Man Has Pedal Commander In His Chevrolet. It’s Uninstalled. American Auto Shield Still Denies His Warranty—And Cancels His Policy

A man says his extended warranty coverage canceled his coverage and refused to pay for a transmission repair — all because of a device he says was sitting unplugged in his cupholder.

Blake Bullock (@l3lake__) says he was at a Chevrolet dealership dealing with transmission issues when American Auto Shield denied his claim and canceled the extended warranty he had on his vehicle.

“Do not get American Auto Shield extended warranty,” he wrote in the video’s text overlay.

Bullock shows viewers paperwork for the American Auto Shield coverage before explaining what he said happened next.

“They denied the claim and canceled my coverage and refunded me one month,” Blake says.

According to him, the problem was the Pedal Commander sitting in one of his front-seat cupholders. Bullock said the company treated the device as though it had been installed on the vehicle.

“They canceled me because of this,” he said, holding up the device. “That doesn’t void any warranties with anybody else, but because this is in my vehicle … they denied my coverage.”

Bullock says the device wasn’t connected to anything at the time and argues that, even if it had been installed, “has no way to void warranties.”

“Be careful with [expletive] American Auto Shield,” Bullock says, noting he’s still waiting to hear back from a supervisor. As of this writing, his clip has garnered more than 18,300 views.

Can A Pedal Commander Kill Coverage?

It appears Bullock has American Auto Shield’s Gold Select plan, which states that transmission repairs can fall within the contract, but modifications can complicate that coverage.

American Auto Shield’s sample Gold Select contract covers all “internally lubricated and moving parts within the Transmission Housing,” including the torque converter, transmission cooler and lines, dipstick tubes, oil pans, and transmission mounts.

But the same contract contains a broad modification exclusion. It says breakdowns may be excluded if a vehicle has been modified “in any way that increases the likelihood of a BREAKDOWN,” and specifically lists altered engine management systems, engine programmers or tuners, ECM programming, and performance programmers or tuners among its examples.

The contract also includes a separate cancellation provision. The sample contract says American Auto Shield may immediately cancel coverage if a vehicle is found to have been modified in a manner the manufacturer does not recommend.

That makes the key factual dispute in Blake’s case important, since he says the Pedal Commander was simply sitting in his cupholder and wasn’t connected to the vehicle.

Pedal Commander describes the product as a throttle-response controller that intercepts and modifies the electronic signal between the accelerator pedal and the ECU. The company says the device does not leave permanent “flags” on the ECU after installation and is “100% UNTRACEABLE” by dealerships.

At the same time, Pedal Commander recommends removing the unit before taking a vehicle in for a repair or other problem, saying dealerships may physically look for aftermarket parts during diagnostics. So while the company says the device itself does not leave a digital footprint, that doesn’t establish whether Blake previously had it installed or whether American Auto Shield relied on other evidence when it denied his claim.

Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission says a separately purchased auto service contract is not a warranty “as defined by federal law.” The rule requiring a manufacturer to show that an aftermarket party caused damage applied to manufacturer warranties, not automatically to an independently purchased service contract like this one.

American Auto Shield says customers should consult their individual contracts for specific details, as plans can vary.

Gallery: 2026 Chevrolet Sonic

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Source: Chevrolet

Commenters Question The Denial

Some viewers zeroed in on a different part of Bullock’s story: how American Auto Shield knew the Pedal Commander was inside the vehicle at all.

“As a service advisor, the advisor told them you had that in the car lol that advisor lowkey threw you under the bus,” one commenter suggested. “UNLESS a[n] inspector came and saw it themselves.”

Another person similarly theorized that someone at the dealership reported the device during the repair process.

“I mean the dealership is most likely playing a part in that. Just a lazy tech that doesn’t want to do the work for the [extended] warranty labor times. The tech had to [have] found that and reported it to the warranty,” they argued.

Neither commenter provided evidence that this is what happened in Blake’s case.

Others were more skeptical of extended warranties overall.

“That’s a horrible extended warranty,” one viewer said.

“Never bu[y] extended warranty,” another added.

One self-described service advisor offered a more specific warning: “Don’t ever get a warranty that ends with shield, please.”

Another commenter recalled being heavily pushed to buy additional coverage when purchasing a Lexus.

“When I bought my wife’s Lexus, they were trying to push the extended warranty on us so bad it was crazy. And I have an automotive shop, but I didn’t tell them that, but the scare tactics they used was crazy, and I absolutely still said no. Lmao,” they wrote.

Bullock said his experience at the dealership had felt similar.

“Oh yeah, basically knife to throat on them extended warranty and gap protection lol shouldn’t need gap if dealerships didn’t overcharge on vehicles in the first place,” he replied.

One viewer offered another theory for why his claim might have been denied.

“They canceled it because of you only having the vehicle for such a short time, and the repair was probably at the max of what they will cover. And the adjuster probably labeled it as a preexisting problem that the [seller] should of fixed. I’ve seen it before,” they said.

Bullock pushed back on at least one part of that explanation.

“Yeah, they refunded me 1 month; been with em for a while,” he responded.

Via TikTok direct message, Bullock told Motor1, “Pedal commander was never installed. It actually goes to a 2019 ford f150 . And yes they are denying everything.”

Motor1 has reached out to American Auto Shield via email through its customer service line for additional comment. We'll update this if it replies.

 

 

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