I would like to change the pan over to aluminum on my newer 2023. My question is will this void the warranty. Any first hand experience with ford saying maybe I should wait.

thanks

 

Some people will say that anything you do to your vehicle, the manufacturer will have to prove that the modification caused the problem.

Here is the reality - if you make a change (say, transmission pan) and then you have a transmission problem later, it is entirely possible that the mechanic will note a non-standard pan and Ford will deny warranty. You would then have to file suit to force Ford to the table, and you will have to hire a lawyer, expert witnesses, etc., to prove your claim. Otherwise they will just state that their engineer made those design choices for a reason and they considered the aluminum pan but decided against it for XYZ reason. In reality, you will pay much more in legal bills than you would have for the repairs, and they know it.

SO, until it's out of warranty, it's better to just leave it stock...especially on the drive train.
Putting a new hitch on it... probably not a problem...

 

thank you for the reply. I figured such

Matt

 

I'm kind of in the same boat. I already bought a PPE pan but haven't put it on yet, mainly because it's still too early to change the fluid. I'll probably end up putting it on before warranty is out tho.

Having said that, here's a potential scenario: you pull the stock pan and notice a whole bunch of metal in there. Now what? Quietly bolt the stock pan back on and pretend you never saw it... You'd have to fill it up with new fluid and now can't prove what you saw. Plus it would be evident that someone tampered with it.

This actually happened to a member on here, but he wasn't changing the pan. Apparently, he just took it in due to some shifting issues and when the dealer pulled the pan, they noticed a lot of metal in the fluid. Gave him a new transmission under warranty.

 

WTH is a Kroger Turkey pan going to do, anyways?

 

IMO, neither scenario should void the warranty, I am just saying that if you do change it, you might have to prove that the modification did not cause it. In your scenario, by taking the pan off, you just caught an issue. I don’t think ford trucks are like John Deere (yet) where the customer doesn’t have the right to repair…at least when it comes to transmission pans

 

My 23 developed some hard down shifts when towing up 6-7% grades. It would just shake the whole truck. Took it into Ford, Dealer said, " No Codes and we can't recreate, So just drive it until it blows up and then we will repair it"

That was not an acceptable answer to me, So I researched it and found lots of comments that it was the TQ and needed the fluid changed. I had a small town mechanic change my fluid and filter. ( since I don't have a lift and wasn't about to drop the transmission pan in my driveway) Cost $500 and I have not had a hard shift since. Mechanic did say the tranny fluid was a little dark for 50,000 miles. And suggested I come back in 15,000 miles and do a second fluid change to get the rest of the bad fluid out. ( Which I'm due for now)

The point being, Dealer wasn't going to do any warranty work, unless I had codes or he could duplicate the hard shift driving around the block. So they will use any excuse to not do extra work.

 

Part of why I have my vehicles serviced at a dealer under warranty, is so that if I have any issues I can have them note it in the vehicle history. I may never need that information, but if something DOES happen that I reported and they couldn't actually find an issue for, at least it was documented.

I also have them do any modifications to my trucks (such as the level kit on my wife's old truck, or adding the ITBC). If you have a good working relationship with your dealer's service department, and they did the work, then they'll likely ignore that the modification was done and get the claim filed under warranty. In this case, if I have them do a pan swap and refill the fluid, THEY did it, so they know what it looked like inside, and if I have problems later (such as a transmission failure), then there is a record that they did it and all of it can be proven, and they can fight with Ford to get the warranty covered.

I too have heard the horror stories of someone doing a level on their truck, then some random not-related component fails, and the OEM tries to deny the warrany because of the level. It's a headache I don't want to deal with. Once there's no warranty, sure, I'll do as I please, because it's no longer their responsibility. Until then, I'll keep up that relationship with my dealer.

 

Sounds about right... and by then it'll be right out of warranty.


I'm in the same boat, but I asked them if they'll swap the PPE pan they said they don't do aftermarket parts. I've noticed there is a huge difference in how dealerships handle things. You'd think it would be more standardized, but it's really not.


Lol, for me the swap is mainly to make future oil changes easier, with the drain plug and all.

 

You don't have to prove that you didn't cause it. They have to prove (somehow reach a justifiable conclusion) that the modification DID, in fact, cause a failure of an otherwise covered part. These are not the same thing.

 

It doesn't work that way. They can't state that your level caused the HVAC blower motor to fail. They can say they won't replace an OEM strut or shock because they are related. Bottom line, they have to be able to explain how whatever the aftermarket accessory or change was the root cause for an otherwise covered part.

 

It really depends on your relationship with the dealership. Some will help you out and have common sense, others will go out of their way not to warranty even obvious issues, even with no mods. Then if you fight to get something done, you spend much of your time hoping that they actually fix the issue, and not break or harm anything else... Just cause it's a Ford dealership doesn't mean they will always do a good job, and it doesn't mean that they will stand behind their work. Just read through the forums and you will come across denied warranties. Heck, they can even deny your warranty if you use any sort of fuel treatment.

It may bite me in the butt tomorrow, but I didn't opt for any extended warranties and I have done a fair share of aftermarket accessories, some starting at only 5k miles. Being that I plan to keep my truck long term, I would rather go ahead and make upgrades that benefit the truck so that the life of the truck is extended. And yes, I did a PPE pan at 45k miles. I wanted to do it earlier around 30k, but it didn't work out. However, if you plan to even do a tans fluid flush or filter change you have to drop the pan anyway.

So, my vote is to put the pan on now. A pan isn't going to mess up your transmission. You will save a ton of money by doing it yourself also... and at least you will know it was done correctly, and with new, fresh fluid.

 

haha so true. It's kind of like fast food... I'd rather not know what's going on behind the scenes.

 

Yeah it depends on the dealer, and I've found your rural dealers tend to be more willing to take on the risk than your urban ones. Probably has to do with the fact that they KNOW their prices are higher, and they're willing to do whatever they can to get customers.

 

It's not SUPPOSED to work that way. But there are shady dealers who will go out of their way to deny warranty claims just based on any modifications. And they count on their customers being too stupid to know it.