CPO Warranty denied, previous owner tuned ECU
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Mar 2006
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From: San Jose area
'19 E63S sedan
If the status 8 was only registered during OP’s most recent service “after” the CPO was purchased ( OP, please confirm if your recent service was done at the same purchasing dealer? ) then it will be harder to fight.
Again OP should get the VMI to see when the status 8 was registered and if it’s before the CPO purchased, then dealer/MBusa will rectify it.
If the status 8 was registered after CPO purchased and OP is sure it was not tuned during his 2-3 months ownership, contact MBusa and explain the situation, dealer can do a scan to see when the first boost, HP and TQ was increased outside of the factory specs. and work with the dealer and MBusa to fight this.
Good luck.
Again OP should get the VMI to see when the status 8 was registered and if it’s before the CPO purchased, then dealer/MBusa will rectify it.
If the status 8 was registered after CPO purchased and OP is sure it was not tuned during his 2-3 months ownership, contact MBusa and explain the situation, dealer can do a scan to see when the first boost, HP and TQ was increased outside of the factory specs. and work with the dealer and MBusa to fight this.
Good luck.
Joined: Mar 2018
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From: Socal and Norcal
MY17 S63AMG - MBUSA Buyback. MY16 SL63 - Sold MY19 W213 E63s. 2020 W213 E63s Wagon
I would get MBusa involved first before going back to the dealer.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 4,278
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From: San Jose area
'19 E63S sedan
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jul 2014
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2018 W213 E 63 S AMG Sedan
Once the vehicle is flagged, MBusa puts a status 8 on the car. Ask your dealer provide you with your VMI ( keep that VMI for your record ) that will show the history of the said vehicle.
From the VMI, it will show when the status 8 was placed, from there, you can meet with the GM of the dealer you purchased it from which will show that you purchased the vehicle “ after “ the status 8 was placed on your CPO E63.
No lawyer is needed. Point this out to the dealer and they can either ask MBusa remove the status 8 or contact MBusa directly and provide proof for the above and they can do it directly.
The dealer will need to flash the ECU to factory specs., before the status 8 can be removed.
Good luck and don’t worry about it. Enjoy the time you have it with the tune.
From the VMI, it will show when the status 8 was placed, from there, you can meet with the GM of the dealer you purchased it from which will show that you purchased the vehicle “ after “ the status 8 was placed on your CPO E63.
No lawyer is needed. Point this out to the dealer and they can either ask MBusa remove the status 8 or contact MBusa directly and provide proof for the above and they can do it directly.
The dealer will need to flash the ECU to factory specs., before the status 8 can be removed.
Good luck and don’t worry about it. Enjoy the time you have it with the tune.
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E63
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jul 2014
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2018 W213 E 63 S AMG Sedan
luckily my lease was 50k+ miles so i was just going to return it with no warranty anyway...
i wonder if they’ll refuse to take it back and force me to buy the car... i wonder if i’d find a dealer to help me out and give me a good deal on trade in given the situation. how far off could the lease residual and market value be at lease termination?
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Out Of Control!!
Joined: Jun 2004
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2014 E63S; AMS 100 octane ECU dyno tune; EDOK TCU tune; BB intakes; sprintbooster
Out Of Control!!
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 13,799
Likes: 3,229
2014 E63S; AMS 100 octane ECU dyno tune; EDOK TCU tune; BB intakes; sprintbooster
i have and the answer i have is “i don’t know yet but i’ll find out”
luckily my lease was 50k+ miles so i was just going to return it with no warranty anyway...
i wonder if they’ll refuse to take it back and force me to buy the car... i wonder if i’d find a dealer to help me out and give me a good deal on trade in given the situation. how far off could the lease residual and market value be at lease termination?
luckily my lease was 50k+ miles so i was just going to return it with no warranty anyway...
i wonder if they’ll refuse to take it back and force me to buy the car... i wonder if i’d find a dealer to help me out and give me a good deal on trade in given the situation. how far off could the lease residual and market value be at lease termination?
