Beware: Heat Exchanger not covered under warranty

[LM42]

Yeaaaahhhhh mostly. Not to get too deep in the weeds here, but clumsy example: If you have a new tire blow out and destroy your fender lining, they are likely to replace both for free, even though the fender liner was not covered, but was damaged by failure of a covered part.

That is a completely different scenario. An easier and more likely scenario is that your alternator fails outside of base warranty and also kills the battery. You have premium care, so the battery is covered along with the alternator as related damage. Otherwise if it was only a battery failure it would not be covered.

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[Maleldil]

You can always look into the lemon laws in your state.

 

[LM42]

You can always look into the lemon laws in your state.

His truck does not remotely qualify....

 

[GPSMan]

The Federal Emissions Warranty only covers emissions related components for 2 years / 24,000 miles. There are only a few items that specifically are covered for 8 years/80k miles: the catalytic converters, the ECU, the onboard diagnostic computer (although normally this is the ECU), and the battery energy control module of hybrids.

That is referred to as "design and defect warranty".

"The Design and Defect warranty covers repair of emission control or emission related parts which fail to function or function improperly because of a defect in materials or workmanship during the vehicle's first 2 years/24,000 miles (8 years/80,000 miles for specified major components)."

Now if your vehicle is drivable but polluted to the point it fails an emissions test, 8/80 should apply:

"
COMPONENTS LISTED UNDER THE FEDERAL EMISSIONS WARRANTY
There are a number of parts and systems in today's vehicles that qualify as emissions-related parts. These parts and components are listed below. Keep in mind that new systems may be added since vehicles are constantly evolving.

• Air system controls
• Catalytic converters
• Distributor and distributor components
• Electronic fuel injection system and injectors
• Evaporative-emission canister and controls
• Exhaust manifold
• Exhaust gas recirculation valve and control system
• Exhaust pipes (between exhaust manifold and catalyst)
• Fuel cap and tank assembly
• Pump and fuel lines
• Ignition coil and ignition module
• Intake manifold
• On-board diagnostic-system components
• Oxygen sensors
• Positive crankcase-ventilation (PCV) valve or orifice
• Powertrain control module
• Secondary ignition wires
• Spark plugs
• Throttle body
• Transmission-control module
• Vacuum hoses, clamps, and fittings, as well as tubing used for these components
• Vacuum, temperature, altitude, speed, time-sensitive valves, sensors, and switches used in these components and systems.
• For details about which components may be covered, consult your vehicle's warranty manual, consult your dealer or contact your vehicle manufacturer."

Also there is the California Emissions Rule; the 11 (I think it is 11) "green" states rule, and the "50 states emissions" statement that means the vehicle meets requirements for every state.

 

[Darnon]

"The Design and Defect warranty covers repair of emission control or emission related parts which fail to function or function improperly because of a defect in materials or workmanship during the vehicle's first 2 years/24,000 miles (8 years/80,000 miles for specified major components)."

COMPONENTS LISTED UNDER THE FEDERAL EMISSIONS WARRANTY
There are a number of parts and systems in today's vehicles that qualify as emissions-related parts. These parts and components are listed below. Keep in mind that new systems may be added since vehicles are constantly evolving.

Emissions related parts are not the specified major components. Therefore, 2/24k.

Ford's own verbiage on the Federal Emissions Warranty in the Warranty Guide supports this:

The emissions defects warranty coverage period for passenger cars and light duty trucks (applies to vehicles up through 8,500 pounds GVWR) is as follows:
— 8 years or 80,000 miles (whichever occurs first) for catalytic converters, electronic emissions control unit, and onboard emissions diagnostic devices, including the battery energy control module (BECM), and emission-related reprogramming of modules.
— 2 years or 24,000 miles (whichever occurs first) for all other covered parts. (Note: Ford’s 3-year, 36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper coverage, as described above, surpasses this mandatory federal coverage.)

WHAT IS COVERED? If the parts on the following list contain an emissions-related defect, they are covered by the Defects Warranties.
...

Also there is the California Emissions Rule; the 11 (I think it is 11) "green" states rule, and the "50 states emissions" statement that means the vehicle meets requirements for every state.

Of which OP's Ohio is not one.

 

[jsus]

You can always look into the lemon laws in your state.

In OP's case, it made it through the bumper-to-bumper (3 year/)36,000 mi warranty. At that point, it's not a lemon, it's just a relatively new vehicle with a defect (apparently) not covered under any warranty (since no ESP was purchased).

 

[jsus]

I did track down PDF list of parts covered by PremiumCare ESP. 18K463 (Heater Assy - Auxiliary) is covered under Premium Care.

Thanks for checking! That should help some of us make the decision on whether or not to buy an ESP.

Let's say OP here were to buy one now, within the grace period post expiration of the B2B warranty (it's supposed to be under like 41 months/41,000 mi). Would a claim be denied under the ESP because of the prior denied claim?

 

[KevCuRaoi]

Thanks for checking! That should help some of us make the decision on whether or not to buy an ESP.

Let's say OP here were to buy one now, within the grace period post expiration of the B2B warranty (it's supposed to be under like 41 months/41,000 mi). Would a claim be denied under the ESP because of the prior denied claim?

