Dealer claims that Muffler delete led to Resonator Cracking out $400

[SloCal]

So despite the fact that the dealer has been unable to diagnose an overheating problem 2 summers in a row now, they just diagnosed that the insane amount of rattling around 2k rpm was due to a cracked resonator. They have concluded that this is due to my muffler delete and that the warranty won't cover it. They haven't proved it to me and the reasoning was just that it causes vibrations. I'm extremely pissed since the main issue still hasn't been fixed but basically I have never heard of an instance of this happening. I am heavily involved in the car community and have never heard of a muffler delete causing problems upstream on the exhaust. I think it's ludicrous that a resonator is $300 in parts alone so heres my questiuons:

Should i continue up the ladder with Ford Corporate?

Should i just get a new resonator at a muffler shop nearby for way cheaper?


At the end of my lease I was planning on getting a GT Performance Package but with the inability of these dealers to fix a major overheating problem and now this I'm seriously considering getting a different car.

Thanks for the help i know a lot of you will just say that you shouldn't modify your car but i literally have never heard of a muffler delete causing any problems upstream and this is just a cherry on top of my dealer experiences thus far

 

[Bretley]

I would personally just get another resonator. Seems like they're going to be a pain to deal woth. Idk how much they run in your area, but I've got a stock exhaust with around 15k on it. If you wanna pay the shipping, ill chop it off and send it to you. We're all here to help!

 

[codestp202]

My first piece of advice is to never rely on the dealer to think in your best interest. They will take any opportunity to blame the issue on you. Go get another resonator not from the dealership, fuck giving them your money.

 

[jmrtsus]

Seems to me you will pay one way or another. If you leased the car they can deduct the price to return it to stock when you turn it in. Generally your lease documents say you cannot modify the car. I also have a resonator I had cut off on day one if you want to pay the shipping from E. TN. I will never put it back on. Take it to a muffler shop and have it done. Hope you saved the muffler! With all the folks that have exhaust systems and resonator deletes you may find one closer.

 

[SloCal]

Thanks for the responses everyone. Car is still at dealer trying to replicate overheating issue like usual. I would be interested in paying for the shipping of your resonator if I can't find someone in the Socal area that has a cut off resonator. Thank you for the offers to help. I'm just planning on taking it to an exhaust shop like you said and welding it on. It's the best I can do at this point. Yes, I did save the muffler so I'm just going to weld that back on too upon lease return.

I'm far more pissed about this overheating issue that two dealers have been unable to replicate. I'm burning through time and money dealing with this since they never pay for rental cars and claim to be unable to replicate it despite the fact that I can get it to overheat within 5 miles of leaving dealership every time. I can't drive this thing in the Socal canyons anymore because any slight hill means coolant is >230. Getting a call from my SA with a $384 resonator plus labor while being unable to fix this issue rubs me the wrong way. At least i won't be keeping this past the warranty so won't have to deal with the inevitable cylinder coolant leak when it happens.

Thanks again everyone!

 

[KyleS]

Thanks for the responses everyone. Car is still at dealer trying to replicate overheating issue like usual. I would be interested in paying for the shipping of your resonator if I can't find someone in the Socal area that has a cut off resonator. Thank you for the offers to help. I'm just planning on taking it to an exhaust shop like you said and welding it on. It's the best I can do at this point. Yes, I did save the muffler so I'm just going to weld that back on too upon lease return.

I'm far more pissed about this overheating issue that two dealers have been unable to replicate. I'm burning through time and money dealing with this since they never pay for rental cars and claim to be unable to replicate it despite the fact that I can get it to overheat within 5 miles of leaving dealership every time. I can't drive this thing in the Socal canyons anymore because any slight hill means coolant is >230. Getting a call from my SA with a $384 resonator plus labor while being unable to fix this issue rubs me the wrong way. At least i won't be keeping this past the warranty so won't have to deal with the inevitable cylinder coolant leak when it happens.

Thanks again everyone!

Hey Man - I did a resonator delete so I have the stock one sitting in a box in my garage right now. Did the delete at 5,000 miles. I am in SFV. Would you mind sharing what dealership this is at so I can avoid?

 

[SloCal]

Hey Man - I did a resonator delete so I have the stock one sitting in a box in my garage right now. Did the delete at 5,000 miles. I am in SFV. Would you mind sharing what dealership this is at so I can avoid?

The car is still with them so there is still a chance they may be able to fix this today/tomorrow. It is Sunrise Ford although I wouldn't say to completely avoid them if they end up fixing this because they haven't been blatantly rude. They just have been unable to replicate the issue and/or do any kind of testing on the system/pull the radiator. They are still test driving it right now apparently but I definitely haven't had a great experience in my past few visits.

I actually just found out about the overheating recall but it seems all they do is install a coolant level sensor so not sure if that helps but it's weird to me that they didn't tell me about the TSB at least seeing that i told them that i'm experiencing all the symptoms of the recall and like most people don't want my car to burst into flames.

If you're willing to part with that resonator I'd be happy to take it off your hands so I can return the car with a stock exhaust (mostly) when i return it. Thanks for the reply!

 

[KyleS]

Ha - Yeah I am down the street from that dealership! I tried taking my car in for warranty work but could never get a a hold of a rep to schedule an appointment. Definitely will take my car somewhere else. Hit me up when you want to grab the resonator.

 

[Waterfan]

I bet you can find an entire used stock exhaust in For Sale for less than $100 or even for the cost of shipping. Way easier to solve yourself than to fight an annoying, losing battle on warranty claim.

 

[draxxus131]

Go ahead and show them a paper of the Magnuson Moss act. They won't even know what they are reading, but it sure as hell will them that they cannot do that to you. They have to provide cold hard evidence, that your muffler delete was purely the cause of your resonator cracking.

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[jmrtsus]

QUOTE=draxxus131;245228]Go ahead and show them a paper of the Magnuson Moss act. They won't even know what they are reading, but it sure as hell will them that they cannot do that to you. They have to provide cold hard evidence, that your muffler delete was purely the cause of your resonator cracking.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]

With the M-M Act the consumer has to prove their case, not the dealer. The dealer's position is that it does not have to perform something under warranty and why, it is up to you to provide evidence that it does. That Act gives you a method to do it in Free Arbitration and it allows you to sue them in Federal court if the damages are over $50K or State courts for less. If you used a typical oil or air filter the filter maker like Fram will have the documentation that proves it meets the Ford factory specs if that was the beef. You would have to provide documentation in this case or a witness that the removal of the muffler could NOT cause the problem. The Act is NOT a blanket "they have to fix it". It is procedures you must go through if they deny warranty coverage. Same with oils, hoses, belts, brakes and such, the makers will have the data to back up that their products meet the Ford/industry specs.

Mods are alway a gamble unless they are warranty friendly and very, very few are that actually affect performance other than Mountune. I knew when I did the resonator delete any exhaust problems were mine. I knew when I put the OCC that any problems traced to it were mine. Someday I will do the rotors, pads and brake hoses and accept that brakes will be my problem not Fords. What the Act did do for us is state that you do not have to use Ford parts on your Ford, gave us free arbitration and the fact that if you win in court they have to pay the fees. The M-M Act does make them fix it if it is Ford's problem and the Arbitrator/Judge will decide that. You could not win this one without some backup from an exhaust company.

 

[draxxus131]

My apologies you are correct, after re-reading over the document, this is correct as you say. Although I've had a different experience utilizing it in the past, but it was quite different from what you have to deal with. The only other thing you could use as a possible leg up would be the Fiat Abarth, it does not possess any muffler whatsoever.

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