saserby

Do you guys buy the warranty they sell with the tunes?

I just bought a 2012 with 42,000 miles and I bought an extended warranty with it. Any chance the aftermarket warranty would cover the tunes? I don't really want to pay another $500 to cover the enine.

At the same time, I'm wondering if the tuner's warranty means anything. If my existing warranty refuses to cover something because the tune caused the problem, shouldn't the tuner cover it anyway? Assuming the tune really did cause the problem? And would they?

Totally new to tuning, but definitely interested. Please let me know your thoughts and experiences. Thanks.

DirtDawg

Seems perhaps I'm in the minority here by choosing quite recently to spend $$ for extended FoMoCo warranty instead of an aftermarket tune. Not because I'm worried a mild tune will result in engine damage but instead, that flashing your CPU with one will "leave marks" traceable if/when a powertrain warranty claim is established and subsequently denied. Buy the aftermarket tuner warranty or go with none depending on your risk tolerance of losing remaining time/mileage coverage.

Sirikenewtron

No you're existing warranty should not cover the tune, if you read the fine print of your warranty it pretty much says that, "modifying/flashing CPU" will void warranty.
And no the tune will not cover the problem, unless you bought the warranty through them, I'm assuming you are talking about 5 star tunes/ Stage 3.
With that being said there are ways to make the tune less obvious to the dealership, that is if you are able to put stock tune back on and drive, get some miles on it...which is pretty hard to do if your truck is un-drivable.
Also the dealership has to prove the tune caused the issue to deny repair but if they say no and you feel it definitely was not due to the tune good luck fighting them.
I have an extended warranty through the dealer, I have also tuned my truck, I went with 5 star due to the fact they are the only tuner who offers a warranty, that says a lot in itself. I did not buy their warranty.

Best bet, Google: will a custom tune void my warranty
also stage 3 has some good info on the subject.
There are literally hundreds and hundreds of post/threads on this subject, for all different types of vehicles.

saserby

I'm pretty sure the dealer can tell if you had a tune installed, even if you return to stock. But they can't deny warranty on the whole truck just because you have a tune. So if say I had a tune and then te engine developed some known issue like the ticking problem, would it automatically be denied because of the tune?

If so, I suppose you lose warranty on the engine and trans, computer, driveline and maybe more. That would be tough to swallow for me since I just bought the warranty a couple months ago.

Sirikenewtron

Yes, they could deny the ticking and say due to the tune, but I know of people who have blown their motors and gotten them replaced under warranty that have been tuned, and some people were denied.
The sad truth is even some people with no tunes have a hard time getting warranty work done.
If you have a tune and need to take it in there are ways to make it harder for the dealer to find if the truck is driveable. Now if you have some crazy engine failure, rods through the block...they may send your computer to their big guys and they will go through it line by line, code by code.

And you are correct, they can't deny a blown window motor on your tune and deny replacement
for example.

Sirikenewtron

Bottom line, like they all say,
you gotta pay to play.
If your worried don't do it or pay the 500 for the warranty through stage 3.
I don't know what engine you have but for me, tuning my truck was money well spent, amazing difference, better shifting, mpg, torque, pull, power. My ecoboost was great before now it's awesome!

saserby

I've got the 5.0. Everybody seems to be in agreement that the tunes are the best thing since indoor plumbing.

I'm about to put a level kit and 34's on this week. I would like to have my speedo accurate, and I'd like to gain back the power loss in my 3.55 gears with the bigger tires. I'd also like to get rid of that dead time between hitting the gas pedal til it actually kicks in. I know a tune can get me all that.

Just trying to gauge the risk. I really feel it's a low risk that the tune will harm anything. I think it's a more moderate risk that my warranty provider will use it as an excuse to deny a problem that they would otherwise cover.

I think I need to read my warranty paperwork again. lol

Sirikenewtron

This is my thought/worry also^^^
I think I finally found a good dealership service department though, after three different ones.
I had one put the wrong damn oil weight in my truck and before the oil change they were telling me a level and bigger tires will void my warranty! When I got home and noticed the wrong oil on the paperwork I drove straight back, told them you know what else will void my warranty? !
The wrong f*ck!ng oil! Never went there again.