Has anyone taken their truck in for service after they've had a programmer on it and reset it back to stock? i was just wondering if the dealers can tell if theres been one on there or not. i know this topic has been mentioned b4 but i can seem to find it.

 

Working on one right now :freeze frame data Baro-395.12 psi.......map-392.14 psi (should be 19 psi) daisy marks on the pistons, clrdist pid- 0 miles, vgtle 1, vgtlrn-no, ----------nah, we cant see them.

 

well i didnt really understand the data u were talking about but thats cool youll cant find that they were installed

 

I think you missed vloney's point, its obvious that they can tell the pcm parameters have been alterted.

 

This may be a stupid question, but is this enough evidence to deny warranty? Could there be other reasons for the those sensors to read that far off?
Another question is how do pistons get marks like that? Something to do with timing/detonation?

 

ohhh...damn even if you return it all to stock when u take your tuner off??

 

Ok, the short of it is...... always have a good relationship with your tech. He can be your best ally, or your worst nightmare. When you bring in a vehicle with a problem, we look for dtcs (especially if you say it has a check engine light), and we try to duplicate the concern. If someone has "removed" all traces of a modification, it also removes all traces of the problem. When this happens, Ford doesnt take a loss, the dealership doesnt take a loss, the tech does. You dont get paid for a "no problem found". I spend a couple of hours looking for an issue, FOR NOTHING! If a customer is honest with me, and tells me they have "modifications", I will go out of my way to fix their truck (with mods installed, it makes it easier to find the problem). If they deny everything, that tells me, they aren't concerned about me, or my family. Can I tell if there has been something there, now removed.....yes. Can I provide proof, undisputable proof.....no. I can however fill out online, a warranty voiding form, that the fse sees, and he'll come personally to verify my findings. My advice, be honest with your tech, flip him a fiver occasionally, and he'll treat you well. Always be prepared to pay for the problem if it cant be repaired under warranty though.

 

^^Agreed^^

Treat your tech as you would your bartender, that way you don't get screwed when your tab comes up.

The guy I deal with at my dealership knows I run a programmer on my truck, haven't needed any repairs yet, and he also knows I don't tear up my truck. Just don't feed them a bunch of BS and they will normally do what they can to help. I do know that there have been a few people at the dealership that have had their powertrain warranty voided for aftermarked mods, so yes they can tell if you've made mods and it's probably easier that we all think.

 

Aren't techs paid an hourly wage, or salary regardless of the work being performed? Used to be that way, not anymore?
If not, probably most of us are not aware that you don't get paid which seems very wrong to me. Plenty of times, there are "Could not reproduce" occurrances.

On the flip side, a tech threatened my warranty last year for exceeding 70mph. My truck was smoking, hesitating and wouldn't run over idle, but he told me my warranty was "going down" because I exceeded the state's highest posted speed limit. After 5 trips to the dealer he could not figure it out, Navistar could not figure it out. They could reproduce, but could not fix. So basically, the tech said we are going to end your warranty.
Long story short; I got a new, more expensive truck for the same price, tech ended up having a heart-to-heart with Service Manager and no longer works on my vehicles. But who was he looking out for? Not my family, not his family, not the dealership and certainly not Ford.
I am worried about those kind of techs and if you don't get paid for your work, Ford/dealerships, are setting up an adversarial relationship between you guys and us.

 

HA HA I wish getting paid to work on vehicles worked out that way.
Gotta love a customer that walks through the door thinking that I personally make $75 an hour and that I'm getting paid regardless of the crybaby bedwetter complaints they have that aren't really problems at all. My favorites are the "poor fuel economy" concerns. They really put dinner on my plate.....not.

 

Wow! Are all Ford dealerships like this? Chevy, Dodge too? If so, no wonder you hate the customer. $75/hr.? Sign me up!
It would seem to me, that the dealership should pay you a salary, and when there is warranty work, the dealership should get reimbursed from the manufacturer. That only makes sense. Then the dealership is the one who either benefits or suffers for the service department. The better the dept. the better the dealership reputation. What a screwy thing to make you eat your time. Hey, if they aren't going to pay you, you should at least get a cut of the dealership profits!

 

Warranty pay is generally half what customer pay is. You bring your vehicle in, we have to clock it on for start time, document every diagnostic step we perform, perform repair, then verify the repair. After finishing, clock it off. The corporation (Ford, GM, or Chrysler) pays you only how much they have determined it should take. Say for instance, 14.1 hours to do head gaskets on a 6.0 f250. If it takes you 28 hours, you get paid 14.1. If it takes you 10.2, you get 14.1. Thats the way its been for years. If theres no work, you have no paycheck. The ones that are paid hourly are the oil changers, and the accessory installers.

 

So what percentage off the labor rate does the tech get an the dealership get. I assume the tech gets less then the dealership gets.Hey dont answer that question. Im to nosy I guess. BTW what is the labor rate at the dealer now.?

 

The dealership I use keeps the customer insulated away from the actual techs with the service advisor. When I bought the 04 the service advisor was a knowledgable guy (he owned an 03 6.0 at that time); you could carry on a technical conversation with the guy and he worked with you.

Dealership got bought out, new management ended up running off about everyone (I heard from friend who had X wife working there, they reset all years of service to zero and their vacation, ditto; so you get the picture). The good guy service advisor went elsewhere. All the diesel techs stayed, I know because they post all their certificates out in the customer drive in garage area. The actual working garage is different building.

The dealership got sold again to an old name reputable dealer in OKC area; but, I have yet to need service. I actually bought my new truck from the new dealer's business on the other side of town, Reynold's Ford in Norman, Ok.

Anyway, I have never had any issue with the techs at the local dealership; but how to you suggest having any dialog with them when they are kept well insulated from the customer via service advisors, etc? My question is directed to the techs....

I also guess I'm guilty of going in complaining of fuel economy because I knew it sucked and wasn't going to get any better, but I also knew they would flash it and I wanted the latest flash. With the current service advisors you can't just ask for a flash because you know it is available; you have to have a problem. I have also went in and been point blank and gotten the flash that rattled the injectors after shutdown prior to trip up north to sub zero area. Funny thing is the mileage did improve after that flash once I returned home; but the mileage on the actual trip up north to Iowa and back was some of the worse solo highway I ever got with the 06.

Then there is the tech who zeroed my hourmeter during the process of replacing the faulty TBC, trailer brake controller. So nobody is perfect, nor do I expect it 100% of the time as long as good faith effort is taken at addressing problems.

I do appreciate all the actual Ford technicians that take the time to post on the forum and share their insight. Nothing beats actual experience and you guys are in the best position to share same.

Bob

 

If the tech makes 10 dollars per hour, the job pays 14.1 to complete, the tech made 141 dollars.