!!!HEADS UP!!! Those considering a RENNTech tune..
Junior Member
Joined: May 2018
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'14 W212 E550
Hi guys,
Have we gotten to the bottom of: if a person has their ECU flashed at an *authorized* MB dealership (https://www.renntechmercedes.com/ind.../north-america), will that dealership turn around and flag the car Status 8? I'm debating the RT tune on my otherwise stock, CPO E550 but this thread is making me question that route. Is there a thread that complies people's experiences with RT tune (e.g. car issues, warranty/dealership issues)?
Have we gotten to the bottom of: if a person has their ECU flashed at an *authorized* MB dealership (https://www.renntechmercedes.com/ind.../north-america), will that dealership turn around and flag the car Status 8? I'm debating the RT tune on my otherwise stock, CPO E550 but this thread is making me question that route. Is there a thread that complies people's experiences with RT tune (e.g. car issues, warranty/dealership issues)?
Super Member
Joined: Apr 2008
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From: In, Out & Around...
Audi BMW Ferrari MB & RR
In the past the dealers in my area who are authorized RT vendors operated in the same manner as Dinan does with BMW.
They would flag the vehicles and any issues or repairs caused directly by the modifications would be covered by the Tuner and issues that were or are inherent to the vehicle itself would be covered by the MFG warranty however there has been a fair amount of changes in the way dealers operate and how far they are willing to go regarding warranty coverage and voiding so if you want the most clear and accurate answer you must speak with your local dealer that offers RennTech products and have them put it in writing on the RO when the modifications are completed. If they yes verbally do not pay until it is in writing if this is too much or you feel the risk is not worth the reward then the answer is obvious and remain stock.
They would flag the vehicles and any issues or repairs caused directly by the modifications would be covered by the Tuner and issues that were or are inherent to the vehicle itself would be covered by the MFG warranty however there has been a fair amount of changes in the way dealers operate and how far they are willing to go regarding warranty coverage and voiding so if you want the most clear and accurate answer you must speak with your local dealer that offers RennTech products and have them put it in writing on the RO when the modifications are completed. If they yes verbally do not pay until it is in writing if this is too much or you feel the risk is not worth the reward then the answer is obvious and remain stock.
Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2018
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C63S
Good intel from the op....but if I may be so bold.....If you are not able or willing to deal with the consequence of tuning a car....then don't f u c k i n g do it!
If you modify your car, and something breaks..it's your fault! Not the tuner, not the dealer/OEM.......YOU. I've never support the *******s whole tune their car, blow something up and try to play dumb and take it to the dealer. **** THOSE GUYS. If you don't have the capability to diagnose and fix a problem yourself, or the money/time/effort to have someone else do it, then stay away.
RANT OVER!
If you modify your car, and something breaks..it's your fault! Not the tuner, not the dealer/OEM.......YOU. I've never support the *******s whole tune their car, blow something up and try to play dumb and take it to the dealer. **** THOSE GUYS. If you don't have the capability to diagnose and fix a problem yourself, or the money/time/effort to have someone else do it, then stay away.
RANT OVER!
Last edited by seek3n; Apr 29, 2019 at 07:43 AM.
Out Of Control!!
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2014 E63S; AMS 100 octane ECU dyno tune; EDOK TCU tune; BB intakes; sprintbooster
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C63S
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S204 C250 CDI Sport
It's most likely the same TD flag Audi gives the cars once they find out it's tuned. Basically, it's just a way of them flagging you so when you come in for major warranty work, they will have the right to deny your claim. I'm pretty sure it's just a powertrain warranty void and not a bumper to bumper warranty void, but someone would have to verify that.
Audi owners even put on the stickers !
I wonder if you can get ' Status 8 ' stickers , sounds kinda cool
Out Of Control!!
Joined: Jun 2004
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2014 E63S; AMS 100 octane ECU dyno tune; EDOK TCU tune; BB intakes; sprintbooster
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 56
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From: North Valley, California
2014 Mercedes E63 AMG
does not matter what you buy....a muscle car or other high hps vehicle.........if you abuse it, no factory warranty will cover for your damage that was caused by you abusing it.
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Newbie
Joined: Aug 2019
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2017 Mercedes-Benz E550 Coupe
this is correct, it only gives them the option to void powertrain warranty, but not bumper to bumper... My car is flagged status 8 and my dealer still performed warranty work on it (some powertrain and some other), so it hasnt had a negative effect on my warranty
just had a turbo oil line replaced under warranty and they could of easily tried to blame it on my tune (and they know im renntech tuned) but they didnt... maybe its because they are a renntech dealer too, but i didnt get my tune through them
just had a turbo oil line replaced under warranty and they could of easily tried to blame it on my tune (and they know im renntech tuned) but they didnt... maybe its because they are a renntech dealer too, but i didnt get my tune through them
Easiest thing to do is plug back in and return to stock when one brings it in. I feel like I got ripped a bit because Weistec sells the exact same tune for 1k less.
Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 22
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GLC 63 SUV
that wouldnt explain weistec tuned car being flagged status 8 or mine since i didnt purchase my RT tune through dealer
for mine they didnt know until they flashed my ecu to troubleshoot a low fuel pressure problem i was getting... they noticed i was tuned then, that's when i got flagged status 8
but yeah if you get a tune from the dealer, of course they know your tuned.
no matter who your tune is with, if the dealer wants to check, they will know you are tuned...hell, dealer can flag a car as Status 8 for any number of reasons; There have been accounts of cars being flagged simply for having a tuner badge on the car "Brabus" or because they noticed some minor modifications on the car.
MB is just getting more strict like audi did a while ago.... margins are tight and ever increasing emissions compliance/ mandates is costing them a fortune so gotta find ways to cut cost = honor less warranties as much as possible
for mine they didnt know until they flashed my ecu to troubleshoot a low fuel pressure problem i was getting... they noticed i was tuned then, that's when i got flagged status 8
but yeah if you get a tune from the dealer, of course they know your tuned.
no matter who your tune is with, if the dealer wants to check, they will know you are tuned...hell, dealer can flag a car as Status 8 for any number of reasons; There have been accounts of cars being flagged simply for having a tuner badge on the car "Brabus" or because they noticed some minor modifications on the car.
MB is just getting more strict like audi did a while ago.... margins are tight and ever increasing emissions compliance/ mandates is costing them a fortune so gotta find ways to cut cost = honor less warranties as much as possible
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 6,760
Likes: 594
From: Seattle
'19 E63S, ‘16 CLS63 RIP, '09 E63 Gone, '06 M5 Gone, '97 Supra TT Gone
Moral of the story is program in funds for an additional ECU since the M157 ECU is brain dead easy to swap out, get it cloned, have the clone ECU tuned, keep your stock ECU in the trunk in a Pelican case or something of the sort in case you have an unscheduled trip to the stealer.
Super Member
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 818
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From: Vancouver B.C. Canada
2014 E550 4MATIC TUNED - Turbo Upgraded Stage 3
Was the code P008A ? i have this code pop out once a while. And car felt weak and exhaust sound different, if this code popped.
Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 22
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GLC 63 SUV
I had the code p0087. It happened after I used launch control. The engine was in the warm range on the temperature page but I guess it was only warm because I had previously driven it around 15 minutes ago. Then after 5 mins of driving I tried launching it and it went into limp mode and threw the p0087 code. Limp mode went away after I restarted the car but the cel took a few days of the car parked there to clear itself. I then had a code scanner clear the codes and it haven’t popped up again fingers crossed.
Junior Member
Joined: Feb 2018
Posts: 35
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From: Santa Clarita,Ca
2010 E550 coupe,2005 porsche ca 911,04 subaru outback,94 Harley FXSTC
There's a couple ways the manufacturer can tell if your car was tuned is if the tech puts the info on to the repair order then its submitted to manufacturer.The other way is if there is a question about a repair that was done or
any number of red flags by warranty dept or a field service engineer finds an issue .They can go to the dealer that did the repairs and go into their testers and pull up the logs with all the data that was automatically recorded
when tested.They can verify repair was valid by diagnostic data and possible lemon law buy backs . Usually when a car is tuned they can tell ,even with stock tune put back in the ecm it will show a part number or calibration
code that is gibberish doesn't make sense.The dealer will do most warranty repairs if you are a good customer or deny if you aren't . I figure if someone pays todays prices for a vehicle they can do what they want with it and
warranty repairs [to a point ,not abused] for the most part should be done.Many times the tech can ok or deny warranty repair based on testing ,diagnosis results.I worked at domestic dealer and ran into this often. I have had
Banks send a guy out to repair a tuner related problem for the customer on a diesel that ran poorly after tune . As long as they didn't take it and try to jump ten cars or the like we took care of our customers. For
visiting owners it would depend on several things plus maint,and what repairs it needed .The dealers get heat from manufacturers for to keep warranty costs low and can have several repairs charged back to the dealer if
procedures are not followed. Just be aware if you have a tune put in they may be able to see its been modified .
