Tunning Horrific Nightmare
02-02-2008, 04:04 AM
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06 S55 AMG, 03 SL55 AMG, 02 S430(sold), 05 F150, 06 Ranger, My baby 07 HD Rdking
Tunning Horrific Nightmare
I would like to share my horrible recent experience with a tuner (which I will not name now) with you my fellow board members. This is a long story, so please bare with me, because I would love your take on this, and what you think my course of action should be.
Approximately three weeks ago, I took my car in to install a Renntech ELM on my 2006 S65. I informed my cousin who has a 2006 S55 of what I am doing, and he decided to bring his car also, to discuss tuning and modification options on his car with the tuner. Before I begin to discuss the experience, I would like to note, that both of our cars were running in tip top shape. We both had no problems whatsoever.
As the tuner began work on the install of the Renntech ELM, we had a few hours to spare, so we discussed ECU/TCU tune for the S65 and ECU tune for the S55. The tuner told us that he would tune our cars, and if we like it we can go ahead and purchase it, and if not he would tune them back to stock. We thought that was cool, and since he said it would take 20 minutes to do, we thought what the hell. While we were discussing all of this, he told my cousin about the 168 mm pulley for the S55. My cousin decided to go ahead with the tune and pulley upgrade.
The tuner informed us that he will read the ECU from both cars, and send the files to the ECU tuner via email and have them sent back to be put into our cars. While we were waiting for this they started on the pulley swap on the S55. After they finished the pulley swap three hours later, they began working on my Renntech ELM. This took approximately 5 hours, since the front of the vehicle was lowering but the rear was unresponsive to the ELM. At first they claimed that this is how it is on my car. After seeing my displeasure that my car only lowers in the front, they researched the wiring schematics of the module and realized they had wired it incorrectly, and fixed it. Now the car lowers in the front and back, so this issue was resolved. Please note that 8 hours have passed, and still the ECU tune has not been emailed back, which we were told would take 20 minutes.
Six hours later, we finally get the ECU tune via email. Up to this point we had been there for 14 hours. They ECU tuned my cousins S55 first, and took it for a ride, and everything seemed ok, except for an annoying jerk. They then ECU/TCU tuned my S65. This is where all hell breaks loose. After the tune, my distronic became inoperative, and the CEL was on. The tuner takes my car for a test drive, and it did not shift out of 1st gear. He came back did whatever he did and went back out for another test drive. We get a call about 30 minutes later, saying he is stuck in a parking lot, and that the car will not shift at all. Basically, when you move the shifter, it shifts, but nothing happens. The car became unresponsive to any gear change. We had the car towed back to the shop and had no choice but to go home. The following day, the tuner says that the TCU may have been damaged during the TCU tune, so he decided to order a new one. The new TCU came, and still the same problem remained.
The following day, I went to go check on the progress of the car, and found out they had my S65 towed and taken it to the dealer, to flash everything back to stock, and see what is and went wrong.
While this was happening, my cousin’s car began to perform poorly. Power became weaker, and the jerk was getting more and more worse, now apparent through all the gears. So, the tuner told him to bring the car in and he would take a look at it.
I asked the tuner about the status of my S65, and he told me that I am getting a new transmission. He informed me that my transmission was toast. He tried to convince me, that they were not at fault, since it was the transmission that was damaged. Mind you, I did not have the slightest problem with my transmission, and now it was so bad that it was going to be replaced by the dealer. Of course, I let them change it since this was all covered under my warranty. While in service they fixed an ABC hose leak, and my distronic issue.
When my cousin brought his car in, the tuner decided to take it the dealer to get the IC pump changed. While the car was at the same dealer as the S55, they decided the supercharger was damaged and needed to be replaced, along with the IC pump. Wow, a transmission on one car and a supercharger on the other. What are the odds of this happening, when both cars were in A-0ne shape prior to the tune and mods.
We finally get both cars back, with warranty work complete. They retuned my ECU/TCU on my S65 and my cousin’s ECU on the S55. They decided to keep my car for a few days to put miles on it, to make sure the tune and the transmission are working fine on the car. Frankly I don’t think they retuned my TCU just my ECU, scared that the same issue will occur, but they told me they did both.
So, while they had my S65 I asked them to perform a service B and change my brake pads and rotors. They told me to come in, because the car would be finished that day. First off the brake parts they ordered were wrong. I notified him that I have an 8 piston brake caliper, and that there should be 8 pads for the front brakes. There were only 2 per front wheel. He argued with me and said the parts are correct, even though I told him they were not. Five hours later when it came time to do my brakes, they say, “we have the wrong parts”. I was furious, since we waited 5 hours for nothing, and that I had told him they were wrong. They know nothing about these vehicles yet they claim to be expert tuners. So again, we wait all this time and leave empty handed because of this incompetence.
