It must depend on the dealer and the specific sa. Could be risky...

 

No, I am not on my period. I am on my high horse about calling a spade a spade and not screwing people (or for that matter companies) over, which is what you are trying to do. The only retarded thing here is you trying to camouflage dishonest behaviour as something other than what it is. I am sure you'd be screaming bloody murder if someone tried to rip you off, which based on your reply you clearly deserve. Going by your self-serving me-above-anything-else logic, I would be fully justified to put you out of your misery because you are eating up my food and using up my oxygen.

If it's an ECU tune only and doesn't touch the TCU I guess you have nothing to worry about - so why are you putting it back to stock or asking how to hide the fact that you've had a tune in the first place? Don't be a moron and accept some responsibility for your actions instead of desperately trying to sleaze your way out of the predicament you've created for yourself.

 

Keep us posted on how it goes. We will all be curious.

 

Your vaunted MB says "pay us $X,XXX for our tune, that's ok, but if you don't line our pockets and if you go get the same thing from somewhere else for less, that's not okay, even though some of our dealers will install the same aftermarket thing after the fact", and that means less than nothing. Get that straight. It'll do you a lot of good. Or just stay on your falsely assumed high horse and keep fluffing MB as long as it makes you feel good

It's obvious you've been brainwashed. Come from a hyper authoritative household, eh? You've really taken that bitter pill down and internalized it.

Come back and send me a PM we'll finish this discussion after you've learned how to think for yourself.

 

Will do. Thanks for the help

 

Send you a PM to finish this discussion? What is there to discuss? You are making excuses and trying to justify ripping someone off. Just like downloading pirated software, movies and MP3s. There's nothing wrong with that either, right?

Can't say whether it was authoritative or not, but obviously unlike you I grew up in an honest household. I'll always hold that standard higher than your only-think-about-yourself crap. It's not about being emotional, it's about right and wrong. I am sorry that you can't see that.

 

It's already obvious to this car and community that people are tuning these cars. We have seen that most tunes( I think just about 2 or 3) have been well designed and well implemented, with little to no problems. At this point, there is no benefit to preach the gospel, even though it may be the RIGHT thing. The actions have been taken and many cars have been tuned regardless of the right vs. wrong. So at this point it's just better to provide trouble shooting and support rather that the proverbial Internet forum beat down.... Just my thoughts...

 

I have no issues whatsoever with people tuning their cars. What I do have a problem with is the expectation that somehow it's MB's responsibility to fix the cars at their expense even if a particular failure or malfunction was somehow caused by or accelerated by the tune. If you buy the car (or for that mater anything else) and decide to do things to it that weren't part of the original spec, then you alone are responsible for what happens to it as a result of your modifications that were not in accordance with said spec. Whether it's an aftermarket tune, using the wrong oil or connecting an arc welder to the lighter socket, you can't go back to MB and complain that the engine has failed or that your wiring harness is fried and expect them to pony up for the repairs.

Imagine that you manufacture wallpaper glue and that your spec says that a gallon of your glue is enough to hang 100 square feet of wallpaper. Someone buys a gallon, decides to dilute it a little so that they can hang 120 square feet, and then complains that the wallpaper didn't stick well or started peeling off after a couple of years and then wants you to give them new glue and redo their wallpaper job. I trust you can see where I am going with this. It has nothing to do with MB or even cars in general. It's about the expectation to get sympathy or consideration for your problem after doing something that you were clearly not supposed to do. That's all.

 

I have no dog in this fight, but My suggestion would be to stop posting on this thread. Everybody knows your stance and you continue to belittle people. Let it go. He's looking for advice, he got it, now find another place to go.

 

I don't have a dog in it either, and everybody knows your stance too. Feel free to go somewhere else yourself. As for belittling people, if by belittling you mean calling a cheat a cheat, I do and always will. So sorry if the truth hurts you that much.

 

My stance is take it in and if they feel it's a result of a mod man up and pay for it. Probably the same as most. Most likely it has nothing to do with a tune.

Changed my mind, keep posting, you give us something to laugh at.

 

If your stance is what you claim it is and if you read what I said earlier you'll realize that it is exactly what I was saying, so I really don't know why you decided to take issue with the corollary of that very same stance. As for your laughing, I am happy I can provide you with some comic relief. At least I provide *something* useful.

 

Not saying the same thing. You are acting like he needs to go in with a red E on his shirt saying "hey, my ecu is modded , please void my warranty, I'm a good moral person."
MY point is the issue most likely has nothing to do with the mod. There's no reason to bring it up. If they feel something isn't right, when they ask, be honest and deal with consequences.

 

I completely understand you and what you are saying. If I had to bet, we are probably the same age, from the same upbringing and with similar political and philosophical, moral and ethical views. That's the exact reason why I am not jumping to tune my car. If it 'blows or rattles" it's my fault 100%. Not MB. It does in effect "ruin" it for the rest of us compliant clients. It reminds me of people who do shady returns at stores, taking advantage of the policy and leniency, and returning items missing parts, years later, without the box, used, etc, etc...it just ruins it for those with legitimate returns. If it were me, I would just take her in the dealership and try to provide the tech with as much info as I can to get to the problem and find a solution....if I cared that much for my car it wouldn't matter paying up and trying to get it fixed.
I think to the OP, that is the best solution...

