Obscure
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A warning to those looking at buying the Gen 2 Raptor Whipple tune...(TLDR)
The background of this is I, like others, was having some harsh and delayed shifting with the new 10 speed transmission. I didn't notice it as much without the Whipple tune on it, but the tune and extra power made it more apparent. I gave it some time because the transmission "learns", but after a few thousand miles it was still acting the same. I contacted Whipple to request a stock tune file so I could put the vehicle back to stock to make sure it wasn't related to the tune. Also, I didn't want to take the truck to the dealer with a tune on it because chances are they would immediately blame the issues on the tune and want nothing to do it with, even though it is supposedly a Ford supported cal. Even with them being aware that I was having transmission issues, it took them over 2 months to get me my stock tune file. This included numerous phone calls and emails that went unanswered and I had to reach out to them every time for an update.
After having version mismatch issues with the Tomahawk loader and the stock tune file from Whipple, I finally was able to load the stock tune file on my truck. Transmission was still shifting abnormally so I scheduled an appointment to take it in. I told the dealer the symptoms and asked them to check for updates for the PCM/TCM. After a ridealong, the dealer confirmed it was shifting irregularly, but they stated there were no updates available for my truck. My truck was built back on 5 Dec 2017, so that was shocking and I assumed the dealer just didn't know what they were talking about. So I took my truck to another dealer and they told me the same thing: no updates. I figured I'd just shut up and color, but then I saw a Raptor on base here that someone just took delivery of. Turned out it was the brother of someone I work with so I asked him if he minded if I hooked my laptop/FORScan program up to his truck to see what strategies he was running for the PCM/TCM so I could compare them to mine.
Mine:
TCM - Transmission Control Module
Part number: JL3A-12B565-PA
Strategy : JL3A-14C337-UF
Total Distance: 7314.0 km
PCM - Powertrain Control Module
Part number: JL3A-12A650-APA
Strategy : PKFK3B3_1-1_STK
Hardware type: HL3A-12B684-AYB
Total Distance: 7314.0 km
His:
TCM - Transmission Control Module
Part number: JL3A-12B565-PA
Strategy : JL3A-14C337-AFB
Total Distance: 943.0 km
PCM - Powertrain Control Module
Part number: JL3A-12A650-APA
Strategy : JL3A-14C204-DAC
Hardware type: HL3A-12B684-AYB
Total Distance: 943.0 km
When I looked at the headers of the strategy files, I could see his were generated on 20 Dec 2017 and mine were generated on 21 July 2017. I got to thinking why the IDS program might not be seeing updates available for my truck. I noticed the "stock" file Whipple gave me doesn't follow the same naming convention for the strategy, as mine should actually be "JL3A-14C337-UF" not "PKFK3B3_1-1_STK". My assumption is Ford doesn't actually know what i am running due to the name, therefore it is showing no updates available. The issue is that the PCM and TCM have to be updated in tandem to prevent the versions getting out of sync and potentially causing damage to the vehicle. Because of this, once you put a Whipple tune on your truck you will be prevented from receiving PCM/TCM updates from Ford without jumping through hoops as Whipple does not program the TCM, only PCM.
Yes, you can try to convince a dealer to flash your PCM to as-built, but mine don't want to take the liability of doing that in case something happens. They state that the procedure is not warranty related therefore Ford isn't going to back them if your PCM bricks. I guess that is understandable. Also, you can ship your PCM to Whipple and they will return it to as-built by flashing it on their bench in the same manner a local dealer would do it with the IDS. I thought the Tomahawk tool was the solution so we wouldn't have to do this? This may be an issue if it is your daily driver and you will be in the same situation in the future if Ford releases TCM updates to improve shifting. Finally, you can try to beg an engineer to make you a true stock tune file that will load from the Tomahawk and have the same name yours did originally. Still waiting to see if this is possible.
None of this would be an issue if the stock file was backed up by the Tomahawk tuner like many other platforms/tunes do so people could go back to stock if needed/wanted. But, here is the truth. FORD DOES NOT WANT YOU TO BE ABLE TO GO BACK TO STOCK ONCE TUNED. This includes their customers that purchase the Ford supported Whipple cal. Because of this, there is no option to backup your stock file and is also the reason the "stock" file Whipple sends you upon request does not match what you actually had on your truck pre-tune. Whether this is just in the strategy naming convention or not, I do not know. Make no mistake, the option to backup your stock tune file was not "accidentally" left out.
