Chipping VS Warranty

[Guy_H]

Hi,

Yes, completely reversible if required - & no, no separate warranty from DMS - Oettinger is the only tuner in the country that offers that (that we are aware of!)

[UGR32]

Thanks Guy,

As an owner of a brand new R32, with nearly a full 3 year warranty in front of me, can you tell me If there is anything I should bear in mind when purchasing the DMS software? I have never modded a car let alone upgraded my ECU before so this is all new to me.

Obviously I am just concerned with any risks involved. Can VW tell if the ECU has been reprogrammed or if the original OEM software/settings have been put back on?

Cheers

[R32slow]

REVO tune from VW Village in Kennsington. George has done my R32 and friends TDI and TT.
VW cant see any of the ECU reflashes.

[PaulM]

I'm going to use Walter at AMT in Adelaide. Hope he'll look after me

[benough]

Yes, there has been a claim, & yes we have experience in this - The document & insurance was specially drawn up to cover Australia / NZ.

So was the claimant COMPLETELY covered by the insurance claim?

I recently had a friend whose turbo sheared through its housing and VWA are replacing the whole motor.

Surely Oettinger wouldn't be paying for all of that...

[Guy_H]

So was the claimant COMPLETELY covered by the insurance claim?

I recently had a friend whose turbo sheared through its housing and VWA are replacing the whole motor.

Surely Oettinger wouldn't be paying for all of that...

Thats why the insurance documents are in writing - take some time to read it!

[UGR32]

Guy are the flashes 100% undetecable? Any chance of an issue with the engine not being honured by VW ?

[MACCAA]

Guy are the flashes 100% undetecable? Any chance of an issue with the engine not being honured by VW ?

Jeez give Guy a break.He's not VW.He can't say what VW will do or not do.We've all weighed up the pros and cons and made our own individual decisions.
I've been chipped for over 18 months and I'm happy with the results-as are many others.
Cheers
Len

[UGR32]

Im only asking that the statement made that the ECU flash are undetecable is 100% true and not half true. for eg, it may be undetecable in the workshop when first plugged in but if they were to dig deeper or send the ECU away somewhere like freakin Hamburg, would the statement still hold up?

The fact of VW honouring a claim or not was only meant to reinforce the fact that if they cannot tell the ECU has been flashed then why wouldnt they honour a claim under warranty ?

Hope this makes sense.

[Guy_H]

UGR32 - give us a call - we have a toll free phone number so we can run through it directly with you.

Certainly it is detectable - if they return the ECU to Germany to Bosch.

We flash in excess of 400 vehicles a year around Australia, so we know the proceedure pretty well & we also know dealerships, warranty & the pro's & cons.

You have much more chance of a partial warranty denial; if you have:

Window tinting
Aftermarket leather
aftermarket wheels & tyres
aftermarket exhaust or intake
aftermarket suspension.

Pretty much in that order.

GOOD software from a well known, reputable supplier is one of the most low impact mods you can do (espescially on an R32)

[blutopless2]

am i missing something here???
i am assuming by "undetectable" we are talking about software related?

something you all might want to remember is that its a fair chance the people who service the cars might also be into modifying them. this means that if i get an APR flash done (not picking on anyone here... love the upgrade by the way...) that the service people may already know how to operate it... one click on the cruise control stalk is all they need to do and they will then know you have had another program installed.

on a side note... i was talking to Dean (melbourne) when i got mine done on the jetta and he was saying that there is some interest from the local dealerships to offer the APR upgrades as part of the options on new cars. So they know the upgrades are there.

[Guy_H]

In the case of APR or Oettinger switchable - you can always get the security option - no one can see anything (or switch programs) unless you deactivate it with a 4 digit PIN number - its free of charge this month in the APR winter sale

[UGR32]

UGR32 - give us a call - we have a toll free phone number so we can run through it directly with you.

Certainly it is detectable - if they return the ECU to Germany to Bosch.

We flash in excess of 400 vehicles a year around Australia, so we know the proceedure pretty well & we also know dealerships, warranty & the pro's & cons.

You have much more chance of a partial warranty denial; if you have:

Window tinting
Aftermarket leather
aftermarket wheels & tyres
aftermarket exhaust or intake
aftermarket suspension.

Pretty much in that order.

GOOD software from a well known, reputable supplier is one of the most low impact mods you can do (espescially on an R32)

In your experiance then Guy, how many engine issues have you seen as a direct result of DMS software? And have any been rectified by your company or the installer of the software?

[VW Convert]

In your experiance then Guy, how many engine issues have you seen as a direct result of DMS software? And have any been rectified by your company or the installer of the software?

I think you should re-read this whole thread, you got your answer in the first few responses. Obviously you have grave concerns about the potential for chipping affecting your warranty, as Steve GTI said, if you have doubts, don't do it!

This seems to have become the Guy H inquisition thread.


Cheers

George

[brad]

Why is it so many people want to have their cake & eat it too?

VW warrant their product with a certain level of engine tune. I may not be an optimal tune but it's where they want it for the level of warranty offered.

Aftermarket suppliers are willing to optimise the tune but this takes the car beyond the manufacturers specification applicable to the warranty offered.

Surely it's almost fraud to have something go bang & not tell VW up front that you have modified certain aspects of the vehicle.

Sometimes, if you want to play, you have to pay.

edit: UGR32 - maybe you'd be better off modding some other aspect of the car first - Haldex controller, short shifter, some lightweight bits, different exhaust. A mate has an R32 & I think power mods were the last thing on his list. He did wheels, suspension, corner weighting, exhaust - removed quite a few kgs out of the car.