So can I tune this thing or not?? - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

Tayap79 · 10-18-2012, 08:27 AM

At the dealer this morning for my oil change and I asked about what mods they are funny about, particularly exhaust and CAI. The guy I was talking to said no they won't void it but it's really not worth it unless your going to tune the car. I said, can't do that, that really will void the warranty.

He says and I quote, "You will just have to make sure to flash the tune back to stock, they won't be able to detect it that way." I asked if the cars have an audit trail on the computer and he told me no.

Everyone here has told me different, that the dealerships will know if I tuned the car. This guy, who seemed pretty genuine, tells me I have nothing to worry about.

HELP?!?!

babytiger · 10-18-2012, 08:37 AM

The guy you spoke to is W R O N G. He sounds like an oil lube tech. Which means he has no clue.
The dealer will always be able to tell if the ecm has been flashed.

mattsfirstSS · 10-18-2012, 08:38 AM

My dealer says they dont care either. Said they would put on the long tubes and headers and tune it accordingly even. They do performance mods. As far as the warranty if the parts are GMPP then they are covered otherwise that part isnt covered. GM will void warranty on the powertrain if they find you tuned, Apparently there is a check the tech can do and then it gets sent to GM and then GM replies with whether it has been tampered with. Whether this check is ever performed or not is anyones guess...? Ultimately its up to your dealer I guess.

BowtieBelle · 10-18-2012, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tayap79

At the dealer this morning for my oil change and I asked about what mods they are funny about, particularly exhaust and CAI. The guy I was talking to said no they won't void it but it's really not worth it unless your going to tune the car. I said, can't do that, that really will void the warranty.

He says and I quote, "You will just have to make sure to flash the tune back to stock, they won't be able to detect it that way." I asked if the cars have an audit trail on the computer and he told me no.

Everyone here has told me different, that the dealerships will know if I tuned the car. This guy, who seemed pretty genuine, tells me I have nothing to worry about.

HELP?!?!

The dealer can still see the tune in the ECM even if you flash it back to stock, on the V8s. The V6's they can't see it.

My dealer will still warranty my car with a tune but every dealer is different.

Tayap79 · 10-18-2012, 08:43 AM

Freaking frustrating.

I'd love to tune it but I'm paranoid about having a failure and not having my warranty honored.

DRKS1D3 · 10-18-2012, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tayap79

Freaking frustrating.

I'd love to tune it but I'm paranoid about having a failure and not having my warranty honored.

Don't tune it then. Every dealer is different, but they can tell if you flash it back. I've heard of some dealers giving owners flack over drop-in filters...

.

tramtwo · 10-18-2012, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tayap79

Freaking frustrating.

I'd love to tune it but I'm paranoid about having a failure and not having my warranty honored.

got pay to play.... only politicians try to have us believe otherwise

Tayap79 · 10-18-2012, 08:50 AM

If I knew I would be around this dealer for the entire life of my warranty, I'd go ahead and tune it but with my job, I could only be here for another few months.

caper · 10-18-2012, 08:54 AM

i dont think its really up to the dealer...not when gm requests to see the cars ecm info before they warrenty a repair. it might not matter on a small issue, but the big issues that you REALLY dont want to pay for....well i doubt gm, or the dealer , will be covering those.

IndeedSS1 · 10-18-2012, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tayap79

If I knew I would be around this dealer for the entire life of my warranty, I'd go ahead and tune it but with my job, I could only be here for another few months.

The dealer may say they will warranty it, but if a major failure happens then GM has to make the call. If GM were to say no, I doubt the dealership would spend thousands out of their pockets.

I was told the same thing about putting the stock tune back on until they realized the ECM is is part of GDS, and that changed everything. That said, my car broke a valve spring at about 36k miles,while driving down the hiway. The repairs were made, no questions asked...BUT this isn't considered a major powertrain failure.

mattsfirstSS · 10-18-2012, 09:03 AM

Dealers keep all broken warranty parts for a certain amount of time. If GM calls them up and requests the part they send it in if not it gets trashed. It will still be broken. My buddy is a BMW master tech so I imagine its a little different but every time I talk to him about it he says they wont ever care...pretty much only get caught if the test that I have seen outlined bout performing an ECM number something or other check is performed by the tech and sent to GM, again im not sure if this ever happens.

