Anyone had thier warranty voided for tuning?
03-27-2016, 02:09 AM
#1
Anyone had thier warranty voided for tuning?
Tuners like the SCT X4 allow you to re-load the stock tuning file right? I assume there is still something a dealer's diagnostic tool could read to see if the truck has had a non-stock tune loaded in it's lifetime though.
I'd like to know if anyone has had their warranty voided after having their truck serviced in this condition.
I'd like to know if anyone has had their warranty voided after having their truck serviced in this condition.
03-27-2016, 02:57 AM
#2
Senior Member
A manufacturer has to prove definitively that any modification you made to your vehicle led directly to a failure to void a warranty, and even then they can oonly void the warranty on the affected parts.
03-27-2016, 03:42 AM
#3
Beer Gut Extraordinaire
The Ford warranty guide states that if you modify the vehicle with certain mods you are at risk of warranty denial.
Theoretically speaking if you install a leveling kit and your electric steering rack fails, they need to prove that the leveling kit caused the failure. Or if your stock engine fails and you have a catback exhaust, they will need to prove why that catback exhaust caused the failure.
However, if you tune your engine and it throws a rod through the block, they have no obligation to prove why the tune caused the failure. Even if they had to directly prove it, it's not hard for them to do. The minute you modify the original parameters of the engine, you are at high risk of being denied warranty if a failure occurs. All they will tell you is that the engine was modified beyond manufacturer specifications.
Also, "voiding warranty" is a generalized statement. Ford will never void your warranty completely, however they will deny the warranty claim. If you throw a rod through the block and pay for a new engine, your warranty continues as it was before.
Tuning your engine to improve power and drivability is great, I'm all for it. Everything has room for improvement. Just be prepared to pay up if something happens. If your engine fails and you install the stock tune and bring it to the dealership and they don't find the tune in there, consider yourself lucky. As soon as they find the tune, all bets are off. Gotta pay to play.
Theoretically speaking if you install a leveling kit and your electric steering rack fails, they need to prove that the leveling kit caused the failure. Or if your stock engine fails and you have a catback exhaust, they will need to prove why that catback exhaust caused the failure.
However, if you tune your engine and it throws a rod through the block, they have no obligation to prove why the tune caused the failure. Even if they had to directly prove it, it's not hard for them to do. The minute you modify the original parameters of the engine, you are at high risk of being denied warranty if a failure occurs. All they will tell you is that the engine was modified beyond manufacturer specifications.
Also, "voiding warranty" is a generalized statement. Ford will never void your warranty completely, however they will deny the warranty claim. If you throw a rod through the block and pay for a new engine, your warranty continues as it was before.
Tuning your engine to improve power and drivability is great, I'm all for it. Everything has room for improvement. Just be prepared to pay up if something happens. If your engine fails and you install the stock tune and bring it to the dealership and they don't find the tune in there, consider yourself lucky. As soon as they find the tune, all bets are off. Gotta pay to play.
03-27-2016, 06:33 AM
#4
The Ford warranty guide states that if you modify the vehicle with certain mods you are at risk of warranty denial.
Theoretically speaking if you install a leveling kit and your electric steering rack fails, they need to prove that the leveling kit caused the failure. Or if your stock engine fails and you have a catback exhaust, they will need to prove why that catback exhaust caused the failure.
However, if you tune your engine and it throws a rod through the block, they have no obligation to prove why the tune caused the failure. Even if they had to directly prove it, it's not hard for them to do. The minute you modify the original parameters of the engine, you are at high risk of being denied warranty if a failure occurs. All they will tell you is that the engine was modified beyond manufacturer specifications.
Also, "voiding warranty" is a generalized statement. Ford will never void your warranty completely, however they will deny the warranty claim. If you throw a rod through the block and pay for a new engine, your warranty continues as it was before.
Tuning your engine to improve power and drivability is great, I'm all for it. Everything has room for improvement. Just be prepared to pay up if something happens. If your engine fails and you install the stock tune and bring it to the dealership and they don't find the tune in there, consider yourself lucky. As soon as they find the tune, all bets are off. Gotta pay to play.
Theoretically speaking if you install a leveling kit and your electric steering rack fails, they need to prove that the leveling kit caused the failure. Or if your stock engine fails and you have a catback exhaust, they will need to prove why that catback exhaust caused the failure.
However, if you tune your engine and it throws a rod through the block, they have no obligation to prove why the tune caused the failure. Even if they had to directly prove it, it's not hard for them to do. The minute you modify the original parameters of the engine, you are at high risk of being denied warranty if a failure occurs. All they will tell you is that the engine was modified beyond manufacturer specifications.
Also, "voiding warranty" is a generalized statement. Ford will never void your warranty completely, however they will deny the warranty claim. If you throw a rod through the block and pay for a new engine, your warranty continues as it was before.
