Warranty vs. Upgrades

[John G]

What do you all know or have you experienced regarding upgrades to your Gen2 and dealer reaction regarding warranty?
For example, I am considering Cobb CAI & 93 octane tune and maybe Borla S-type catbacks (opinions on both of these consideration welcomed).
Thanks in advance.

 

[Joey DeLorenzo]

The age old question-- the easiest answer is: It depends. Your experience will be based on the dealer and your relationship with them. Here are some facts:

1) Dealers are trained to look for tuner stickers. So if you do get a Cobb AP or anything of the sort, you shouldn't go around putting the sticker on the back window.

2) Bolt on mods are easy to spot (your CAI/Borla Exhaust). Depending on your relationship with the dealer will depend on how they react. You can look at a bunch of stories on here of both horror and success. It's much easier to spot a CAI vice a tune.

3) ...but a tune is not "hidden" even if you flash back to stock there are ways and traces to see if you've tuned the engine via the ECU. Will the average service look for a tune? Maybe?

4) MM works but it isn't a get out of jail free card. A dealer doesn't have to PROVE your modification caused the fault, just that the fault COULD be attributed to it.

This all said, I'm tuned, and for the Ford Exec's reading this my vin number is...hey, @911 Crazy can you post your vin real quick.....

I don't regret it. It's pretty easy to undo and if you go with a reputable tuner, who has millions of dollars of R&D, you probably won't have issues....


TL;DR: It depends on a lot, buyer be warned.

 

[911 Crazy]

The age old question-- the easiest answer is: It depends. Your experience will be based on the dealer and your relationship with them. Here are some facts:

1) Dealers are trained to look for tuner stickers. So if you do get a Cobb AP or anything of the sort, you shouldn't go around putting the sticker on the back window.

2) Bolt on mods are easy to spot (your CAI/Borla Exhaust). Depending on your relationship with the dealer will depend on how they react. You can look at a bunch of stories on here of both horror and success. It's much easier to spot a CAI vice a tune.

3) ...but a tune is not "hidden" even if you flash back to stock there are ways and traces to see if you've tuned the engine via the ECU. Will the average service look for a tune? Maybe?

4) MM works but it isn't a get out of jail free card. A dealer doesn't have to PROVE your modification caused the fault, just that the fault COULD be attributed to it.

This all said, I'm tuned, and for the Ford Exec's reading this my vin number is...hey, @911 Crazy can you post your vin real quick.....

I don't regret it. It's pretty easy to undo and if you go with a reputable tuner, who has millions of dollars of R&D, you probably won't have issues....


TL;DR: It depends on a lot, buyer be warned.

555-4455AFL CIO EIEIO Fi Fi Fi Fo Fo Fi Fi

 

[LouK]

Dealer to dealer can be a very different experience. Some are very mod friendly and will only reject if they cant explain it to ford. others will look for something aftermarket to blame on. I used to worked at a place that was in between, the service department wouldn't just hands off it immediately but if they had a 50/50 it was your aftermarket they would inform the customer and ask how they want to move forward.

That being said a tune could potentially make anything in the driveline be out of pocket if the dealer is super strict.

For the catback your looking at the only thing that would change is they wont warranty the stock exhaust anymore (for good reason its not on the truck).
Is there a story out there of a guy someone knows who had an axleback exhaust only and his engine blew up and they wouldn't warranty it because he had different mufflers... probably but in my experience your good with the catback.

 

[TurboTJ]

I went with Roush parts for this reason. They provide their own warranty. I have not been impressed with the Cobb tunes.

 

[realjones88]

Disagree that a CAI or exhaust (by far the most common mods) are gonna cause you any warranty problems...feel free to link a thread if i'm wrong. Tunes can go either way...cam phaser ya can probably get those done blow the engine by cranking the boost up not so sure on that one...

 

[TrewRaptor]

What do you all know or have you experienced regarding upgrades to your Gen2 and dealer reaction regarding warranty?
For example, I am considering Cobb CAI & 93 octane tune and maybe Borla S-type catbacks (opinions on both of these consideration welcomed).
Thanks in advance.

I currently have this setup and I'm very happy. I'm not sure about the negative comment regarding Cobb Tunes but they are very well liked in the industry and have a history of providing good of the shelf tunes. I also have the Cobb FMIC siting in the garage ready to install.

 

[Joey DeLorenzo]

Disagree that a CAI or exhaust (by far the most common mods) are gonna cause you any warranty problems...feel free to link a thread if i'm wrong. Tunes can go either way...cam phaser ya can probably get those done blow the engine by cranking the boost up not so sure on that one...

https://www.fordraptorforum.com/threads/dealers-warranties-and-tsbs.77599/

Thats a particularly bad one which is the most recent I can remember. That is on the extreme side of bad-- but for every horror story there is at least one success story if not more. Which is why I said "It depends" and not blanket "This will cause you problems." The dealer and your relationship with them will ultimately decide whether or not they repair it under warranty or deny the claim.

Sooooo...yeah....it depends....

 

[goblues38]

wait a while untill you think your truck is solid. (dont tune it at 100 miles). I put a tune on at 20,*** miles.

I am fully prepared to eat any fixes out of pocket if the dealer calls me out on a tune. Will they? Hope I never find out?

 

[Big Blue]

It varies from dealership to dealership, but I have never heard of anyone being denied a warranty claim for an exhaust or CAI. Tunes on the other hand can very well void your warranty. Even if you reset the tune to Back to Stock, the dealership can still tell it's been modified.

I had a tune on my Gen 1 for 6 years along with a CAI and exhaust and I never had any warranty denials after several trips to the dealership. I have a tune on my 2018 Gen 2, but have not been back to the dealership since I bought it (Knocking on wood).