OrientBlue3

Hi all,

I wanted to share with you my story of trading my '12 CLS63 for a '15 ED1 C63 S sedan.

My CLS63 had a Eurocharged tune on the car after my warranty expired. I had disclosed this prior to signing the paperwork with the dealer to trade the car in towards the C63. I told them it was removed and they were fine with it. It was only after all the paperwork was signed, I was contacted my sales guy and told they could no longer accept the trade because my car had been flagged aka become a "status 8". I was not aware of this, neither was my SA, Shop Foreman or FTS.

It all began as a result of this thread:

https://mbworld.org/forums/w212-amg/...lp-needed.html

I had taken the car into the dealer, told them of the issues, showed them the videos of it happening and they were unable to diagnose the car with any problems. Stated the transmission was fine and in mechanically working order. They blamed the tune even after the car was re-flashed with the latest stock software back to the dealer (the car continued to have the issue even then).

Long story, less long, they escalated the case to MB engineering who reviewed the data logs, saw the car was tuned without me even saying anything by looking at the logs and an MB engineering tech at MB corporate flagged the car without notifying anyone which is against protocol. So I was blissfully unaware of this until I went to trade the car in this week and was told after signing the paperwork the dealer no longer wanted my car. It didn't matter that the car was out of warranty, it only mattered that it was flagged. Because the person at MB broke protocol and did not notify anyone of doing this, the FTS and dealership were very accommodating and agreed to remove the flag if I purchased a new ECU. They gave me the ECU at wholesale and deducted it from my trade. A small price to pay given I would have had to dump my car at Car Max for much less and lost my tax credit.

I'm not saying this would happen to everyone or even that it's a huge deal given I was able to resolve the situation for $1k which to most is probably worth the cost of having the tune. I just wanted to let you guys know what MB does behind closed doors if you bring the car in for an issue where any ECU data can be pulled.

Hopefully no one else has to experience this. I'm sad to be leaving the 5.5TT world but I'm excited to be back in a C63 as I previously owned a W204 model.

AG6

Good info. I have been debating on getting a tune or not. I have the extended warranty, so I may hold off.

PeterUbers

This is the reality of tunes and most will tell you "the dealer can't detect it and can't void yiu warranty or flag your car" lol

tune at your own risk

thanks for the post orient and for your honesty

congrats on the new ride

It begs the question

will you tune the c63S???

OrientBlue3

The biggest point is, even without warranty, if the dealer or MB engineering detects a tune while servicing the car for an issue where they pull the data logs, they can and will flag the car which would jeopardize the trade value. Could you dump it at Car Max still? Sure, but you'll likely lose thousands of dollars in what you'd get on a trade in a deal with the dealer you're buying the new car from in addition to the thousands you'd lose from your trade-in tax credit (at least applies in Texas).

OrientBlue3

Oh God no, especially not with a warranty until 7/2020. I'm buying the car in Houston and almost had the car taken directly to EC but Jerry is going to HK and I couldn't time it right. This was before all this shook out. Once it did, it obviously freaked me out. I was fortunate they would still take my car. This could have cost me at least $5-8k (if you add the lower price Car Max gives plus the lack of trade tax credit). So I was fortunate to get out of it for $1k.

Will I eventually look at a tune? Sure, I'll look again down the road. I still think it's too early though. I've seen several posts with guys getting codes with tunes/piggy's. I think another year or so and the bugs will be worked out. The 5.5TT tunes had been around for several years when I bought the CLS last year, so I wasn't expecting any issues.

gaspam

fwiw, my car is tuned and dealer knows and they dont care, they even sent my ecu back to renntech once to have them retune my ecu after they reverted it back to stock to see if a problem was tune related, and I have CPO warranty and they still honored the warranty at least 4 times now

technically its illegal (Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act) for dealer to deny your warranty unless they can prove the tune is what caused the problem.... so if you are getting your pano roof replaced under warranty its pretty hard for dealer to say your sunroof is broke because your car is tuned

