NASSTY

True... but it doesn't prove that the tuner caused the failure.

itguy08

So if a crack in a connecting rod is found how did it get there? Result of a tune putting stress on it causing it to crack or a crack that was there from the beginning?

If a hole is melted in a piston is it a failure of a knock sensor, too much boost, etc. Result of a tune?

It's a guessing game that no manufacturer wants any part of. And I don't blame them.

It is simple - Ford and all manufacturers build and warrant the whole shebang. Mess with it and you are on your own. No matter how benign it seems it has the potential to cause issues.

I leave my stuff stock, work within its design parameters and get great life out ot it. If you mod you have to be prepared that things will wear out and break quicker.

BACK2GAS

Like I said in another post. The burden of proof is really on the owner not the dealer. Simply because a "tune" was used. The "tune" voids the warranty. Really they could say, "case closed" right there.

With no diagnostic record in the system of what was going on because of the tuner being used, why would the dealer have to prove anything?

Without that information they could simply say, "look you had "something" hooked up to our system that deleted the record of what was happening." At that point, you could lie or make up a story as suggested by many forum members or you could tell the truth (a novel concept I know) and pay the piper.

It's not like the alternator went out or the AC stopped working...the motor has holes in it and there happened to be a performance tuner hooked up. That's like standing over a dead body with bullet holes with a gun in your hand...you're gonna have some explaining to do.

NASSTY

Could be any of those things. Could also be bad gas, misfiring because of a bad coil or spark plug etc. etc.. But if FoMoCo finds out you had a tuner on the truck they are going to blame the tuner and not look to see if the tuner was the actual cause.

BACK2GAS

That's the beauty of their system, THEY don't have to prove anything. The tuner itself voids the warranty.

Really the whole thing is kinda silly. We ALL know that a tuner voids your warranty.

Everyone has the ability to rationalize whatever position they want and they're entitled to their opinion.

All I'm saying is that it comes down to accountability. It's not much different than breaking a window while playing catch. You could run away and say to yourself, "well that guy is a jerk anyway", or say, "it wouldn't have happened if he had double pane windows" OR you could knock on his door an own up to it.

itguy08

Right but they would also have to analyze every line of code in that tuner and make sure there were no bugs in the interaction of the tuner and the stock programming and hardware. Not going to happen.

No different than rooting or jailbreaking your smartphone and bricking it. The manufacturer isn't going to warranty it.

Ttrot

B2G: You're argument is well poised and rational, I'm not sure how I feel about either side, though I understand what you're saying and respect it.

My alternate scenario for you would be: If your life insurance policy strictly did not cover death resulting from extreme sports, but you had a heart attack on a jet-boat tour or paragliding or something along those lines on vacation, would you expect an autopsy to be performed on yourself to determine the cause of death, or would you be satisfied that the insurance claim should be denied to your significant other Prima Facie due to the activity you were engaged in?

The argument could be made that you would've had a heart attack anyways in the near or distant future due to blocked arteries, genetics, etc. It could also be made that the activity engaged in contributed to that condition, but to what degree? I find these answers more grey then black and white, similar to the situation the OP has described.

I am all for accountability, but I would want to know what share of the blame I should feel responsible for, and that can't be determined in a warranty contract. I hope my alternate scenario is a reasonable parallel to you, it makes sense in my head.

HardcoreOffroading

Back2gas
Agreed. I trust the engineers at ford not some smaller tuner company. Youd think if tuners for ecoboosts were so great the engineers would already have them stock.

Sako

Knowing that your policy doesn't cover you while handgliding, you accept that there will be no payment to spouse in the event you die while so engaged.

If you had a heart attack while handgliding, then died a week later from complications of such, then the outcome may differ.

Ttrot

I would like to re-iterate the important question from my scenario:

would you expect an autopsy to be performed on yourself to determine the cause of death, or would you be satisfied that the insurance claim should be denied to your significant other Prima Facie due to the activity you were engaged in?

Maybe a better example would be, if you had terminal cancer and decided you wanted to sky dive to check it off the bucket list. You die in the plane going up, does it not warrant an investigation? As far as I could tell in my extremely limited knowledge of the subject of insurance, the burden of proof would be on them that the death was a result of the activity, not the other way around, no?