Tuning your engine to improve power and drivability is great, I'm all for it. Everything has room for improvement. Just be prepared to pay up if something happens. If your engine fails and you install the stock tune and bring it to the dealership and they don't find the tune in there, consider yourself lucky. As soon as they find the tune, all bets are off. Gotta pay to play.
Accurate information! I will add that there is indeed a mechanism by which the dealer can see if the tune has been modified, even if it's returned to the stock tune.
There are expensive, specialized tuners who claim to be able to install a "stealth" tune that is not detectable by the manufacturer once it's returned to stock. I have no specific proof whether that is an accurate claim or not.
03-27-2016, 06:49 AM
#5
So much wrong here.
Warranties cannot be 'voided'. If you bring your truck to the dealer for service and they happen to notice it has a tune, they may deny a warranty claim for the powertrain. Your warranty is still in force, and your misaligned doors, freezing locks, melting cargo lamp etc. will still be fixed under warranty.
A manufacturer does NOT have to prove that a modification caused a failure. This a a gross misinterpretation of the Magnuson-Moss act. The act prevents the manufacturer from denying warranty claims when non-OEM replacement parts are used. Filters, fluids, brakes, belts, spark plugs, whatever do not have to be Motorcraft to keep the warranty in force. The act does not cover modifications like tunes and lifts.
The only truly stealth tune is a piggyback tuner, since the ECU is not reprogrammed. A piggyback tuner can be removed without a trace, but they are also relatively simple and usually just dial in a bit more boost.
All this being said, a mild tune isn't going to cause a failure, I've tuned many vehicles, never had an issue with either the vehicle or a dealer as a result. Just keep in mind that if you have a powertrain failure and a tune, you might have a warranty issue.
Warranties cannot be 'voided'. If you bring your truck to the dealer for service and they happen to notice it has a tune, they may deny a warranty claim for the powertrain. Your warranty is still in force, and your misaligned doors, freezing locks, melting cargo lamp etc. will still be fixed under warranty.
A manufacturer does NOT have to prove that a modification caused a failure. This a a gross misinterpretation of the Magnuson-Moss act. The act prevents the manufacturer from denying warranty claims when non-OEM replacement parts are used. Filters, fluids, brakes, belts, spark plugs, whatever do not have to be Motorcraft to keep the warranty in force. The act does not cover modifications like tunes and lifts.
The only truly stealth tune is a piggyback tuner, since the ECU is not reprogrammed. A piggyback tuner can be removed without a trace, but they are also relatively simple and usually just dial in a bit more boost.
All this being said, a mild tune isn't going to cause a failure, I've tuned many vehicles, never had an issue with either the vehicle or a dealer as a result. Just keep in mind that if you have a powertrain failure and a tune, you might have a warranty issue.
Last edited by todd92; 03-27-2016 at 07:10 AM.
03-27-2016, 08:50 AM
#6
GDreject
True story: I was asking the shop foreman/chief service tech, or whatever they're called (known and dealt with him for years) about getting a tuner for my new truck (had tuner on last truck as well but it didn't cause any problems, I didn't even remove it when taking it to dealer but they didn't care) and he advised me against getting tuner on this new truck of mine. Last month they had a Raptor in the shop with a blown engine. The owner of that Raptor had to foot the bill on a new 6.2 liter engine because the dealer found it it had an aftermarket tune, so it does happen.
This time I decided I don't want to take the chance.
This time I decided I don't want to take the chance.
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Velosprout (03-27-2016)
03-27-2016, 01:59 PM
#7
I have the impression based on past threads here that the computer may record the max of various variables that it tracks. I don't know which variables, but that part isn't supposedly touched by the tune. So, for example, if the computer tracks max obtained hp or boost, ford could see that, and if it's outside the specs of the engine, they could deny a claim.
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06-27-2018, 05:35 PM
#8
Senior Member
If I could get a 2018, mine would have looked similar. 
I love the new front redesign on them.
I will just keep enjoying what I have.
As far as the warranty issue.....I haven't had to take mine in for any warranty issues so I really can't comment. That said, I did buy a 3/36 warranty from Roush when I had the supercharger installed just in case. Probably money I could have spent elsewhere as the truck has been solid.
I love the new front redesign on them.I will just keep enjoying what I have.
As far as the warranty issue.....I haven't had to take mine in for any warranty issues so I really can't comment. That said, I did buy a 3/36 warranty from Roush when I had the supercharger installed just in case. Probably money I could have spent elsewhere as the truck has been solid.
06-27-2018, 06:28 PM
#9
The dealer will not care until you come in with an issue that may or may not be attributed to the tune.
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Brand (06-29-2018)
06-28-2018, 07:42 AM
#10
Senior Member
I have the impression based on past threads here that the computer may record the max of various variables that it tracks. I don't know which variables, but that part isn't supposedly touched by the tune. So, for example, if the computer tracks max obtained hp or boost, ford could see that, and if it's outside the specs of the engine, they could deny a claim.