Engine remap - new car warranty - Insurance

[Mclovin]

I want to make my cars faster but i'm not too sure how this would effect the new car warranty and also how it would effect the insurance.
Anyone know?

[John Deere]

I had the same concerns. Went with APR Stage 1 because you can switch it back to standard mapping. Dealer has never asked the question, I have never volunteered the info. I have had the DSG replaced under warranty no questions asked, so I reckon it depends on the dealer....I have built a relationship with the service guy that books my car in and he provides excellent service, he never asks questions that I dont wish to answer.

Insurance.....ask your insurer....I am with Suncorp and they didn't care...in fact they increased the cover value by a couple of grand to cover the cost of the remap!

[Mclovin]

That sounds pretty good. especially since the dsg was replaced no questions.
I'll look into the apr, how do you change back to standard mapping without the remap showing up?

[Guy_H]

http://www.goapr.com.au/products/ecu_upgrade_14tsi_twin.html

There is a video towards the bottom that covers how the switching works - let me know if you need to know more!

[Calais]

I too am in a similar position here, I want to GIAC or APR tune my Octavia vRS, but dont want to jeopardise the warranty, as I expect to cover up to 175,00km before it expires.

Do any of the aftermarket tunes flag when the dealer runs a diagnostic check on the car to clear fault codes and the like?

And can a dealer "flag" your car as having been modified and void your warranty no matter where it is taken? (ie; other service franchises)

Cheers,

[Arctra]

I just spoke to my dealer (Chatswood Classic Cars) this morning about it and he was non-commital. He said that he had not had first hand knowledge of VW knocking back a warranty claim because a car had been remapped, but because VW doesn't officially recommend remapping they may have grounds to deny warranty claims on remapped vehicles with drivetrain issues.

It's a commonly asked question in the forums, but I don't think you're going to get an authoritive answer. I think you basically have to accept that if you get a remap done, there is a chance your warranty will not be honoured by VW if you have a drivetrain issue... but there's also a chance you won't have a problem.

Guess you gotta ask yer'self, do ya feel lucky... well.... do ya?

[Guy_H]

Oettinger for your T5 128kw:



Oettinger warranty:

http://www.oettinger.com.au/oau_warranty.html

Oettinger can do your other car with warranty as well

Do any of the aftermarket tunes flag when the dealer runs a diagnostic check on the car to clear fault codes and the like?

Depends - some devices throw faulty codes through the system that have to be manually cleared with a diagnostic tool. Some flashes trip a flash counter in the system.

Do a search on the different products

[John Deere]

I have not heard of anyone being knocked back warranty service due to remap, I have heard of people being (and have been) serviced well with a remap.

I have not volunteered the info to the dealer, the dealer has never asked.

I have always switched to standard map when getting a service.

It is a risk, but for me it is an acceptable one. To others it may not be.

[Swallowtail]

I have not heard of anyone being knocked back warranty service due to remap

I have. Gearbox failure, warranty revoked due to flash having been done. It had been organised by the dealer ironically when the car was purchased.

There are a few morals to that story...

[jimbomort]

I have. Gearbox failure, warranty revoked due to flash having been done. It had been organised by the dealer ironically when the car was purchased. There are a few morals to that story...

Sorry to hear that, especially since the dealer organised it for you in the first place.

Still for the punters out there - dealer also had inside knowledge on that car having it - so less of an issue for those remapping after purchase with systems that are secure and largely undectable (some are some aren;t).

Your last point, was that "there are a few morals" or "there are few morals"....

[Swallowtail]

It wasn't me - I was quoting the previous post that hadn't heard of any claim denials. I have.



And it was that there are a few morals, i.e. don't get a flash done by a dealer...

[John Deere]

I have. Gearbox failure, warranty revoked due to flash having been done. It had been organised by the dealer ironically when the car was purchased.

There are a few morals to that story...

What a crap dealer!

I got mine done after purchase and I get it serviced at the same dealer every time who gives very good service and never asks questions he doesn't want to know the answers to.

My gearbox has been replaced and the mechtronic unit has also been replaced......all under warranty.

[Speed]

I thought that is you went with APR the map was undetectable, at least thats what they state on their webpage as below?

"All APR ECU Upgrades are fully encrypted to prevent theft of our valuable and proprietary coding information by lesser companies and to provide protection to our clients by keeping the upgrade undetectable to a dealership's VAG diagnostic tool."

[Manaz]

I thought that is you went with APR the map was undetectable, at least thats what they state on their webpage as below?

"All APR ECU Upgrades are fully encrypted to prevent theft of our valuable and proprietary coding information by lesser companies and to provide protection to our clients by keeping the upgrade undetectable to a dealership's VAG diagnostic tool."

The bum-meter can pick it up though.

[parso_rex]

We've actually been asked by one dealer and another person within the company if we are able to determine if an ECU's been flashed or not so they do occasionally think about these things. I've said yes of course but I'm not sure if I'd actually feel very happy with myself being one who dobbs people in especially if I'm also doing a deal with another dealer to do the very same thing.
If you have the right gear, Its very easy to determine if an ECU's been modified but most dealers don't have that ability - actually none would. This isn't just VAG stuff either btw. It is getting a bit more sneaky though have a look at the BMW scene overseas, some have had their warranty claims knocked back as some of their vehicles ECU's can even detect and log the use of even an interceptor.
Best thing to do would be to flash your car back to stock prior to a claim. My own feeling though is that if you stuff something that you know is because of some performance enhancement then you fix it. I've done that with an engine in one of my cars too. DSG is another issue though I wouldn't feel guilty about sending that back
Luckily VAG engines are incredibly tough