any number of red flags by warranty dept or a field service engineer finds an issue .They can go to the dealer that did the repairs and go into their testers and pull up the logs with all the data that was automatically recorded
when tested.They can verify repair was valid by diagnostic data and possible lemon law buy backs . Usually when a car is tuned they can tell ,even with stock tune put back in the ecm it will show a part number or calibration
code that is gibberish doesn't make sense.The dealer will do most warranty repairs if you are a good customer or deny if you aren't . I figure if someone pays todays prices for a vehicle they can do what they want with it and
warranty repairs [to a point ,not abused] for the most part should be done.Many times the tech can ok or deny warranty repair based on testing ,diagnosis results.I worked at domestic dealer and ran into this often. I have had
Banks send a guy out to repair a tuner related problem for the customer on a diesel that ran poorly after tune . As long as they didn't take it and try to jump ten cars or the like we took care of our customers. For
visiting owners it would depend on several things plus maint,and what repairs it needed .The dealers get heat from manufacturers for to keep warranty costs low and can have several repairs charged back to the dealer if
procedures are not followed. Just be aware if you have a tune put in they may be able to see its been modified .
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Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 2,394
Likes: 239
E63
There's a couple ways the manufacturer can tell if your car was tuned is if the tech puts the info on to the repair order then its submitted to manufacturer.The other way is if there is a question about a repair that was done or
any number of red flags by warranty dept or a field service engineer finds an issue .They can go to the dealer that did the repairs and go into their testers and pull up the logs with all the data that was automatically recorded
when tested.They can verify repair was valid by diagnostic data and possible lemon law buy backs . Usually when a car is tuned they can tell ,even with stock tune put back in the ecm it will show a part number or calibration
code that is gibberish doesn't make sense.The dealer will do most warranty repairs if you are a good customer or deny if you aren't . I figure if someone pays todays prices for a vehicle they can do what they want with it and
warranty repairs [to a point ,not abused] for the most part should be done.Many times the tech can ok or deny warranty repair based on testing ,diagnosis results.I worked at domestic dealer and ran into this often. I have had
Banks send a guy out to repair a tuner related problem for the customer on a diesel that ran poorly after tune . As long as they didn't take it and try to jump ten cars or the like we took care of our customers. For
visiting owners it would depend on several things plus maint,and what repairs it needed .The dealers get heat from manufacturers for to keep warranty costs low and can have several repairs charged back to the dealer if
procedures are not followed. Just be aware if you have a tune put in they may be able to see its been modified .
any number of red flags by warranty dept or a field service engineer finds an issue .They can go to the dealer that did the repairs and go into their testers and pull up the logs with all the data that was automatically recorded
when tested.They can verify repair was valid by diagnostic data and possible lemon law buy backs . Usually when a car is tuned they can tell ,even with stock tune put back in the ecm it will show a part number or calibration
code that is gibberish doesn't make sense.The dealer will do most warranty repairs if you are a good customer or deny if you aren't . I figure if someone pays todays prices for a vehicle they can do what they want with it and
warranty repairs [to a point ,not abused] for the most part should be done.Many times the tech can ok or deny warranty repair based on testing ,diagnosis results.I worked at domestic dealer and ran into this often. I have had
Banks send a guy out to repair a tuner related problem for the customer on a diesel that ran poorly after tune . As long as they didn't take it and try to jump ten cars or the like we took care of our customers. For
visiting owners it would depend on several things plus maint,and what repairs it needed .The dealers get heat from manufacturers for to keep warranty costs low and can have several repairs charged back to the dealer if
procedures are not followed. Just be aware if you have a tune put in they may be able to see its been modified .
Once this happened with one tech on almost 5 cars in one week (most were regular GLS, GLE, E350, etc etc). The owners could still NOT have it taken off. One was cos he recommended a full exhaust replacement over a bolt that came loose, the car is now permanently flagged.
My car got flagged for removing my resonator (he called it exhaust modification that could void the warranty). Funny thing is I had a full-on tune with no problem, my resonator delete got my car flagged
Last edited by kponti; Jan 11, 2020 at 05:25 PM.
Member
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 215
Likes: 46
From: DC
2014 E63S AMG
<- Former dealer service personnel
Out Of Control!!
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 13,799
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2014 E63S; AMS 100 octane ECU dyno tune; EDOK TCU tune; BB intakes; sprintbooster
Denying warranty coverage over a resonator delete is flat out against US law. A modification has to be able to provide reasonable suspicion that it contributed to a failure for it to do this. The only thing it might affect is warranty coverage on exhaust components in that area (have a hanger fall off? could be from tampering when you did had the exhaust cut, etc). But it legally cannot affect coverage on the rest of the car.
<- Former dealer service personnel
<- Former dealer service personnel
https://mbworld.org/forums/w213-amg/...tuned-ecu.html
Last edited by PeterUbers; Jan 12, 2020 at 06:01 PM.
