lock ECU grounds for lawsuit

[Ject]

I guess I don't understand.
Did they completely Lock your ECU and it won't take a reflash?
Or
Did they just lock their Tune so you can't see the details of it?



GM will charge you to reflash since it isn't underwarranty due to it being tuned.

[fielderLS3]

Did this particular tuning company offer their own warranty with their tune? If so, I can see why they wouldn't want you messing with it.

Do you have some kind of written contract with the tuner? I'd take a second look at the fine print in it before doing anything.

[BlwnSS]

who tuned it , whats the big deal . And they should have told you they locked it , i think its shitty when they do that. Sometimes its locked so you or other tuners can see how bad it possible is .

[Tampa Tuning]

Its crazy that shops lock tunes. Its your car and your configuration that you paid to have modified.
www.TampaTuning.com
Phil

[Ject]

Mine was done by Vector Motorsports and it is a locked tune. Just can view or change anything in the tune but I can re-flash it if I wish.

[hapisok]

devils advocate here...

sounds like you want to sue them because they locked it and you were "unaware" of it and now your feelings are hurt. nowhere have you mentioned that you contacted your tuner and told them you wanted them to reflash back to your stock tune and they refused. you've only stated that you are upset because you went to GM and they couldn't update the stock tune because it was locked and this is now something you were previously unaware of. didn't bother you before, so why now? why pay for a tune just to have it flashed over with a stock tune in the first place? (why you would want to do this is beyond me). what problems are you having with your car? have you contacted the tune shop about your issues? do you have any CEL's? bucking? surging? why would you go back to a stock tune to solve your issue vs getting in touch with your tuner?

if you don't want the tune...im sure they'll happily remove it for you vs having to deal with anymore headache down the road with threats of law suits from you. you can both wash your hands and be done with it and go on your merry ways.

even it they did refuse you service and you felt you needed monetary retribution, you would file a claim through small claims court since it is under $3-5K depending on the state. more of a waste of your time than anything else. but even then, they have copies of the consent forms you signed as well...you might want to take a look through those because you probably agreed to it. but were too excited about the extra POWAAAAAAH to take the time to read it.

seriously, call the shop and tell them what you want...it takes 5-10min to flash you back to stock.

[hapisok]

Originally Posted by Tampa Tuning

Its crazy that shops lock tunes. Its your car and your configuration that you paid to have modified.
www.TampaTuning.com
Phil

that is true. but the tune is like intelligible data...or something like that. and how many of these setups are very similar? when you have "tuners" that steal tunes from legit tuners and sell them as their own work, after the originator invested their time and money developing the tunes...then why not protect your work? there was a "reputable" vette tuner at VA SPEED who was busted doing that, he's gone now. i don't knock any shop from wanting to do that, but if the customer doesn't agree to it then they should find another tuner. personal preference really.

[strych9]

Originally Posted by hapisok

that is true. but the tune is like intelligible data...or something like that. and how many of these setups are very similar? when you have "tuners" that steal tunes from legit tuners and sell them as their own work, after the originator invested their time and money developing the tunes...then why not protect your work? there was a "reputable" vette tuner at VA SPEED who was busted doing that, he's gone now. i don't knock any shop from wanting to do that, but if the customer doesn't agree to it then they should find another tuner. personal preference really.

I was thinking the same thing. "Intellectual property" comes to mind. It's basically kind of like a software program, not necessarily "open-source".

[hapisok]

Originally Posted by calinkaos

That's my concern. If they go out of business or lose the password to unlock... not sure if it's an individual password. I contacted them... they asked for compensation to perform another tune. Kinda bogus if u ask me.

bogus for another tune? your paying for their time. if you've added parts on after your original tune...then yeah...your gonna pay. if you are having driveability issues due to the TUNE and NOTHING has changed (additional mods, melted CAT's, bad sensor, plugs...anything physical or mechanical out of standard from when they performed the original tune) then most shops will cover their ass because they like to keep their customers happy and returning. but a NEW tune is going to cost you...gotta pay to play.

good luck

[pouncer72]

Pro Tip: You can't 'lock' a tech II out of an ECM. It's not possible.

[babytiger]

Originally Posted by pouncer72

Pro Tip: You can't 'lock' a tech II out of an ECM. It's not possible.

yeah, i'm thinking the dealer just didn't want to touch the ecm once they realized it had been touched.

