Don't laugh for me asking but....tune and warranty question....

[madsedan]

I have about $500 worth of paypal and vanilla gift card money burning a hole in my pocket. I just bought an MBRP exhaust for the car and I'm considering either suspension or tune for the next mod. Car is only about a week old but I'm reading and learning as much as I can on here.

I will not be doing anything crazy for power mods on the car, at the most it will be some type of intake mods to the factory intake, software, exhaust and maybe a little more depending on what the car needs. And when I say a little more it'll be like the piping and intercooler, something like that. something easily reversible if needed for warranty purposes.

My understanding from a salesman at Cobb is that if I need to go in for service or warranty work I can simply revert to stock tune and remove the AP# and the dealer will simply see that I may have had a dead battery. No hard evidence that I had a tune that they could use to void a legitimate warranty issue. Is this correct? Is the AP3 a foolproof way to run a tune and go back to stock with little concern about warranty?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[M-Sport fan]

I also want to know this info.

No one seems to be able to tell me IF pulling a tune out and going back to factory leaves ANY TRACE AT ALL of the tune ever having been in the ECU or not.

Any; 'ghosts', 'shadows', or anything else stored to the deep ROM memory permanently that either the stealership OR the corrupt/ripoff private inspection shops in my state can see with even the very best diagnostic tools out there???

 

[Boricuakid]

With modding comes the chance of having a warranty claim denied no matter if you revert back to stock or not. They need to prove the part you installed did infact break something but if they deny it will you continue the fight to court? I have not done a tune for this simple reason, as i do not want to deal with the headache of blown motors and the problems with warranty covering it or not.

 

[madsedan]

What I was told by a salesperson with Cobb is what I'm trying to verify. He said that the only thing they would be able to detect is an ECU reset which is what would happen if your battery died. He said there would be no trace of a tune ever having been on the car.

 

[IconST]

I believe if you put it back to stock form disconnect the battery and just run it for a day or so it shouldn't pop
Up i work for toyota and some FRS owners do this and when connecting we don't see any info on a tune ever being there.
Doesn't happen often so im not 100 in it

 

[SeanBonham]

I have been told by a Ford tech that they can see how many times the ECU has been reflashed, that would be your only worry of losing warranty status.

 

[madsedan]

I have been told by a Ford tech that they can see how many times the ECU has been reflashed, that would be your only worry of losing warranty status.

Yes, thats what the Cobb tech said, but not that they can see how many times its been flashed, but rather how many times its been factory reset as if the battery was disconnected. He said if its only once or twice over 6 months its not going to raise and eyebrow, you could explain it away as "yeah I left the lights on and killed the battery one night"...

 

[SeanBonham]

Trust me, the AP is the best mod for the money. Just do it.

 

[CanadianGuy]

Another key point to the AP is that it is easy to resale it and it does not loose much in terms of value.

 

[madsedan]

Well Mountune used the AP3 as well, at least that's what it looks like on their website, but it has their tune on it. Can't I just resell that as easily or am I missing something?

 

[CanadianGuy]

Well Mountune used the AP3 as well, at least that's what it looks like on their website, but it has their tune on it. Can't I just resell that as easily or am I missing something?

Mountune has 2 AP. They have the standard Cobb AP and they have the Mtune which is part of the MP215 and other kits. This Mtune has a 1 map one way trip flash that is Ford endorsed and warranty approved.

 

[madsedan]

Got it, thanks!

 

[Quisp]

I had an engine replacement at 8,500. I flashed back to stock and had no hassles. Service writer asked if it was tuned. I looked at him puzzled said no thought the plugs went 100k.

 

[M-Sport fan]

^^^Rings, main bearings?

 

[Racer83L]

my father in law is a tech for FCA, according to him almost all owners of cummins diesels tune them.. when he connects the wytech to the truck it shows how many times the car was flashed. he shakes his head and warrantys whatever it is. he said they know the truck was tuned but its easier to warranty the job than fight the customer and probably lose.


and as far as the AP goes. its awesome!! Im running an OTS 93 octane tune on an otherwise stock car and I love it..

 

[OCS12]

I have been told by a Ford tech that they can see how many times the ECU has been reflashed, that would be your only worry of losing warranty status.

That sounds about right. I work for a marine engine manufacturer, and part of my job involves taking care of our ECU programmers. The serial number and any reflashes are hard coded for the life of the ECU, but not any information that shows what was flashed. So, we can see that it was flashed and not just reset, but not what was flashed.

Ford's a slightly bigger operation than us, to say the least, so I'd be shocked if they had less info recorded than we do.

 

[Quisp]

^^^Rings, main bearings?

Coolant in #3 cylinder.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Coolant in #3 cylinder.

Are our factory head gaskets that weak?? (Or was yours an exception to the rule?)

Do the ultra high boost/BT owners on here replace the factory head gasket (and install ARP head studs) as a matter of course/preventative maintenance/supporting mod?

 

[Quisp]

Are our factory head gaskets that weak?? (Or was yours an exception to the rule?)

Do the ultra high boost/BT owners on here replace the factory head gasket (and install ARP head studs) as a matter of course/preventative maintenance/supporting mod?

Dealer didn't autopsy just replaced engine. I believe head cracking not gaskets are a problem on these engines.

 

[DaveG99]

I have about $500 worth of paypal and vanilla gift card money burning a hole in my pocket. I just bought an MBRP exhaust for the car and I'm considering either suspension or tune for the next mod. Car is only about a week old but I'm reading and learning as much as I can on here.

I will not be doing anything crazy for power mods on the car, at the most it will be some type of intake mods to the factory intake, software, exhaust and maybe a little more depending on what the car needs. And when I say a little more it'll be like the piping and intercooler, something like that. something easily reversible if needed for warranty purposes.

My understanding from a salesman at Cobb is that if I need to go in for service or warranty work I can simply revert to stock tune and remove the AP# and the dealer will simply see that I may have had a dead battery. No hard evidence that I had a tune that they could use to void a legitimate warranty issue. Is this correct? Is the AP3 a foolproof way to run a tune and go back to stock with little concern about warranty?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Another local fiesta ST! Have you been on the facebook page? Its called North Texas ST's. We have meets every now and then. There is a meet up in Plano this evening actually.