Anyone had problems after a remap?

[noone]

I really don't think it is fair to blame the tuner for this.

Should they not be somewhat involved given the timing of the tune to engine issue? I don't think anyone should be blamed, but what the OP is asking for is fair appraisal and fair treatment by both dealer and tuner. He feels he has received neither, from what I read, I'd agree.

Mike have you supplied the OP with a report? He's fairly clearly stated you've sent him nothing, it would seem if you have supplied an engineer to inspect a vehicle at VW that the OP would have been involved / informed? Surely random engineers are not allowed to walk into a dealership and start an inspection without authorization and the whole point of a report / inspection is to inform the OP of the findings?

A tune should not impact upon anything like that. Running an engine on low/without oil will.

Its all speculation mate, there is no real evidence any which way, just some photos and extracts of what VW have told OP.

[Martin]

Everybody would empathise with the incident (and personal matters) you've been through

However:

• You're wasting your time complaining about VW voiding your warranty, that was always going to happen (you didn't research the ramifications of the remap?)
• It's unlikely that a remap has anything to do with this specific failure
• The price you've paid for the repair seems very excessive (are UK labour rates a lot higher than AU?)

This situation and difficulties I've been through in my life remind me of the motto:
Life is 10% what happens to you, 90% how you deal with it

[Naresh]

Mike have you supplied the OP with a report? He's fairly clearly stated you've sent him nothing, it would seem if you have supplied an engineer to inspect a vehicle at VW that the OP would have been involved / informed? Surely random engineers are not allowed to walk into a dealership and start an inspection without authorization and the whole point of a report / inspection is to inform the OP of the findings?

Nope. Nothing. No response from the tuner whatsover. Oh and I just checked his first post on here before his "statement" above was to advertise his tuning services - bit ironic that..........or was it damage limitation?

If I was a tuner and had a customer incurr what I have just been through I would bend over backwards to offer support, and if that means to send over the "Independent Report" then I would do so to cover my back. As mentioned above so far it is all inspection but surely as a tuner you would want to provide sufficient evidence to do just that? Send me emails telling me where to find their terms and conditions does nothing to help me come to terms with losing the equivalent money of 2 family holidays abroad! I would be more worried how such publicity could possibly impact on the reputation of my business. These days every service is based on reputation and trust and this tuner has lost any faith left from me and any other tuner for that matter.

[Valleyboy65]

Hi Naresh,

I am reading all these posts with interest, and sympathize, I have very little doubt that the tune done / had little or no affect to your vehicle. Even though a tune would be picked up straight away as mine was by myself by VCDS, the ECU logs everything.

I too recently had a tune and DPF delete done from a tuner who was recommended to me. Very few tuners know what they are doing out here than in the UK regarding diesels. Besides the point.

The UK are far more geared up for this sort of thing than in Australia and know what they are doing. Yes there is the odd shonky bastard but you would not even go to them.
Once you went to VW and told them everything you were doomed, if you had not mentioned the tune they would have just proceeded with a warranty claim No doubt as to big end bearing failiure, the fact that they only removed one piston tells me there was a problem they knew about and was expecting, otherwise they would have to remove the lot as a precaution.
The tuner I assume feels in a very difficult situation now, after VW involved, and no one wants to talk due to legalities
Good luck

[Naresh]

Hi there the tune was never mentioned to VW as I initially didn't link the two things. The visit to my dealer was due to a knocking noise coming from the engine, which I never thought was down to a problems with the piston. They apparently spotted the remap after a T1 flag was recorded on the ECU log and the methods of detection have become more sophisticated in recent months.

[Naresh]

Well to no surprise I have been presented with NO evidence whatsover from Jason Copeland at more-bhp in Crewe. This so called report outlining their investigation has failed to materialise, one would say was completed fabricated as a PR stunt and they have yet again proven to me they care nothing about the damage they have caused/continue to cause diesel engines. Basically they simply expect to walk away from this mess with complete disregard to their customer care.

I do believe in Karma though and one would hope he/they lose business from this. It would certainly give me great satisfaction if that happened but it won't fill the £5k hole in my pocket that his cowboy approach has created. Sadly those violating decent practices in business tend to break every law in the book and cut corners in their work. They also seem to evade blame at key stages but one would hope they get caught our severely one day!

[walbjj]

Well to no surprise I have been presented with NO evidence whatsover from Jason Copeland at more-bhp in Crewe. This so called report outlining their investigation has failed to materialise, one would say was completed fabricated as a PR stunt and they have yet again proven to me they care nothing about the damage they have caused/continue to cause diesel engines. Basically they simply expect to walk away from this mess with complete disregard to their customer care.

