Can the dealership tell what date your tune was installed? For ex I just bought a 2013 GT with 12,000 miles the car came with a 100,000 powertrain warranty extension. So let's say I get a tune and I know that will void my warranty but if the dealership has no date year and or month the tune was installed and I had an engine failure I could just say "I had no idea it had a tune what's a tune anyway? That's the way I bought it from your dealership!?" If they can't tell the tune install date I would think I would have an argument if I had an issue?

 

Nope...ignorance is not a valid excuse. Your warranty is still void, and now you'll be lying to them.

 

I would not worry to much. By a FRPP tune and you will be OK. Most 100K extension warranty's are not worth the Paper they are written on. There are way to many caveat's to them.

 

One problem with the saying "I had no idea there was a tune on there" is if they flashed the computer prior to sale. If they did the CPO inspection of the car at the dealership. They may have put it on the computer and flashed any updates available. If this is the case they could have record of that associated with the VIN.

 

^^BINGO!!!

 

This. If you're going to get a tune, just go all out and go forced induction. That's my plan. The car is plenty fast stock, so I'll just save up for the supercharger. I did all the bolt ons on my 00 V6 and 03 GT - I learned this time to just do the suspension and save for the supercharger

 

Can Ford tell if a car had a tune prior to service work if the stock settings were loaded back in it ?

 

Yup, there is a flash counter in the PCM. The way Ford sees it, if the PCM has been flashed but there is no dealer record of it, they count that as you tuned it.

 

Thats IT /\ Don't do it until your warranty is up

 

Short answer: Dealer level techs can NOT tell if the car has ever had a tune installed.

Long Answer:
First read my thread here https://themustangsource.com/forums/...e-look-530110/

There is software out there that will do PCM updates and not "report" back to Ford, which is completely inside the scope of warranty work. For example, IDS does NOT have to be online to update a PCM to a newer calibration/firmware.

So in short, Dealer level techs have NO way of knowing that the Calibration in the PCM has been changed with IDS/VCM.

Cheers,
-Matt

 

Dealer techs may not know but if a field engineer gets called in he'll know.

 

This exactly. Also, If your engine goes, Ford will know you have a tune the second they look at your PCM once it's sent in.

 

That's not accurate.

While any level Ford engineer can see a count of diagnostic sessions that was started with the PCM. They can not tell what was on it previously, or that it was a custom tune rather than a PMI or MP from IDS.

Where do you guys get this information?

Cheers,
-Matt

 

Where do you get yours?
Remind us again what year your car is? Or do you even have one?

 

Look at some of his work...at the very least, he's more credible than anyone else in this thread.

 

So you're saying FoMoCo can't tell if the car has been tuned if I blow my engine and send in a previously tuned PCM that was flashed to the stock calibration? Doesn't an unauthorized flash void the repair work?

I'm not talking about some low grade dealer mechanic. I'm talking about the process of sending in a PCM after a failed engine, which I believe is what most tuned owners worry about.

 

Sure, I drive a 2011 Shelby, how about you?

Read the thread I linked above, and you will see where my info comes from. Myself...

Again, read the thread I linked in above. It explains what exactly you are changing when you load a tune.

I'll summarize (in a non technical way).

When you upload a tune, the only thing you are changing is the calibration. The calibration is nothing but a "file" in the PCM. When you return a vehicle back to stock, you put the stock "file" back. The only thing that can be seen by any level tech who uses an application other than IDS, can only see when certain areas on non volatile flash has been accessed through the diagnostic console.

Remember, there are numerous things that can start a diagnostic session with any module. IDS being one of them. Ford cannot track every session that is started with your specific car.

This is why the TSB even says as a tech you can not detect that an aftermarket calibration (tune) has been installed. The PCM is nothing but a computer.

Make sense?

Cheers,
-Matt

 

Thats the ticket. FRPP supercharger.

It's been my experience that there is one to Two high end techs that look at computer issues. They will take the time to look at tunes. other wise they look at codes and start swapping parts. I bought a OBD Computer and look at the issues before I bring it in. If it is something that is not to expensive I do it my self.