I was told by a friend that installing a chip in my 06 S.D. would void the warranty (100,000 mile engine) Anyone have info on that?

 

Depends on the dealer and what the truck is brought in for. The manual states that after market performance mods, tuners etc., can void your warranty.

 

If a dealer rejects the warranty repair based on mods and puts it in the Oasis report you will definitely have warranty problems.

 

As you can see from my signature, I'm not real concerned w/ the factory warranty anymore and I can personally attest to the fact that mods can and often do result in warranty denial. The old "pay to play" addage comes to mind. Let's face it, how can we expect FoMoCo to warranty something when we are pushing performance levels at times 50% higher (if you believe advertising numbers) than what the stock engine is producing.

If you still feel the need to play, my advice would be to run a programmer, like the SCT Excal II, that controls tranny and other parameters vs. a simple "chip" or in-line fuel box for performance and safety reasons. If the need arises to take it to the dealer you can set the program back to "stock" and clear all the trouble codes, unplug your batteries for a while and take it to the dealer. They may see signs of a power interuption or other programming fault but they can't prove it was programmed.

BTW Keep your programmer handy in your truck in case you "fry" something in the 6.0 and need to do a quick re-program before the dealer towes you in because if they find the tune its very, very likely you will be denied warranty and OASIS'ed.

 

Leagally the dealership has to honor its warrenty by Federal law. I have the printout somewhere. I think superchips has a copy of it. My dealer told that if I put a roll bar on my truck, it would void the warrenty. I think it is more of a threat. There is a guy here in town and had a turbo blow from a tuner. The dealer refused to fix it under warrenty and it went to court. The dealer lost. Dude got his truck fixed and some.

 

Question # 1 Will it void my warranty?

No. It is illegal for a dealership to void your warranty based solely on the fact that you have installed an aftermarket product. But always remove the tuning before going to a dealer for service. For information regarding denial of warranty coverage, go to the SEMA website.

Hope this helps.

 

I have found that some dealers are more willing to work with you than others. If your dealer gives you problems with Warranty coverage, I would suggest looking for others. As previously stated, they cannot deny warranty coverage simply by the presence of aftermarket equipment. They have to show or prove that the part caused the problem. This is where the area is very gray.

 

Read the warranty information in your Owner's Manual. It specifically states that altering the engine electronic controls may void your warranty. That said, the law also states that the aftermarket product you use must be the thing that caused the problem. I'll bet Ford has more money for lawyers than you do!

 

And if you do win, how much down time can you afford on your truck untill the court rules in your favor?

 

When the written warranty specifically states that a "tuner, chip/inline fuel module" will void the engine & power train warranty, the MM act and the A/M manufactures paper work are not going to help you in court. The written warranty is a legal contract, and it will apply and take precedent. This has been tried and beaten to death multiple times here on FTE alone. Ford will and has prevailed multiple times with this specific issue.

If you are going to tune and modify your truck as the old addage goes "if your gonna play you gotta pay".

Yes some dealerships look the other way and just do it under warranty, but if the dealership gets audited by FMC or FMC sends out inspectors before agreeing to the warranty work (this is happening more often on large repairs) then FMC will tell the dealer it is not warranty work do to A/M engine mods and then you are stuck paying for the repairs.

Superdiesel, your friend told you correctly, and if you cannot afford the potential engine repairs, then do not install A/M engine & powertrain mods on your truck. Read the warranty book that came with your truck it is very specific.

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks to all for your replies, guess the best thing to do is not gamble and enjoy my truck, as it runs great now...no major problems w/ 58000 miles on it!!!

 

If you believe this story you must also believe in the tooth fairy & the easter bunny.

 

Faced with a growing number of warranty claims, Ford has been forced to adopt a strong stance in warranty claims involving the 6.0L motor. To skip to the proverbial 'meat & potatoes,' here is a portion of the writing that is readily provided to the owners of Ford Motor Company's 6.0L Powerstroke diesel.


