A vendor's stance on aftermarket tuners and factory warranty

[Camper Ken]

The question of how an aftermarket tuner affects the factory warranty is a question a number of owners ask. It seems each dealer/distributor of aftermarket tunes and devices approaches the subject differently. I just ordered the tune for my Ford V10 motorhome from 5 Star Tuning, and by coincidence came across the following from a different vendor. While I'm not surprised, I am also not concerned and am looking forward to the benefits of the new tune from 5 Star Tuning. I simply thought it might answer questions that some may have.

http://www.stage3motorsports.com/Sta...-Warranty.html

[JimGeorgia]

Originally Posted by Camper Ken

The question of how an aftermarket tuner affects the factory warranty is a question a number of owners ask. It seems each dealer/distributor of aftermarket tunes and devices approaches the subject differently. I just ordered the tune for my Ford V10 motorhome from 5 Star Tuning, and by coincidence came across the following from a different vendor. While I'm not surprised, I am also not concerned and am looking forward to the benefits of the new tune from 5 Star Tuning. I simply thought it might answer questions that some may have.

Stage 3's Stance on Tuning and Your Vehicle's Warranty

It would be interesting to know if there has ever been a rejection of V10 warranty work due to tuning. The V10 has been in production for quite a while and is known to be quite stout. When a tune wins product of the year for a number of years you might think that if there was a real problem it would have come to light by now. I'm, like you, are enjoying the benefits of the change. If anything I'm putting less stress on the motor simply because I'm no longer subjecting it to the higher RPM's of frequent downshifting. Thanks for posting.

[Mark Kovalsky]

Originally Posted by JimGeorgia

If anything I'm putting less stress on the motor simply because I'm no longer subjecting it to the higher RPM's of frequent downshifting. Thanks for posting.

Maybe you are, maybe your are not.

For many years at Ford it was my job to determine when the powertrain I was working on would downshift to another gear. Keeping the trans in a higher gear will cause the cylinder pressure to be higher, which adds much more stress to the engine than higher RPM. High RPM only adds stress to the driver, the engine doesn't work as hard for the vehicle to maintain speed.

Ford has software that can detect an aftermarket tuner. It is stored outside the PCM in a place where running down the battery will NOT cause this code to go away. Once this code is stored you can kiss your powertrain warranty goodbye, and for good reason. Ford shouldn't have to warranty an engine/transmissions/axle that is being subjected to more power than it was designed to handle.

You want to play, you need to be ready to pay.

[5 Star]

Originally Posted by Camper Ken

The question of how an aftermarket tuner affects the factory warranty is a question a number of owners ask. It seems each dealer/distributor of aftermarket tunes and devices approaches the subject differently. I just ordered the tune for my Ford V10 motorhome from 5 Star Tuning, and by coincidence came across the following from a different vendor. While I'm not surprised, I am also not concerned and am looking forward to the benefits of the new tune from 5 Star Tuning. I simply thought it might answer questions that some may have.

Stage 3's Stance on Tuning and Your Vehicle's Warranty

Camper Ken & JimGeorgia,

Ensuring your vehicle is safe and reliable is our number 1 priority. The same is true for Ford. They want to ensure your vehicle is as safe and reliable as it can be. Therefore, they cover what they know and have tested extensively, Ford products. I do not expect them to cover every aftermarket product out there IF an aftermarket component causes damage to one of their own, nor would I ever expect them to do so. We have tuned thousands of V10 applications in motorhomes, trucks and sport utility vehicles with no issues to date with our tune.

Ford’s official stance (via their website and what is included in the owner’s manual) on what is covered/not covered under their new vehicle limited warranty is as follows.

“The installation or use of a non-Ford Motor Company part (other than a certified emissions part) or any part (Ford or non-Ford) designed for off-road use only installed after the vehicle leaves the control of Ford Motor Company, if the installed part fails or causes a Ford part to fail.” Is not covered.

When we design our programs we stay well within Ford’s design parameters to ensure we are not stressing the vehicle. We, unlike most companies, test on our own personal vehicles. We want to ensure they are as safe and reliable as they can be before we ever release our product. We also sell directly to dozens of Ford dealerships all across North America. If the dealers that are servicing and covering these vehicles were not confident our product would not cause an issue, they would be the first ones to not utilize our product offerings.

We have been partnered with Stage 3 Motorsports for quite a while now. They are an excellent partner to have onboard with us because of their attention to detail, their love of everything Ford and their top tier level of customer service. The last part is the most important to us. We care deeply about our customers and want partners that also go above and beyond to take care of each and every one of you! When a vendor is as top notch as they are, it makes us that much more appreciative that of all of the tuning companies they work with, they selected us as the only tuning company to be covered exclusively by their extended warranties. This tells us they believe and trust our product as much as we do!

[Camper Ken]

Well stated 5 Star/Chris. I have complete confidence in your tune and am looking forward to installing it on my motorhome soon. Thanks for sharing 5 Star's thoughts.