The All New 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302, like most other new Ford vehicles, comes with a factory three-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty and a five-year, 60,000-mile power train warranty. It also comes with what they call a Track Key, which is intended for off road “Race Use” Only. The Track key adds Trac Mode power train control software to the car for track use, providing full race calibration and two-stage launch control in addition to stock calibration, without compromising factory warranty* It uses a dual-path power train control module (PCM), and the TracKey software is installed after the vehicle is purchased and accessed only by the specially programmed vehicle Track key. No aftermarket chips or permanent modifications are made when TracKey is used, so it allows owners to return to the stock setting by starting the car with a regular key
Now word has it that some fine print reads” installing the TracKey on your new Boss may void your power train warranty”. Word has it that the Ford TracKey feature available on the Ford Mustang Boss 302 will come with some interesting fine print. According to Mustangs Daily, owners who opt to have TracKey installed at their local Ford dealer will have to endure a three-year, 36,000-mile powertrain warranty. That’s noticeably shorter than the five-year, 60,000-mile warranty that comes standard on the Mustang Boss 302. Of course, this might actually be seen as a benefit to a lot of TracKey purchasers, because the TracKey is specifically intended for track use. Having a warranty for a tracked car is well outside the norm–many warranties specifically exclude such use. It’s worth noting, too, that the fine print on the Laguna Seca package says it “may” void the vehicle’s warranty, and that it must be installed by the customer.
In addition, owners who decide to bolt on any extra performance modifications in conjunction with TracKey will see their warranty completely voided. Ford says that aftermarket modifications could cause severe engine damage.
Despite the shortened warranty, Ford doesn’t expect any reliability issues with TracKey. The company says that its engineers have done all of the necessary homework on the system. From the sound of things, Ford is simply protecting itself from abusive owners who may seek to take advantage of a race car with a warranty. We’ll learn more once Ford officially debuts TracKey at SEMA in Las Vegas in a few weeks.