While we were waiting these 5 hours, I noticed my front end was totally out of wack. My bumper was not aligned with the fenders and it looks like the right side was bent lower than the left, there was s huge gap. There was a huge gap between the hood when closed and the bumper. It looked like my car was in an accident. They denied they did anything, and tried to tell me my car is just like that, because he thinks it’s a salvage vehicle. What the hell is he talking about. They ruined my car, and refuse to take responsibility. My cousin and I finally realized that the damage was caused during towing the car back and forth. They used the metal hook that connects to the bumper to pull the car onto the bed of the tow truck. This totally f—ked my front end. I told him this, and there reply was to blame Mercedes Roadside Assistance. If it was not for them screwing my car up, I would not have had to have my car towed multiple times, and obviously towed incorrectly.
This has been a huge huge nightmare for me and my cousin. They lie about everything. They act like they know everything about the cars, but don’t even know what brakes we have on our cars. One guy says one thing the other guy says another. You ask one, did you do this, he says yes, and the other says no, my cousin ordered an ELM for him, about a week ago, and until today, one guy says it’s UPS that’s screwing things up, and the other guy says that for some reason the distributor hasn’t even shipped the unit . I have never been treated this way in my life. The front end damage will cost $3,600 dollars to repair. They did not even have common courtesy to apologize or even offer any discount, not even a dollar.
I know this is a very long post, but please be objective, and offer your advice. What would you do if this happened to you, and what course of action would you take. Thanks for baring with me.
Approximately three weeks ago, I took my car in to install a Renntech ELM on my 2006 S65. I informed my cousin who has a 2006 S55 of what I am doing, and he decided to bring his car also, to discuss tuning and modification options on his car with the tuner. Before I begin to discuss the experience, I would like to note, that both of our cars were running in tip top shape. We both had no problems whatsoever.
As the tuner began work on the install of the Renntech ELM, we had a few hours to spare, so we discussed ECU/TCU tune for the S65 and ECU tune for the S55. The tuner told us that he would tune our cars, and if we like it we can go ahead and purchase it, and if not he would tune them back to stock. We thought that was cool, and since he said it would take 20 minutes to do, we thought what the hell. While we were discussing all of this, he told my cousin about the 168 mm pulley for the S55. My cousin decided to go ahead with the tune and pulley upgrade.
The tuner informed us that he will read the ECU from both cars, and send the files to the ECU tuner via email and have them sent back to be put into our cars. While we were waiting for this they started on the pulley swap on the S55. After they finished the pulley swap three hours later, they began working on my Renntech ELM. This took approximately 5 hours, since the front of the vehicle was lowering but the rear was unresponsive to the ELM. At first they claimed that this is how it is on my car. After seeing my displeasure that my car only lowers in the front, they researched the wiring schematics of the module and realized they had wired it incorrectly, and fixed it. Now the car lowers in the front and back, so this issue was resolved. Please note that 8 hours have passed, and still the ECU tune has not been emailed back, which we were told would take 20 minutes.
Six hours later, we finally get the ECU tune via email. Up to this point we had been there for 14 hours. They ECU tuned my cousins S55 first, and took it for a ride, and everything seemed ok, except for an annoying jerk. They then ECU/TCU tuned my S65. This is where all hell breaks loose. After the tune, my distronic became inoperative, and the CEL was on. The tuner takes my car for a test drive, and it did not shift out of 1st gear. He came back did whatever he did and went back out for another test drive. We get a call about 30 minutes later, saying he is stuck in a parking lot, and that the car will not shift at all. Basically, when you move the shifter, it shifts, but nothing happens. The car became unresponsive to any gear change. We had the car towed back to the shop and had no choice but to go home. The following day, the tuner says that the TCU may have been damaged during the TCU tune, so he decided to order a new one. The new TCU came, and still the same problem remained.
The following day, I went to go check on the progress of the car, and found out they had my S65 towed and taken it to the dealer, to flash everything back to stock, and see what is and went wrong.
While this was happening, my cousin’s car began to perform poorly. Power became weaker, and the jerk was getting more and more worse, now apparent through all the gears. So, the tuner told him to bring the car in and he would take a look at it.
I asked the tuner about the status of my S65, and he told me that I am getting a new transmission. He informed me that my transmission was toast. He tried to convince me, that they were not at fault, since it was the transmission that was damaged. Mind you, I did not have the slightest problem with my transmission, and now it was so bad that it was going to be replaced by the dealer. Of course, I let them change it since this was all covered under my warranty. While in service they fixed an ABC hose leak, and my distronic issue.
