Word of Warning for SA modified vehicle owners

[tigger73]

Just a word of warning for those taking your modified car for servicing/warranty repairs to VW in Adelaide.

I have taken my vehicle for warranty repairs to the local dealer a couple of times. Minor things - waste gate clip, minor oil and coolant leak and most recently a coil pack.

To my surprise when I took my car in for the coil pack earlier this week I found that my car had been logged on VW system as modified with tune and hardware mods. Now I get my car serviced through an independent and the only time it has been near a VW dealer is for these warranty repairs.

I had thought that this particular workshop was "mod friendly" as they have installed hardware for other forum members, however it appears that is not the case - well not for me at least.

Fortunately VW warranted the coil pack as it was stuffed, however they said normally they would replace the set but because of the tune they were only going to replace the one.

Now that my car is flagged on the system I am concerned if anything more major occurs that I will have difficulty getting repairs that should otherwise be straight forward.

Unfortunately it's too late for me however if you value your warranty I would seriously look for alternative options for servicing and repairs.

So fellow Adelaideans, consider yourselves warned.

[Martin]

Arggg, disappointing for sure

The easiest course of action is to wait 3 years and then have a modification party
( However some of us want the vehicle's potential now )

[tigger73]

Yeah I really don't get it. I'm not the only one that loses out. The dealer will lose out also if they can't claim to VW for the repairs as I will take it elsewhere if it isn't covered. I mean why would you pay top rates for a junior tech to work on your car?

[h100vw]

A lot of the mod blinkers was probably down to one of the service managers Marc, who has now moved to Ford. Paul, thezoner32, got lots done there to his R32, that was on extended warranty though and not straight out of VWs pocket.

The VW diagnostics to check the coilpack fault probably clocked something. Guy H made a post about it a while back.

Fingers crossed the coilpack is the last thing you need from them.

Gavin

[Dutch77]

Thanks for the heads up.. close to getting some mods done myself as you know.

I'm close to being out of warranty however and I guess I have two service options in mind, possibly dependent on which tune I plump for, although I'm pretty sure I know who I want doing the work either way.

[tigger73]

A lot of the mod blinkers was probably down to one of the service managers Marc, who has now moved to Ford.

So are you suggesting my next car should be a Ford???

Paul, thezoner32, got lots done there to his R32, that was on extended warranty though and not straight out of VWs pocket.

Yeah I think Paul was one of their regular customers.

The VW diagnostics to check the coilpack fault probably clocked something. Guy H made a post about it a while back.

I'll have to hunt up the post. Though the car was already logged on the VW system before today. The previous visit for the waste gate clip one of the techs made a comment about my type R steering wheel and then this time the service adviser showed me on the computer that the ECU tune and steering wheel had been recorded IN BIG BOLD WRITING AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN.

Not happy Jan.

Fingers crossed the coilpack is the last thing you need from them.

Yes here's hoping so too. It's a pity because they're really convenient as it's only around the corner from where I work.

[tigger73]

Thanks for the heads up.. close to getting some mods done myself as you know.

I'm close to being out of warranty however and I guess I have two service options in mind, possibly dependent on which tune I plump for, although I'm pretty sure I know who I want doing the work either way.

Yeah it's my preference to get everything done at the one place then the workshop/mechanic knows the car and its history. Also that way it avoids the old finger pointing game of who is to blame and the customer getting caught in the middle too.

[Tom87]

I guess if you can't afford to pay, you can't afford to play! Tough luck with the expiration of some piece of mind.

[tigger73]

I guess if you can't afford to pay, you can't afford to play! Tough luck with the expiration of some piece of mind.

Yeah though the dealer didn't have to log it on the system - hence the warning to others. I'm sure people would prefer that their vehicle not be flagged with VW if they could help it.

So now that it's flagged it comes down to whether you would have kept the car past the warranty period or changed it over sooner.

[Transporter]

So now that it's flagged it comes down to whether you would have kept the car past the warranty period or changed it over sooner.

I guess that this should be also noted and taken seriously by those who buy the car that is 1 or 2 years old and think that they have the remaining of the manufacturer warranty, when the reality is that they don't!

It could be quite expensive to payfor example for the DSG repair on 1 or 2 year old car.

[DNA Tuning]

In conclusion this means no tuner should be selling their tunes as undetectable; there's obviously some misleading info out there in this regard.

[tigger73]

I think there are differences in how easily detectable a tune is for sure. I guess when you have a custom DP on it's a bit of a giveaway.

However I come back to the point that this particular dealer chose to flag the car as it was only going in to get a waste gate clip fitted at the time.

Other dealers may have chosen to act differently.

At the end of the day VW still came to the party and replaced the defective part under warranty but this was a minor cost and not an engine or DSG...

[Transporter]

Sure, if you go to the dealer for the repair only that doesn't require to connect the car to VAS equipment, then they don't have to flag it. But, if you go there for servicing as well, then the car is connected to VAS machine and it will get flaged. Not much anyone can do about that and the VW could justify it by saying that the tune would interfere with the software update (or impossible to update) in the engine or the DSG ECU, and the sw updates are important for the car safety or reliability, simple like that.

[AdamD]

Sure, if you go to the dealer for the repair only that doesn't require to connect the car to VAS equipment, then they don't have to flag it. But, if you go there for servicing as well, then the car is connected to VAS machine and it will get flaged.

That's exactly it. I suspect that if the car is connected to VW's VAS equipment, it'll be flagged if your ECU software is in any way modified from stock - so it won't be up to the dealer as to whether this information is recorded or not. And the info will likely be stored against your VIN in VAG systems shared by all dealerships, so it won't be a matter of flashing back to stock and visiting another dealer either.

I don't see this as a bad thing - I think you're much better off being honest and open with your dealer anyway; that's the best way to get good service. And if you find that your dealer is negative or hostile about your decision to tune, then simply choose another dealership (or an independent) for servicing.

[tigger73]

That's exactly it. I suspect that if the car is connected to VW's VAS equipment, it'll be flagged if your ECU software is in any way modified from stock - so it won't be up to the dealer as to whether this information is recorded or not. And the info will likely be stored against your VIN in VAG systems shared by all dealerships, so it won't be a matter of flashing back to stock and visiting another dealer either.

...except my car was only booked in for a waste gate clip to be fitted. No need to be fiddling around with VAS/ECU at all. But they would have seen my nice shiny DP while they were iunder there.

I don't see this as a bad thing - I think you're much better off being honest and open with your dealer anyway; that's the best way to get good service. And if you find that your dealer is negative or hostile about your decision to tune, then simply choose another dealership (or an independent) for servicing.

I didn't hide anything from them - just now any claim will come up with a red flag saying my engine has been tuned and I have an aftermarket steering wheel in my car. You can't tell me that VAS told them that!!!

Agree with being honest with the dealer and that is what I have been. Ultimately the dealer didn't need to do it but chose to.

I'm sure if it was your car that had been flagged on the system you'd be a little less than impressed with the dealer. It's an issue of trust that you have with the service dept and right now that trust has been betrayed.