Super Duty Owner Guide (2nd Printing)6.0 Liter Diesel Supplement (3rd Printing)Warranty Guide (3rd Printing)The strength & conviction behind the wording in these documents is proof of the battle Ford is waging against questionable warranty claims. Furthermore, it is proof of their conviction to place blame where it truly lies. To the letter of the law, they are simply stating that they will not cover any aftermarket parts or any failure linked to the failure of or the under- or over-performance of an aftermarket product. Unfortunately, it is a combination of the consumers & the aftermarket products which have forced Ford to train a critical eye on & take an increasingly inflexible stance in warranty claims.


It is a personal choice to modify your vehicle, but be prepared to either fight a long legal battle with Ford Motor Company or pay for the repairs out of your own product if anything breaksh. As others have indicated, Ford has much deeper pockets & a whole fleet of lawyers that know the law much better. To prove that it was a bona fide failure of an OEM component & not the result of the usage of an aftermarket tuner or chip would be a majorly uphill battle. You will face an equally uphill battle if you want to take the chip/tuner manufacturer to court for causing a failure.

'Caveat emptor', as the ages old, Latin saying goes.

 

Yes, the dealership has a legal obligation to honor its warranty. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act spells out very clearly what the terms 'limited warranty', 'full warranty', and more can mean. It also spells out quite explicitly that if the motor company cannot force a consumer to use only OEM products & services, unless the motor company provides those parts & services for free. But what people seem to have a hard time reading, acknowledging, or remembering is that the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act also spells out clear protection (as clear as legal documents get, that is) for the motor companies in the event that the aftermarket product(s) was responsible for the failure of an OEM component or assembly. Hell, even the SEMA Action Network website that you linked in your post has a sentence that I will quote here:And, beings that it is a legal document, it is part of the public domain. Anyone that wants to review the actual text can find it in its entirety in a number of places on the Internet, a local library, a local law office, or somewhere in your community's public offices (city, state, county, etc.).


This statement kills me. It is like a six year old hiding his rubber bouncy ball after breaking mom's favorite vase with it.

There are simply too many people in this society pointing their finger at the wrong person or entity when something goes wrong. The reason Ford has been forced to take an increasingly hard line on warranty claims is because of people trying to get Ford to fix the breakages that they caused.

 

Here are a couple of chip/tuner manufactures warranty statements.

SuperChips:
What Does This Warranty Not Cover?
"This warranty does not cover damage to your vehicle. Use of the Product to change the performance characteristics of your vehicle could invalidate the warranty provided by the vehicle manufacturer. Consult your vehicle warranty before using the Product on your vehicle."
http://www.superchips.com/customer_s...ategory_key=29


Edge Products Edge Warranty Policy
WARNING
THIS IS A HIGH PERFORMANCE PRODUCT. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.
DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY

"Edge Products Inc. and its successors, distributors, jobbers, and dealers (hereafter SELLER) shall in no way be responsible for the product's proper use and service. THE BUYER HEREBY WAIVES ALL LIABILITY CLAIMS.

The BUYER acknowledges that he/she is not relying on the SELLER’s skill or judgment to select or furnish goods suitable for any particular purpose and that there are no liabilities which extend beyond the description on the face hereof and the BUYER hereby waives all remedies or liabilities, expressed or implied, arising by law or otherwise, (including without any obligations of the SELLER with respect to fitness, merchantability and consequential damages) or whether or not occasioned by the SELLER's negligence.

The SELLER disclaims any warranty and expressly disclaims any liability for personal injury or damages. The BUYER acknowledges and agrees that the disclaimer of any liability for personal injury is a material term for this agreement and the BUYER agrees to indemnify the SELLER and to hold the SELLER harmless from any claim related to the item of the equipment purchased. Under no circumstances will the SELLER be liable for any damages or expenses by reason of use or sale of any such equipment."
http://www.edgeproducts.com/customer...le.php?csak=14

I am not singling any one product out, i just grabbed these two real quick, but the other chip/tuner manufactures are going to have similar statments.

So if you are worried about your OEM warranty "caveat emptor"

Hope this helps