When my cousin brought his car in, the tuner decided to take it the dealer to get the IC pump changed. While the car was at the same dealer as the S55, they decided the supercharger was damaged and needed to be replaced, along with the IC pump. Wow, a transmission on one car and a supercharger on the other. What are the odds of this happening, when both cars were in A-0ne shape prior to the tune and mods.
We finally get both cars back, with warranty work complete. They retuned my ECU/TCU on my S65 and my cousin’s ECU on the S55. They decided to keep my car for a few days to put miles on it, to make sure the tune and the transmission are working fine on the car. Frankly I don’t think they retuned my TCU just my ECU, scared that the same issue will occur, but they told me they did both.
So, while they had my S65 I asked them to perform a service B and change my brake pads and rotors. They told me to come in, because the car would be finished that day. First off the brake parts they ordered were wrong. I notified him that I have an 8 piston brake caliper, and that there should be 8 pads for the front brakes. There were only 2 per front wheel. He argued with me and said the parts are correct, even though I told him they were not. Five hours later when it came time to do my brakes, they say, “we have the wrong parts”. I was furious, since we waited 5 hours for nothing, and that I had told him they were wrong. They know nothing about these vehicles yet they claim to be expert tuners. So again, we wait all this time and leave empty handed because of this incompetence.
While we were waiting these 5 hours, I noticed my front end was totally out of wack. My bumper was not aligned with the fenders and it looks like the right side was bent lower than the left, there was s huge gap. There was a huge gap between the hood when closed and the bumper. It looked like my car was in an accident. They denied they did anything, and tried to tell me my car is just like that, because he thinks it’s a salvage vehicle. What the hell is he talking about. They ruined my car, and refuse to take responsibility. My cousin and I finally realized that the damage was caused during towing the car back and forth. They used the metal hook that connects to the bumper to pull the car onto the bed of the tow truck. This totally f—ked my front end. I told him this, and there reply was to blame Mercedes Roadside Assistance. If it was not for them screwing my car up, I would not have had to have my car towed multiple times, and obviously towed incorrectly.
This has been a huge huge nightmare for me and my cousin. They lie about everything. They act like they know everything about the cars, but don’t even know what brakes we have on our cars. One guy says one thing the other guy says another. You ask one, did you do this, he says yes, and the other says no, my cousin ordered an ELM for him, about a week ago, and until today, one guy says it’s UPS that’s screwing things up, and the other guy says that for some reason the distributor hasn’t even shipped the unit . I have never been treated this way in my life. The front end damage will cost $3,600 dollars to repair. They did not even have common courtesy to apologize or even offer any discount, not even a dollar.
I know this is a very long post, but please be objective, and offer your advice. What would you do if this happened to you, and what course of action would you take. Thanks for baring with me.
02-02-2008, 09:02 AM
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2003 CL55 stage 4 Renntech and 2006 CLS55 AMG
Man what a nightmare. I see in your sig Renntech pulley and Evotech tune. Is this what you had installed? Who did the work? Oh forgot you were going to keep that quiet.
Last edited by tkracing; 02-02-2008 at 09:05 AM.
02-02-2008, 01:22 PM
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1999 C280 Previous / 2008 E350
Sorry to hear the trouble you went through, I live in the Bay Area and there's one Turner Co. in the area around here I know. Is you car complete repaired back to how it was?
02-02-2008, 01:37 PM
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06 S55 AMG, 03 SL55 AMG, 02 S430(sold), 05 F150, 06 Ranger, My baby 07 HD Rdking
well 10k later, and 3 weeks of stress, but the cars are back to normal, except for the bumper that the ruined, that will cost $3600 to fix.
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02-02-2008, 07:03 PM
#8
This is a horrible story and people like this don't ever need to touch a car again. I'm not so sure you should keep it a secret as to who did this.
02-03-2008, 12:14 AM
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07 ML63 Silver Dead at 85k, 14 RS5, 05 SL600
This is much more than just a bad tune. Give them one chance to make it right. If not it seems like you won't have much trouble in Court. I'd nail em for pain and suffering as well as damages and legal fees. With luck you could put them out of business. I think a child can put in the Rentech lowering module correctly!
02-03-2008, 12:43 AM
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No longer car shopping...
Did you get references from other MW owners of their satisfaction (or dis) from this companies prior work? If not, your two cars may well have been their "first" attempts and they could have been "learning" on your cars (An F for poorly learned apparently). I also agree that the shop should already have insurance and you should simply skip the shop and deal directly with their insurance to get it straightened out.
02-03-2008, 07:18 AM
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SL55, CL55, Range Rover, Lexus LX470
What you have done wrong....
