Superchip
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From: El Cajon California
Superchip
I have an 04 Screw 5.4, 3.73 L/S. Can anyone tell me if using the new superchip will blackball my Factory Waranty? I had it in the other day for a reflash due to a hesitation/surge when starting out at low speeds and the Tech said he would be able to tell if I used a chip and that it would blackball the waranty. Is this true?
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Joined: Mar 1998
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From: Virginia
No, it's not true.
First, you can't even use any kind of performance "chip" on those Black Oak PCM's, as they don't even have a place to attach it.
So your tech, *if* that was what he actually said verbatim, might not know much about the new PCM's - however, I tend to think that might just be a slight misunderstanding or perhaps him just paraphrasing, as I like to give techs the benefit of the doubt, so to speak.
Now on the older EEC-IV or EEC-V PCM, yes, *if* they actually take it apart, they could tell if the connector was cleaned to use a chip - if they actually knew what to look for. But they cannot tell if an EEC-V or Black Oak (like yours) PCM has been flashed at a Ford dealership service department. They have no idea what's in the program at what address, they cannot see the program code. They can "update" the PCM with a "canned" program provided to them by Ford (like they just did for you and many of us 2004 F-150 owners), but even then they cannot see any part of it's code.
The vast majority of Ford service departments are NOT going to tell you it's "OK" to flash your PCM with performance tuning - they're simply not going to tell you that - virtually every time you ask that question at most dealerships, they are going to give you a scare story, as that is the "company line." Well, what they say in an imaginary 'what if" scenario may very well be much different than when you're actually in such a situation, as only then does the law apply in this regard. So you can basically forget them giving you a "green light" up front on this, that won't happen. And it shouldn't happen, really, as they cannot give you some blanket OK to use just anyone's tuning - in the past, there have been some bad performance programs out there, just like there's good & bad in *everything* - and they aren't going to know who really is and is not competent in that regard, so they cannot give you a blanket "green light."
The reality here is that it's up to you to get up to speed on just what your legal rights actually are, as you cannot depend on dealerships to somehow stand up for/enforce your rights - only *you* can do that.
There are, unfortunately, some dealerships that will do almost anything they can to get out of doing work under warranty - this usually has nothing to do with the modifications having actually caused any damage to the vehicle, but rather the fact that the dealership (and in many cases, the mechanics themselves) get paid far less to do work under warranty when the automaker is footing the bill, than what you and I have to pay out of our pocket for that very same exact work. Most dealerships are honest, good people, and it's very important to emphasize that fact - but we have seen a few real "operators" over the years, so your best bet is to know just what your rights actually are under the law. That is primarily the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, administered by the FTC. Drop by the SEMA web site (www.sema.org) to read up on your rights in this regard (modifications & effect on warranty).
Wat it all boils down to is this - you can do anything you want to your vehicle as long as the changes you make or parts you install do not actually cause DAMAGE to the vehicle. That's the law. And it protects both the consumer AND the automaker from each other - it's what we like to call a nice set of "fair play" rules. For example, it's not fair for the automaker to pay for repairs that were actually caused by modifications to the vehicle - and we absolutely AGREE with that, as it's what is fair. Which is why, for example, if the engine blew up in our Lightning, which is a rolling test bed for a lot of our Lightning performance parts, we'd *never* think of having a Ford dealer replace it under warranty, as that wouldn't be even remotely fair to the automaker. But that is a risk we *choose* to take deliberately in some cases, as we need to do R&D - and so we know right up front that if we hurt the motor (never have) by virtue of some modification, that isn't Ford's responsibility - it's our responsibility. because we *chose* to experiment, to test, to do R&D, etc.
The bottom line is, you can do whatever you want to that vehicle, as long as your modifications DO NOT actually DAMAGE the vehicle. Which also means it's pretty darn important to choose your mods wisely while under warranty, so you don't do something to damage the engine, for example - like installing say, a supercharger - even though todays' supercharger kits are generally pretty safe when installed & tuned for properly, that usually can be the basis for a legally denied warranty claim if something inside the motor lets go. Or using nitrous oxide, for another example. Or doing something dumb like removing an engine's rev limiter, etc. In other words, things that can potentially cause *damage* to the vehicle.
You're better off working with a knowledgeable F-150 tuner/performance specialist for all your modifications, so you can work together to do things that will not void your warranty.
One last point - when you use the Micro Tuner to reflash your PCM, you can easily return back to stock at any time, and once you do, the dealership has no idea that tuning was ever there. You will get a P1000 code simply because power is interrupted to the PCM - just as happens any time you disconnect the battery, for example - and it goes away in a few days driving on it's own.
We know the tuning inside the 1714 Micro Tuner for the 2004 F-150 very well, and there is nothing in there that has been changed that will cause damage to that vehicle. Our own 2004 F-150 (along with numerous other vehicles), was one of the test vehicles on which that tuning was developed, as well as our own custom tuning (and here I'm talking specifically about the 3-valve 5.4 2004 model) - not just in stock trim, but with the vehicles in many different levels of modification, so that we can develop tuning that is appropriate & safe.
