Voiding Factory Warranty

[GtownFF]

First I am not sure what this would fall under so if this should be in a better place I can move it.

Recently my car overheated due to loss of coolant. I took it to the dealer to get it repaired under warranty as it's a new car. I had a speaker in the air dam area and the gentleman working on my car asked if this was a police vehicle. I explained how the responding process works and he said that because it is an "emergency vehicle" it voids all factory warranties because it was not branded as such. Now I know the overheating was not due to the speaker because there was a leak in the hose, they are going to fix it but he warned me to be careful. Has anyone heard of this or experienced this before?

 

[Jamey@NNE]

they try that stuff alot. I had dodge try to tell me if i didnt use them to rotate my tires they would void all my warrenty.

 

[Sparky_911]

Generally they say that stuff so they don't have to honor warranty work because the owner "modified" the car beyond factory spec.

Next time they ask about a speaker, lights, switch panel I'd return fire with 'does it have any affect on why the radiator hose is leaking?, no?...then don't worry about it'.

 

[StEaLtH2]

So what brand dealer was it?
What do ya drive?

 

[GtownFF]

Its Boucher Ford, I drive a 2016 Ford Fusion. The hose leak was not anywhere near the speaker. However they told me because it is an "emergency vehicle" it's not under warranty. However, it's not an emergency vehicle at all times only when responding.

 

[MtnMan]

However they told me because it is an "emergency vehicle" it's not under warranty.

Tell them you need to see that policy in writing. I bet they back away real quick.

 

[StEaLtH2]

Do you have a pic of how your speaker is mounted? I would fight for the warranty work

 

[acala91]

Research the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act. A dealer can't simply declare a warranty void. They would have to attribute the failure of the part directly to some modification you did to not warranty it. They would have an argument if the speaker was blocking most of the airflow to the radiator causing the vehicle to overheat, but that is not the case.

 

[GtownFF]

I did talk to them again, they are going to be covering it. I do not have a picture of how it is mounted. I have the Ecoboost edition so it has two radiators one large one in the grille, that is not obstructed, and another medium sized one in the lower portion, which is slightly obstructed from the speaker.

 

[Jamey@NNE]

the lower one is the intercooler for the turbo.

 

[GtownFF]

the lower one is the intercooler for the turbo.

That is correct, it is not blocked enough that it should matter. The only reason it is there is for mounting convenience. I could mount it in the grille area but was not sure how to mount it there.