The drive train is pretty stout. People are adding superchargers and turbo kits and things are holding up. A quality tune by a good tuner like 5* or MPT will not add any strain that is worth noting.

A good tune will actually improve shift points and shift speeds, which helps the tranny.

 

thanks for all the info

 

I guess I'll be the one that has had a negative outcome from a tuner that destroyed my 2002 SuperCrew's transmission at 100,000 miles.

Granted, the transmissions in the 2002 model year were not as stout as they are in the current 2013 that I own but it scared me enough not to ever put in another tune due to the experience I had with them back then. I installed an Edge programmer at 60,000 miles and did regular oil and transmission fluid changes as recommended by Ford. But the harsh shifting using a Tow tune was not kind to the transmission and after a short 40,000 miles, the transmission was shot.

A new rebuilt transmission and $2000 later I was up and running again but the transmission tech took the pan off the original one and said the harsh sifting had caused the damage in the shift ports and veins inside. I forget what it was called but after getting the Ford rebuilt transmission back into place I removed the Edge programmer and used the stock settings again until I got rid of the truck in 2013 after putting another 175,000 trouble free miles on it "without" the programmer installed. Traded it in after 275,000 miles on my current 2013 truck which will NEVER see a tuner on it.

 

Transmissions fail sometimes. I bet the tech used the tune as the easy scapegoat for your malfunction.
I probably have over 40,000 towing miles on my older truck, and never had an issue. Towing a 6500lb boat with a truck that has 35's on it with a sluggish 3.55 rear end definitely puts a kickin on that tranny! I would bet your tune wasn't the culprit.

 

I don't think there have been any legitimate concerns about reliability with the moderate custom tunes from the tuners that have been around for years. However, many of us have been reluctant to put tuners on during warranty period because Ford and other manufacturers look to blame the tune for warrantied items even if it was completely unrelated to the warrantied failure. I tuned my truck the week after my warranty expired.


One question you need to ask is what are you expecting out of the tuner ? For me, the tuner and custom tunes are not worth the cash for daily driving, but worth every penny while towing. The extra 25 to 30 ft/lbs I get with premium fuel in conjunction with the improved shift strategy and the lockout of 6th gear make for a much more pleasant towing experience with my 5.4 (different engine but same 6R80 transmission).

 

Mine has been tuned for about 3 years, zero mechanical issues no drawbacks at all unless you count rapid tire wear. Sure is fun though. Don't count on any MPG improvement, count on a power improvement.

 

I bought 3 tunes for mine. 87 Perf and 2 versions of MPT's 93 Perf tunes. I honestly expected to be using the 93 Performance tunes all the time. After putting about 1000 miles on the 93 perf tune, I am switching to the 87 perf tune. It did give 20ish more hp according to MPT, but it just wasn't enough for me to justify the extra cost of the 93 fuel.

The throttle response alone is enough for me to justify using the 87 tune though. Shift points are better as well. I did not like the shift points of the street tune, I will be using the chill shift settings. Street shifted way to harsh for me at highway speeds.

 

My truck has been tuned since before it had its first oil change. No issues, whatsoever. I trust 5 Star Tuning to keep my safe within the realms of their tuning. With proper maintenance, I don't see tuning/modding shortening my truck's life span.

 

Livernois tuner on my '14 EB here, perfectly satisfied, 0 issues or concerns.