I was talking with my friend today who used to work at a Ford dealership as a mechanic. He says that if you put a chip in and there is a problem with the engin or transmission, they will basically tell you that you have voided your warranty.

They have actually done this as well, now I know there are some laws to protect us right? When I get a 2002 screw I want to upgrade the chip but am worried about this, I will ask the dealer as well but still have this concern.

Now if the dealer actually installs it I belive the warranty will stay good regardless...

I am looking for an answer from someone who has actally dealt with a dealer on this or even someone who has been told that they have voided there warranty by installng there own chip.

 

dcovell, I am not someone who has dealt with this issue. I would like to share my opinion. You can disregard it if you like.

I can only mention things I have seen here. I believe that the warranty can be voided if a computer chip causes a failure of a component. I think they have to prove that the failure wouldn't have happened without the chip. I don't think that just the presence of a chip gives them the right to void the warranty. Your friend is more qualified in this case. I'm not so sure if all the dealership employees have all of the facts straight.

The law that gives us protection is the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act. You can get information about it at www.sema.com and www.nhtsa.dot.gov. I think it's all pretty confusing. You can determine that for yourself.

I wanted to inform my dealership of my use of a computer chip. I tend to believe that being honest is the way to go. After going over this several times here I have decided to remove the chip when I go in for service. I have chosen not to let the dealer know that I use a chip. I would think they would be ok with it, but if they are not it might cause much grief. The dealership's interests may not be the same as Ford's. From what I've seen here dealers all react differently to this situation.

I would recommend the use of a Superchip. I think it is highly unlikely that a chip would cause a failure.
This can be a tough one for some of us. It was for me at first. I wouldn't want to be without the Superchip now.
It's ultimately up to you.
Tom

 

Thanks for your opinion, I agree with you that I will be carefull about what I tell the dealer but will ask up front when I actually purcase my 2002 screw.

The legal info/links are also very helpful so again thanks!

 

Try doing a search on warranty AND chip in this forum and I think you will find a tremendous amount of information on this subject. It has been discussed hundreds of times, in detail, during the past three years.

 

Hi dcovell,

It is completely illegal to deny a warranty claim just because aftermarket parts are installed on your vehicle. The only way this can be done legally is if the aftermarket part actually *damaged* the vehicle requiring repairs to correct. In that case, that could be grounds for a denied warranty claim, just as per the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act that "Wittom" mentioned in his excellent response to you.

As the Webmaster mentioned, there are reams of information here about this, if you will use the search feature.

And, if you like, please feel free to give us a call, and we'll be happy to go over this in detail with you, so you have a clear understanding of just exactly what your legal rights actually are. It's important to know what your rights are, and the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act was passed precisely because of this illegal behavior on the parts of some dealerships.

Every Superchip comes with a "Consumer Bill of Rights" statement that instructs you to contact Superchips immediately should you ever have a situation like this arise.

 

Thank you all for the info, the only question I have now is the gas, do I have to use 92 octane instead of the 87? Also that flip chip looks cool.

I know that I will be putting a SuperChip in as 1 of the first mods. Also If I do a cat-back for the 5.4 what is the recomended size? and does the chip recalibrate for this.

1 more question before I go, will the superchip be any diffrent for the 2002 5.4 than for the 2001?

Thanks ahead of time!