A tune? Who? Me??

[JohnBoyNC]

So my registration was past due and I had to take my daughter to the DMV today, and the dealership I bought the car from is right on the way, so I decided to take her in the mustang and just have the dealership do the yearly inspection. I trust them more so than the 'kids' that work at the nearby Jiffy Lube places that are close by my house.

I pull in and take it to the service rep that did my exhaust upon my initial purchase. He oogled over the car and we chatted about what else I had done to the car. He jumps in it and before he starts it up he asks, ''you don't have a tune on this thing, do you?". Well, I do, and well, I lied to him. So I go and sit in the diner they have there and get a breakfast sandwich, thinking the whole time about what just happened and what I was going to say to him when confronted. My name came over the loud speaker and I walked out to the service area and............inspection done, no charge. Nothing was said about the tune and I went on my merry way.

Couple of questions if anyone might now the answers. Why would he ask me this on just an inspection? Did they check for a tune and possibly not have said anything and justed 'noted' it on my permanent record? Should I be concerned at all?

TIA

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[Tribefan]

Subscribing. This is interesting. Was this Crossroads Ford on 74?

 

[wireeater]

I place a piece of tape over my OBD II when I take it in for service that I know doesn't require to hook up to the OBD. There is no reason for a dealer to be connecting to your ECU for maintenance service. For inspection they may need to connect to the ECU to verify all the 02 sensors are operating correctly and there are no emission codes. Some states/counties do require it, some don't.

 

[EFI]

Why would he ask me this on just an inspection? Did they check for a tune and possibly not have said anything and justed 'noted' it on my permanent record? Should I be concerned at all?

He was just probably just casually talking to you about the mods, since you seem to be friendly with him.

As far as inspection goes, tunes have nothing to do with that...not like it's illegal or anything to have your car tuned. You passed, so that's all you need to worry about.

 

[gameovergt]

I place a piece of tape over my OBD II when I take it in for service that I know doesn't require to hook up to the OBD. There is no reason for a dealer to be connecting to your ECU for maintenance service. For inspection they may need to connect to the ECU to verify all the 02 sensors are operating correctly and there are no emission codes. Some states/counties do require it, some don't.

I have an ODB 2 port cover on mine that says do not flash.

 

[wireeater]

I have an ODB 2 port cover on mine that says do not flash.

Where did you get the cover? I wouldn't mind having one just to have it. I like the though of having it covered to keep debris and stuff out of it. (Yes I can google it, but what fun is that when having discussions!)

 

[Hashbrownn]

Having a tune does not automatically fail NC emissions & safety inspection. The tech was probably just curious.
As long as you can pass the emissions inspection, you are ok.

P.S. I have seen a car fail emissions inspection because of their "tune"

 

[wireeater]

I think he's more concerned about the dealer marking his VIN as modified for warranty related things, more so than emissions. Or at least that's how I read it.

 

[2015 Silver GT]

P.S. I have seen a car fail emissions inspection because of their "tune"

Lund's tunes will automatically fail unless you specify beforehand you need the rear o2's left on. So it can and has happened.

 

[EcoSwag1990]

Unless you are FI, catless, running E85 etc idk why people don't just return to the stock tuning before going in for service

 

[Kennocha]

Where did you get the cover? I wouldn't mind having one just to have it. I like the though of having it covered to keep debris and stuff out of it. (Yes I can google it, but what fun is that when having discussions!)

Maybe this one? Not sure what he has.

https://www.steeda.com/billet-obd-port-cover-555-1260.html

 

[jbailer]

They absolutely have to connect to the OBDII port for an emissions inspection. Emissions are tested from the car's PCM, several driving conditions must be met and it sets readiness indicators in the system that can be read through the OBDII port. That replaces the old tailpipe test.

When you take it to the dealer, there is 1 other possibility though. Sometimes they will check to see if there have been any important updates to the PCM strategy in your vehicle since it was purchased. If so, they would want to flash that update. If you have a tune in your car, that would mess you up. Actual results vary depending on what tuner you have.

If possible, flash back to factory stock if your mods permit it before taking it into the dealer. That way if they need to update the PCM, it won't mess up your tune.

 

[Agent_S550]

Inspections are very basic on newer cars. Unless you complained of an issue, you'd have no real reason to worry about the Tune. When I worked at the Ford Service department here I would talk to people about mods all the time. People would tell me openly they tuned their car. Others would try to hide it. Wasn't hard to find out with the IDS but even still I never cared. I always helped folks I liked that were car guys/girls.

Broke your CV axle drag racing? I'll word it so it's covered. Destroyed the transmission power shifting? That's strange it failed while lightly accelerating up an on ramp ;)

 

[JohnBoyNC]

Subscribing. This is interesting. Was this Crossroads Ford on 74?

 

[JohnBoyNC]

I think he's more concerned about the dealer marking his VIN as modified for warranty related things, more so than emissions. Or at least that's how I read it.

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