Ford Performance Tune towing issue / lawsuit

[Verhiz]

I have 2 brothers who are attorneys - through the yrs I always consulted with them as to how best approach contentious situations - they provided advice which is geared toward a reasonable settlement without having to rely on billed legal service , but they offered to write letters to the company if my attempts were in vain, on one occasion that worked like a charm:

going back into the early 90s I did win a victory with Ford on only prior Ford product I owned- a 1991 SHO that the build quality was simply horrendous and it had a year warranty. The freon 2x leaked out and all Ford would do was recharge it and tell me it was fixed, but the 2nd summer it failed out of warranty and they wouldn't do anything for me. My younger bro earned his law degree from Georgetown, went to work for the FDA and knew a schoolmate who went to work for the EPA, congress at the time had passed the laws that outlawed freon. and made improper handling a crime. My brother put me in touch with the EPA attorney who was eager to pursue legal issues and he wrote a letter to Ford essentially indicating that he would work on my behalf as there was evidence Fords refusal to fix my leaky AC was violating environmental laws. Never had a company respond as fast as Ford to actually fix my AC - the assembly worker had crossed threaded one of the bolts that fasten the lines to the compressor.
Unbelievably Ford had stickers on that car that said "quality is job one" and "built with pride in Atlanta." Was a total crock, I should have sued them for blatant misrepresentation of their product.

Ha ha it sounds like you have some pretty awesome brothers. I doubt I’ll get a response as fas as you did. I’m sure this is pretty low on their list. That’s why I’m trying to get as many people contacting them as possible. I’m not surprised I have this doesn’t put too bad of a taste in my mouth for Ford. One thing I do know is I’m done with Ford Performance.

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[2.7EcoBoost]

This may not effect you, but I put a lot of money into my Ranger to make it tow better. Especially getting this tune and now they say we shouldn’t tow with it. Whether you agree or not I know others do and I’m going to hold them accountable.

I am not sure what you mean by this. I towed an (as loaded) 6,000lb TT up a very demanding, long, steep grade to my "home" campground. I could easily maintain 55-58 mph with the truck never dropping below 4th gear @ 4,200 rpm. A pretty impressive job. I could have likely held 60 mph or more if I had desired. By comparison my buddy in his few year old Silverado 5.3 was turning much higher rpm to keep pace with a very similar camper.

Thank you. I’m trying to work with them, but I basically have been told to screw off. I’m going to see where this goes and what happens.

Ford is telling you to screw off, or the Ford dealership? People use the two as the same and they are not. BTW, I see "Towing not recommended" not, "WARNING: Towing with this tune will void your warranty". Am I missing something?

 

[Verhiz]

I am not sure what you mean by this. I towed an (as loaded) 6,000lb TT up a very demanding, long, steep grade to my "home" campground. I could easily maintain 55-58 mph with the truck never dropping below 4th gear @ 4,200 rpm. A pretty impressive job. I could have likely held 60 mph or more if I had desired. By comparison my buddy in his few year old Silverado 5.3 was turning much higher rpm to keep pace with a very similar camper.



Ford is telling you to screw off, or the Ford dealership? People use the two as the same and they are not. BTW, I see "Towing not recommended" not, "WARNING: Towing with this tune will void your warranty". Am I missing something?

People want different things. I tow close to the max and sometimes I want a little extra. It’s my preference.

Also we are going off a statement that Ford Performance has made to at least one other and myself. I don’t have it in writing yet, but I’m working on getting a more detailed info from them. Right now that can’t even tell me if I can tow with it. They are very confusing when you speak to them. Just the fact they are saying it’s not recommended is enough for me not to want it installed. I got it for towing.

 

[2.7EcoBoost]

OP bought a tune, which they planned on towing with, and nothing said that they couldn't. Suddenly they have a problem and Ford says 'oh, don't tow with a tune.', despite never saying that before. Ford dropped the ball here, they should have had the warning up from day one, and since they didn't at the very least they need to cover OP's cost to return the tune and honor their warranty.

I Am not seeing this? If, after paying for a tune, Ford issued a SSM or TSB that clearly said something along those lines of "Towing with tune will void warranty", then I agree, Ford should clear the tune and refund the money. But as I read it, this post is a whole lot of to do for nothing. Use the truck as intended.

 

[t4thfavor]

I Am not seeing this? If, after paying for a tune, Ford issued a SSM or TSB that clearly said something along those lines of "Towing with tune will void warranty", then I agree, Ford should clear the tune and refund the money. But as I read it, this post is a whole lot of to do for nothing. Use the truck as intended.

Maybe it's "you shouldn't tow because your fuel economy will be single digits"?

 

[2.7EcoBoost]

People want different things. I tow close to the max and sometimes I want a little extra. It’s my preference.

Also we are going off a statement that Ford Performance has made to at least one other and myself. I don’t have it in writing yet, but I’m working on getting a more detailed info from them. Right now that can’t even tell me if I can tow with it. They are very confusing when you speak to them. Just the fact they are saying it’s not recommended is enough for me not to want it installed. I got it for towing.