[Tampa Tuning]

Originally Posted by hapisok

that is true. but the tune is like intelligible data...or something like that. and how many of these setups are very similar? when you have "tuners" that steal tunes from legit tuners and sell them as their own work, after the originator invested their time and money developing the tunes...then why not protect your work? there was a "reputable" vette tuner at VA SPEED who was busted doing that, he's gone now. i don't knock any shop from wanting to do that, but if the customer doesn't agree to it then they should find another tuner. personal preference really.

Calibrators have differant methods for similar results. My transmission settings are very unique, but its still not my car to lock. If you keep using the same tune over and over like some shops do, your cheating your clients and they will never know it untill they take it to another shop.

I suppose if shops are going to lock the PCM so no one can alter, tell the owner thats your business model. Its also a method used that you have to go back to that shop for upgrades, but if their interface is broke, lost, stolen or the shop goes out of business, your SOL.

Its just not a good business practice from my perspective. But there is a place called PCM unlock or something like that that will unlock your PCM. I think it erases it and the dealer would have to install the new calibration because tuning software only has access to about 1/4 of what's in the computer. google it
www.TampaTuning.com
Phil

[speedmon]

Originally Posted by calinkaos

So I want your opinion on something fellow C5ers. I got a custom tune and was never told my vehicle would be locked by the tuning program. I have all original records and consent forms. I went to get a GM warranty reflash and the dealership couldn't access the ecu. I am considering filing a class action lawsuit against the company that tuned my car to allow access to my tune files and my ecu. What do you all think? Anyone ever heard of someone trying this?

You should at least threaten a lawsuit and see what you can get.
Cuz in a lawsuit YOU will win.
1. You are a vet.....and thats a good card.
2. Preventing someone from "rightful" access to their property (which the "lock" does and you are the legal owner of the ECM) is illegal. It is a form of trespass and conversion and can be considered a criminal act.
3. If they "locked you out" of your property and did not have your WRITTEN permission to do so and they "intended" or knew in advance that they were going to do that without your permission.......that would be FRAUD!
4. And locking tunes through the US mail (mail order tunes) would be mail fraud or doing so through email would be wire fraud....both jail"able" offenses.
5. The tune cannot be considered intellectual property as all tunes do is change the data (Source logic is owned by GM). If it was copyrighted then maybe....but they are all so different...so unlikely. And the "copyrighter" of the data tune would have to have GM's permission as they own the source code, and copyrights are not allowed where they have an "unapproved" dependency on another source. I don't know of any tuners that have copyright approval from GM......copyrights are public record and you can look it up on the website of the US copyright office.


It depends what you are trying to get out of it now. If you just want your ECU put back to stock, then demand that they do it....Demand it in writing.

If they don't cooperate then go do what it takes to put it back to stock and send them the bill and demand they pay it. If they won't pay it then sue them in small claims court for costs.
Then notify the BBB in your state and report them for FRAUD. That comes up on a lot of radars. Also many states have automotive regulators (agency bla bla). Report them to your state's automotive agency. They will be investigated and fined and potentially banned from doing business in that state.

In CA (and this falls under another law) if a tuner (even from another state) even alters the tune of a car's ECU its a $10K fine per incident. So the last thing a tuner would want is a mad CA customer or leaving a fingerprint on a locked ECU.

Companies break the law every day in search of revenue (another BofA judgement today for $2.4Billion)......but its always best to try to resolve without litigation.

Good Luck!

[calinkaos]

The company never mention the locking of their tune. But when I take it to Chevy Dealership to get a Reflash and 1 minutes into the reflash it locks up and the GM computer cant communicate with the computer thats a bit bogus. They gave me a 3 month warrenty with their tune and products. I am not looking to recieve money from this lawsuit but I want them to unlock my vehicle, I have read all over this and other forums they screwed over other people too. I find it crazy that I should have to pay another 300$ for a tune, and the fact I have to travel or mail in my ecu. I put gears in my car and I cant even get they calibrated to the vehicle. The other option was to buy a new ECU and reflash it to factory for 600$ at the dealership, then pay another tuner to adjust for the mods, 300$ and wait an extra week. So something that was a simple 1200$ gear swap became and 2000$ gear swap and ecu swap. Thats bogus, especially when I was NEVER told. funny thing is the only thing I signed was my creditcard reciept... I just started process to report them to BBB. I am gonna call on monday and threaten the lawsuit, let them know that I have all documents and I was never informed. Either they fix the situation without cost to me or they unlock the ecu for me to progress with my mods.