End of hidden remaps?

[ScottyUK]

In the past many remappers have claimed their maps aren't detectable by dealers. We all know that if they look hard enough Audi would be able to tell but generally dealers didn't have the tools. It seems that's changing. These docs are from the US and suggest that modified cars will be flagged on the database. It doesn't seem like they're voiding any warranty (well they're not allowed to anyway) but if there's a power train issue then it seems to remove the "mod friendly" dealers from sneeking it in under warranty. That was always a dubious practise as effectively some "mod friendly" dealers/franchises were effectively defrauding Audi.

Audi documents :

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3628815/Car/General/Audi_1.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3628815/Car/General/Audi_2.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3628815/Car/General/Audi_3.jpg

Another thought is that insurers will be able to more easily identify cars that are modded and not declared to them effectively giving them an argument not to pay out.

[jakerade]

I would love to know how a "short shifter" could affect powertrain reliability??

I guess this all seems relatively reasonable and it would fall back to tuning companies such as Superchips to warranty any powertrain failure.

[ScottyUK]

That's the thing. Many people think the warranty they get from chippers will cover everything in the case of it causing an issue. Most warranties I've heard of from them limit themselves to the software or possibly a replacement ECU. I can't see them taking on all powertrain issues as they could end up with powertrain warranty claims that their software didn't cause.

[jakerade]

yeah - i see what you mean - clutch failure etc is going to be debatable. And what is powertrain? i guess it runs from where the fuel goes in to the tyres.....

[theskyfox]

Meh. From a Business perspective...I can understand why dealers don't like remaps. If a car is under warranty and breaks because the customer hammers it outside of its designed performance limits then its a bit of a p*** take when they come back to you asking to fix it for free. Thousands of hours go into testing..and software like Matlab is used to model the temperature/pressure and durability of components to ensure they work properly.

They shouldn't stop you or blacklist you for doing it outside of warranty though...

However, Do bear in mind thats Audi USA. Can anyone confirm if that affects here? There are differences...e.g Audi A4 3.0TDi over there has to have Ad-blue installed...but its not compulsary here just yet.

-Andrew

[John140]

I'm very surprised its taken them this long to clamp down on remaps because no matter what anyone says, more power means more strain on the drivetrain. Anyway it was never rocket science to tell if an ECU was remapped as all it is is a piece of firmware and this will have a unique checksum in Hex which will change no matter how small the modification. I won't deny that some of these remaps do improve the feel of the engine as well as power delivery, but I'm not prepared to risk my warranty on a remap, I'm happy with the output and smoothness of my car as it stands !