will the mercedes dealer be able to tell? will they void my warranty?

 

They will take your car and not return!

 

Unless your pulley has another color nobody will notice unless someone points at it.
I dont know about the chip, maybe the detect it when to do a readout, not sure though ...

 

Unless your pulley has another color nobody will notice unless someone points at it.
I dont know about the chip, maybe the detect it when to do a readout, not sure though ...

 

i want to get the pulley kit from renntech but i am afraid it will void the warranty on the car.. the C is not even a year old

 

Good questions to ask along these lines for any upgrade kit would be:

1. Whether MB routinely reads boost levels during services A & B?

2. Whether the ECU stores maximum boost levels, and if so whether dealerships can read that info?

3. Whether the ECU program has a checksum or some other integrity checker which can easily be used to identify whether the software has been changed, whether dealerships have access to do so, and if so whether they do so routinely.

 

All very good questions. Whatever you do, just don't get classified as a Code 8 in the VMI....the Regional Rep will have to approve ANY warranty claim (whether related to your upgrade or not).

 

Experienced mechanics can spot the aftermarket pulley and IF they report it to the management, yes, your warranty will be voided instantly. The question is how many "experienced" mechanics are there in one dealership?? If you connect the Star Diagnostic System to the car, the coding cannot tell the ECU has been upgraded. BUT you have to be very careful that if something happened to your car and if they need to reflash your ECU, then your Renntech codes will be gone. Sometimes mechanics will reflash your ECU for the sake of giving you all the updated software.

My suggestion to you is before you get the pulley and ECU upgrade, make sure you have one hell of a service advisor who can cover your a$$. Or put the stock pulley on before you get your car serviced.

 

This subject has been beat to death on other threads, but I will rehash the old and add a few things.

First of all, I would choose Evosport over Renntech, without hesitation. Not that one product is obviously better than the other, but, last time I checked, Evosport was about $700 or $800 cheaper for the same mods. I also like the fact that the Evosport pulleys shed about 13lbs off of your car (Evo's pulleys are aluminum). Finally, Evosport is also very active on this forum, and has worked hard to educate, and gain the trust and respect of, forum participants. I cannot really say the same thing for Renntech. However, if Renntech is more convenient for you and/or is offering a discount, I am sure that you will be happy with their product.

As far as the "to mod, or not to mod, that is the question" issue, my personal feeling is to do the mods and go to battle with the dealer if they ever mess with me. The bottom line is that the dealer cannot "void your warranty" just because you modded the vehicle. The dealer would have to show that the mods themselves caused a failure in the mechanicals of the vehicle, and then THEY CAN ONLY REFUSE TO COVER THE SPECIFIC PROBLEM that they can prove was caused by the mods. The dealer's discovery of your mods DOES NOT VOID YOUR WARRANTY!!

Say, for example, that I go to my dealer today, and proudly show him my Evosport mods. Tomorrow, I call the dealer and report that my passenger window will not roll up. Do you think that the dealer will refuse to fix my window because I have mods? OF COURSE NOT!! On the other hand, if I show up tomorrow with a blown head gasket, the chance that the dealer will refuse to cover this repair is pretty high (in which case Evosport would get a "semi-friendly"call from me). If I also showed up the following day with a defective brake rotor, however, it would be covered under warranty. In other words, to say that the mods "void your warranty" is simply not true.

In other words, if a mod-related problem were to arise (I have never heard of one), you would look to Renntech or Evosport or whoever did your mods to fix your problem. The only situation in which I can see someone really getting screwed as a result of modding their car is if they just buy the pulley/upgraded ECU, and then install it themselves or have some outside mechanic install it. In such a scenario, MBZ could blame the mods, Renntech/Evo could blame the non-Renntech/Evo installer, and you would be faced with the possibility of either (1) being the one to blame, for having done a hack-job install, or (2) trying to collect your damages from some fly-by-night mechanic.

I understand the trepidation of some of you who recently bought your new C32, as you have a lot to lose if the shiit hits the (Chicago Cubs) fan. My situation was a little different: I bought my car used with 29K miles, and had already used up 1/2 of the warranty period when I had the mods done.

I guess it really just depends on your risk tolerance and how bad your thirst for more speed is. . . I have very high risk tolerance, and am constantly looking for more power from the gnomes residing in the internals of my motor.

