Quick Hit – 2016 Ford Focus RS….Will Aftermarket Modifications Void MaxCare?

It started innocently enough while I was searching for interesting manual-transmission cars. I was intrigued by this 2016 Ford Focus RS with only 28,000 miles. The Focus RS, made in Germany, was imported only from 2016-2018. Manual transmission only, AWD, drift mode, 350 hp from the 2.3-liter turbo four, 0-60 mph in 4.6 seconds, and a top speed of 165 mph. I snipped some pictures thinking I’d blog about it, and maybe the other Focus RS unicorns, and something about the engine bay caught my eye. What’s with this “mountune” tube? None of the other Focus RS motors have one. A rabbit hole deep dive with Claude, my AI research buddy, was underway.

Turns out mountune (they spell it lower case) started as a British auto tuner in 1980, and later was bought by Rousch. Management bought it back in 2008. mountune USA, founded in 2013, based in Carson, California, calls itself a “sister company” of the English mountune. It’s mainly a race-engine builder, with a 20,000 sq ft shop, machining and a dyno. Its staff comes from Cosworth, Toyota Racing Development, and Nissan. It also sells Ford performance parts for the Ford Fiesta ST, the Focus RS, and “EcoBoost trucks”.

I fed the engine bay photo to Claude, who saw more than I ever could:

“Based on the engine bay photo, this Ford Focus RS has multiple visible Mountune hardware upgrades installed right on top. While Mountune can verify software or full engine builds via VIN, these physical bolt-on parts are clearly identifiable from your image.

Here are the specific modifications present in the engine bay:

• Mountune High-Flow Induction Hose (Blue): The most obvious modification is the bright blue silicone induction hose running across the top of the engine bay, prominently featuring the mountune logo. This replaces the restrictive factory rubber corrugated hose to smooth out airflow to the turbo.
• Mountune High-Flow Intake Crossover Pipe: Connected to that blue hose is an upgraded, larger-diameter cast aluminum crossover pipe. It provides less air restriction than the restrictive factory plastic unit.
• Mountune / Ford Performance Airbox Upgrade: The airbox features the custom open-ended lid with the RS logo emblem. This allows more intake induction noise to escape while pulling in a higher volume of air.
• Upgraded Silicone Couplers & Hose Clamps: The black silicone couplers connecting the intake system use heavy-duty T-bolt style clamps rather than standard factory worm-gear clamps, which are designed to hold up under increased boost pressure.”

Interesting. Claude also suggested I upload a front-end shot to see what other mods might be there. I pasted the shot above and got the info below:

The Factory Intercooler Visual

“If you look closely through the mesh of the lower front grille on a stock Focus RS, Ford actually blocked off the bottom portion of the radiator assembly with a black plastic “blanking plate” from the factory. They did this because the stock intercooler was actually too efficient in cold climates, which could cause condensation to build up inside the intake tract. [1]

What to Look for on This Car

When owners install the Mountune Upgraded Intercooler, that plastic block-off piece has to be completely removed. [1, 2] If you zoom into the lower grille opening on the CarMax photo:

• The Color: The factory intercooler core is a standard raw, unfinished aluminum silver. Mountune units are finished in a sleek, powder-coated textured black. [1, 2]
• The Logo: Mountune includes a cardboard stencil with their intercoolers. Many owners use it to spray-paint a bright white or yellow “mountune” text logo right across the face of the cooling fins. [1]
• The End Tanks: If you peek into the far left or right edges of the lower bumper opening, the factory unit uses cheap crimped black plastic end-tanks. The Mountune upgrade features thick, smooth cast aluminum end tanks that are welded directly to the core. [1, 2, 3]

Based on the angle and lighting of that front shot, the lower grille area looks completely blacked out, which strongly hints that the matching black Mountune intercooler core is already sitting back there behind the bumper mesh to support those engine bay intake mods. [1]”

I gotta admit I don’t see any of that, and it could all be bullshit. I believe the engine bay photo analysis; the intercooler thing, I’ll wait and see if readers have better insight. Or eyesight.

So I reached out to mountune and shared the VIN, asking if they had anything to share on the car. I figured since it was for sale, they wouldn’t be violating any confidentiality stuff. To their credit, they responded pretty quickly to say they had no record of the VIN, so it’s likely the owner bought the parts and installed them themselves. I wrote back with the pictures of the engine bay and front end to try to verify Claude’s assessment, and they have not written me back.

Claude also offered to inspect pictures of the exhaust and saw no telltale mountune aftermarket modifications. It summed it all up with this:

What this means for the car’s tune

“This is actually a very common configuration. Many Focus RS owners choose to install Mountune’s m380 package, which includes the exact intake parts and intercooler we saw on this car, but keeps the factory catback exhaust system to prevent the car from becoming too loud for daily driving.”

So all we really know is that there are for sure some aftermarket modifications to the engine bay. Maybe the m380 package and ECU tune, which would give it another 25 horsepower.

For just a little bit, I wondered how much fun this car could be for me, and whether I was onto a tuned Ford Focus RS and maybe CarMax didn’t really know what they had on their hands. And that got me thinking about MaxCare. The fine print actually says, “Aftermarket accessories or equipment installed after the vehicle purchase date”. Because CarMax was selling this car with the aftermarket mods already in place, presumably those parts would be covered? Also, if the engine blew up later, would the MaxCare underwriter blame it on the mods and deny a claim? And finally, what if you bought this car, or any car, from CarMax and it had aftermarket mods and you didn’t even know it?! Who’s responsible if it melts down, even if it’s caused entirely by the aftermarket mods that were on there when you bought it? I had no idea, so I wrote CarMax’s press people. They have answered me before, but it’s been a week and not a peep. And now the car is sold. But my questions remain. I will let you know if I get a response. (I just discovered there’s a “social media / influencer” email connection for CarMax – seems grandiose for my little old blog, so not going that route just yet.)

Even though it sold, you can still check it out using the link here. And I welcome any wisdom from readers who probably know more about Ford Focus RS models and mountune.

Stock No: 70235093 VIN: WF0DP3TH3G4117801