Anyone had problems after a remap?

[Naresh]

I just wanted to get an idea from those of you who have had a stage 1 remap done (or beyond) on a TDi and went on to experience engine related problems. I've had stage 1 ECU map carried out recently only for the engine to develop a knocking noise after only 70 miles of driving. The car is being stripped as we speak and the tuner isn't accepting any responsibility but I'm very dubious considering the car ran perfect before the map and this problem started so soon afterwards. The car was only serviced 2 months ago.

What exactly is altered on the map that could have contributed to the knocking noise? My guess is something related to ignition timing causing the igniters to fail but I'm no expert in that field so would like to hear from anyone else on the matter.

[Transporter]

What brand of the tune do you have?

[Naresh]

What brand of the tune do you have?

I didn't go with any of the big names like Revo and APR but used another company here in the UK who's name I won't mention unless necessary but the fact his my car is still in the workshop almost a week later but they are pointing at the remap for the root cause of the noise.

This is how it sounded 100 miles after the remap...............

Tiguan Knocking - YouTube

[Transporter]

Fair enough.

[Tom87]

Sorry to hear of your woes. This is one of the things that would stop me from getting a tune from a company which doesn't have a name to uphold.

A mate of mine got his R32 GT-R tuned a while ago and blew the bottom end about 100km later. Of course it was an older, higher performance vehicle but it probably would have gone alot longer before it spat everything out if it hadn't have been tuned.

[tigger73]

Bugger. Can you get the tune removed? I'd be doing this and seeing if the sound was still there.

[Naresh]

I did think that but as the tuner was over 50 miles away I didn't want to run the risk of damaging the engine any further. So took it into VW who were 4 miles away. I asked them to reflash the ECU there but was told that any engine update on an ECU that has already been mapped could kill it so I'd be looking at a possible new ECU as well.

[Transporter]

I asked them to reflash the ECU there but was told that any engine update on an ECU that has already been mapped could kill it so I'd be looking at a possible new ECU as well.

Indeed. But, you have the option to ask the tuner to flash back your stock map. I doubt that he would be paying for your new ECU, if there was another option.

[Naresh]

I know but the car is now with VW so I had to make a choice what to do next. I am guessing there is physical damage to repair anyway so my plan is to get it fiixed first then drive back to the tuner to get the stock map put back on then try and recoup the repair costs somehow.

[tigger73]

Yes if the tuner wants to prove it's not the tune file then he should remove the file and return to stock. I guess you could always put it on a truck if you didn't want to drive there.

What did VW service say the problem was? Did they not recommend driving it?

[Transporter]

I know but the car is now with VW so I had to make a choice what to do next. I am guessing there is physical damage to repair anyway so my plan is to get it fiixed first then drive back to the tuner to get the stock map put back on then try and recoup the repair costs somehow.

How many km's have the car done in total and from the last service? Was the right oil used when serviced last? Also you should have the fuel tested, just to make sure the failure is not the fuel related. It's very easy to point at the performance tune and of course the dealer done that, at the same time I'm not saying that the failure couldn't be caused by the tune. Anyway, good luck with it and I hope it's not very expensive for you.

[gldgti]

kind of sounds like a hydraulic lifter has failed....

Thing is, in a diesel engine, theres not much can go wrong and the engine still seem to run perfectly and also make a loud noise like that.

If it is a lifter, pretty unlikely that a performance tune would be the root cause. And its also very unlikely VW would accept that the performance tune wasn't the root cause. (IMO)

[Lucas_R]

Unfortunate to hear mate. Obviously its possible that the tune was the culprit, but a tune can also quickly bring to the surface other issues with the car too - which is more likely the case. I assume you have chosen some type of reputable tuner to trust with your near new vehicle?

As mentioned before, how was the condition of the engine before tuning? How many km has the engine done? Is it serviced as required etc.

My brothers Octavia TDI (140hp) has been tuned for nearly a year now and he does alot of driving (about 40,000km since its been tuned) and the cars runs perfectly. That was using DNA Tuning which you might know is a UK based tuning company.

Plenty of other tuned TDI's on here by Bluefin/Superchips, CustomCode etc.

[DNA Tuning]

At this stage as others have suggested, if you get the tuner to put it back to stock and re-test then you can at least rule out whether or not the tune is either:

a) Not right
b) Revealing a mechanical weakness in the engine

[Naresh]

Guys thanks for the feedback. The car has been with VW since last week and only after 5 days of excuses did they actually look at the car in more detail. The same day they call me to say that there is a "performance enhancement" on the ECU and warned me it may not be covered under warranty to repair and wanted my authority to continue. At that stage only the engine cover was removed and the diagnostic tools used so without getting a copy of the stock map direct from Germany I don't know how they detected the remap.

The car is 18 monthls old and covered exactly 20,000 miles. The last service was carried out by the same garage 2 months ago at around 19,000 miles. I have only covered about 100 miles since the remap and it always ran perfectly before that with no sign of any problem whatsoever.