All of this boils down to one thing... Whipple has been touted as Ford supported and developed together, but don't get the false sense of security that Ford is going to stand behind them if something happens to your truck. There is a reason they are making it so difficult to go back to stock, and I'd venture to bet it doesn't have the customer in mind.
The customer service I have received from Whipple has been awful. I bought the Whipple Stage I kit and the quality of the other parts (intercooler and CAI) are top notch, but I really just want a refund for the tune and to be done with them. I waited two months for my stock tune file, spent hours on the phone with support, sent emails/made calls that went unanswered, and am still trying to figure out how to get back to "true" stock without sending in my PCM.
Save yourself the trouble and go with a tuner that allows you to backup your stock tune so you can receive updates from Ford for the PCM/TCM should you need/want to.
Update 5/18: Forgot to mention that if you want to go back to the Whipple tune after putting the "stock" tune provided by Whipple that you will have to request a new tune file. This is because the original Whipple tune file created for you was based on the actual stock cal from Ford, which you no longer have on your truck. This will cause it to not recognize the version. Just another pain in the ass. Rinse and repeat if you need to go back to stock again. You will have to request ANOTHER stock file because the cal on your truck has now changed again and it is not going to recognize it when you go to flash it with the Tomahawk tool (my assumption at least).
Also, I called Whipple this morning and asked to speak to a customer service manager to approve me returning the Tomahawk tool and tune for a refund. I was transferred to a Mike who I explained all of what I outlined above. Without saying anymore than "Hold on", I was transferred to the technician I have been working with this entire time and receiving the sub-par customer service from. I explained to him I have no idea why Mike transferred me to him as I was requesting approval for a refund. I originally purchased the kit from Lethal Performance and they are taking the stance that they are not going to offer a refund unless Whipple approves it. "Technician" agrees that he doesn't know why Mike transferred me to him, but now Mike is on the phone and busy. He assures me he will have Mike call me back. This was in the morning and I hear nothing back the rest of the day. This is no surprise as it is reminds me exactly what I have been dealing with all along with Whipple.
Update 5/21: Whipple reached out to me to address my issues. Will update once resolved.
Update 5/22: Received updated tune file from Whipple today and flashed truck with it. At work and haven't had a chance to drive it yet.
The background of this is I, like others, was having some harsh and delayed shifting with the new 10 speed transmission. I didn't notice it as much without the Whipple tune on it, but the tune and extra power made it more apparent. I gave it some time because the transmission "learns", but after a few thousand miles it was still acting the same. I contacted Whipple to request a stock tune file so I could put the vehicle back to stock to make sure it wasn't related to the tune. Also, I didn't want to take the truck to the dealer with a tune on it because chances are they would immediately blame the issues on the tune and want nothing to do it with, even though it is supposedly a Ford supported cal. Even with them being aware that I was having transmission issues, it took them over 2 months to get me my stock tune file. This included numerous phone calls and emails that went unanswered and I had to reach out to them every time for an update.
After having version mismatch issues with the Tomahawk loader and the stock tune file from Whipple, I finally was able to load the stock tune file on my truck. Transmission was still shifting abnormally so I scheduled an appointment to take it in. I told the dealer the symptoms and asked them to check for updates for the PCM/TCM. After a ridealong, the dealer confirmed it was shifting irregularly, but they stated there were no updates available for my truck. My truck was built back on 5 Dec 2017, so that was shocking and I assumed the dealer just didn't know what they were talking about. So I took my truck to another dealer and they told me the same thing: no updates. I figured I'd just shut up and color, but then I saw a Raptor on base here that someone just took delivery of. Turned out it was the brother of someone I work with so I asked him if he minded if I hooked my laptop/FORScan program up to his truck to see what strategies he was running for the PCM/TCM so I could compare them to mine.
