HELP!! Today I took my 2006 Ford F350 6.0 with 9,xxx miles in to the Ford Dealer to have a oil leak checked out. It turns out that the head gaskets are leaking and need to be replaced. I thought ok, 9,xxx miles is a little early for head gaskets, but warranty will cover it fine, until the service manager walks over and says that my warranty is void beacuse of having the Edge chip in there, or any chip for that matter. We went back and forth for a while, but no luck. This is what gets me.. Lets say I remove the chip. Trade that truck in to the dealer in a week, they put it out for sale, and sell it. Are you telling me the next guy has no warranty, or that they are going to sell a 2006 with 9,xxx miles with void warranty. I dont think so. Anyways, any suggestions??
EDGE CHIP VOIDED FACTORY WARRANTY!!
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Fix the truck. Follow the directions that come in the manual with the chip.
Welcome to Dieselstop
Question: Were you not told that adding a chip could (and usually will) cause your warrenty to be voided??? If not, then can you go back to where you bought the chip and start pitching a royal fit. But you're probably not gonna see any satisfaction.
Usually when your warrenty gets voided, it goes into the main computer at Ford so that ANY Ford dealer can look up your truck and see the wonderful news. If you do sell your truck, you'll probably take a big loss, it'd might be best to simply fix it.
Question: Were you not told that adding a chip could (and usually will) cause your warrenty to be voided??? If not, then can you go back to where you bought the chip and start pitching a royal fit. But you're probably not gonna see any satisfaction.
Usually when your warrenty gets voided, it goes into the main computer at Ford so that ANY Ford dealer can look up your truck and see the wonderful news. If you do sell your truck, you'll probably take a big loss, it'd might be best to simply fix it.
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I'd just pony up the cash and get a set of good headgaskets and a stud kit. That way you can play all you want.
That really sucks... but in your owners manual it clearly stated not to add power enhancements and in the Edge book it states to remove chip/tuner before bringing it in for repairs.
Very expansive lesson.
It may not be voided you could try a different dealer.
Very expansive lesson.
It may not be voided you could try a different dealer.
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3,602 Posts
The owner's manual is not quite that clear. It is very vauge and leaves FORD quite a bit of room to deny warranty work.
Be polite to the service manager/ writer. It's not his fault that Ford does not cover hot rodded trucks. (nor does anybody for that matter)
Tell him that you NOW understand the consequences of running a chip and the effects on the warranty and that if you no longer run the chip is there any chance of you bringing it back in say 2 weeks and getting this part fixed under warranty since HGs are obviously a common repair item on the 6.0, chip or no chip.
If he says no, ask him if you can provide a set of hi-po head studs and gaskets and if he will install them on your brand new truck (that you purchased from his dealership) at a reduced shop rate.
That's your best bet. The way to get people to help you out is thru mutual respect not yelling. Something about you catch more bees w/ honey than you do w/ vinegar.
Tell him that you NOW understand the consequences of running a chip and the effects on the warranty and that if you no longer run the chip is there any chance of you bringing it back in say 2 weeks and getting this part fixed under warranty since HGs are obviously a common repair item on the 6.0, chip or no chip.
If he says no, ask him if you can provide a set of hi-po head studs and gaskets and if he will install them on your brand new truck (that you purchased from his dealership) at a reduced shop rate.
That's your best bet. The way to get people to help you out is thru mutual respect not yelling. Something about you catch more bees w/ honey than you do w/ vinegar.
Thanks for all of your suggestions and comments so far. Iam still frustrated as heck, wondering what to do.
My other question is, now that they have seen a chip in my truck is my truck now flaged in Fords system as having a mod and warranty is void?? Is the whole drivetrain warranty void?? I have now taken the chip out, but have heard Ford system can still read that it had been chipped in the past. Is this true??
My other question is, now that they have seen a chip in my truck is my truck now flaged in Fords system as having a mod and warranty is void?? Is the whole drivetrain warranty void?? I have now taken the chip out, but have heard Ford system can still read that it had been chipped in the past. Is this true??
