PCM software upgrade

[ga_sport4X4]

What is the going dealer rate to upgrade the software of 97'-98' sohc Explorer? I need to have this done in order to change my shift points, and I'm curious as to what everyone is paying for them to download software onto your trucks.

 

[Robert]

What are you hoping to accomplish by changeing your shif points? If you are having a problem that changing the shift points will cure, then your PCM is covered for 8 years / 80K miles. If you are under those limits, Ford will re-flash it at no charge under warranty. I had mine re-flashed at 50K miles under warranty to cure a hesitation problem I was experiencing.

If you are outside of the PCM warranty and are experiencing problems, then figure on about one hour of labor. In my area, Ford charges about $72/hour. It will only take them about ten minutes to do, but they like to stick to the one hour charge.

If you are looking for firmer shifts, I doubt if you can get Ford to do it. They may not even have the knowledge or ability to do it. Anytime they put a new program into the PCM, it has to meet strict emissions standards. They are supposed to put a "vehicle modification" sticker on your vehicle to indicate that they modified your PCM. If Ford would feel that by making your shifts firmer it would increase your emissions, then they won't do it. If you want firmer shifts, a Superchip will do that for about $200.

 

[ga_sport4X4]

Sometimes my truck shifts roughly from 2nd to 3rd and from 3rd to 1st. I don't remember the exact service bulletin number issued for the problem, but apparently the local Ford Dealer feels as though the solution would to be to change the shift points with the upgraded PCM software. The dealer says my truck is out of warranty at 68k and want $73 bucks to download the software. Thanks Robert. You are always on the money when it comes to diagnosing problems. I'm going to the dealer at some point next week to have the software downloaded to the PCM, and thanks to you I may have just saved $73 bucks.

 

[yob_yeknom]

How would I tell if the PCM has the latest software upgrades or not?
If it doesn't have them, how could I get them for free, even if I'm not having any problems? I'm at 65k now.

 

[Robert]

The only way you would get them for free is if the PCM upgrade was the result of a recall such as the one issued a year or two ago for the PCM that had the wrong top speed set. Most times you can't tell if you have the latest PCM upgrade. Ford is supposed to put an emmissions modification sticker under your hood when they do upgrade the PCM, but mine didn't. When I needed to find out my new code so that I could get my Superchip, they pulled the code from the PCM and placed a small sticker inside my door jamb. If yours has been updated and no sticker was installed, all you could do is go to Ford and have them pull the actual code in from your computer. If you put a chip on and you used the code that yours originally came with then it is a good bet that it has never been updated. Ford will not update your PCM without a reason, especially if it is on their dime. If you go in and try telling them that it isn't working properly and want your PCM updated, you may find out that you have the most current version. In that case, you can bet that Ford will charge you for their diagnostics time to try and find a problem that doesn't exist. It could get expensive.