BlackGT45th

Maybe if the person gave up. Otherwise it is a solid case for them if the part or tune didn't cause the damage.

pdonket

You neglect the fact that Ford allocates many millions of dollars in lawyer fees in order to fend off attacks by anybody that doesn't have substantial leverage or funding.

My guess, by the time you defeated Ford legally and got your car fixed for free, the amount of money you've paid to do so would be more than the cost of the repairs themselves.

flash gordon

Any tuning only provides a miniscule increase in hp. To me it's just not worth the hassle to mess with the warranty. If you can offer the repair, I would go with the charger, tuning, etc to make it worthwhile. My 0.02.

essayons

when you take it to court, if Ford even bothers showing up with big guns, they will bring a mechanical engineer and an electrical engineer who will both explain that the engine and software were designed to work within a specified parameter. They will explain how the a/m tune altered those parameters, forcing the engine to operate in an unsafe parameter not intended from the factory.

Your third party mechanic will probably come back with something brilliant, such as "nuh uh".

But either way, a catastrophic engine failure in a car with an a/m tune will be an easy denial for any manufacturer, regardless of fault.

EDIT: and Ford is not just going to replace an engine under warranty because an independent mechanic says so. They have their own process for determining failure (the flow charts are posted her somewhere), and base their decision on that. You can certainly get an opinion from your own mechanic, but they will not be making warranty decisions for Ford.

BlackGT45th

You are talking about a case in which the tune IS responsible for the damage and has caused the engine to detonate and I would have no idea why anyone would try to argue against Ford in that instance. The question at hand was will the addition of an aftermarket CAI and tune will void his warranty automatically. The answer is no by law. Should a factory part fail because of a flaw it had coming from the factory then the warranty will cover it even if the car has been modded. We all know adding aftermarket parts is a risk, which is why we look at reputable companies and tuners. Knowing how a dealership will handle it is another key. Some dealers won't mind if you have modded your car and will willingly follow that law. Others will tell you, if you ask them, that they will void it or try to anyway.

scottmach

There's more to tuning than just making more power. The throttle response is night and day and in the case of the autos it firms up the shifts nicely.

essayons

I'm talking about a case where the cause of the failure is ambiguous. With a catastrophic engine failure, you'll most likely have an uphill battle trying to get your engine replaced if it can be shown you had an aftermarket ECM program installed.

scottmach

Bingo! Fair or unfair if Ford has any excuse to deny a warranty they will.

essayons

exactly. It may not be fair, but we need to keep our expectations realistic. If we change something as integral as the engine's electronic management, we can't expect Ford to cover it when we throw a rod through the side of the block.