Mods, dealerships, & extended warranties

[Mr_Hooper]

I know there's (old) threads on this topic, but I wanted to see if any of you have had success with scheduled maintenance, while having aftermarket components installed. I've only added a CIA (which can be removed prior to trip to the dealership), but if I intend to go down the road of exhaust, chip, etc., I'm curious if...

1) What have you had success not throwing flags on diagnostic tools?
2) If you've broached the conversation with your dealership, who did you broach it with? Your sales guy or the service manager?

Any other thoughts that are more recent than the most recent thread of 2+ years ago.

[14S4GWM]

Ive been in with an exhaust a few times and have never been questioned about it nor did I ask about it. I also have sways on and they have never said anything about that either. If I was going in for something about the suspension then they might say something. As far as the intake I change it when I need to make a visit.

[4wheelpilot]

Based on what i have read, there are a lot of variables...and it can also depend on the reason you are bringing the car into the dealership.
A few (simplified) scenarios...
1. if there's no reason for them to hook up their diagnostic tool to your ecu, they wouldn't know if you have a tune.
2. if they're not looking under your car/putting it on their lift, they wouldn't know if you have aftermarket sway bars or suspension.
3. if they don't need to lift your hood, then they wouldn't see a cai.
Of course, if you dropped the S4 or had different exhaust tips or had a stage 2 tune and they took it out for a test drive or other obvious changes, it might cause a flag of some consequence.
Basic principle of aftermarket stuff...it should at most void a only part of the warranty related to the part.
Seems like any performance enhancing changes would be at the top of the list as far as getting flagged since they could put additional stresses on major systems.
Most obviously, an ECU tune could put more stress on the transmission. So if any problem develops with the DSG, the dealership can and will attribute it to your ECU tune.
If you have an engine issue, Audi may be able to attribute the problem to a CAI.
In addition, the degree of a particular dealership's aggressiveness to look for and flag can vary.
Any performance mods, if detectable/detected, increase the likelihood of being flagged and the risk of a lot of potential aggravation.

[Thurston]

I personally would not be concerned with an intake or exhaust voiding much but sure technically it can. It is my understanding that audi can now detect chip tunes like the chipwerke pro per a recent thread posted on here so it seems the best bet might just be to go with an established tuner of your choice whether apr, giac, epl, uni etc and then simply flash back your stock file prior to dealership service. This may or may not work. I went w/ epl mainly because of that ability to flash back to stock. I personally don't plan on broaching w/ anyone at audi but some people may have some success stories i just don't have a working relationship whatsover. I can't speak to aftermarket warranties. I love my tune so far and will go to the dealer in 3k for the first time. Just make sure you go full stage 2 when you do pull the trigger, no half measure and it's more practical power anyways at stg2.

[phxS4]

I've been to my dealership plenty of times with my mods. No issues. I flash to stock prior to going in. Even my SA tells me to make a "stop" prior to bringing the car in. But each dealership is different. Some are cool and others aren't.

[4wheelpilot]

I personally would not be concerned with an intake or exhaust voiding much but sure technically it can. It is my understanding that audi can now detect chip tunes like the chipwerke pro per a recent thread posted on here so it seems the best bet might just be to go with an established tuner of your choice whether apr, giac, epl, uni etc and then simply flash back your stock file prior to dealership service. This may or may not work. I went w/ epl mainly because of that ability to flash back to stock. I personally don't plan on broaching w/ anyone at audi but some people may have some success stories i just don't have a working relationship whatsover. I can't speak to aftermarket warranties. I love my tune so far and will go to the dealer in 3k for the first time. Just make sure you go full stage 2 when you do pull the trigger, no half measure and it's more practical power anyways at stg2.

I've never seen a post that mentions this. And just did another search.
How can a chipwerke pro piggyback be detected if it is removed before going to a dealership?
Please give us a link to the post you read...I'm curious to find out.

[switchedstance]

I've never seen a post that mentions this. And just did another search.
How can a chipwerke pro piggyback be detected if it is removed before going to a dealership?
Please give us a link to the post you read...I'm curious to find out.

Speculation at best. Someone posted the below image, which applies to the MBQ platform. If you remove the tuning box and clear your logs, there is no chance of detection.

[jlaudio]

It's really quite simple. If they hook your car up to the scanner (which they are required to do for any service related visit due to service campaigns or recalls) and your ECU has been modified, you are TD1. All they do is compare ECU checksum values against what the Audi computer tells them. If it doesn't match, you are auto flagged by Audi. At that point the individual dealer cannot help with the TD1 flag.

If they don't hook you up to the computer, they can manually flag TD1 via a visual inspection. Intake's, Exhaust, suspension components, can all prompt a manual TD1.

Piggyback/Chipwerke tunes are easy to spot. All they have to do is scan the car for variables that exceed manufacturer specs. If you don't clear logs that's very easy to do. If anything is out of line, your TD1'd.

Bottom line is that if you want to maintain your warranty don't mod the car. It's the only way to guarantee that you will be covered.

people on here love to quote the magnusson act that applies to aftermarket car parts... that only works if you are willing to lawyer up.

[whiped]

The picture posted above as of right now does not apply to our cars.

It was posted as more of an FYI in case the ECU changes they may be able to detect it.

Only potential issue you will run into is if you don't clear your logs as jlaudio stated.

For example, I get the following error fairly frequently: P0219 - Maximum Engine Speed Exceeded (Engine Warranty VOID! ☺ )

I believe this is because in B8.5 DSG cars the max engine RPM is capped at 6,500. Mine is set at 7,000 through a tune so anytime I am in manual mode and exceed 6,500 RPMs it throws the fault.

The fault is not visible on the dash but, pops up with a timestamp and mileage when checking the log.

[Mr_Hooper]

Great feedback all-around. Appreciate it!

[PSUGOLD]

I flash back to stock before any dealer service, but have never had an issue with exhaust, intake, springs, etc... causing TD1. I also make sure to only take my car to the dealer when 100% necessary for warranty work that would cost more at my local mechanic than the cost of flashing back to stock and reflashing which is nearly $350 total. I do it before Audi Care service and any recall work, but I try to do that all at the same time. Oil changes and minor work is always done at my local shop who has worked on my car before.

[phxS4]

I flash back to stock before any dealer service, but have never had an issue with exhaust, intake, springs, etc... causing TD1. I also make sure to only take my car to the dealer when 100% necessary for warranty work that would cost more at my local mechanic than the cost of flashing back to stock and reflashing which is nearly $350 total. I do it before Audi Care service and any recall work, but I try to do that all at the same time. Oil changes and minor work is always done at my local shop who has worked on my car before.

Damn 350 for a flash to stock and back is crazy!

[PSUGOLD]

Damn 350 for a flash to stock and back is crazy!

Tell me about it... 90 minutes charged labor each time @ 105 per hour at AWE Tuning. Only place around that does GIAC tuning anywhere within 2 hours of me. Its trash but I am pretty much stuck.