I have an 06 ranger and I want to have lifted, will screwing around with the suspension void my warranty?

 

if screwing around with it is the result of failure of warrantied components, yes it will void your warranty. The thing is it's up to Ford to decide what caused the failure. There have been instances where people have done mods that should not and were not the result of a failed warranty component with Ford trying to tell them it was. Thus resulting in a fight over what the cause was to get a component under warranty warrantied.

If you're afraid of voiding the warranty, then don't do it until warranty is up. In your case that'll be 2009 or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first if you have the 36mo./36K warranty. If you want to take the gamble and have a major warranty component fail then that's the risk you'll have to decide on.

 

its all in the glove box... says what they will and won't cover...

 

Yea I might as well wait, I'm racking up the miles anyway..thanks

 

Figure it this way, if its under warranty, and wont be covered when it breaks because of your lift, then you have to pay out of pocket for it then.

If you lift it after the warranty, and that same part breaks, you still have to pay out of your pocket to fix it.

Its six of one, half dozen of the other, the real question comes down to are you comfortable with having to possibly pay for broken parts sooner than later?

 

Actually the Act that covers your warranty states that the manaufacturer would have to prove want you did caused the failure but as we all know they can afford better lawyers and he who pays more wins more. Since all laws and rules are written by lawyers and judges with loop holes to keep them in business.

 

Well i have had my truck in lots of times for warranty workwith my pa lift and notrhing was ever said . Once though i forgot to take out my apten chip and the supervisor told me when i picked it up that it could void my warranty, after that the chip never worked so im thinking they were doing something to the pcm when they noticed the chip. As far as the lift no problem but i guess it could happen.

 

it's best to wait until the warranty is up, especially when installing a lift.

 

care to elaborate as to why?

 

Basically you lift the truck to put larger tires on it, should anything happen to the poewrtrain (usually where all the big repair $ comes in) the dealer could turn it around to the fact that the truck was not designed to be turning the larger tires and they caused the problem. I'm not saying this would always be the case, but if a dealer can get out of the cost of repairs they will sure try.

 

What if you were to regear to accomodate the bigger tires? Would that help at all?

 

Your warranty rights vary state by state. In most cases it boils down to the parts directly affected by the modification.
If you do a suspension lift and wider rims with large tires and a wheel bearing or tie rod fails, its on you, the same can be said of a trans failure due the the increased gear ratio. Brakes will also be affected by stance and tire size. But things like interior electrical and engine would most likely not be affected. They do have the right to charge you for any added labor that may be required to do a repair due the added height or any add on components that may be in the way or those that take longer to remove and reinstall.
In many dealers, the guys that can decline a repair often never see the truck, the job ticket gets written up and only the technician sees the truck. It's often up to the tech whether he complains that it's caused by an aftermarket mod or not. Usually if he doesn't feel that it's a problem or if the normal repair isn't causing him any added grief, most wont bother to say anything about it.

I know from my years in a dealer shop that if a truck came in lifted to the sky and covered in mud and it meant that I was going to have to climb, crawl and get covered in mud to fix something that would normally be a quick fix on a stock truck the customer didn't have a chance. If an owner took the time to make sure it was clean and ready to be worked on, I ussually wouldn't bother worrying whether or not the warranty may be voided.

Keep in mind that the tech at the dealer gets paid flat rate, in other words, every job has a fixed price and set amount of time that he gets paid, if a particular modification makes the job take longer, the tech makes less money. There's no one out there that wants to work for free, so at that point the tech will usually get a manager or Ford rep. involved. The result will either be added time to do the job, or Ford may decline to cover the repair at all if the manager feels its up to Ford and gets a rep, involved. It often depends on who looks at it, what is wrong and what mods have been done.

I would say that 90% of the time if the truck is clean and well kept and the mods are well done and complete, they will warranty it with no trouble.

You may want to talk to the dealer that would be handling any warranty, see how they handle such situations. It doesn't hurt to ask. If you don't get the response you want, try another dealer, maybe one that sells more trucks than cars. The dealer is not the one to determine whether or not an item is warranty, it's up to Ford if a question arrises. If the dealer refuses a repair, you have the right to have Ford look at it. Often the dealer balks at doing a warranty repair if they feel that Ford may not pay the claim. There's an phone number in your owners manual for that too.