If Ford Mustang Boss 302 owners use TracKey, will their warranty be shortened?

[Ford_News]

Filed under: Aftermarket (http://www.autoblog.com/category/aftermarket/), Motorsports (http://www.autoblog.com/category/motorsports/), Coupe (http://www.autoblog.com/category/coupes/), Performance (http://www.autoblog.com/category/sports/), Ford (http://www.autoblog.com/category/ford/)
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Word has it that the Ford TracKey (http://www.autoblog.com/tag/trackey/) feature available on the Mustang Boss 302 (http://www.autoblog.com/tag/ford mustang boss 302) will come with some interesting fine print. According to Mustangs Daily, owners who opt to have TracKey installed at their local Ford (http://www.autoblog.com/ford) dealer will have to endure a three-year, 36,000-mile powertrain warranty. That's noticeably shorter than the five-year, 60,000-mile warranty that comes standard on the Mustang Boss 302. In addition, owners who decide to bolt on any extra performance modifications in conjunction with TracKey will see their warranty completely voided. Ford says that aftermarket modifications could cause severe engine damage.

Despite the shortened warranty, Mustangs Daily reports that Ford doesn't expect any reliability issues with TracKey. The company says that its engineers have done all of the necessary homework on the system.

From the sound of things, Ford is simply protecting itself from abusive owners who may seek to take advantage of a race car with a warranty. We'll learn more once Ford officially debuts TracKey at SEMA (http://www.autoblog.com/tag/sema) in Las Vegas in a few weeks.If Ford Mustang Boss 302 owners use TracKey, will their warranty be shortened? (http://www.autoblog.com/2011/10/24/if-ford-mustang-boss-302-owners-use-trackey-will-their-warranty/) originally appeared on Autoblog (http://www.autoblog.com) on Mon, 24 Oct 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds (http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/).
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[sonicx]

11/2/11 .... There will be alot of HAPPY Boss 302 owners :) Although I think it's sorta confusing that Ford is lowering the warranty of use of track key (if you so choose to use) vs. the regular one. Modifications (aftermarket) I could see but the key was suppose to come with the car.

[HELLFYR]

As has been proven time and time and time again, Ford CANNOT void the warranty due to aftermarket parts being installed. You purchased the car, it is yours to do with as you will.
If FORD can PROVE that the parts you added are what caused the damage you are trying to get covered under warranty THEN they can refuse the coverage and potentially
cancel the coverage on THAT COMPONENT. But they can't cancel the coverage (for example) on the engine, if you have upgraded suspension components.

Magnusson/Moss Act

This was actually a hot topic of discussion at SEMA last year (and again in prep for this year looks like).
The conclusions anyway, the FTC found that:

“The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act makes it illegal for companies to void your warranty or deny coverage under the warranty simply because you used an aftermarket part.” The alert outlines key provisions in the law that provides protections to car owners. As defined by the FTC, an “aftermarket' part is a part made by a company other than the vehicle manufacturer or the original equipment manufacturer.”

“The FTC’s reference to aftermarket parts is equally applicable to specialty parts,” said Russ Deane, SEMA’s General Counsel. “Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, the warranty cannot be conditioned to a specific brand of parts, services or vehicle modifications unless those parts or services are provided free of charge.”

So mod 'em, have fun, but be sure that if your MOD breaks something else, it likely will not be covered under warranty.
If however something else breaks totally unrelated to any of your mods, you would still have a leg to stand on to get the fix covered under warranty.


Rod

[HELLFYR]

The track-key falls under this same category. In fact it violates Ford's internal policy on "coverage of parts we install".
Basically, if a Ford Performance dealer does the installation work of FORD aftermarket parts, they are suppsoed to remain covered under the warranty
and NOT impact other parts under warranty. By design the parts should not impact other components negatively.

For Ford to go AGAINST that policy directly by saying "using this Ford part makes your car less reliable" is going to make for some
serions finger-pointing issues when they come under class-action law suit.

Be prepared to see wars over this online and in the news.

Rod

[N8's98GT]

Yeah, if I dropped 40K on a new 5.0 Mustang I wouldn't mod a thing until the warranty was up. Not worth the risk IMO. Plus, it seems like there have been a number of people who have ruined the #8 cylinder with aftermarket tunes. I'd personally rather wait a few years until the aftermarket has time to really develop reliable solid tunes. That new 5.0 is an impressive engine, but it seems like Ford already nailed the tune from the factory and modding said tune is probably reducing reliability significantly.

That said, the fact that Ford maintains a warranty with something as radical as the track key is impressive IMO. You could in theory rag on a new Boss all day at a race track, and if something internal to the engine went wrong bring it in for warranty work. Not sure if they could pull info from the ECU to identify how the car was being used though, which may present a problem if there is a disclaimer about racing in the warranty info.