The reason I ask is because on FTE there is a person with a 6.4 that they bought with 35k ish miles... 30k miles later they experienced an engine failure... Ford Denied the Warranty due to the use of a tuner. The owner claims that he never tuned it but was able to locate the previous owner who admitted to aggressive tunes via a Bully Dog. He claims the motor is too far gone and it will cost $18k to replace the 6.4 with a crate motor. Here is a link to the thread. How can those of us who purchase used trucks guard against something like this? Is there a way to see if the truck has been tuned in the past? Thanks!Jeremiah

I think there are two answers here - around 2006ish manufacturers made it much more difficult (impossible?) to hide if a truck had been modified. So, with a newer truck like the one in the thread I would think he could have taken it to the dealer before he bough it and they could have told him. I'd hope that since the dealer will deny warranty coverage they'd at least have the decency to tell you beforehand.As for the older trucks they're out of warranty so I suppose it's a moot point. As for knowing just for peace of mind I don't think there's a sure way. Of course, looking for gauges or holes where they were is a big clue.

In before mr bow tie tries to pin another one on old ford.

Well for about the same cost as the diesel sucking Ford/HI 6.4, your friend could go down this road and have his Ford that he loves, with a strong reliable engine!DestrokedSorry your friend got duped, in getting a hidden flaw. I agree aggressive tunes will limit the life of any diesel.

mtofell1 wrote:I think there are two answers here - around 2006ish manufacturers made it much more difficult (impossible?) to hide if a truck had been modified. So, with a newer truck like the one in the thread I would think he could have taken it to the dealer before he bough it and they could have told him. I'd hope that since the dealer will deny warranty coverage they'd at least have the decency to tell you beforehand.As for the older trucks they're out of warranty so I suppose it's a moot point. As for knowing just for peace of mind I don't think there's a sure way. Of course, looking for gauges or holes where they were is a big clue.Best answer Ive ever read! Thanks for posting.

I find it odd that the new owner couldn't tell there was a tune on the truck if it was aggressive. Other than that, an aggressive tune would generally come with a new exhaust eliminating mandated emissions. Did this guy live in an area where emission testing was not required for registration?Buyer beware.

How to check for previous "tuner" on a used truck?

26 Replies

CKNSLS
Explorer
Jun 17, 2013
Most but not all tuners leave a footprint even after being uninstalled. This is true for both gas and diesel motors.
wcjeep
Explorer
Jun 17, 2013
Some, not all Tuners will restart the key count. The computer counts how many times the key has been turned.
DirtyOil
Explorer
Jun 17, 2013
Not all programmers require holes drilled or strips Velcro. OBDII port load program, set timing, torque, tire size, check DTCs....unplug.

The bully dog was available for temporary free programing for potential customers, problem was bully dog left footprints. Keycounts is another way to determine if a programmer was used, although some programmers don't reset keycounts. Any decent OBDII reader will show keycounts, don't need to go to a dealer to check. If your looking to purchase a used vehicle and suspect programmer use, you can purchase a reliable cheap OBDII reader.
Learjet
Explorer
Jun 17, 2013
This all makes me realize how big of a risk these "tuners" are. You have a major research department, say Ford, and you have some company coming up with "tunes" ...I read too much about problems. No thanks my pockets are not that deep!

I'm on FTE and have been following that thread and more.
Jarlaxle
Explorer II
Jun 16, 2013
carringb wrote:
It's pretty easy to tell on all the newer diesel, even the 6.0. You simply pull up the date of the last re-flash, and if the firmware version at that last re-flash wasn't available from Ford at the time of re-flash, then it means it was "restored" from a tuner.

I had a low-mile 6.0 Excursion in my shop for one of my dealer customers, fresh from auction. It needed the full Head-Gasket and both coolers, but with the bad head gasket, unknown full history, and being unable to verify compression, I had to tell them it may need a full replacement. With the diagnostics printout (AutoIngenuity) they were able to get the auction company to buy it back because it was sold as "stock" at the auction.

OTOH - one of my friends took his EcoBoost in for the intercooler update. This involved a re-flash, but they didn't tell him first. He was running a 5-star tune. He called them to ask why the truck ran different after the intercooler, and they apologized for re-flashing without telling him, and gave him a free oil change for the inconvenience of having to re-load the 5-star. So... apparently Ford isn't cracking down on tuner on that motor (yet).

That Excursion sounds like a great candidate for DESTROKING...
Winged_One
Explorer
Jun 16, 2013
04fxsts wrote:
My friend who owns IIRC a Dodge, could be wrong, had auto tranny problems while under warranty. Dealer checked for tuner being installed before anything else. None had been or the warranty would have been voided. Jim.

Glad I didn't own a dodge.
carringb
Explorer
Jun 16, 2013
It's pretty easy to tell on all the newer diesel, even the 6.0. You simply pull up the date of the last re-flash, and if the firmware version at that last re-flash wasn't available from Ford at the time of re-flash, then it means it was "restored" from a tuner.

I had a low-mile 6.0 Excursion in my shop for one of my dealer customers, fresh from auction. It needed the full Head-Gasket and both coolers, but with the bad head gasket, unknown full history, and being unable to verify compression, I had to tell them it may need a full replacement. With the diagnostics printout (AutoIngenuity) they were able to get the auction company to buy it back because it was sold as "stock" at the auction.

OTOH - one of my friends took his EcoBoost in for the intercooler update. This involved a re-flash, but they didn't tell him first. He was running a 5-star tune. He called them to ask why the truck ran different after the intercooler, and they apologized for re-flashing without telling him, and gave him a free oil change for the inconvenience of having to re-load the 5-star. So... apparently Ford isn't cracking down on tuner on that motor (yet).
BenK
Explorer
Jun 16, 2013
These things were mainly boy racers, gearheads that wrenched their own
No shop would touch it back then, as they feared loss of license and
jail time.

Now that the herd has gone to these to drive the old outlaw or underground
providers go main stream with legit business (money) the Fed's are now
more and more involved. Betcha they also paid big bucks for source
code from the OEMs

Used to be more of a nuisance to them and occasionally they would catch
one of us out on the open road with their road side test rigs

Ditto the OEMs paying for warranties that they could not prove was
voided due to modifications to their mandated by law smog stuff

My garage at parents house (now mine) has a back alley with a 3 car
garage I built when in high school. Used to switch engines for buddies
who got their notice to test before registration could be paid for
Could change an engine in a day or less. Took no money, as if caught,
a higher level of offense...just gave them a list of parts I wanted
for my vehicles

So Jeremiah, the only way as mentioned is to take it to a dealer with
their very expensive scanners to tell. My mechanic has a scanner that
he had to license (rent/lease), as they do NOT sell them to non-dealers

Bet that 'previous' owner tried to put it back and used to work when
memory was erased when power was removed from the ECU. No more...new
stuff has non-volatile Non-volatile memory
04fxsts
Explorer
Jun 16, 2013
My friend who owns IIRC a Dodge, could be wrong, had auto tranny problems while under warranty. Dealer checked for tuner being installed before anything else. None had been or the warranty would have been voided. Jim.
Turtle_n_Peeps
Explorer
Jun 16, 2013
The only sure way is electronically. And the only sure way to find out electronically is take the truck to the dealer.

Absent that you can look for Velcro and holes drilled here and there for no reason.

But like I said, take it to the dealer because they are the ones that have the software that knows if it's been tuned or not.