I still havent tuned though....

daveagogo1 · 10-18-2012, 09:09 AM

I personally know at least 5 guys who have had their warranty voided for tunes and mods.

One of the very first things my dealership asked me on the night i picked my car up was do you want some headers and a tune? I said will you warranty the car? I got crickets...

RubyCamaro · 10-18-2012, 09:11 AM

For the V6 supposedly, they cannot tell if it is re-flashed. That is probably when he has heard & it has him confused. But on the SS they can tell, from what I have read on this forum.

Lil' Nasty · 10-18-2012, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RubyCamaro

For the V6 supposedly, they cannot tell if it is re-flashed. That is probably when he has heard & it has him confused. But on the SS they can tell, from what I have read on this forum.

10-18-2012, 08:27 AM	#1
Tayap79 Drives: 2013 Victorty Red Camaro 2SS Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Altoona, PA Posts: 404	So can I tune this thing or not?? At the dealer this morning for my oil change and I asked about what mods they are funny about, particularly exhaust and CAI. The guy I was talking to said no they won't void it but it's really not worth it unless your going to tune the car. I said, can't do that, that really will void the warranty. He says and I quote, "You will just have to make sure to flash the tune back to stock, they won't be able to detect it that way." I asked if the cars have an audit trail on the computer and he told me no. Everyone here has told me different, that the dealerships will know if I tuned the car. This guy, who seemed pretty genuine, tells me I have nothing to worry about. HELP?!?!

10-18-2012, 09:11 AM	#13
RubyCamaro Jan Drives: 2010 Camaro 1LT Red Jewel tintcoat Join Date: May 2010 Location: Springfield, TN Posts: 16,225 View My Garage	For the V6 supposedly, they cannot tell if it is re-flashed. That is probably when he has heard & it has him confused. But on the SS they can tell, from what I have read on this forum. __________________

10-18-2012, 08:37 AM	#2
babytiger it's hers... Drives: 2011 Camaro 2SS/RS Convertible Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: katy, tx Posts: 1,202	The guy you spoke to is W R O N G. He sounds like an oil lube tech. Which means he has no clue. The dealer will always be able to tell if the ecm has been flashed.

10-18-2012, 08:38 AM	#3
mattsfirstSS Drives: 2012 Camaro 1SS/RS L99 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Wilmington. NC Posts: 794 View My Garage	My dealer says they dont care either. Said they would put on the long tubes and headers and tune it accordingly even. They do performance mods. As far as the warranty if the parts are GMPP then they are covered otherwise that part isnt covered. GM will void warranty on the powertrain if they find you tuned, Apparently there is a check the tech can do and then it gets sent to GM and then GM replies with whether it has been tampered with. Whether this check is ever performed or not is anyones guess...? Ultimately its up to your dealer I guess.

10-18-2012, 08:43 AM	#5
Tayap79 Drives: 2013 Victorty Red Camaro 2SS Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Altoona, PA Posts: 404	Freaking frustrating. I'd love to tune it but I'm paranoid about having a failure and not having my warranty honored.

10-18-2012, 08:50 AM	#8
Tayap79 Drives: 2013 Victorty Red Camaro 2SS Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Altoona, PA Posts: 404	If I knew I would be around this dealer for the entire life of my warranty, I'd go ahead and tune it but with my job, I could only be here for another few months.

10-18-2012, 08:54 AM	#9
caper Drives: 2010 IOM 2ss/RS Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: SoCal, I.E. Posts: 1,545	i dont think its really up to the dealer...not when gm requests to see the cars ecm info before they warrenty a repair. it might not matter on a small issue, but the big issues that you REALLY dont want to pay for....well i doubt gm, or the dealer , will be covering those.

10-18-2012, 09:03 AM	#11
mattsfirstSS Drives: 2012 Camaro 1SS/RS L99 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Wilmington. NC Posts: 794 View My Garage	Dealers keep all broken warranty parts for a certain amount of time. If GM calls them up and requests the part they send it in if not it gets trashed. It will still be broken. My buddy is a BMW master tech so I imagine its a little different but every time I talk to him about it he says they wont ever care...pretty much only get caught if the test that I have seen outlined bout performing an ECM number something or other check is performed by the tech and sent to GM, again im not sure if this ever happens. I still havent tuned though....