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Is the whole drivetrain warranty void??
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It should'nt be but with dealers it's really up to them what they will do under warrenty and what they wont after they discover modifications to their original equipment. On mine they told me the PCM wasn't covered anymore because of my chip but they worked on both the airbox, new windshield and I had a major coolant leak that they covered too. It will depend on your dealer and how you deal with them. I've found that if I'm to nice, the dealer wont do anything and to hystical they wont do anything. I had to find a happy medium. You do need to go to your service manager and find out EXACTLY whats been voided on your truck. And then work with that.
Is the whole drivetrain warranty void??
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It should'nt be but with dealers it's really up to them what they will do under warrenty and what they wont after they discover modifications to their original equipment. On mine they told me the PCM wasn't covered anymore because of my chip but they worked on both the airbox, new windshield and I had a major coolant leak that they covered too. It will depend on your dealer and how you deal with them. I've found that if I'm to nice, the dealer wont do anything and to hystical they wont do anything. I had to find a happy medium. You do need to go to your service manager and find out EXACTLY whats been voided on your truck. And then work with that.
Seriously, when my truck was still under warranty I went and bought a nice bottle of booze for both the main diesel mechanic and the service writer and very casually said "I brought you guys something for X-mas to thank you guys for all the hard work you do around here and how much you have helped me w/ my truck." After that, I would always have a free loaner car waiting for me, my truck would always get fixed first, they would fix absolutely anything they could find such as little leaks and repair bulletins, and they totally quit saying anything about my mods.
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1,532 Posts
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Seriously, when my truck was still under warranty I went and bought a nice bottle of booze for both the main diesel mechanic and the service writer and very casually said "I brought you guys something for X-mas to thank you guys for all the hard work you do around here and how much you have helped me w/ my truck." After that, I would always have a free loaner car waiting for me, my truck would always get fixed first, they would fix absolutely anything they could find such as little leaks and repair bulletins, and they totally quit saying anything about my mods.
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And that is how the world turns. If you would leave a tip for a $10 meal, keep that in mind when they do work on your truck. Remember, your mechanic is probably getting screwed on warranty work by the flat rate system. Service writer has a better job, but he has alot of pull so keep that in mind.
Seriously, when my truck was still under warranty I went and bought a nice bottle of booze for both the main diesel mechanic and the service writer and very casually said "I brought you guys something for X-mas to thank you guys for all the hard work you do around here and how much you have helped me w/ my truck." After that, I would always have a free loaner car waiting for me, my truck would always get fixed first, they would fix absolutely anything they could find such as little leaks and repair bulletins, and they totally quit saying anything about my mods.
[/ QUOTE ]
And that is how the world turns. If you would leave a tip for a $10 meal, keep that in mind when they do work on your truck. Remember, your mechanic is probably getting screwed on warranty work by the flat rate system. Service writer has a better job, but he has alot of pull so keep that in mind.
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2,740 Posts
If you get nowhere with the nice approach, getting bent at them won't help. You will have to just own up to paying to get your truck fixed or save a bunch of money by doing it yourself. Head studs are a for-sure, and just because the warranty is void doesn't mean you bought a lemon. You still have a great truck. Welcome to TDS. You aren't the first one to go through this. Just go easy on the excess horsepower so you don't start breaking connecting rods.
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interesting no one ever suggests calling Edge and telling them their chip caused the head gaskets to start leaking on the truck.
You coud drive it south of the border and leave it unlocked in the hotel parking lot overnight.
Fact is any Ford dealer can find you and your voided warranty in the system and no one will touch it under warranty. Whatever goes wrong from now on is also gonna be blamed on the chip - even if your radio burns out.
Your gonna be in the shop for three days and are looking at somehwere around $2500 because half the stuff under the hood has to come out just to find the heads - never mind getting them off. Saw one having this done when I was there a few weeks ago - stock unit with 300 miles on it just started knocking one day. They had to replace one head.