BerndV

MB recently denied a warranty claim for warped front rotors on my 2016 with 12k miles. They denied the claim because I have a the modifications listed in my signature even though the problem was reported prior to installation of these parts. Frankly, it has caused me to reconsider my next purchase from MB. I was going to get an S63 coupe and simultaneously do a full build on my E63. However, I am now thinking about a 911 Turbo S or an Audi R8 instead. I told the factory representative that souring a 53 year old car enthusiast with an 8 figure net worth on their brand would probably cost them more than a dozen future sales, but he clearly was not at all concerned. Apparently, future high profit margin new car sales are worth sacrificing for a $2000 warranty repair. Another conquest sale for the competition. Bye bye Daimler-Benz, hello Porsche-Audi.

gaspam

^ lol audi is way worse than benz in that regard with their TD1 flagging system...Any car that is brought into service will be automatically scanned and if there is any modifications/chip/performance software and your info is sent to Audis main server and your car will be flagged 'TD1" meaning modified ECU/suspension/shifter/exhaust. They can use this as a basis for denying any warranty on powertrain

BerndV

Brakes are not powertrain components. I don't expect MB to warranty any portion of my powertrain now that it has been modified.

gaspam

audi will say you increased the performance of the car beyond what the brakes were designed to handle.... go to audiworld and do a quick search..... been there done that, you will lose that battle with audi just like you did with mb

BerndV

Well, that is why I will buy something that doesn't need modification i.e. an R8 or 911 Turbo S. MB doesn't make anything comparable.

Biggreenogg

Hmmmm
Was told by a MB dealer than a Renntech ECU tune for the C450 has a MB part number. Anybody know if this is accurate?

PeterUbers

Bernd how did they know you were tuned?

BerndV

Apparently my moronic service adviser thought he was obligated to inform MB about the ECU modifications that I had mentioned to him in passing during our friendly chat when I brought the car in for the brake issue. Needless to say, that dealership will never get any business from me in the future. Ultimately it is of no consequence to me as I intended to replace all the rotors with Girodiscs and their SS pads anyway. If that doesn't satisfy me, then I will install the MB carbon ceramics.

OrientBlue3

Your dealer is definitely an exception to the rule. I was not implying that all are this way, simply sharing my experience for those who don't want to find out after the fact what can happen to your car even OUT of warranty. I would think my result would happen more often than yours given others posting similar experiences.

Again, in no way was I discussing warranty. My car isn't even in warranty nor was the post or topic about warranty.

gaspam

I think the key is what tune you have. some MB dealerships are authorized renntech dealers so i assume they wouldnt install something on your car at the dealer that would void warranty or cause it to get flagged.... i see you are in dallas TX, so the closest MB dealer that is also renntech dealer is Mercedes-Benz Sugarland.

perhaps people may now understand one of the reasons why renntech tunes cost more... because most dealers will back their tunes since they partner with renntech in selling their products

OrientBlue3

I did ask my dealer here in Dallas if they would warranty Renntech products, they said no. I'd have to push further see for sure. I wouldn't mind driving the car to Sugarland for the tune but if my dealers here in Dallas wouldn't cover the warranty work because of the tune unfortunately I'd be SOL.

Biggreenogg

Don't have a problem with the Renntech cost, but the MB dealer wants anther $960 for the service. May drive to Renntech and have the do the ECU tune. They told me it would take 2 hours.

2012 CCB E63

Where did you find that info? I'd like to know the closest dealer to me that is Renntech approved....



edit.... found this http://www.renntechmercedes.com/index.php/dealer

Biggreenogg

http://www.renntechmercedes.com/inde.../north-america

YellowJacket

This is why I would never tune my car, unless using one of their partners like renntech.

Fairbird

so here is my story short , I snapped rear main shaft in the transmission at the drag strip ,
I took the car to the dealer , they agreed to warranty it (they knew the car was tuned ) I said I want build transmission so I'll pay for it . In the mean time I got my turbos (the one I have issues with right now ) dealer installed them in the car along with downpipes , and month later they warranty my battery no question asked . I don't have powertrain warranty any more , but everything else still under warranty .

otakki

+1

hyperion667

this is really good info, back when I fist got my cls guys were saying.....yeah tune it, open it up, bring it to life etc.........
but I always thought otherwise......glad I never did because.......why? a few extra horses? bigger *****? etc

Pumpkinate

hyper, you are just trying to fool yourself... you know you want extra horses and a bigger *****