Warranty & Recall Information

Finding A Recall On Your Vehicle

Finding out if a recall has been issued on your vehicle can be difficult and confusing. We have put together a list of information about how recalls work and what you should do to find out if your vehicle has had a recall.

  • Recalls are specific to your exact vehicle make, model, year, options, and exact build date of the vehicle in the factory.
  • Ford is required by the government to disclose a recall as soon as they know it will occur, even before they have enough newly designed parts to perform the recall in all the vehicles affected by the recall. This legal requirement can cause customer confusion and lengthy delays in the dealership’s ability to perform the recall after it is announced in the media.
  • Ford will send a letter to the last known address of the last known registered owner for a recall, explaining the recall and the reason for the recall. This normally happens AFTER the media release. Please note that Ford may also send you letters that are NOT recalls, regarding Ford’s voluntary extension of warranty for a specific problem should you have that problem occur, or important issues relating to your vehicle. Your Advisor can help you interpret the differences.
  • Write down the full 17 digit Federal Vehicle Identification Number(VIN) that is located on a metal plate on the bottom left hand side of your windshield or on the white sticker on the driver door or center post.
  • Call us at and ask for an Advisor in Service. Additionally, you can contact us or schedule a service appointment for your recall request. Given the parts delay issues, it is better to call or contact us for details and to schedule an appointment.
  • Give the VIN number of your vehicle to the Advisor. If you have received the letter, give the Advisor the recall number which is a 5 character code and the recall description.
  • Within a few minutes, the Advisor will run the VIN through Ford’s dealer communication system, and can tell you whether your vehicle has a recall and what type of recall Ford has called to be performed.
  • On some recalls, Ford requires an inspection be made before we are allowed to order parts, which at times can require a customer to make a second visit.
  • Your Advisor will schedule an appointment for you to have the recall and will reserve parts in your name if there is a parts shortage.

 

Keeping Your Ford Warranty

A Short Review Of Key Warranty Issues

Maintenance: Ford Motor Company states: “It is your responsibility to make sure that ALL of the scheduled maintenance is performed on your vehicle and that the materials used meet Ford engineering specifications. Failure to perform scheduled maintenance as specified in the Scheduled Maintenance Guide will invalidate warranty coverage on the parts affected by the lack of maintenance. Make sure that receipts for completed maintenance work are retained.

Example:

A sludged engine can be denied if the wrong engine oil and/or filter was used or if the customer did not follow the minimum maintenance schedule for time, mileage, and type of useage on the vehicle.

Modifications, Alterations, Tampering, or Non-Ford parts: Ford has a detailed review of warranty exclusions in the Warranty Guide. Ford Motor Company can deny warranty coverage for modifications, alterations, tampering, or revision of parts on the vehicle as it was built in the factory or if replacement parts are non-Ford parts. Government Emission and Safety requirements are strictly enforced.

 

A few examples of modifications causing warranty denial of expensive repairs include:

  • Performance chips added to the powertrain control module
  • Performance enhancing components or software
  • Some suspension lift packages which change the designed driveline angle
  • Oversized tires
  • Catalytic converter modifications
  • Other changes to the emissions system
  • Alterations to the passive restraint system
  • Non-Ford audio/video systems

 

If you are not sure of the warranty implications please contact us and ask one of our Service Managers before you pay to have a modification installed.

Road Hazard, Accidents, Collisions, & Abuse: Ford Motor Company has a detailed review of warranty exclusions in the Warranty Guide. Some of the warranty exclusions include repairs related to accidents, collisions, road hazard, theft, vandalism, riot, fire, hail, windstorm, earthquake, flood, freezing, stone chips, glass chips, dents, dings, punctures, tears, tree sap, bird droppings, customer applied chemicals or accidental spills, driving through deep water, curbing, overloading, racing, misusing the vehicle, tampering, over-sized tires, lift kits, roll bars, cell phones, non-Ford alarm/auto start/keyless entry, and others.

 

Ford Motor Co. provides an extensive review of your Ford Warranties in the Warranty Guide in the glove box of your new vehicle. Details of your Ford warranties are there. Ford makes all final decisions on its warranty policy.

Non Ford Modifications & Power Chips

Power “Chips” and Non-Ford Component Modifications installed to “Boost” power or off-road performance INVALIDATE your WARRANTY

What is Ford warranty policy on power-train software “chips” or component modification?

As you can read in the Warranty Guide, Ford will NOT warranty any repair caused by any tampering, altering, modifying, or non-Ford component replacement. Some examples are PCM “Power Chips”, lift kits, over sized tires, aftermarket power-train components, air filters, gears, suspension, converters, and 4WD kits. Ford will not pay for those components OR the parts on the vehicle those modifications caused to fail.

Why does Ford care?

Ford’s powertrain systems are highly integrated and technically complex systems with very tight tolerances and operating specs. They know from testing that parts that do not meet these highly controlled specs, or try to work around them, cause preliminary failure resulting in customer dissatisfaction and fraudulent warranty costs.

How can they find out if a customer put in a “Powerchip”?

  • There are seals that are broken when the chip is installed into the power-train control module.
  • Ford software can now detect a chip was put in and will identify specific codes to the technician, even if you removed the chip before you came in to the dealership.

 

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