PING - any random new Dodge diesel owners that happen to be around, "tuners"

I'll not mention any names in this post, but I was speaking with the manager of
one of the large tuner makers about one of our units, and we got to shooting the
****. I asked him about the new Dodges tuners and he told me this:

The new Dodges have a "counter" that "clicks up one" every time _any_ device is
connected to the OBD-II/computer connection connector, whether it is a tuner or
a simple one-way scanner. IOW, if you have a "code scanner"/OBD-II scanner, and
hook it up, it'll advance the counter. If you then take it to a Dodge dealer,
they can tell via the Dodge database how many times an "authorized" connection
has been made, and if the count is higher than what the database indicates is
right, they assume it was a tuner until you can convince them it wasn't (for
example, you produce a receipt showing that "Bob's Auto Repair" checked a
"SES"/"Check Engine" light). They cannot tell what was connected, only that a
connection was made.

I make no claims that the above is correct - I'm simply relaying what I was
told.

He further told me - AND FOR THE RECORD, I'm not giving advice, legal or
otherwise - again, I'm merely relaying what I was told - that the "Magnuson-Moss
Warranty Act" creates rights that you as a consumer have with regard to
aftermarket additions such as tuners - you'll need to do your own research into
what that might mean for you.

IAC, the bottom line, at least for me, is 1) that I'd be pretty ****ed - like
"see you court fothermucker" ****ed - if I hooked up an OBD-II scanner to
determine why the SES had lit up and Dodge used that to attempt to void my
warranty and I'd be even more ****ed if a non-Dodge shop had to do so to fix an
issue when there was no dealership handy and used it to void the warranty, and
2) I'd weigh all the factors before I connected _anything_, tuner or mere
scanner, to a truck under warranty.

As an aside, I will say that the _only_ two commonly-available "tuners" of which
I am currently aware that I'd hook to any vehicle of mine is Superchips or
Hypertech. And yes, I'm aware of Bullydog and some others. The former sentence
stands.

And last but not least, while I'll not disclose the person or the company "in
public," if anyone wants the details, drop me an email.

TC,
R