11Coyote

Hello fellow Ford owners,

I have joined this Forum to let as many people know about my problem as I can.

In April of 2011 I bought a 2011 Mustang 5.0 C/S, I was told by the dealer RUSSEL & SMITH FORD in Houston, TX that they would allow me to use Nitrous and a Tune on the vehicle and if any problems I brought it back to them, they would fix the problem and take care of me. Authorized by the Sales Manager.

I DID NOT USE NITROUS, i did however buy a SCT tuner and Cold Air from AmericanMuscle.com and Tunes by BAMA. Tune was installed on the vehicle when it had aprox. 1500 miles on it. From April to January the car had 4,600 miles put on it. Thats 500 miles a month. Just recently the car started to smoke (white) so I called the dealer, they advised me to bring it in and let them take a look at it. I did not want to drive it to possibly cause more damage to it so I called a wrecked under my Ford Warranty.

When the car was at the dealer it was determined that CYLINDER #8 was bad and the dealership told me that I needed a new motor. Prior to bringing the car in the Cold air was removed and the tune was taken off and returned to stock. The dealership advised that the car had been tuned and that my Ford warranty was voided. They quoted me $10,640.70 to fix my BRAND NEW CAR. I went to the dealership to talk to the Sales Manager and he no longer works there. I talked to the GM and he told me that the Sales Manager would never say that and that I would have to fix the car out of pocket. I then called the VP of the dealership and he also told me there was nothing he could do, but agreed that the car should not have blown up with that little miles no matter what.

I then called BAMA tuning and talked to Mike, Mike was very helpful and said that he would do anything to help me fix the problem and get my car fixed. He suggested that I call Ford Motor Company Customer Relations and talk to them about the problem because apparently this is a ongoing problem and happens to 100% stock 2011 5.0's.

I called Customer Relations at FORD and I told them what had been going on and they basically told be I am screwed and that I had to fix it out of pocket. I let them know that their lack of wanting to help would cause nothing but bad publicity for them and they again did not seem to care.

I am (was) a Ford man, but this incident has let me down in believing in Ford backing their products. I have had a Fully built Z06, Built 03 Cobra, 550 WHP Integra, and never have I had a problem like this much less with a BRAND NEW CAR!! I guess that is what happens when you buy a first year motor.

I hope everyone will read this and learn that #1. Never listen to a dealership even if it is a Manager. #2. Do not buy a first year motor. #3. FORD is not willing to help you out.

I have been doing research and I have read a few articles where these 100% stock Mustangs have been blowing up CYLINDER #8. I will be filing a law suit against Ford and the Dealership on this matter. Please PM me if you have had any of the same problems with your 5.0.

I would like to give props to BAMA Tuning for stepping up to bat for their customers and WANTING to help!

acquah20

First off theres a TSB on #8 cylinder and being related to being tuned i do believe. Second i swear i was reading up on here that bama/am would warranty all of their tunes reguarding this cylinder #8 problem. But in all honesty you don't have a case against Ford bc you did void your powertrain by loading the tune so it isn't fords fault 100% and not responsible for your actions and the dealer cannot do something or warranty something if Ford will not allow them to bc if they tried to do it and risk being auditted they are screwed in the end for doing something and disreguarding what Ford says bc the motor would have to be approved be it could be ordered. You may have a lawsuit against the dealer if you have in writing that you were told you can mod the vehicle and still have a warranty but if its not in writing or on your bill of sale/contract then its hear say and your basically sol! Sorry but i would contact bama inreguard to them warranting their tunes if you can find the thread on it that i know i saw a few months ago

acquah20

http://m.mustangforums.com/forum/sho...=Cylinder+%238

Heres the TSB

http://m.mustangforums.com/forum/sho...=Cylinder+%238

And the bama tune thread i was refferring to

Wpipes

That's harsh my man but unfortunately acquah is correct. I understand to an extent how you feel though. It's like getting a speeding ticket, you're still mad about it, but the fact is you were speeding, knowing full well the concequences of getting caught.

I've heard that the new computers in Mustangs 2010 and later (could be earlier) can still let Ford know if a tune has been done even after resetting and that a lot of people who own these cars wait to mod it until their warranty is up because of this reason. I don't agree with Ford not being willing to help as I've been in similar situations but unfortunately they have a leg to stand on.

I hope everything ends well for you though.

daredevil95

Sorry to hear the bad news, will Bama honor their warranty?

http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/musta...222011warranty

jojobanks

this is nothing new. stuff like this happens with all makes and models of cars. simple fact is, don't mod your brand new car if you can't afford the repairs WHEN it breaks. I feel for you and it's a lesson I had to learn as well years ago with a 2002 camaro ss. it's not fun at all and a bill like that can set you back hard, but it's reality.

I've been a tech for a dealership before, and I can confirm that the dealer will NOT warranty problems believed to be caused by aftermarket parts. The problem here is you actually took a SALES manager's word for it. They will tell you anything to get your signature on that brand new car and I guarantee that if you would have asked him to put that in writing, his tone would have changed fast.

normally, I'd say take it to another dealership and grease the tech's palm a little bit to overlook the tune, but that big of a bill is going to warrant a little bit larger of an investigation by the dealer and you likely won't get around it. Right now I say your best bet is to take it to bama tune since it was likely their tune that caused the malfunction. A lot of these companies manufacture tunes based on just a few dyno runs. They do absolutely NO long term testing like ford does. You may have a case there considering there are so many others with the same problem.

REDBOSS1

Well from the way things read you are SOL honestly, sorry it happened but I honestly don't feel that Ford has to do anything about it. If the dealer told you that you could do these things to your car and still have the warranty you should have gotten it in writing, I know I would have. It's stuff like this that really gives me zero ambition to get a tune, I mean really is my car and it's warranty worth another whopping 30-35 horsepower.....? I don't think so. Good luck with your repair and hopefully things work out for you but I tend to think you will be on your own on this.

pascal

Should have gotten the six banger...
Your cylinder #8 would have been fine.

I'm surprised no one made that comment yet, lol.

How many stock 5.0 have the cylinder #8 failure?
And a bad tune on any engine will result to Kaboom eventually so it cannot be the fault of the manufacturer.
Although BAMA is a sound tune, there is still a risk to screw that up as well.

Jazzer The Cat

This sucks and have also heard of the #8 cylinder issues, but not right to expect Ford to foot the bill for a modified tune. There is just no way they can determine exactly what happened, as they "know" a tune was done.

If they do their research, they will see a copy/paste of this thread in at least 2 other forums. I am sorry to say, that this is why one should own a car past the warranty period prior to modding it

outceltj

I doubt that bama is gonna give you any money for the failure either. Its a chance you take. PAY TO PLAY