Tune voids warranty?

[drumstick]

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

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[Dominant1]

Yes it does , no sense in putting it back to stock the damage is done. They have a tool that can read if the ecu has been flashed!

 

[bmatt]

This isn't true, magnuson moss warranty act covers this. Many will argue that litigation will be drug on by Ford and they have lawyers and money to win, that may or may not be the case.

If you tune your car a counter is ticked up, so they can look at records and see that they only have record of x number of flashes by the dealership, but that doesn't necessarily prove you tuned it; whose to say a tech was just lazy one day? Of course, that wouldn't be the right way to go about things anyway.

If you tune your car and things break it is likely going to be more difficult to get it repaired under warranty. However, the onus is on Ford to prove that the modification caused the failure, in theory at least. If something drive line fails after a tune then you are going to be in a tough place though. If something electronic or non drive line related fails it shouldn't be as much, if at all, of an issue.

 

[JimC]

It's really quite simple. Ford warranties the car that Ford built. When you change the tune it is no longer the car that Ford built -- if you swap out the radio would you expect Ford to honor the warranty on the audio system?

So if Ford can determine that the tune is A proximate cause of the damage, they will deny coverage. You can yell Magnuson Moss all you want, but Ford doesn't have to start the lawsuit - it just has to say "we have determined that you made a change that caused this damage". That is the extent of the proof that Ford has to come forward with.

It is then up to you to go to court and try to disprove what the Ford engineers determined. Ford doesn't have to do anything more than give you their determination, they don't have to go to court and prove anything until you file the suit as plaintiff. That is a pretty big hurdle. And yes the modern car will let the engineer know what has been done, plus they know the little tell tale marks to look for on other modifications

 

[HoosierDaddy]

This isn't true, magnuson moss warranty act covers this. Many will argue that litigation will be drug on by Ford and they have lawyers and money to win, that may or may not be the case.

If you tune your car a counter is ticked up, so they can look at records and see that they only have record of x number of flashes by the dealership, but that doesn't necessarily prove you tuned it; whose to say a tech was just lazy one day? Of course, that wouldn't be the right way to go about things anyway.

If you tune your car and things break it is likely going to be more difficult to get it repaired under warranty. However, the onus is on Ford to prove that the modification caused the failure, in theory at least. If something drive line fails after a tune then you are going to be in a tough place though. If something electronic or non drive line related fails it shouldn't be as much, if at all, of an issue.

Yeah, it won't be pretty. The standard of proof is not beyond a reasonable doubt but who is most believable. Think Judge Judy, not Perry mason.

Your honor, an engine CAN be damaged in this exact way by a bad tune, which is not in dispute. An unknown tune was used by the defendant, which is not in dispute. The defendant can not provide proof of what all said tunes entailed because chain of custody is lost. As such, due to the actions of the defendant, the evidence needed to determine if the tune was the cause, is not available. So basically, the defendant killed the prosecution's witness [/melodramatic]

Therefore, it comes down to which is most likely. So if you or your lawyer can sweet talk a judge, jury, arbitrator as well as Ford's lawyer can, you have a 50/50 chance.

All the while the car is tied up OR you have paid for the repairs waiting for a resolution.

Just not good odds.

Of course if some racoon/goat/??? destroyed the car's computer before Ford could count the flashes, its another story.

 

[Bald Menace]

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

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

 

[gearhead2685]

Heres how simple this issue is.

A can you afford to fix the vehicke after its been modified?

Answer no then you shouldnt be modding the vehicle at all or stick with FRPP PP1/2/3 or FRPP blower kits that are OEM approved and or dealer installed.

Gotta pay to play.

Cheap, Fast, Reliable you only get to pick 2.

 

[EFI]

Your warranty won't simply be voided 100%, but Ford can and probably will deny coverage on certain parts that may be affected by the tune (like engine, transmission etc.)

Just because you tune the engine does not mean Ford for example won't warranty your window motor for example.

 

[Dominant1]

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 !!!

 

[Rambl3r]

Cheap, Fast, Reliable you only get to pick 2.

Words to live by! :cheers:

 

[texasboy21]

Your warranty won't simply be voided 100%, but Ford can and probably will deny coverage on certain parts that may be affected by the tune (like engine, transmission etc.)

Just because you tune the engine does not mean Ford for example won't warranty your window motor for example.

This.

Your warranty doesnt simply disappear when you flash the computer. Ford however can choose to deny any claims you may have with the tuned ECU as the basis.

With the availability of the Ford Performance Power Packs however it shouldnt be too big of a deal. If you want a tune, go with a FPPP and enjoy the power and warranty coverage. :ford:

 

[usgiorgi]

The magnusson moss warranty bs is brought up all the time in relation to tunes. Especially on the Subaru forums. It doesn't matter though because the manufacturer only has to prove that the engine was tuned and it put higher than normal stress on the internal components. That's it. You can claim it was a mild tune, a reputable shop, etc.. It doesn't matter. If a tune didn't void the warranty, the tuners would be happy to show up to court to be your witnesses if you go to trial. They all have pretty good wording on their site about them not being responsible for any damage.

In Subaru's case, they have very weak ringlands and rod bearings. This causes catastrophic fails even when 100% stock. Most of those are covered under warranty except for cases where Subaru denies a claim due to missing oil and not having receipts of oil changes, etc... If you show up to the dealership with the dreaded cyl #8 issues, you can be sure the first thing they'll check for is a tune. The dealers want to try to find any reason to not cover the work with a warranty. If tuning, make sure you have enough to cover a replacement engine.

As far as the other components, if your radio dies, they can't void the warranty due to a tune.

 

[Rick#7]

Some dealers can be really difficult to deal with, as said above it can seem they look for any reason to not apply the warranty, but it really boils down to how the service dept manager runs his dept, some of them are willing to work with you and are genuinely concerned about customer service.

Bottom line, if you already have a tune and end up needing service under warranty, you can try going to different dealers to find one that will work with you. If you haven't tuned yet and are that worried about getting warranty coverage, don't mod the car in a way that requires tuning.

 

[AmericanLegend]

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

Step away from the tuning software. Also, put down that wrench. You've got some things to learn before you can use either.

 

[dgc333]

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 !!!

No dealership in their right mind wants to deny warranty work, it is their life blood. Also, the dealership doesn't make the decision on a warranty claim anyway, Ford does, they just act as Ford's agent.

Dealerships if they value their franchise won't lie to Ford to get you coverage.

My son was the service manager at a CDJR dealership for a few years before getting his own shop and CDJR used to give the dealership some discretionary funds to cover repairs that were typically outside of warranty but I would not expect to get that unless you had a long standing relationship with the dealership. Dealerships will sometimes eat the cost of repairs themselves for very good customers.

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