 

Vomit's point is correct: the dealership has to prove that your failure is caused by the mods before they can void your warranty. BUT...its a natural tendency that dealership would blame anything that they see which is not stock on your car. Just to clarify myself: when I said it will "void your warranty instantly", I was referring to the pulley and the related parts. Everytime I bring my car in for service, they always type "customer has aftermarket suspension, wheels, sway bars" on the service record. The question is: are you willing to fight if something happened?

Well, of course Evosport is very active on the board, because they are own by the same guy. Both comapnies have their fans, Its strictly a personal preference. Who do you trust better and who give you a better peace of mind.

AMGBRED: your dealership doesnt sound like they will cover up for you based on your previous experience. Have things changed since that incident?

 

no.. from the things i have heard and experienced, the dealership is not mod friendly, they would grin when i pull into the service bay with 19s and the slammed looked (when i had the cup kit)

 

Thanks for the heads up vomit, i think the point i was trying to get to was the warranty for the engine, not the rest of the car, i was trying to see if i take the car in for service and the mechanic will catch it and red-flag it or do the mechs just don't a ****? or is it pretty hard to catch. As for the ECU upgrades, does the dealer let your know about this before they flash it?

 

Nope. Because its a routine job for them.

 

yikes so changing the ecu before going in everytime would be a smart thing to do.

 

Well....yes or no....they wont flash it everytime you bring your car in, only when there's a service bulletin or something. But lets say you complained your car being sluggish, they will reset the ECU for you. Thats why I said if you're a buddy with the service advisor, he will tell the mechanic what to do and what NOT to do. But if you have an upgraded ECU, you probably wont make such complaints! Hahaha!!

 

Problem: C32 engine in flames: MBZ blames Evosport, Evosport blames MBZ

Solution: Vomit v. Mercedes Benz of North America; Evosport; San Diego Superior Court, Case Number__________.

I already have the lawsuit drafted, I am just waiting for my car to break so I can file it.

(just kidding Vadim)


On a more serious note, short of buying a multi-thousand $$$$ computer, is there any way to read the codes in your ECU to know what the settings are at? In other words, is there any way for us flunkies to check to make sure that "MBZ's finest" have not screwed-up our ECU mods?

 

Yes, if your C32 engine burst into flames you can be pretty certain that your friendly neighborhood MB dealer reflashed the code back to stock. Just kidding. There are genric OBD-2 scanners, but one of the Evosport guys recently said that some of them have a hard time with the recent C-classes and further, I have no idea what you might look for to verify the integrity of the custom code.

 

i just had the renntech pulley/software done last week, its great

im going in for my service A in about 1000 miles, if the ECU gets reset is it possible for renntech to reprogram it for free/very low price?

 

If the ECU gets reset or in anyway burned out by the dealership, go talk to RENNTech and they should be able to get it taken care of for free. But even though the dealership flashes the ECU it wont reset it... Ive had mine flashed a few times on my ML55 and its still fine. Want to check if your ECU has been reset? Well this is how I check.... just put your car into neutral and try to rev it to redline... if the revs go to redline then your ECU hasnt been reset, if the neutral rev limiter is still there at mid RPMs then youve got yourself a problem.

 

Reminds me of my high school days with my '70 Nova (straight 6). "Neutral Slam" was the only way to get it to lay rubber.

 

LOL, i still remember when you would do that the sound of the tranny going through hell, ahahhaha

 

I'm in a very similar position to you... especially because now my C32 has Hre's. haha (by the way, sorry for not asking for the avatar, if you don't want me to use it just pm me.)

I wanted to find a way to get another ecu, so I could have one modded ECU and one stock one, but from what info I have gathered, this isn't possible with mercedes. I luckily have a close friend that owns a mercedes store specifically in customizing mercedes, so I take my car to him now before the dealership. I think mine will flip when they see the SL55 intake.

I learned my lesson though, my friend just went through the process of buying an phantom and after he finished the entire deal...he told them that if they didn't write on the contract that he was allowed to lift his governor he wouldn't be buying the car. Of course a 350,000 dollar car is a bit different, but who knows...maybe if someone came to agreement and left over a minor thing they would say ok.