I really don't understand what your argument is. You want a little extra power towing close to max? Or you want to tow a little extra? Or you thought that with a tune you'd be able to tow at max much easier? 7,500lbs is a lot of weight. I think maybe your perception of how easy this truck should tow that with a tune, is not very realistic. Nothing (that I see) says you can't tow with the Ford tune, it says it's not recommended. I would use the truck as I intended, until Ford issues, in writing, "No Towing with tune or warranty is voided". I wouldn't let some rep at Ford Performance tell me I shouldn't.

 

[parkranger]

Since I neither tow nor have a tune you all can just ignore this:

It seems that Ford Performance could simply release their own towing tune (or pay Livernois to make one) FREE for those who feel jaded, and market towards future buyers who may wish to tow.

 

[2.7EcoBoost]

Maybe it's "you shouldn't tow because your fuel economy will be single digits"?

Towing near 7,500lbs in this truck and expecting much over single digits with or without a tune defies common sense.

this is an important distinction. ^^


my thoughts are the tune was created for street performance.

the tune likely was not tested in a towing function. I'm not sure how you get a truck and trailer on a dyno, but whatevz. I'm sure they can just tear up the incline on a mountain and grab some data one way or another. One might think knocking is the issue by demanding more from the engine and the tune wasn't designed to compensate for that.

The problem has been corrected in the latest literature, and i would think those who want a refund should get one. But to sue, as in a class action, that's a ridiculous prospect.
I'm curious on the convo that ended with them not answering emails.....curious minds want to know. bridges may have been burnt already.

I would agree with the first if this was a Civic forum, but I don't think the broad street performance statement holds water on a truck tune.
Second, What does the latest literature say? No towing? If so, I would agree people should get a refund.

 

[Verhiz]

this is an important distinction. ^^


my thoughts are the tune was created for street performance.

the tune likely was not tested in a towing function. I'm not sure how you get a truck and trailer on a dyno, but whatevz. I'm sure they can just tear up the incline on a mountain and grab some data one way or another. One might think knocking is the issue by demanding more from the engine and the tune wasn't designed to compensate for that.

The problem has been corrected in the latest literature, and i would think those who want a refund should get one. But to sue, as in a class action, that's a ridiculous prospect.
I'm curious on the convo that ended with them not answering emails.....curious minds want to know. bridges may have been burnt already.

Once again I don’t want to sue, but so far I haven’t gotten any answers. I’ve already posted the emails. Go back and read everything...

 

[t4thfavor]

I really don't understand what your argument is. You want a little extra power towing close to max? Or you want to tow a little extra? Or you thought that with a tune you'd be able to tow at max much easier? 7,500lbs is a lot of weight. I think maybe your perception of how easy this truck should tow that with a tune, is not very realistic. Nothing says you can't tow with the tune, it says it's not recommended. I would use the truck as I intended, until Ford issues, in writing, "No Towing with tune or warranty is voided". I wouldn't let some rep at Ford Performance tell me I shouldn't.

I will say, I tow about 6500ish (GIANT travel trailer) lbs in the summer several times, and the ease in which this truck with a 4 cylinder accelerates with that wind sail attached to it is amazing. Adding a tune would be nice, but I'm certain it's not needed to make towing performance acceptable.

I still don't think the argument is that he needed the tune to tow, just that it wasn't clear that Ford did not recommend towing with the tune installed.

Personally the FRPP tunes are not worth it for me. You assume 99% of the risk, and don't have many of the benefits that you would gain from someone like Unleashed who has a dedicated towing tune, most of the time it can be accessed without flashing.

 

[Verhiz]

I will say, I tow about 6500ish (GIANT travel trailer) lbs in the summer several times, and the ease in which this truck with a 4 cylinder accelerates with that wind sail attached to it is amazing. Adding a tune would be nice, but I'm certain it's not needed to make towing performance acceptable.

I still don't think the argument is that he needed the tune to tow, just that it wasn't clear that Ford did not recommend towing with the tune installed.

Personally the FRPP tunes are not worth it for me. You assume 99% of the risk, and don't have many of the benefits that you would gain from someone like Unleashed who has a dedicated towing tune, most of the time it can be accessed without flashing.

Correct. I don’t need it to tow, but I like the extra power it gives for towing.
They should have stated from the get go that the tune shouldn’t be used for towing.

 

[2020FRL]

Don't hate the messenger ... but, I'm really glad I don't tilt at wind mills anymore ...

 

[wanted33]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Ranger's tow rating 7500 lbs from the factory. No tune needed. I would think towing more than that would be dangerous. It's not just the engine, and performance of the engine when you tow more than recommended. It begins to be a safety issue also.

 

[Verhiz]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Ranger's tow rating 7500 lbs from the factory. No tune needed. I would think towing more than that would be dangerous. It's not just the engine, and performance of the engine when you tow more than recommended. It begins to be a safety issue also.

Correct, but nobody is talking about going over. Also correct you don’t need a tune. I prefer to have the extra power if needed.

 

[Leftcoast]

oh FFS

my next ford is now going to cost me an additional $5000.

I agree with ham hands.

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