https://mbworld.org/forums/w212-amg/...-story-mb.html
Super Member
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 619
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MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 1,248
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2018 W213 E 63 S AMG Sedan
this guy didn't lease but it details his frustrations:
https://mbworld.org/forums/w212-amg/...-story-mb.html
https://mbworld.org/forums/w212-amg/...-story-mb.html
say i was going to buy or lease a new bmw m5
i’d bring my e63s there, i’d have 2-3 lease payments left, and i’d negotiate with the bmw dealer to pay them/roll them into the price of my m5/take the car and let them find the easter egg i left them when they try to deliver the car to mercedes (or if they just sell it)
just an example of how i’m thinking of dodging mercedes
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From: Venice Florida
2018 S560
what’s interesting is, you don’t have to return your lease to mercedes (from what i can tell)
say i was going to buy or lease a new bmw m5
i’d bring my e63s there, i’d have 2-3 lease payments left, and i’d negotiate with the bmw dealer to pay them/roll them into the price of my m5/take the car and let them find the easter egg i left them when they try to deliver the car to mercedes (or if they just sell it)
just an example of how i’m thinking of dodging mercedes
say i was going to buy or lease a new bmw m5
i’d bring my e63s there, i’d have 2-3 lease payments left, and i’d negotiate with the bmw dealer to pay them/roll them into the price of my m5/take the car and let them find the easter egg i left them when they try to deliver the car to mercedes (or if they just sell it)
just an example of how i’m thinking of dodging mercedes
MBWorld Fanatic!
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2018 W213 E 63 S AMG Sedan
MBWorld Fanatic!
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From: Venice Florida
2018 S560
I'd be willing to bet they have some kind of software app to check on things like that, think about it, if they didn't they could loose a lot of money on not picking up things like that.
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From: San Jose area
'19 E63S sedan
I wonder if the flagging makes it into the Carfax report. That would be the logical way to screw the owner.
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2018 W213 E 63 S AMG Sedan
maybe i’ll dump it at a high volume honda/kia dealership where they do lots of lease pullaheads every day if mercedes gives me trouble. no way it crosses their mind to check “did this car that is already out of warranty due to miles have nitpick warranty politics with the manufacturer during its lifetime”
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From: Kenilworth, il usa
GT63S ePerformance 4dr, '25 Bentayga Black Ed.(wife), Wrangler and 250 MLB(kids)
So where are all the PRO-tune guys when these threads come about ... specifically the ones that say the dealer/manufacturer can't just void a warranty if your car is tuned?
OP - I sure hope you get this resolved and they buy you a NEW ecu .. there may be a date stamp on this ecu for the tune overwrite and they'll have to send this current ecu to Germany likely to find out unless they've learned how to locally facilitate acquiring this data ... which I'm not sure why they haven't since thousands of local tuners can do it
OP - I sure hope you get this resolved and they buy you a NEW ecu .. there may be a date stamp on this ecu for the tune overwrite and they'll have to send this current ecu to Germany likely to find out unless they've learned how to locally facilitate acquiring this data ... which I'm not sure why they haven't since thousands of local tuners can do it
Nothing wrong with "tuning" as long as you understand the risks involved and consequences you may suffer.
You just can't have your cake and eat it too in all situations.
My dealer helps a lot, I have a long history with them but I understand that when the **** really hits the fan, I will be on my own.......
Super Member
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 614
Likes: 136
From: MD
S 63 Coupe, GLS 63
So much misinformation here....
They likely will not give him a VMI, as it clearly says on every VMI "For internal use only". VMI does NOT show date the status changed so it won't help his case. Flashing to stock will not automatically remove the status 8, that is at the discretion of the corporate AOM (area operations manager) and his superiors. NO ONE at the dealer level has any say in these matters
The dealer can't "scan" a car at this point in time and definitively see that it is tuned. Xentry does not have this capability. They can however forward the scans and logs to engineering who will see the tune
Agreed
It does not
No one outside the mercedes dealer network has access to the internal network. I'd imagine the same goes for other manufacturers
Once the vehicle is flagged, MBusa puts a status 8 on the car. Ask your dealer provide you with your VMI ( keep that VMI for your record ) that will show the history of the said vehicle.
From the VMI, it will show when the status 8 was placed, from there, you can meet with the GM of the dealer you purchased it from which will show that you purchased the vehicle “ after “ the status 8 was placed on your CPO E63.
No lawyer is needed. Point this out to the dealer and they can either ask MBusa remove the status 8 or contact MBusa directly and provide proof for the above and they can do it directly.
The dealer will need to flash the ECU to factory specs., before the status 8 can be removed.
From the VMI, it will show when the status 8 was placed, from there, you can meet with the GM of the dealer you purchased it from which will show that you purchased the vehicle “ after “ the status 8 was placed on your CPO E63.
