was lifted?

 

I'd say it depends on how "user friendly" your local Ford dealer is....clearly the body lift and the 4wd failure have nothing to do with each other...by the way I have an '05 Lariat SCREW 4x4 and have had it in 4wd high on dry pavement for several miles (longer than your 20 seconds) and it works fine - no noises or failures at all.....I even tried 4wd low for a couple of blocks (in a straight line) and no problems here....it sounds as if you have a problem in your 4wd system that Ford should fix under warranty....

 

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...rds+driveshaft

I was reading on this thread that it seems a common mistake is that the front driveshaft is installed backwards, that may be your problem(just a guess) and the dealer cannot void the warrantly unless they can prove that your lift caused the problem. If it was not happening before the lift then the install was the problem. Hope it works out for you.

 

If a dealer denied warranty for your vehicle due to modifications, they have noted it on OASIS, if you take it to another Dealer when they punch in the vin there will be a huge red flag on OASIS showing warranty voided. So putting it back stock, and taking it to another dealer will not work if it has already been voided.


Your warranty guide in your owners manual states:

WHAT IS NOT COVERED?
Ford Motor Company may deny you warranty coverage if your vehicle or
a part has failed because of abuse, neglect, improper maintenance, unapproved
modifications, or any items included in What Is Not Covered?,
pages 7-9.

Damage Caused by Alteration or Modification
The New Vehicle Limited Warranty does not cover any damage caused by:
• alterations or modifications of the vehicle, including the body, chassis, or
components, after the vehicle leaves the control of Ford Motor Company
• tampering with the vehicle, tampering with the emissions systems or with
the other parts that affect these systems (for example, but not limited to
exhaust and intake systems)
• the installation or use of a non-Ford Motor Company part (other than a
certified emissions part) or any part (Ford or non-Ford) designed for
off-road use only installed after the vehicle leaves the control of Ford
Motor Company, if the installed part fails or causes a Ford part to fail. Examples
include, but are not limited to lift kits, oversized tires, roll bars,
cellular phones, alarm systems, automatic starting systems and
performance-enhancing powertrain components.

It also talks about abuse, or using the vehicle in a manner in which it was not designed, that will cover you putting it into 4wd when you shouldn't have.

Sorry man I work for Ford as a warranty claims administrator, if your veh has had the warranty voided the only way to change that now is get a lawyer, and some other technical experts and fight them in court to prove your mod's didn't "cause" the failure.

There's a federal law, named after a person who fought, I can't remember the name of it. Basically if the modified part had a DIRECT effect on the failure then the mfg is within the law to deny warranty, if it did not have a DIRECT effect on the failure they can not deny the warranty. So now its your word against there's.

 

Oh yea, so basically if it comes to court, and if Ford decides to stand by it, they will send out engineer's to look at the failure. If the engineer's say it was caused by the mod's it's going to be engineer's vs your local mechanic's opinion, so yea your screwed.

Another thing is you said this happened the day after you put the lift kit on it? If a judge hear's "Well it was fine for 20k miles, then I put a lift kit on it and the next day it broke." That's all the judge will need to hear. You will loose.

Sorry to hear that's happening to you man, but you got to understand if you modify a vehicle you have a very good chance of your warranty being denied, I think we all know this. I'm starting to do alot of mod's to my truck, but if any thing ever breaks, I will have it towed to the house, put it back to stock and take it to the dealer in stock form, just to save 4-5k$ to replace an engine.

 

Yes they can void it. But if you did not turn the truck that much it shouldn't damaged the 4wd. So I would just buy a new solenoid and replace it (it is on the firewall in the engine compartment on the passenger side). Paying to get the truck back to stock would cost $$$ due to the parts that get cut off and probably then thrown in the trash, and all the stock bolts that need to replace. So I would not take that route. You would really noticed if broke the trans case or hubs or a Universal, So once you replace the solenoid the truck should be back in working order.

 

I call BS-

If you can't remember the name of the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act, there is no way on God's Green Earth you could be a competent warranty claims administrator...even a dealership oil change punk (excuse me, lubrication technician ) who is worth anything knows about the Magnuson Moss Warranty act and it's effect on warranties offerred by an automotive manufacturer.

There are two possibilities: Doctor is either full of it, or an idiot- I'll let the court of public opinion decide.


BTW, here's some info for ya: FTC Website

 

I was thinking the same thing.

I slept at a holiday inn last night and today I'm a MASTER FORD WARRANTY CLERK!!!

 

On a 99 Dodge Ram I had the rear end pinion bearing went out on a road trip to NC...the truck had 9000 miles on it. The truck had been lowered 2/4 and the Service Writer said they wouldnt fix it under warrenty do to the lowering kit. I called her out on it...stating the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act and all and she still wouldn't budge (I told my dog about the act too, and he understould what I was talking about as good as she did). There was even a TSB on the bolt or something on the pionion bearing being set too tight at the factory causing the bearing to fail...still wouldnt budge. I talked to the tech working on the truck and he said the lowering kit didnt cause it and she still wouldn't budge. That is until Bell Tech called her and faxed her a bunch of legal sounding crap about how there was engineered and this and that that there was no way the lowering kit effected the pinion seal in the rear end and to refuse my warrenty claim she had to PROVE it did. I think she just descided it wasnt worth it and fixed it. If Belltech hadn't stepped up for me it would have probably been a long drawn out ordeal to get it fixed...if I ever did. Since then if I carry a truck in for warrenty work I put the effected area back to stock if at all possible just to avoid crap like that.

 

I wouldn't be worried about them voiding your warranty because of the lift rather than the ABUSE.

 

As with a lot of things under warranty, it mostly depends on your dealer. I suppose they could call you on it for throwing it into 4WD at 45 mph on dry pavement.

 

BTW I wouldnt mention the "4wd at 45MPH" part to them....

 

Exactly

 

Well, no dealership has even seen the truck yet, so I guess I've still got a chance of getting the 4WD system repaired under warranty.

Hopefully, I'll find a nice dealership that is willing to overlook the 6" lift and 35s.

On a side note: Is there a chance that the 6" lift actually CAUSED the beginning of my problems? Is there a vacuum hose that may have stretched and leaked pressure (which would be why I heard the clicking sound in the first place...)???

Thanks!

 

I thought these trucks were "shift on the fly" meaning that you can put it in 4WD while moving at that speed according to the manual. And if you were going strait down the road even on dry pavement......there is no way in hell it is going to hurt anything. If the 4x4 systems on the truck were that weak, I don't think they would be making it past the first mud hole. It is definitelly a solenoid problem that *may* have messed up the hubs when they did malfunction and has nothing to do with the lift.