I do believe in Karma though and one would hope he/they lose business from this. It would certainly give me great satisfaction if that happened but it won't fill the £5k hole in my pocket that his cowboy approach has created. Sadly those violating decent practices in business tend to break every law in the book and cut corners in their work. They also seem to evade blame at key stages but one would hope they get caught our severely one day!

u should bombard their facebook or the local forums

[parso_rex]

........and all for something that is almost undoubtedly not even their fault.

[VW Convert]

........and all for something that is almost undoubtedly not even their fault.

Couldn't agree more, from years of experience dealing with major component manufacturers in Germany such as Kolbenschmidt, Mahle, Sachs, LuK, Elring, Reinz and many more, I can assure you they all have highly qualified personnel and equipment and are able to examine failed componnents and determine the exact cause of the failure, if VW were fair dinkum, they would carry out and provide such an analysis to support their rejection of the claim. Instead they take the easy option and blame the tuner and I find it difficult to believe that the failure was caused by the tune.

Also hard to believe that UK consumer laws do not put the onus of proof on the manufacturer, the notion of voiding warranty without the need to provide any causal link to the tune is preposterous.

Cheers

George

[Naresh]

u should bombard their facebook or the local forums

Funny you should say that because he's already blocked me on there. Maybe the world needs know who he is and avoid him like the plague. With any luck he'll lose more business that what he owes me for the new engine!!

You can find him here.......

https://www.facebook.com/#!/MoreBHPLtd?fref=ts

[Greg Roles]

A very, very sad example of why I personally think tuning company insurance is just so darn important. For all the crap Viezu cops, and the things they may seemingly do wrong at times, I am proud to say they have a class leading insurance scheme, both themselves, and what they require dealers to have.

And yes all details including the current cover note are posted on my site before any competitors ask.

[Transporter]

...and to be fair to all, I don't think that any insurance would pay if there is no proven evidence that the insured party is at the fault.

Also, if it was me in Naresh's shoes, I wouldn't go attacking without a solid evidence, just to be sure that the whole incident doesn't cost me even more.

[Guy_H]

A very, very sad example of why I personally think tuning company insurance is just so darn important. For all the crap Viezu cops, and the things they may seemingly do wrong at times, I am proud to say they have a class leading insurance scheme, both themselves, and what they require dealers to have.

And yes all details including the current cover note are posted on my site before any competitors ask.

Hey Greg, just checked the cover note, that's not valid in Australia according to our insurance broker. You (or the importer) needs separate, underwritten Australian insurance. Basically, the importer becomes the manufacturer, and you are in line as the retailer / installer, so you should have full cover yourself to protect against issues as the OP has posted.

Although I'm sure you just look after the problem, same as most tuners / workshops would do.

A classic case of this insurance not working is a car that has a failed gearbox component, VW veto the warranty, Viezu insurance does not cover it, customer is left holding the bill for gearbox repair.

I'm posting this information as it is relevant if there is an incident as posted by the OP, I do not know the laws in the UK, but the Australian ones are pretty clear, and there are consumer channels to address this.

[Greg Roles]

I do appreciate your concern Guy, but I have my own policy through VERO Australia, a Viezu UK requirement. So too no doubt, do you. I'm just happy to put my hand up and highlight the insurance angle, despite your constant attempts to poke holes in it. The Viezu UK policy cover is quite active here in Australia, thankfully we have yet to test the fact.

What I was trying to say is that in this day and age of dealers now flagging tunes, and doing their best to attempt to avoid warranty claims because of it, insurance should become a factor in choosing a tuner. Whilst I am flattered big APR takes notice of a nobody like me, this is much more aimed at all the recent new tuning providers on the market, who keep very quiet about any form of warranty or insurance, and I know for a fact a few of them have none at all.

THAT is indeed crazy.

On your point above, my legal advice of the Viezu UK policy is that ANYTHING that an independent report can attribute to the Viezu tune, is covered under their policy. Tranny inclusive. It just needs to be proven to be the cause, ie too much torque etc. Sure it can become a grey area, but at least Viezu is trying to address it as much as possible, and more so than nearly anyone else.

[Candyman]

...and to be fair to all, I don't think that any insurance would pay if there is no proven evidence that the insured party is at the fault.

Also, if it was me in Naresh's shoes, I wouldn't go attacking without a solid evidence, just to be sure that the whole incident doesn't cost me even more.

Guess the point is to avoid the one-man bands that are less likely to support you if things go wrong and use the big companies with dealer networks that are more likely to support you (albeit, I'm generalising).

At the end of the day, the well known companies are less likely to want bad publicity.

Edit - I also like the idea of being able to utlise various dealers of the brand I choose. One-man shops do come and go. Mind you, VW seem to be breaking my rule