Drop by SEMA to take a look at your actual rights, and then you as the vehicle owner have to do whatever makes *you* feel most comfortable - that's about the best advice we can give you.
Best of luck whatever you decide, & feel free to give us a call to go over any of this in more detail.
First, you can't even use any kind of performance "chip" on those Black Oak PCM's, as they don't even have a place to attach it.
So your tech, *if* that was what he actually said verbatim, might not know much about the new PCM's - however, I tend to think that might just be a slight misunderstanding or perhaps him just paraphrasing, as I like to give techs the benefit of the doubt, so to speak. Now on the older EEC-IV or EEC-V PCM, yes, *if* they actually take it apart, they could tell if the connector was cleaned to use a chip - if they actually knew what to look for. But they cannot tell if an EEC-V or Black Oak (like yours) PCM has been flashed at a Ford dealership service department. They have no idea what's in the program at what address, they cannot see the program code. They can "update" the PCM with a "canned" program provided to them by Ford (like they just did for you and many of us 2004 F-150 owners), but even then they cannot see any part of it's code.
The vast majority of Ford service departments are NOT going to tell you it's "OK" to flash your PCM with performance tuning - they're simply not going to tell you that - virtually every time you ask that question at most dealerships, they are going to give you a scare story, as that is the "company line." Well, what they say in an imaginary 'what if" scenario may very well be much different than when you're actually in such a situation, as only then does the law apply in this regard. So you can basically forget them giving you a "green light" up front on this, that won't happen. And it shouldn't happen, really, as they cannot give you some blanket OK to use just anyone's tuning - in the past, there have been some bad performance programs out there, just like there's good & bad in *everything* - and they aren't going to know who really is and is not competent in that regard, so they cannot give you a blanket "green light."
The reality here is that it's up to you to get up to speed on just what your legal rights actually are, as you cannot depend on dealerships to somehow stand up for/enforce your rights - only *you* can do that.
There are, unfortunately, some dealerships that will do almost anything they can to get out of doing work under warranty - this usually has nothing to do with the modifications having actually caused any damage to the vehicle, but rather the fact that the dealership (and in many cases, the mechanics themselves) get paid far less to do work under warranty when the automaker is footing the bill, than what you and I have to pay out of our pocket for that very same exact work. Most dealerships are honest, good people, and it's very important to emphasize that fact - but we have seen a few real "operators" over the years, so your best bet is to know just what your rights actually are under the law. That is primarily the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, administered by the FTC. Drop by the SEMA web site (www.sema.org) to read up on your rights in this regard (modifications & effect on warranty).
Wat it all boils down to is this - you can do anything you want to your vehicle as long as the changes you make or parts you install do not actually cause DAMAGE to the vehicle. That's the law. And it protects both the consumer AND the automaker from each other - it's what we like to call a nice set of "fair play" rules. For example, it's not fair for the automaker to pay for repairs that were actually caused by modifications to the vehicle - and we absolutely AGREE with that, as it's what is fair. Which is why, for example, if the engine blew up in our Lightning, which is a rolling test bed for a lot of our Lightning performance parts, we'd *never* think of having a Ford dealer replace it under warranty, as that wouldn't be even remotely fair to the automaker. But that is a risk we *choose* to take deliberately in some cases, as we need to do R&D - and so we know right up front that if we hurt the motor (never have) by virtue of some modification, that isn't Ford's responsibility - it's our responsibility. because we *chose* to experiment, to test, to do R&D, etc.
The bottom line is, you can do whatever you want to that vehicle, as long as your modifications DO NOT actually DAMAGE the vehicle. Which also means it's pretty darn important to choose your mods wisely while under warranty, so you don't do something to damage the engine, for example - like installing say, a supercharger - even though todays' supercharger kits are generally pretty safe when installed & tuned for properly, that usually can be the basis for a legally denied warranty claim if something inside the motor lets go. Or using nitrous oxide, for another example. Or doing something dumb like removing an engine's rev limiter, etc. In other words, things that can potentially cause *damage* to the vehicle.
You're better off working with a knowledgeable F-150 tuner/performance specialist for all your modifications, so you can work together to do things that will not void your warranty.
One last point - when you use the Micro Tuner to reflash your PCM, you can easily return back to stock at any time, and once you do, the dealership has no idea that tuning was ever there. You will get a P1000 code simply because power is interrupted to the PCM - just as happens any time you disconnect the battery, for example - and it goes away in a few days driving on it's own.
We know the tuning inside the 1714 Micro Tuner for the 2004 F-150 very well, and there is nothing in there that has been changed that will cause damage to that vehicle. Our own 2004 F-150 (along with numerous other vehicles), was one of the test vehicles on which that tuning was developed, as well as our own custom tuning (and here I'm talking specifically about the 3-valve 5.4 2004 model) - not just in stock trim, but with the vehicles in many different levels of modification, so that we can develop tuning that is appropriate & safe.
Drop by SEMA to take a look at your actual rights, and then you as the vehicle owner have to do whatever makes *you* feel most comfortable - that's about the best advice we can give you.
Best of luck whatever you decide, & feel free to give us a call to go over any of this in more detail.