My dealer truck dept posts a sign up behind the main service desk that says "Ford will (not may) void waranty on diesel truck with chips or altered electronic controls."
You coud drive it south of the border and leave it unlocked in the hotel parking lot overnight.
Fact is any Ford dealer can find you and your voided warranty in the system and no one will touch it under warranty. Whatever goes wrong from now on is also gonna be blamed on the chip - even if your radio burns out.
Your gonna be in the shop for three days and are looking at somehwere around $2500 because half the stuff under the hood has to come out just to find the heads - never mind getting them off. Saw one having this done when I was there a few weeks ago - stock unit with 300 miles on it just started knocking one day. They had to replace one head.
My dealer truck dept posts a sign up behind the main service desk that says "Ford will (not may) void waranty on diesel truck with chips or altered electronic controls."
Third-party warranties aren't worth the paper they're written on. For engines, they typically only cover a very short list of "lubricated engine parts", and head gaskets aren't on that list. Every single one I've ever seen has exclusions that are at the discretion of the warranty company's rep, who must approve all claimed repairs prior to the warranty company agreeing to pay for them. The most common weasel-words for exclusions are "normal wear and tear" and "abuse". Since the warranty company doesn't make money if it pays a claim, it's in their best interest (and your worst interest) if they refuse coverage.
Chipping/programming a truck with an aftermarket unit will, 100 times out of 100, be classified as "abuse" by any third-party warranty company.
And also keep in mind that the vast majority of third-party warranty companies are "here today, gone tomorrow". They'll cash your check in a hurry, but good luck finding them when you need to make a claim. Those that are still around to answer the phone will delay and dilly-dally on sending an inspector to the shop, and won't show up until after you've already agreed to pay the shop for a teardown so they can inspect the parts before they declare it either "not a covered part", "normal wear and tear" or "abuse" and refuse your claim, leaving you with a dissassembled engine and no recourse but to pay the shop out of your pocket for the whole enchilada.
Do you get the idea I don't like these guys? Good. I don't. I have *never*, not ever, in many, many years of exposure to this racket, seen a third-party warranty company actually pay a claim.
But if you think you must, please check out the company with the BBB before you give them any money.
Keep in mind that the VIN from on the original poster's truck is likely flagged in OASIS for anything powertrain-related (engine, trans, transfer case, propshafts, axles) because of the aftermarket chip. This should not impact warranty on non-powertrain items -- power windows, radio, interior trim, paint, body, etc.
It's really very simple. The OEM warranties the truck in its OEM specification. Anything that you alter from OEM specification is no longer covered by the OEM warranty -- and why should it be? You've taken it away from OEM specification using parts and/or programming code that have not been tested, verified, and certified (with USEPA/CARB) by the OEM. Logically, it makes perfect sense that the OEM would not warrant, nor want to warrant, some third-party's device or calibration -- or the OEM components directly impacted by the device or calibration. In the case of an aftermarket chip or programmer, the entire powertrain -- engine to drive axles -- is directly impacted by the changes in calibration.
Thinking about pulling the wool over the OEM by removing the chip/programmer before attempting to make a warranty claim on the powertrain? It's called fraud, and it costs every single one of us who buy new vehicles. Why? Because the OEM has to cover its fraudulent losses, and they do that by increasing the sale price of their new vehicls. It's cheaper in the long run, for both the OEM and its customers, for the OEM to employ some full-time people whose sole job is to sniff out fraudulent claims and reject them.
And don't think this is unique to Ford. Every single OEM doing business in the US has similar policies that limit or totally remove their liability for aftermarket alterations to their products.
