Tune voids warranty?

[strongholdsteve]

Buy a second PCM - tune the new one and keep the old one stock. Problem solved.

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[RaceRed5.0]

The Ford Performance Packs do not void the warranty and you do get a tuner with it you get tuner code that is saved with Ford so they have you on file. It's probably not as good as a Lund tune but it still a noticeable upgrade.

 

[texasboy21]

The Ford Performance Packs do not void the warranty and you do get a tuner with it you get tuner code that is saved with Ford so they have you on file. It's probably not as good as a Lund tune but it still a noticeable upgrade.

Why would it not be as good as Lund? Lund has no where near the tools, software, and access that Ford has.

 

[Bluemustang]

Why would it not be as good as Lund? Lund has no where near the tools, software, and access that Ford has.

Because Lund can squeeze more power out of it because they don’t have restrictions on emissions and other things like that.

But the OP, yes if you tune your car consider your powertrain warranty void. But these engines are considered to be pretty stout and reliable. There appears to be little risk with N/A tuning. Just pick the right tuner.

 

[RaceRed5.0]

Why would it not be as good as Lund? Lund has no where near the tools, software, and access that Ford has.

What Bluemustang said its a good question because a lot of people wonder that but the gains are not as drastic +5 or 10hp difference give or take a few. A lot of people go with the Ford Performance Packs especially here in the great over regulated and taxed state of California because some intakes wont even pass inspection like the Air Raid CAI. Many people are left with little choice like I was I could accept voiding the warranty but I didn't want to fail inspection, doesn't matter now that I am moving to Texas. :lol:

 

[grabber yote]

A good long standing relationship with your dealership goes a long way when warranty is in question. Our local dealership is mod friendly and easy to work with if you are honest with them. I’ve been buying my cars/trucks from the same dealership for 16 years. I’m on a first name basis with the GM.

 

[oesman]

Keep in mind that dealerships will look for any excuse to not honor your warranty. So any mod you have can be a used to deny service. So even if the mod isn’t causing the issue the fact that you have it can be used against you. It’s not right, but they can be prickly about such things !!!

It's not the dealers that refuse to honor your warranty. It's the manufacturer who reimburses the dealers.

Dealers get paid to do warranty work. It's not lucrative like non-warranty service work, because it's typically at a fixed rate for the job. i.e. Transmission swap should take 6.5 hours so that's all they'll pay for, if you take 8 hours it's your problem. Plus they do have to eat the occasional denied claim. So it's not a thing they necessarily love to do as a business.

However, keep in mind that any successful sales organization would rather keep you happy, make a few bucks off the warranty work, service your car after the warranty runs out and sell you a new car in a few years; Rinse and repeat. Voiding your warranty doesn't fit into that business model and it doesn't make the dealer happy. They know they'll have a pissed off customer who won't come back. With technology there is just less and less they can do about it to game the manufacturer.

Audi for example won't authorize a dealer to do warranty work without the car getting scanned into the computer. The dealer has to do it and the computer will flag the car as warranty void for powertrain if it detects that the car has/had a tune. As far as I know there's nothing the dealer can do about it, they won't get paid for their work if it's flagged.

Any dealership that wants to see your warranty void is being run by idiots.

 

[Bald Menace]

It's not the dealers that refuse to honor your warranty. It's the manufacturer who reimburses the dealers.

Dealers get paid to do warranty work. It's not lucrative like non-warranty service work, because it's typically at a fixed rate for the job. i.e. Transmission swap should take 6.5 hours so that's all they'll pay for, if you take 8 hours it's your problem. Plus they do have to eat the occasional denied claim. So it's not a thing they necessarily love to do as a business.

However, keep in mind that any successful sales organization would rather keep you happy, make a few bucks off the warranty work, service your car after the warranty runs out and sell you a new car in a few years; Rinse and repeat. Voiding your warranty doesn't fit into that business model and it doesn't make the dealer happy. They know they'll have a pissed off customer who won't come back. With technology there is just less and less they can do about it to game the manufacturer.

Audi for example won't authorize a dealer to do warranty work without the car getting scanned into the computer. The dealer has to do it and the computer will flag the car as warranty void for powertrain if it detects that the car has/had a tune. As far as I know there's nothing the dealer can do about it, they won't get paid for their work if it's flagged.

Any dealership that wants to see your warranty void is being run by idiots.

Ford requires the Tech to send a screenshot of a certain page from the handheld device before they will authorize certain repairs. they are making sure there have been no Tune revisions from factory

 

[oesman]

Ford requires the Tech to send a screenshot of a certain page from the handheld device before they will authorize certain repairs. they are making sure there have been no Tune revisions from factory

Makes sense, not as fancy as Audi's solution, but I'm sure it works just fine.

 

[Kschnabel]

I have CAI, catback exhaust, and tune among other things. I just had my transmission replaced under warranty a month ago without any issue. They only asked if I had a tune when I was getting the car back cuz of a weird idle after they flashed the car with the new transmission installed.

 

[oesman]

I have CAI, catback exhaust, and tune among other things. I just had my transmission replaced under warranty a month ago without any issue. They only asked if I had a tune when I was getting the car back cuz of a weird idle after they flashed the car with the new transmission installed.

Definitely believe it. To me it always seems to vary by manufacturer, might be dependent on the dealer too, maybe some have their ways of getting around things. I think if it's not obvious your mods caused it you have a better chance vs. showing up with a supercharger and melted pistons. Bad Menace posted an interesting flow chart and documentation:

check out this link and learn.. Tune can and will void warranties on affected components

https://ford.oemdtc.com/GSB/G0000128.pdf

I had the transmission in my G8 GT rebuilt under warranty despite a tune, cai, headers and a ton of suspension work. It was right before the warranty expired too. They didn't say anything, kept my car for over month, gave me a brand new loaner truck and paid my toll fees the whole time. All they said when I was picking up is "wow this thing is a hot rod", not sure that Buick dealer's service center saw many G8s.

 

[Nuked]

It all really boils down to the dealership and how "common" the issue is. I have experienced both sides of the spectrum in regards to mods and warranty stuff. I had an SRT-4 that had an intake. Thermostat stuck open with 7k miles and the dealer tried to say they didn't have to warranty it due to the intake. That is ridiculous, and needless to say was my last Mopar. On the other side I took my Focus ST in for motor mount TSB. Left my Accessport on the dash, full exhaust, FMIC etc. Guy didn't care at all, was more interested in BS'ing about the mods in a positive way. Replaced mount under warranty and even flashed the IPC with the newer firmware lol.


Again, being honest and cool with them goes a long way, of course there are always those assholes that you can't reason with.

 

[5pointyelloh]

This may be an old thread but just from personal experience, I’ve got a dealer out here currently replacing my motor after throwing a rod. Put a tune from Lund and intake on not a week before it blew up. Returned it to its proper form and turned it in, get it back in a couple weeks. It’s 50/50.

 

[WildHorse]

Depends on the dealer. Where I bought my car I bought it in on some cosmetic warranty work, which he promptly blamed on drag racing. I went to another dealer who use to be an old SVT (now roush) dealer and he told me no worries on the tune incase something happens. So yeah.. 50/50. If you find a good dealer, your golden.

 

[Andrew@Lethal]

Is this true? If so, what if I take it off and flash back to stock?

Some tunes void warranties. It really all depends on the dealer and who you know working there. We have a lot of customers who flash their cars back to stock/revert the parts back to stock who have warranties with minor bolt ons.

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