Warranty: To Void Or Not To Void

[on3eighteen]

Guys, lots of comments on whether installing the APR tune will void the warranty. Most responses as <b>"Heck yes"</b> & a few are <b>"Depends on the dealership."</b> Some have said that you can un-install the tune *but* most then say that Audi can still detect is was installed. I am looking at a certified pre-owned (yes, I'm paying a premium that I don't want to) & the extra few thousand may be for nothing if I cannot take my car into the dealership with a problem.

Does anybody have the official stance or is it really...it depends?

[Thisisnoise]

my experience and advice is assume your powertrain warranty will be gone with tuning - if you use common sense and flash back and dont get flagged consider it lucky . If you want to keep your warranty with 100% certainty don't get a tune

[RAF_S7]

There is a lot of chatter about the TD1 marker that Audi may, or may not place on your car should a tune be detected.

I say should be detected, because even that is up for debate. Some guys on the forum have been TD1'd, some guys report the TD1 marker has been removed if they return the car to stock.

A lot of guys say it depends on the dealer, and how "tune friendly" the maintenance guys are.

Bottom line is this, if you want to play with the tuning, be prepared to void the warranty and pay $$$ should you have an engine/drivetrain issue and Audi detect the tune.. Doesn't happen to everyone, and it may not happen to you, that's the gamble you take....

You'll get lots of feedback on the matter from other forum members, but at the end of the day, the gamble is yours to make.

[on3eighteen]

Thanks for the quick reply! An hour of Google'ing & everybody is on the same page as you. So, I guess the question is this...if I go Stage 2 w/ pulley on a 2013 A6 and am a casual driver that *maybe* drives spiritedly 5-10% of the time, do I really have to worry? Consumer Reports has the engine (major/minor) as 5 stars so I'm hoping it's a solid engine that can take a little occasional rough ride?

[VVG]

Thanks for the quick reply! An hour of Google'ing & everybody is on the same page as you. So, I guess the question is this...if I go Stage 2 w/ pulley on a 2013 A6 and am a casual driver that *maybe* drives spiritedly 5-10% of the time, do I really have to worry? Consumer Reports has the engine (major/minor) as 5 stars so I'm hoping it's a solid engine that can take a little occasional rough ride?

You don't have to worry about the safety of the tune. They are historically proven to be very safe, especially at the Stage 1 level.

The real concern is if you have an issue that may have occurred even without the tune, but now you are denied coverage because of the tune.

[name.goes.here]

my experience and advice is assume your powertrain warranty will be gone with tuning - if you use common sense and flash back and dont get flagged consider it lucky . If you want to keep your warranty with 100% certainty don't get a tune

+1

[yeuchau]

gotta pay to play.
I have CPO car as well and still got the Stage 2 tune, and will flash back to stock for dealer visits, but am also prepared if they found out.

[tonymission]

I just traded in a car that had an apr tune (unflashed obv) and didn't run into problems. Not a tuner friendly dealership either.


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[bobamoo]

I did a ton of research on this before getting the tune. I wish others would. It is a violation of federal law to void or deny a warranty because you used aftermarket parts or service. Google Magnuson-Moss Act. Read the Audi warranty, new and CPO. It is very clearly written to abide by federal law. It specifically states what will void the warranty. Tunes or any performance parts are not on the list. What is does say is under using aftermarket or performance parts. It states if a failure or malfunction is found to be caused by the performance parts, that failure or malfunction is not covered. Period. Warranty can not be voided. Read what is already in your glovebox.

And yes, an APR stage 1 tune is extremely unlikely to cause any issue. I told my service dept I have the tune. Done. I'm not going through the BS of reflashing every time I go to the dealer. Who has time for that? Get the tune, you'll be glad you did.!!

http://www.autoanything.com/popups/MossWarranty.aspx

[SunDevil]

So many opinions on tunes. This topic get brought up on EVERY enthusiast's car forum and the answers are always different .... just like above. If tune placement, detection,replacement, etc. etc was no issue .... then why is there so much conversation on this?

Bottom line. It's your car. Do what you want. Pay to play. I've modded alot of cars and trucks ... and when they broke .... I paid to have it fixed.

[audi12345678]

If you have good relationship with your Audi dealer then the tune is no problem, just tell them that you have it and you don't want any software updates, because if they do an update the warranty is gone official'i. I had my A6 tuned and there where no problems with warranty.

[VVG]

I did a ton of research on this before getting the tune. I wish others would. It is a violation of federal law to void or deny a warranty because you used aftermarket parts or service. Google Magnuson-Moss Act. Read the Audi warranty, new and CPO. It is very clearly written to abide by federal law. It specifically states what will void the warranty. Tunes or any performance parts are not on the list. What is does say is under using aftermarket or performance parts. It states if a failure or malfunction is found to be caused by the performance parts, that failure or malfunction is not covered. Period. Warranty can not be voided. Read what is already in your glovebox.

And yes, an APR stage 1 tune is extremely unlikely to cause any issue. I told my service dept I have the tune. Done. I'm not going through the BS of reflashing every time I go to the dealer. Who has time for that? Get the tune, you'll be glad you did.!!

http://www.autoanything.com/popups/MossWarranty.aspx

Well...there is theory, and then there is reality. So what are you going to do if you blow a turbo and Audi denies the claim because they say your car is tuned. Or worse, yet, damage engine internals. Audi denies the claim. So you hire a lawyer and go to court. All this legal fuss will take years to get sorted out during which time you will have no car to drive. And what about all your legal fees. And time lost from work to go to court, etc etc. Not so simple in real life.