Bottom line: if you're gonna play, be prepared to pay when things go wrong. The aftermarket companies don't have the time or resources to do all the rigorous durability testing that the OEMs do and/or are required to do by law. Consider that just the EPA/CARB certification process, which includes extended durability & performance testing for the duration of the required emissions warranty for a powertrain/vehicle combination can cost in excess of $10 million, not counting the calibration time and labor that goes into it. Most aftermarket companies would be happy to gross that amount annually, nevermind spend it on one vehicle program. If you have a chip or a programmer, you are basically paying for a hack, a collection of tricks to alter inputs and outputs of the PCM.
Chipping/programming a truck with an aftermarket unit will, 100 times out of 100, be classified as "abuse" by any third-party warranty company.
And also keep in mind that the vast majority of third-party warranty companies are "here today, gone tomorrow". They'll cash your check in a hurry, but good luck finding them when you need to make a claim. Those that are still around to answer the phone will delay and dilly-dally on sending an inspector to the shop, and won't show up until after you've already agreed to pay the shop for a teardown so they can inspect the parts before they declare it either "not a covered part", "normal wear and tear" or "abuse" and refuse your claim, leaving you with a dissassembled engine and no recourse but to pay the shop out of your pocket for the whole enchilada.
Do you get the idea I don't like these guys? Good. I don't. I have *never*, not ever, in many, many years of exposure to this racket, seen a third-party warranty company actually pay a claim.
But if you think you must, please check out the company with the BBB before you give them any money.
Keep in mind that the VIN from on the original poster's truck is likely flagged in OASIS for anything powertrain-related (engine, trans, transfer case, propshafts, axles) because of the aftermarket chip. This should not impact warranty on non-powertrain items -- power windows, radio, interior trim, paint, body, etc.
It's really very simple. The OEM warranties the truck in its OEM specification. Anything that you alter from OEM specification is no longer covered by the OEM warranty -- and why should it be? You've taken it away from OEM specification using parts and/or programming code that have not been tested, verified, and certified (with USEPA/CARB) by the OEM. Logically, it makes perfect sense that the OEM would not warrant, nor want to warrant, some third-party's device or calibration -- or the OEM components directly impacted by the device or calibration. In the case of an aftermarket chip or programmer, the entire powertrain -- engine to drive axles -- is directly impacted by the changes in calibration.
Thinking about pulling the wool over the OEM by removing the chip/programmer before attempting to make a warranty claim on the powertrain? It's called fraud, and it costs every single one of us who buy new vehicles. Why? Because the OEM has to cover its fraudulent losses, and they do that by increasing the sale price of their new vehicls. It's cheaper in the long run, for both the OEM and its customers, for the OEM to employ some full-time people whose sole job is to sniff out fraudulent claims and reject them.
And don't think this is unique to Ford. Every single OEM doing business in the US has similar policies that limit or totally remove their liability for aftermarket alterations to their products.
Bottom line: if you're gonna play, be prepared to pay when things go wrong. The aftermarket companies don't have the time or resources to do all the rigorous durability testing that the OEMs do and/or are required to do by law. Consider that just the EPA/CARB certification process, which includes extended durability & performance testing for the duration of the required emissions warranty for a powertrain/vehicle combination can cost in excess of $10 million, not counting the calibration time and labor that goes into it. Most aftermarket companies would be happy to gross that amount annually, nevermind spend it on one vehicle program. If you have a chip or a programmer, you are basically paying for a hack, a collection of tricks to alter inputs and outputs of the PCM.
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I believe that this has gone on too long. Previous convos between techs, such as Ford_Doctor and GrampyJim should be stickied. They have said before that they don't void your warranty, but rather deny a claim. If you have a chip, then all of the sudden a piston melts, sure denied claim. But if you have a chip and then a leak is devloped in the Y-pipe, there is NO reason for a warranty claim to be denied. I do believe that if you play, be prepared to pay, but it does not VOID your warranty. Go to another dealer if you want to backstab Ford because a chip caused the failure that denied your claim. Chances are that they didn't say in OASIS "Don't warrant this guy, he had a chip!"
Sheez. Enough is enough.
Sheez. Enough is enough.
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