 

See post #23 (https://mbworld.org/forums/5840234-post23.html) for what I was referring to. As for my rant about the cheating and all, the way I read it was that the OP was really asking how to go about hiding the fact that he had a tune, which can indeed cause the problems he is experiencing. None of us can make even an educated guess on what it is that's actually causing the problem, but trying to purposefully hide the fact that he did mod the engine and pretend it's MB's problem is what I took issue with. I hope this clarifies where I stand and what I do and don't have a problem with.

 

ecu tunes dont change any tuning in the transmission, however your engine management has torque calculations and output parameters that directly affect what the transmission does. So no a tune doesnt change the transmission but it does change how it shifts. For example my previous slk55, got a eurocharged tune picked up 25whp and started spinning the tires as it shifted into 2nd gear and shifted much faster. It is a 7spd which has the transmission module inside the valvebody contact plate which was not modified or tuned in any way. On a side note no dealer is supposed to sell you aftermarket performance parts or imply a factory warranty on them. However if things fail and have nothing to do with the modifications it doesnt matter they'll be warrantied. Im not pointing the finger at the tune, just making the statement. Saying things like its conservative blah blah, not as much power as the 507. This means nothing. MB and AMG put an *** load of time perfecting these tunes and still have issues which is why they come out with new software releases and adjustments. You think some tuning company has invested 100000s of man hours into perfecting drivability,reliability and performance? maybe 10hrs total into performance if that, with little to no change to drivabiltiy if your lucky.

your problem may have nothing to do with a tune, but know that it could.

 

It's not belittling someone to point out your opinion about what they are looking to do, but when you call him a moron etc, that's just ignoring forum etiquette.

 

I agree that it is not proper forum etiquette and for that I apologize. In all fairness though, me calling him a moron was after the OP started with the mud-slinging (being on my period, needing to get a life & start thinking about myself crap). Yes, I know this is not high school and it's not about who started it, but for the record I think that perhaps your comments about forum etiquette should also be directed towards the OP instead of just me. He didn't like the way I interpreted his intentions to sneak one past MB and instead resorted to personal attacks. It goes both ways.

 

I would have thought the ECU would have a read/write counter hidden within to see if anything has ever been changed.

 

I've been watching this discussion with interest as you both have points that are valid, though quite angry. However I disagree with this response as the premium you are paying for the MB tune does cover warranty, which would have been financially worth it in this situation. put another way - A 699 tune that may or may not trash your motor with a company that cannot cover you is < a 4k tune that also may or may not trash your motor but your motor is then replaced Free of charge. There is an expression: "You think hiring a good lawyer is expensive, try hiring a bad one". Maybe there is a corollary in the tuning world. Diabolis, you are being a bit harsh tho...

 

PTW - I can't speak for MB but for some BMW and VAG (Audi/Porsche) vehicles it depends whether the tune performs a full ECU overwrite. If it does, it increments the flash counter. If it doesn't then the flash counter will not be triggered, but then the code checksum isn't going to match the actual code. At the end of the day, while the dealers themselves usually don't look for ECU changes or may not even have the ability to check locally, any catastrophic failures or extensive repairs performed under warranty in almost all cases need to be approved by head office. The dealer will download the ECU code from the car and send it to HO, where they can sift through the data and determine whether it has been tampered with. Even if you re-flash the original code back to the ECU before you take the car in, the ECU collects data and adjusts certain parameters over several hundred kilometers of driving so there is still a way to tell if something doesn’t add up.

Zax63 - I do apologize if that was over the top. I run my own business and I've been at the receiving end of customer dishonesty, so perhaps it affected me a little more personally than most. As for the MB tune, the $4K or whatever the P31 package costs from MB is not just for the tune and warranty but also for the forged engine bits, which indeed play a significant role further down the line. While it may be relatively easy to unleash the extra power from the limited (non-P31) M156 motor, this stresses the internal engine components more which are then more likely to fail earlier than a non-tuned motor. Fatigue failures typically start to occur after a number of years and thus likely after the warranty is over and the car been sold or traded by the original owner, but there is no question that a tuned engine (without the stronger forged parts) is stressed more and will last less than a non-tuned one. While the person that bought the tune may not experience any adverse issues as a result of the tune during their ownership of the vehicle, there is no question that it will shorten the overall life span of the motor.

 

youre totally correct. the comments about being on your period and needing to get a life were also not in line with forum etiquette. i'm sorry i didn't point that out.

 

here's a question for you guys. just was wondering, what if down the line the OP sold his tuned car, but reflashed it to stock. MB CPO's it and then some poor soul ends up with it and has problems. MB will check the ecu and will say he tuned it, even though he didn't. do they restore the ecu completely to stock when it's cpo'd?

 

Most tunes do not write over the counter, its not like Audi and others. It leaves the rest whole.


As per your statement about it wearing out the engine quicker, 100% agree. Same goes if you drive your car hard or not. Engine will last longer if you drive it like a grandma.

 

thats a negative ghost rider. These engines were built to be driven a certain way. You putz around and foul the engine up with carbon deposits... cause predetonation, damage to valve seats, valves, pistons and cylinder walls let us know how it goes. problaby a head bolt too since they break so easily