S3 Remaps and Warranty

[PaulAr]

Previous 2 times S3 8P owner and ASN regular but not posted here for ages.

Anyhoo, quite fancy another S3 now that PCPs are more sensible since the car has been around for a bit, and wondered what the crack was with remapping the 8V and warranty implications?

All of my VAGs for years have been remapped (REVO or SHARK) and for dealer visits I just flashed the car back to stock or stock settings and never had an issue. Even got a clutch and DMF on my 8P1 S3 on the last day of its warranty.

I`m currently in a 335d X Drive but its not yet possible to fiddle with the ECUs without it being obvious to BMW, who apparently put a warranty marker against your car, screwing up its residuals and compromising future warranty claims.
Its VERY frustrating not being able to tune your car

cheers
Paul

 

[Psyman79]

Plenty threads about it but in short you'd be looking at a TD1 flag even if flashed back to stock, Audi look for this and it will void your warranty.

I think the DTUK box is the only un-traceable upgrade at present. I await correction on this though

 

[roadrunner_oz]

Not all flash tunes raise a TD1 if flashed back to stock. E.g. the APR doesn't show a TD1 if un-flashed

 

[Liquidfusion-S3]

Does it mean because it's a PCP, whoever buys the car next is unknowingly buying a TD1

 

[Psyman79]

Not all flash tunes raise a TD1 if flashed back to stock. E.g. the APR doesn't show a TD1 if un-flashed

I didn't think any companies were actualy confirming that it wouldn't raise a flag. Oh well, i've been wrong in the past

Does it mean because it's a PCP, whoever buys the car next is unknowingly buying a TD1

I would think so, yes. Although it should just affect the warranty so wouldn't be an issue if it was outside the 3 year period. I would imagine it would be a problem if the new owner wanted to buy an extended warranty though.

 

[Leo-RS]

Not all flash tunes raise a TD1 if flashed back to stock. E.g. the APR doesn't show a TD1 if un-flashed

Are you sure about that? It was an APR Golf R that had warranty denied even after flash back to stock..

http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/thread...-pistonheads-golf-r-turbo-failure-td1.232015/

 

[steeve]

I thought every change to the ECU added a TD1 flag. Then another when it's flashed back.

Buy an RS3 and dont bother with the tune..........

 

[alijnclarke]

Not all flash tunes raise a TD1 if flashed back to stock. E.g. the APR doesn't show a TD1 if un-flashed

Pretty sure that's not the case, otherwise i would have 100% had their remap!

 

[lucas-suisse]

Plenty threads about it but in short you'd be looking at a TD1 flag even if flashed back to stock, Audi look for this and it will void your warranty.

I think the DTUK box is the only un-traceable upgrade at present. I await correction on this though

MTM box too...

 

[Psyman79]

MTM box too...

Thanks didn't realise MTM was a box.

 

[PaulAr]

I thought every change to the ECU added a TD1 flag. Then another when it's flashed back.

Buy an RS3 and dont bother with the tune..........

RS3 would be fantastic but PCPs on RS models don't really work unfortunately, high interest rates and no real discounts make the monthlies pretty eye watering.


Anyhoo, thanks for all the input, seems like the general consensus is that tuning an 8V S3s ECU is currently a risky process.

 

[lee_fr200]

Not all flash tunes raise a TD1 if flashed back to stock. E.g. the APR doesn't show a TD1 if un-flashed

Nope that doesn't work, as said an apr car went bang and it's been rejected on a warranty claim

 

[cam87]

I have been thinking about remaps recently and this is what I know -

1. If you go for a tuning box then it doesn't reset the counters within the ECU but could be detected from the sensors e.g more boost than standard, when it goes into Audi I'm not sure if this info is also sent to HQ.
2. If you go for a ECU flash then it will make the ECU flash counter go up. I believe it also does this when Audi update the ECU with revisions. Tuners have said they have flashed cars back to standard for servicing etc and have not had any issues with MQB platform cars. Obviously we know different as mentioned above.

Personally if I do it I will go down the tuning box route as it is a little less risky I believe than flashing the ECU. The question I have is if I was to disconnect the battery after removing the tuning box say 2 days before a service/warranty work will the sensors previous information be lost? I mean for example on a 2008 focus ST I used to own and also my 2011 8P if you disconnected the battery for say 20 min it would forget your previous driving style and relearn it from there on, handy if you previously spent a lot of time in traffic.
If that did work then I think that would solve the issue in regards to warranty and tuning box's but it may not....

 

[buz]

I would imagine that with all the trouble manufacturers are going to with TD1 codes etc, I doubt a simple battery disconnection would erase traces of sensor values following the removal of a tuning box. If it was the case I'm sure the clever people who design these boxes would use the fact in their advertising.

 

[cam87]

I would imagine that with all the trouble manufacturers are going to with TD1 codes etc, I doubt a simple battery disconnection would erase traces of sensor values following the removal of a tuning box. If it was the case I'm sure the clever people who design these boxes would use the fact in their advertising.

Yeah I expect that would be the case but obviously just exploring all avenues. I wonder if Vagcom could though?
I would have thought they would not go to the extent of checking sensor values unless it was warranty issue