Recall Probs

[jswjr600]

OK, i too recieved the recall from ford about the onboard diagnostics. what my dealer told me was that the computer was found to randomly delete its contetns, thus rendering vehicle inoperative, while being driven. It was also told to me by the service manager that it only effedted the CA emmissions models.


Ok, I need some advice. while ford was doing my recall, they twice dumped the contents of the computer, and now it no longer works at all.
Here is where things get kinda messy. Ford says this occured because of the Superchips i had installed in there, and that otherwise it would not have happened. My Superchips warranty has expired, b/c i have had it for over a year. If i cannot prove that the chip was not responsible, then it will cost me $380 for a new computer.
Has anybody else had a similar problem? If so, can anybody give me advice as to what i could do to prevent this costing me 380 bucks???


The way i see it is that i never had a problem with the chip, and i did not have problem with the computer until ford f**ked it up with their "recall"

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[yob_yeknom]

Good luck on making them not tell you it was the Superchip's fault. You're gonna need it!
Was the chip still in there when you took it in? If it was you should have taken it out first, if it wasn't then they can't prove jack $h!t about a chip causing the problem.

 

[Alec]

Monkey_boy is right that you should have removed the superchip before you took it to the dealer, especially for a computer related issue. But hindsight being 20/20, here's my take on it: Mod chips like the Superchip and Hypertech that simply plug into the computer's service port do not alter any programming inside the computer itself. They just bypass some of the computer's stock programming and route commands through the mod chip. Other chips and computer mods may alter the computer programming, but the plug and play ones don't. There isn't really a way to prove this to Ford, other than having your service guy talk with some Superchip people. I would think that since the Superchip is (supposedly) emmissions legal, it wouldn't alter the stock computer in any way detrimental. Even though your chip is out of warrantly, it's worth a try to call Superchip and try to get them to help. Now, I'm saying the Superchip shouldn't alter the stock computer during normal operation.

However, if your Superchip was presently installed when they tried to dump and reprogram your computer, it could have caused a problem by altering programming as it was being fed to the computer. Also, the Superchip itself could have been messed up by being fed with a new program. However, I would think that if this happened, the Superchip could be removed and the stock computer re-dumped and reset. No physical damage should have been done, just damage of data. However, the Superchip should then be reprogrammed also.

Good luck!

 

[jswjr600]

yes, the chip was in there, and believe me that i am kicking myself that i did not take it out. looking at the computer, however, there is no way they would not have seen the big blue chip stickin out on the back. A friend of mine is a shop foreman/diagnostics specialist, and i have been told that when something like that is modified, they are not even supposed to touch it until the owner of the vehicle has been contacted. I will have to take a real close look at the service contract to see the dealership/fords policy is. They said that they had this problem one other time: the computer deleting itself, but i do not know if that truck also had a chip.

Well, thanks for all the info so far, and i would like to find others' experience with the recall, although i hope nobody else has my problem

 

[Alec]

Usually they don't have to get at the actual computer to upgrade your software, they can do most of it from the service port with is under the steering wheel on later models. This is why they might not have known you had a chip. Also, the superchip could have been giving them weird feedback when they were checking out the computer, making them think the computer was really messed up.