No lawyer is needed. Point this out to the dealer and they can either ask MBusa remove the status 8 or contact MBusa directly and provide proof for the above and they can do it directly.
The dealer will need to flash the ECU to factory specs., before the status 8 can be removed.
If the status 8 was only registered during OP’s most recent service “after” the CPO was purchased ( OP, please confirm if your recent service was done at the same purchasing dealer? ) then it will be harder to fight.
Again OP should get the VMI to see when the status 8 was registered and if it’s before the CPO purchased, then dealer/MBusa will rectify it.
If the status 8 was registered after CPO purchased and OP is sure it was not tuned during his 2-3 months ownership, contact MBusa and explain the situation, dealer can do a scan to see when the first boost, HP and TQ was increased outside of the factory specs. and work with the dealer and MBusa to fight this.
Again OP should get the VMI to see when the status 8 was registered and if it’s before the CPO purchased, then dealer/MBusa will rectify it.
If the status 8 was registered after CPO purchased and OP is sure it was not tuned during his 2-3 months ownership, contact MBusa and explain the situation, dealer can do a scan to see when the first boost, HP and TQ was increased outside of the factory specs. and work with the dealer and MBusa to fight this.
i’m not too sure BMW (or any other manufacturer) enables their dealers to access the internal Mercedes warranty flagging records/system. not only that but... i’d be surprised.
maybe i’ll dump it at a high volume honda/kia dealership where they do lots of lease pullaheads every day if mercedes gives me trouble. no way it crosses their mind to check “did this car that is already out of warranty due to miles have nitpick warranty politics with the manufacturer during its lifetime”
maybe i’ll dump it at a high volume honda/kia dealership where they do lots of lease pullaheads every day if mercedes gives me trouble. no way it crosses their mind to check “did this car that is already out of warranty due to miles have nitpick warranty politics with the manufacturer during its lifetime”
Last edited by TECHNICIAN; Dec 20, 2019 at 11:01 AM.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 1,248
Likes: 197
2018 W213 E 63 S AMG Sedan
So much misinformation here....
They likely will not give him a VMI, as it clearly says on every VMI "For internal use only". VMI does NOT show date the status changed so it won't help his case. Flashing to stock will not automatically remove the status 8, that is at the discretion of the corporate AOM (area operations manager) and his superiors. NO ONE at the dealer level has any say in these matters
The dealer can't "scan" a car at this point in time and definitively see that it is tuned. Xentry does not have this capability. They can however forward the scans and logs to engineering who will see the tune
Agreed
It does not
No one outside the mercedes dealer network has access to the internal network. I'd imagine the same goes for other manufacturers
They likely will not give him a VMI, as it clearly says on every VMI "For internal use only". VMI does NOT show date the status changed so it won't help his case. Flashing to stock will not automatically remove the status 8, that is at the discretion of the corporate AOM (area operations manager) and his superiors. NO ONE at the dealer level has any say in these matters
The dealer can't "scan" a car at this point in time and definitively see that it is tuned. Xentry does not have this capability. They can however forward the scans and logs to engineering who will see the tune
Agreed
It does not
No one outside the mercedes dealer network has access to the internal network. I'd imagine the same goes for other manufacturers
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 4,833
Likes: 773
From: Venice Florida
2018 S560
Wow tuning seems like it could present a real problem for someone buying a used car should they have a major issue and expect warranty to cover it. Hard to say what the solution is. They could check the vin at a mb dealer service dept but if the tune had yet to be found everything could check out normal.
Out Of Control!!
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 13,799
Likes: 3,229
2014 E63S; AMS 100 octane ECU dyno tune; EDOK TCU tune; BB intakes; sprintbooster
I'm still here, I still tune every car I own.
Nothing wrong with "tuning" as long as you understand the risks involved and consequences you may suffer.
You just can't have your cake and eat it too in all situations.
My dealer helps a lot, I have a long history with them but I understand that when the **** really hits the fan, I will be on my own.......
Nothing wrong with "tuning" as long as you understand the risks involved and consequences you may suffer.
You just can't have your cake and eat it too in all situations.
My dealer helps a lot, I have a long history with them but I understand that when the **** really hits the fan, I will be on my own.......
too many guys on here saying you're all good because "dealer has to prove the tune caused the problem" blah blah ... Internet soldiers
Super Member
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 614
Likes: 136
From: MD
S 63 Coupe, GLS 63