That would depend on the dealer.... I'm assuming the ESP plan would need to be a "used" ESP plan, and would need to have a vehicle inspection done first. Any issues are supposed to be noted during that inspection, and shouldn't be covered. There are restrictions on what a dealer can claim against an ESP shortly after the contract is purchased. Dealerships have different prior approval "levels" based on their claims history. All dealers have to get prior approval for repairs done w/in 30 days of the contract start date. They'll be very picky and want to see the inspection that was performed before the ESP was purchased.

That dealership may deny the claim because they know it was an issue before the ESP was purchased.

I don't know what exact issue the OP is having. Just CEL? I had a CEL for the same heat exchanger/aux heater assy issue myself. The CEL has gone on and off. It is currently off. If the OP is having a similar issue to me, it may be possible that it would go unnoticed during the inspection, and then could be claimed later when the CEL returns.

In my case, I suspect that it is just intermittently beginning to fail. It has not caused me any problems other than occasional CEL. In a situation like that, the ESP would give you some peace of mind that the issue could be repaired later.

 

[jahl]

That is a completely different scenario. An easier and more likely scenario is that your alternator fails outside of base warranty and also kills the battery. You have premium care, so the battery is covered along with the alternator as related damage. Otherwise if it was only a battery failure it would not be covered.

You were saying that it is strictly by part number and if that part is covered or not. I added that sometimes a non-covered part will be covered if the failure was caused by a failure of a covered part.

 

[LM42]

You were saying that it is strictly by part number and if that part is covered or not. I added that sometimes a non-covered part will be covered if the failure was caused by a failure of a covered part.

Right. You are correct. But you are on a tangent. This is a totally different conversation and has nothing to do with what the OP is experiencing. But for sure, you are correc.t

 

[2022EOW]

To anyone that says "do not buy the warranty because the house always wins", I would say: Yes, the house always does win, but the house wins in health, home, and auto insurance too. Would you opt out of those?

You can’t “opt out” of auto (law in my state) or home insurance (at least while there is a mortgage). Comparing Apples to Oranges. Extended car warranties are primarily a rip off because most find ways not to cover things when claims are made.

 

[TC in MN]

A suggestion, ask your dealer / Ford warranty to identify where in the warranty the heat exchanger is excluded and request the answer in writing.

 

[NextTruck]

Let me just share my experience with my Maverick Hybrid. Had the check engine light come on for the same trouble codes for a failing heat exchanger. At the time my truck had 40k on it so out of the basic 3/36 but under the 5/60 powertrain and the 8/100 emissions warranty. My dealership ahs informed that it IS covered by the powertrain warranty since ENGINE coolant does flow through this part and also it would be covered by the emissions warranty as well since it is on the exhaust system. Now my part is on order had waiting till mid April to arrive but my dealer assured me that this is a part that is COVERED UNDER WARRANTY!! Either OP's dealer is being lazy or just flat out DON'T care and want to get paid! Either way there is no excuse as to why Ford would deny coverage on this part!

I guess because you might

Yeaaaahhhhh mostly. Not to get too deep in the weeds here, but clumsy example: If you have a new tire blow out and destroy your fender lining, they are likely to replace both for free, even though the fender liner was not covered, but was damaged by failure of a covered part.

Posting this as a caution to anyone considering a hybrid. This is concerning the heat exchanger which seems to be a common issue. I took delivery of my truck 3-28-2022. Around September with 20,000 miles I had an appointment scheduled for an engine shield recall. Days before my appointment, I began to get notifications in the app that battery power was low and all remote systems were disabled. Dealer found no issue causing this. Now at 38,000 miles, I have a check engine light with codes 237c and 237d. The cause was deemed to be the heat exchanger in the hybrid system (GREAT! Should be under the hybrid system warranty). Wrong. Sent home with the vehicle and told it is safe to drive. After speaking with the warranty department, I’m on my own for a $1500 repair on a part that should be covered under warranty. I have a shake at idle that started when the check engine light came on also. I was told that sometimes they’d offer to cover the cost based on circumstances but since I’m not a loyal ford customer, I’m out of luck. Mind you, I’m 26 and this is my first new vehicle ever owned. Just beware that after the 36,000 mile warranty, it’s a crapshoot whether anything (including power train) will be covered. Despite being maintained based on the maintenance schedule and services being done at the dealer, ford doesn’t care. Mine will be for sale after this repair and I’ll be Toyota shopping again based on solely customer service. My dealer’s service manager told me that this seems to be a common theme with ford’s warranty department in the last year. He told me that they thought it would be covered without question and he even requested it be covered again to no avail.
I don’t see this vehicle making it to 100,000 miles without extensive repairs and costs.

jmc600 on youtube notes the same problem. He indicates his dealer has been responsive and it will be under warranty and he is at 40,000 miles. So maybe it is not hard line on the mileage limit that some assert is absolute.

 

[NeedForSteve]

So just by a quick look at AllData, it looks like Ford is considering the heat exchanger to be part of the auxiliary cooling system, similar to a heater core. That's how they're justifying not considering it a powertrain component. However, I can't see how that's not considered a powertrain component since apparently there are embedded electrical components who's failure can directly contribute to a MIL?

If I'm understanding this correctly, I think we could see that coverage change in the future.

 

[Darnon]

However, I can't see how that's not considered a powertrain component since apparently there are embedded electrical components who's failure can directly contribute to a MIL?

"Powertrain" doesn't encompass everything that can set a MIL code monitored by the PCM. It mostly covers the mechanical drivetrain components and a few major cooling/fuel delivery. Most of the sensors, ignition, etc only fall under the basic warranty.

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