Today, after 4 years 5 months of owning my Fiesta ST, I broke out of the mileage warranty period. Yes, the car is 5 years old and was "officially" out of the warranty period 2 years ago, but in general people drive 12-15k miles per year so the 36,001 mile mark might be the benchmark that applies to more of us here.
Many are scared to mod their car, especially the engine/tranny, until it's out of warranty, and in that case it's 5 years/60000 miles. There's good reason for this hesitation since modifications, especially higher ticket ones, really can compromise reliability and void the warranty. I've seen scores of posts where people express reluctance to mod until the car is out of warranty due to worry about (a) voiding the warranty or (b) something breaking. I greatly respect that perspective.
However in my case I'm comfortable with Ford quality and my own approach and ability in modding so I jumped in immediately after purchase with all the bolt-ons and a custom tune. At 18,000 miles I added the hybrid turbo and several thousand dollars more in mods.
And I'm happy to say that in 36,004 miles the extensive changes I've made to my car have caused nothing to break. Now I understand that these changes have likely stressed various components of the car more than if I'd kept it stock. But in terms of voiding the warranty or killing the car, neither has happened, due to a balanced and well-researched approach to modding.
The only thing that has failed on the car is (1) the A/C compressor and (2) the driver's blend door actuator, both at around 6,000 miles, both replaced under warranty.
So mod your car while in the warranty period at your own risk. In my case, at 36,004 the car runs like a top. Thanks Ford!!!!
Many are scared to mod their car, especially the engine/tranny, until it's out of warranty, and in that case it's 5 years/60000 miles. There's good reason for this hesitation since modifications, especially higher ticket ones, really can compromise reliability and void the warranty. I've seen scores of posts where people express reluctance to mod until the car is out of warranty due to worry about (a) voiding the warranty or (b) something breaking. I greatly respect that perspective.
However in my case I'm comfortable with Ford quality and my own approach and ability in modding so I jumped in immediately after purchase with all the bolt-ons and a custom tune. At 18,000 miles I added the hybrid turbo and several thousand dollars more in mods.
And I'm happy to say that in 36,004 miles the extensive changes I've made to my car have caused nothing to break. Now I understand that these changes have likely stressed various components of the car more than if I'd kept it stock. But in terms of voiding the warranty or killing the car, neither has happened, due to a balanced and well-researched approach to modding.
The only thing that has failed on the car is (1) the A/C compressor and (2) the driver's blend door actuator, both at around 6,000 miles, both replaced under warranty.
So mod your car while in the warranty period at your own risk. In my case, at 36,004 the car runs like a top. Thanks Ford!!!!