The first thing that you failed to do was research your options, second just like you are here on the forum you should have asked for our input and recommendations. There are a sufficient amount of people on this forum who are a hell of a lot smarter than you and I and just by researching here you'll learn what parts and fitments you'll need and what tuners are legit. Don't get me wrong I feel for you however you failed to protect your best interest especially with an high end car such as yours. Dude why even allow them to do your brakes even after you knew they were screwed up??? I drive an SL55 and a CL55 and nobody I mean nobody touches those cars unless I bless off on them from prior research. I don't know maybe you're rich and you have money and time to throw away, I don't. Good luck to you and let us know who these clowns are, we are trusting that you are unbiased and completely honest with what has transpired.
Rangers Lead The Way!
Rangers Lead The Way!
02-03-2008, 09:04 AM
#16
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The first thing that you failed to do was research your options, second just like you are here on the forum you should have asked for our input and recommendations. There are a sufficient amount of people on this forum who are a hell of a lot smarter than you and I and just by researching here you'll learn what parts and fitments you'll need and what tuners are legit. Don't get me wrong I feel for you however you failed to protect your best interest especially with an high end car such as yours. Dude why even allow them to do your brakes even after you knew they were screwed up??? I drive an SL55 and a CL55 and nobody I mean nobody touches those cars unless I bless off on them from prior research. I don't know maybe you're rich and you have money and time to throw away, I don't. Good luck to you and let us know who these clowns are, we are trusting that you are unbiased and completely honest with what has transpired.
Rangers Lead The Way!
Rangers Lead The Way!
Do you assume your parachute is packed properly ?
02-03-2008, 01:08 PM
#18
The first thing that you failed to do was research your options, second just like you are here on the forum you should have asked for our input and recommendations. There are a sufficient amount of people on this forum who are a hell of a lot smarter than you and I and just by researching here you'll learn what parts and fitments you'll need and what tuners are legit. Don't get me wrong I feel for you however you failed to protect your best interest especially with an high end car such as yours. Dude why even allow them to do your brakes even after you knew they were screwed up??? I drive an SL55 and a CL55 and nobody I mean nobody touches those cars unless I bless off on them from prior research. I don't know maybe you're rich and you have money and time to throw away, I don't. Good luck to you and let us know who these clowns are, we are trusting that you are unbiased and completely honest with what has transpired.
Rangers Lead The Way!
Rangers Lead The Way!
Your post provided nothing of constructive value. Just drove the nail deeper into the coffin.
Last edited by trumpet1; 02-03-2008 at 03:54 PM.
02-03-2008, 01:15 PM
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SL55, CL55, Range Rover, Lexus LX470
He said it himself they probably never worked on an S55 before, Key word Probably meaning he doesnt really no their reputation for dealing with AMG's. I'm a Jumpmaster I pack my own chute and I have confidence in myself, lets not compare apples to oranges.
02-03-2008, 01:22 PM
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Well in that case I guess I owe the gentleman an apology. Would you have committed without thorough scrutiny? The dude isn't driving a cheap non sophisticated car. I'm just being straight up with the fella rather than just letting him know how bad I feel for him, everyone including myself need to be reeled in every once in a while, I can except constructive criticism. Personally I don't have the Patience when dealing with companies like that. Damn I hope your not the one who tuned his car.
02-03-2008, 01:54 PM
#21
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06 S55 AMG, 03 SL55 AMG, 02 S430(sold), 05 F150, 06 Ranger, My baby 07 HD Rdking
No no it wasn't him, I did a bunch of research on adam, and ee, everyone had positive thigs to say, as for my brakes, I really feel stupid now, but you should've seen what they said, they pronised the world, and beyond to make this wright, but they never did. Thanks for your honesty.
02-03-2008, 04:58 PM
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SL55, CL55, Range Rover, Lexus LX470
No no it wasn't him, I did a bunch of research on adam, and ee, everyone had positive thigs to say, as for my brakes, I really feel stupid now, but you should've seen what they said, they pronised the world, and beyond to make this wright, but they never did. Thanks for your honesty.
02-03-2008, 05:09 PM
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06 S55 AMG, 03 SL55 AMG, 02 S430(sold), 05 F150, 06 Ranger, My baby 07 HD Rdking
No worries, I get your point, but believe me, up until the last minute after all of the srewups, we still gave the benefit of the doubt, and trusted their promises, that they'll fix everything, but you're Wright, we were naive, and too trusting even after all the bs.
02-03-2008, 11:31 PM
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SL55, CL55, Range Rover, Lexus LX470
Well she will be going to the body shop first thing in the morning.