Mine:
TCM - Transmission Control Module
Part number: JL3A-12B565-PA
Strategy : JL3A-14C337-UF
Total Distance: 7314.0 km
PCM - Powertrain Control Module
Part number: JL3A-12A650-APA
Strategy : PKFK3B3_1-1_STK
Hardware type: HL3A-12B684-AYB
Total Distance: 7314.0 km
His:
TCM - Transmission Control Module
Part number: JL3A-12B565-PA
Strategy : JL3A-14C337-AFB
Total Distance: 943.0 km
PCM - Powertrain Control Module
Part number: JL3A-12A650-APA
Strategy : JL3A-14C204-DAC
Hardware type: HL3A-12B684-AYB
Total Distance: 943.0 km
When I looked at the headers of the strategy files, I could see his were generated on 20 Dec 2017 and mine were generated on 21 July 2017. I got to thinking why the IDS program might not be seeing updates available for my truck. I noticed the "stock" file Whipple gave me doesn't follow the same naming convention for the strategy, as mine should actually be "JL3A-14C337-UF" not "PKFK3B3_1-1_STK". My assumption is Ford doesn't actually know what i am running due to the name, therefore it is showing no updates available. The issue is that the PCM and TCM have to be updated in tandem to prevent the versions getting out of sync and potentially causing damage to the vehicle. Because of this, once you put a Whipple tune on your truck you will be prevented from receiving PCM/TCM updates from Ford without jumping through hoops as Whipple does not program the TCM, only PCM.
Yes, you can try to convince a dealer to flash your PCM to as-built, but mine don't want to take the liability of doing that in case something happens. They state that the procedure is not warranty related therefore Ford isn't going to back them if your PCM bricks. I guess that is understandable. Also, you can ship your PCM to Whipple and they will return it to as-built by flashing it on their bench in the same manner a local dealer would do it with the IDS. I thought the Tomahawk tool was the solution so we wouldn't have to do this? This may be an issue if it is your daily driver and you will be in the same situation in the future if Ford releases TCM updates to improve shifting. Finally, you can try to beg an engineer to make you a true stock tune file that will load from the Tomahawk and have the same name yours did originally. Still waiting to see if this is possible.
None of this would be an issue if the stock file was backed up by the Tomahawk tuner like many other platforms/tunes do so people could go back to stock if needed/wanted. But, here is the truth. FORD DOES NOT WANT YOU TO BE ABLE TO GO BACK TO STOCK ONCE TUNED. This includes their customers that purchase the Ford supported Whipple cal. Because of this, there is no option to backup your stock file and is also the reason the "stock" file Whipple sends you upon request does not match what you actually had on your truck pre-tune. Whether this is just in the strategy naming convention or not, I do not know. Make no mistake, the option to backup your stock tune file was not "accidentally" left out.
All of this boils down to one thing... Whipple has been touted as Ford supported and developed together, but don't get the false sense of security that Ford is going to stand behind them if something happens to your truck. There is a reason they are making it so difficult to go back to stock, and I'd venture to bet it doesn't have the customer in mind.
The customer service I have received from Whipple has been awful. I bought the Whipple Stage I kit and the quality of the other parts (intercooler and CAI) are top notch, but I really just want a refund for the tune and to be done with them. I waited two months for my stock tune file, spent hours on the phone with support, sent emails/made calls that went unanswered, and am still trying to figure out how to get back to "true" stock without sending in my PCM.
Save yourself the trouble and go with a tuner that allows you to backup your stock tune so you can receive updates from Ford for the PCM/TCM should you need/want to.
Update 5/18: Forgot to mention that if you want to go back to the Whipple tune after putting the "stock" tune provided by Whipple that you will have to request a new tune file. This is because the original Whipple tune file created for you was based on the actual stock cal from Ford, which you no longer have on your truck. This will cause it to not recognize the version. Just another pain in the ass. Rinse and repeat if you need to go back to stock again. You will have to request ANOTHER stock file because the cal on your truck has now changed again and it is not going to recognize it when you go to flash it with the Tomahawk tool (my assumption at least).
Also, I called Whipple this morning and asked to speak to a customer service manager to approve me returning the Tomahawk tool and tune for a refund. I was transferred to a Mike who I explained all of what I outlined above. Without saying anymore than "Hold on", I was transferred to the technician I have been working with this entire time and receiving the sub-par customer service from. I explained to him I have no idea why Mike transferred me to him as I was requesting approval for a refund. I originally purchased the kit from Lethal Performance and they are taking the stance that they are not going to offer a refund unless Whipple approves it. "Technician" agrees that he doesn't know why Mike transferred me to him, but now Mike is on the phone and busy. He assures me he will have Mike call me back. This was in the morning and I hear nothing back the rest of the day. This is no surprise as it is reminds me exactly what I have been dealing with all along with Whipple.
Update 5/21: Whipple reached out to me to address my issues. Will update once resolved.
Update 5/22: Received updated tune file from Whipple today and flashed truck with it. At work and haven't had a chance to drive it yet.
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