Tune - Pro's, Con's, Traceable?

2013 Ram 1500 w/ 5.7L Hemi (Express)

I read over this forum from time to time, but don't usually post. My normal ride is my GTI, my wife drives the truck, but I would love to get her truck tuned at some point now that we are starting to close in on the end of her powertrain warranty.

She has these nasty shifting issues (I may have posted about them before) that come and go, they are really frustrating to have happen while you're driving what's still a newer truck. It'll hesitate shifting between gears, hold gear at a higher rpm well after you've let off the gas, the occasional clunk when starting from a stop (at a light), etc.

I've read that a tune will generally fix those issues, which is what I would really like to see happen more than the increase in power, though the power would be nice too.

All that being said, does the tune generally fix those issues with shifting? Which tune tends to be the most recommended among the crowd here, Diablosport? The biggest concern my wife has, and that I have as well, is how detectable it is. My GTI tune is and already has been detected by VW. That being said, they don't give me grief over fixing/replacing items that obviously don't have anything to do with the tune (Had my water pump replaced twice under warranty), but I have not generally heard the same from the guys in my local Dodge Dart group that I talk to. Frequently they'll be given grief over even an intake, when the issue is something completely unrelated. I know this can vary from dealer to dealer, but I've generally heard more bad things than good related to tuning from the Dodge dealerships in my area (Seattle), so my wife will not take the chance. If the tune is undetectable, I would be more than happy to look into purchasing the tuner for her again and see if it fixes the issues she's having.

Any insight on this helps, very much appreciate it!

Yes, a tune is detectable by the dealership, but if your warranty is almost up, who cares. As for shifting issues, a tune won't fix broken parts, but if nothing is broken, yes, you can tweak the shifting in a tune as well. From what I've seen on this forum is pretty much everyone uses Diablosport.

A custom tune is generally for an increase in performance and will not normally "fix" anything. I would have the transmission repaired before considering a custom tune. A custom tune is detectable at a dealership. It is always recommended to return the truck back to the stock tune before taking the truck to a dealership.

BlueRT said:

...It is always recommended to return the truck back to the stock tune before taking the truck to a dealership.

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I could be wrong because I'm not sure how sneaky Chrysler is, but I know that on my '13 mustang, once I put a tune on it, even if I set it back to factory, the dealership would be able to tell the computer had been altered at some point, giving them an "out" of honoring any warranty, so I'm not sure if setting it back to factory would help any.

nickpohlaandp said:

Yes, a tune is detectable by the dealership, but if your warranty is almost up, who cares. As for shifting issues, a tune won't fix broken parts, but if nothing is broken, yes, you can tweak the shifting in a tune as well. From what I've seen on this forum is pretty much everyone uses Diablosport.

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BlueRT said:

A custom tune is generally for an increase in performance and will not normally "fix" anything. I would have the transmission repaired before considering a custom tune. A custom tune is detectable at a dealership. It is always recommended to return the truck back to the stock tune before taking the truck to a dealership.

Click to expand...

I don't know that it's broken though. I've taken it in to the dealer at least 5 times over the last 3 years for just the transmission issues (which have happened since 5-10k, at 37k now) and every time they say that it's "normal" (whatever the **** normal is to them) and that it's just the way it is. They've applied PCM updates that affect how the transmission shifts or reset it, and every time it's fine for a couple hundred miles and then comes back. I don't doubt them that the trans isn't actually broken, it's just ****** they can't seem to fix it with any of the patches they've tried.

nickpohlaandp said:

I could be wrong because I'm not sure how sneaky Chrysler is, but I know that on my '13 mustang, once I put a tune on it, even if I set it back to factory, the dealership would be able to tell the computer had been altered at some point, giving them an "out" of honoring any warranty, so I'm not sure if setting it back to factory would help any.

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This is exactly what I am afraid of, and what the Volkswagen crowd experiences as well. Once it's tuned, even going back to stock mode doesn't keep you from getting caught. I know it used to be harder, I had an engine grenade on me in my GTI early on (under 2k miles) and the VWoA rep that came in to investigate sent my ECM off to California to have them dig deep and find out if I was tuned (Luckily was not and had not been at the time, since I had just finished breaking it in). But I have found out recently that, despite not having any major services done, I am flagged in their system as being tuned. I have enough friends in that market that I can get around it for the most part, but I don't have that in Dodge.

I did more looking up digging through forums and the like, and it looks like generally they can find out how many times the PCM was accessed, which is a dead giveaway. I did also find though that you can get multiple TCM files which can help with the odd shifting issues, the risk of something actually happening to the trans and then them blaming me - despite having a history of issues - just not worth it. I don't know any dealers up here that are mod friendly, even friendly is pushing it. They griped and denied me a warranty claim at one for my window switch (which failed completely) because I was at 36,300 miles. Wanted to charge me $300, only $30 of which was the part. I called Dodge customer service, she laughed, "They seriously won't cover it because you're 300 miles out of warranty?". I called the guy back at the dealer, she had obviously had a few choice words with him about working with customers a little bit because he sure didn't like me after that.

We're at 37k now, 3.5 years in, so I guess we'll wait another year and a half and then go with a tuner. Sucks, but is what it is I guess. Thanks for the input guys!

I have a simple philosophy about tuners---if you can afford a tuner, have the money in the bank to fix your truck JUST IN CASE the dealership will not fix any problem that may be associated with the tuner. I call it personal responsibility, but what do I know, I'm just an old fart. I did not notice much of a change in the way my 13 shifted after I installed my Hemifever tune--but it sure woke the truck up performance wise. Also a good relationship with your dealer can save you lots of grief when dealing with warranty claims. I have found most will work with you unless their back is to the wall.
Jay