[tonymission]

Well...there is theory, and then there is reality. So what are you going to do if you blow a turbo and Audi denies the claim because they say your car is tuned. Or worse, yet, damage engine internals. Audi denies the claim. So you hire a lawyer and go to court. All this legal fuss will take years to get sorted out during which time you will have no car to drive. And what about all your legal fees. And time lost from work to go to court, etc etc. Not so simple in real life.

Why would I expect Audi to pay for my blown turbo after I had the car tuned and increased the boost?
Sure, if they don't say anything, I'll let them cover it, but the expectation that they're responsible for that is pretty ridiculous. I own a home service industry business (roofing) and the audacity of some of our customers who don't want to pay for their $15,000 roof because my crew broke one of their exterior lights is just too much at times. I'll pay and have their light replaced, but you owe me my $15k and I'll get my money (felony theft of services is a big motivator).

Everyone wants something for nothing.


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[AstleyJ]

Thanks for the quick reply! An hour of Google'ing & everybody is on the same page as you. So, I guess the question is this...if I go Stage 2 w/ pulley on a 2013 A6 and am a casual driver that *maybe* drives spiritedly 5-10% of the time, do I really have to worry? Consumer Reports has the engine (major/minor) as 5 stars so I'm hoping it's a solid engine that can take a little occasional rough ride?

You should go over to the B8 S4 forums and read up on all the guys there that have APR Stage 2. Should alleviate a lot of your concern as it is the same engine. My understanding is the 3.0T is pretty bulletproof. With that being said, you should go into any sort of tune with the mentality that if something goes wrong, it will not be covered. Then, if it is covered, you will be pleasantly surprised. Always good to have a nice relationship with your Audi Tech.

[on3eighteen]

Thank you all for your help...I'm going to go w/ the "buyer beware" motto. After all of this, now the dealer is trying to sell me this certified pre-owned car & only replaced 2 tires & not all 4. Everything I have read indicates that with an all-wheel drive car, you should replace all 4 at the same time in order to not hurt the transmission. This is an Audi dealer selling me a certified car that's $3K more than a non-certified car. Crazy & ballsy of the dealer IMHO.

[SunDevil]

Thank you all for your help...I'm going to go w/ the "buyer beware" motto. After all of this, now the dealer is trying to sell me this certified pre-owned car & only replaced 2 tires & not all 4. Everything I have read indicates that with an all-wheel drive car, you should replace all 4 at the same time in order to not hurt the transmission. This is an Audi dealer selling me a certified car that's $3K more than a non-certified car. Crazy & ballsy of the dealer IMHO.

The CPO (3K) is essentially 24 additional months of factory warranty. You should negotiate on the 2 extra tires. Can't see this as a deal breaker on either side ... especially if you like the car.

[BlueSVT]

Oh wow... a thread on whether or not a tune will void a warranty!

Glad I found this, can't say this has ever been covered.... ever.

[agent47]

Oh wow... a thread on whether or not a tune will void a warranty!

Glad I found this, can't say this has ever been covered.... ever.

I know. This is a first for me too (even with my PhD in TD1). @eyeloveteeth can chime in probably!

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[eyeloveteeth]

TL;DR

Between @BlueSVT and @Agent47 I can guess.

Don't do it.

#TD1 for life


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[cyberbrutus]

Straight from my SA:
When you take the car to the dealership they have 2 choices: Scan or Not Scan the car
If you take the car for something simple (like rattles, noises, cosmetic stuff) they dont scan the car and thats why most of the people think they got away with it.
If they scan the car, you will be flagged TD1 and the information is stored in Audi servers (not dealers) and cannot be overwritten or be stopped from transmitting.

We looked into replacing the ECU and restoring my warranty but I just decided to sell my car.

[GameBreaker]

I was just in for some minor things over the weekend and I was talking to my friend who is an SA. I was asking him about tunes, and he told me some of the recent horror stories. The day before a guy got hit with 5k in a minor repair that was normally taken care of. The guy had flashed back to stock, but it was flagged and he got the shaft.

The thing is, a lot of the SAs and the techs don't really care if your car is tuned, but he said AoA is on a bender to TD1 the shit out of anyone right now. He did say that they aren't really having issues with people who have extended warranties who are tuned as he has seen a number of S4s and A6s get their repairs taken care of but Audi seems to be a little ridiculous lately. So as others have said, you have to pay to play. As for me, I'm tuning my car the day the factory warranty expires

[VVG]

I was just in for some minor things over the weekend and I was talking to my friend who is an SA. I was asking him about tunes, and he told me some of the recent horror stories. The day before a guy got hit with 5k in a minor repair that was normally taken care of. The guy had flashed back to stock, but it was flagged and he got the shaft.

The thing is, a lot of the SAs and the techs don't really care if your car is tuned, but he said AoA is on a bender to TD1 the shit out of anyone right now. He did say that they aren't really having issues with people who have extended warranties who are tuned as he has seen a number of S4s and A6s get their repairs taken care of but Audi seems to be a little ridiculous lately. So as others have said, you have to pay to play. As for me, I'm tuning my car the day the factory warranty expires

Just curious...what "minor repair" costs $5k???

[BlueSVT]

Just curious...what "minor repair" costs $5k???

On these cars? Probably just had a broken dipstick.

[tonymission]

Just curious...what "minor repair" costs $5k???

Well my wife had a "minor fender bender" in her Q7 that didn't cause any damage to the other car and I decided not to make a claim for a number of reasons.
Best price I got on the repairs was $4500... couldn't believe it. Everything plastic. Uggggh.

I understand, completely unrelated to tuning.