I have an 05 Cummins with a 6spd.. I'm trying to figure out how to keep my Cummins engine warranty in tact, While still being able to add a programmer or downloader or something else??   I already have a Banks exaust,Highram and full K&N intake.. Any ideas or advice would be great??  Thanks



Lee  

Yeah Don't mess with it. Easiest answer plain and simple. You start messing with the fueling and working with the dealers gets dicey. I'd say either leave it alone or take your chances and assume the warranty is no good.  

Yep, I don't know if I'd go much further than you've already gone. You might be able to get away with a handheld programmer like a Superchips or Hypertech, but even that's iffy. It's a tough dilemma, but if you want to keep your warranty, you have to err on the conservative side.  

ive read that there are some dealership that will order and install the parts on your truck and it will still be covered. its hit or miss with them  

That's the thing...You have some dealerships that are the biggest sellers of aftermarket parts out there, and you have others that freak out if you have so much as non-factory wheels & tires. You just got to take it on a case-by-case basis, and get a feel for what your local dealer is like.  

Thanks for all the help and advice.. Got some thinking to do  

The biggest thing about the factory warranty and prickish dealers is they can't just void the entire warranty on your truck because of one specific mod. they have to PROVE that the mod in question was directly responsible for the failure in question.

Example, you throw on a aggressive programmer and two weeks down the road you're sweeping transmission bits off the street. A few pushes of a button on their scanner and they'll be able to see the "fingerprint" of that programmer. Chrysler/Dodge/Cummins knows full well that some programmers can offer up 150+hp at he wheels and you can be sure that it's possible to PROVE that half-again as much power as stock will cook a transmission.

Now suppose you keep it simple and straight-pipe the exhaust behind the DPF, add a cold air intake, throw on some nice wheels and tires and a ram-air hood. You're going down the highway and kick a rod out of the side of the block. The dealership goes ape-hit saying the non-OEM parts voids the factory warranty. You can tell them to pound sand! There's NO WAY POSSIBLE they could prove any of those mods caused that failure.  

i know of a lot of people that have put programmers on they trucks and no problems with warranty including my dads 05 duramax an oxygen sensor went out he pulled the hypertex off no questions asked now if you put a new turbo on they might say something  

Dieseldude is right, they have to be able to directly link the mod to the problem. Someone else already said also find a dealer that sells the stuff. Yes, because if they sell it they have to by law cover the warrenty. They can not knowingly sell something that would "void" the warrenty and not cover it. The only thing is if you buy a, say, ball bearing turbo and it goes out they can only put a factory turbo back on it not the aftermarket part unless the aftermarket part is covered by its own warrenty obvioulsly.  

Yeah, it's called the Magnuson-Moss Act, and the burden of proof is on the dealer to prove that an aftermarket part directly caused a factory part to fail.  

There are ways to get around that.  An exhaust won't void the warranty, nor will a CFM manifold.  An air intake will but if you just save the stock one change it out.  

Smarty's programmer is completely undetectable.  It's non traceable bro so you would be good to go their.  And also the pressure box's some of those aren't detectable either.  There are ways to get around it thats for sure.

also I am not for sure but you might be able to do a boost fooler, all those do is trick your ECM into thinking it's generating a certain amount of boost (lets say 20 when in all actuality you're doing 40)

so yeah,  there areways.   Do some research and see what you think.

Have a good one

John  

There are ways but if the programmer you choose has to have a pyrometer you cant just take it off cuz you gotta drill a hole for the sensor and alot of diesel mechanics look for that pretty closely.  

if that would be the case.  Lets say you take it in the shop and they see those gauges.  They can't prove those guages are going to break anything.  The one thing I hated about my dodge is that it didn't have a boost guage or transmission guage like some other trucks did stock.  You would be easily able to get around that.  If something bad happens to your truck, then they have to prove that whatever upgrades you have put on was the cause of the problem.  If they don't see the chip, how can they prove anything you know?  

all diesel truck should come from the factory with boost, trans temp and most importantly pyrometer(egt) gauges  

Yeah I know same here.  But they don't for some ingornant reason