ECU Flash/Tune Void Warranty?

[CaliSting]

There are some reputable tuners who actually will sell you warranty on their mild tunes but most just enjoy pocketing your money and letting you pay for consequences of running their experiments with your engine.

For me I’m satisfied running tank of half 101 octane race gas and half 91 oct premium fuel as stock tune seems to optimize for higher octane. Car gets a kick from that combo. I’m just not willing to risk warranty and I’d say more and more Dealers of turbocharged cars are getting smarter and smarter about cars coming in with blown motors that have had boost turned up with tune yet ECU appears to have stock tune. So higher risk you won’t get warranty repairs.

Funniest thing I have seen is people who can least afford blowing motor with a tune are guys tuning car to crazy boost levels and guys who can afford it usually just drive oem tunes. That might be informative.

 

[JAYP]

If you have to ask how much or will it voids your warranty You can Not afford to play. Be happy with what you have or win the lottery!!!!

 

[Flaniganskywalker]

Hello All,

Just got off the phone with 3 dealerships and they all told me CAI, Exhaust, and Intercooler upgrade would be fine for upgrades that they dont see an issue with warranty. They would hope i get the installation done by them so they could guarantee workmanship of the products and installation.

When it came to the ECU they all said if an issue occurred with the engine or some other drive train parts they would 100% point the arrow at the ECU and void the warranty.

Any thoughts on this?

If i had my ECU tuned and I had a massive engine failure i would be floating shits creek. Is there anything that runs a data log if I were to keep a stock ECU and in case of a failure just swap them out and tow it to the dealership would they find out?

Please help.

I am also in the same boat.I do not see why a very basic stage one would affect the reliability of these cars.Even a stage 2 says it is within and uses stock parts if you want.I mean wouldn't there be more wear and tear on these engines pulling around the 5000 lb plus SUVs they put this engine in.I also want a light tune and do not want KIA to try and blame a minor ECU maybe 50 to 70 HP gain--and say that could blow a major part.The suvs also have to tow--so this makes no sense.I understand if someone really mods a car--but this car should handle some basic mods without problems--both from reliability and KIA claiming a 60hp increase detonated an engine--yet that same engine can tow 2000 to 4000 extra lbs in their SUV's with no problem.

 

[Flaniganskywalker]

There are some reputable tuners who actually will sell you warranty on their mild tunes but most just enjoy pocketing your money and letting you pay for consequences of running their experiments with your engine.

For me I’m satisfied running tank of half 101 octane race gas and half 91 oct premium fuel as stock tune seems to optimize for higher octane. Car gets a kick from that combo. I’m just not willing to risk warranty and I’d say more and more Dealers of turbocharged cars are getting smarter and smarter about cars coming in with blown motors that have had boost turned up with tune yet ECU appears to have stock tune. So higher risk you won’t get warranty repairs.

Funniest thing I have seen is people who can least afford blowing motor with a tune are guys tuning car to crazy boost levels and guys who can afford it usually just drive oem tunes. That might be informative.

A mild ECU tune should not require the boost to be upped.I also want to do a mild ECU tune.KIA had to have known this when they made the car and should address what they consider the middleground on this. A 50 to 70 HP increase is not even 20% power--this engine is in KIA suvs which weigh more then 5000lbs and can tow another several thousand--which is automatically over 20% in weight being pulled around and would be stressing the engine way more then a simple ECU tune.

 

[runner1]

If you gave your riding mower to the neighbours with a 10 year powertrain warranty, then found that neighbour had “some guy” reconfigure it....you’d be inclined to not cover warranty as well when the head gasket leaked because their “specialist” oopsed something.

not all tuners are specialists by a long shot....they cluster up cars all the time and hand back the keys to the unknowing followers who just beam at the thought Being able to say “its got a tune”, with bogus hp numbers and.

kia would not anticipate, no accept revisions to their parameters by ‘tuners’ because that’s just a horridly bad business plan to accept responsibility for other people’s work...when the tuner revised the ecu it then should be his warranty that protects you not kias.
Now, not turning up boost for a tune on this car is a ridiculous wastes of funds...you’ll spend $1000 gaining nothing, certainly not 50 hp lol.

 

[Savvas]

You don't have to get a tune just for adding performance. I am personally just looking to add bang and pop to my exhaust like the Venoster N comes from the factory. i am willing to spend more money because i like the car. I bet it will be easy to add that from the factory to the Stinger 2021 or Genesis G70 if Management thought that would sell more units or improved the demographic of the car.

I just want some bang and pops man! don't look at me funny!

 

[Houstinger1]

You don't have to get a tune just for adding performance. I am personally just looking to add bang and pop to my exhaust like the Venoster N comes from the factory. i am willing to spend more money because i like the car. I bet it will be easy to add that from the factory to the Stinger 2021 or Genesis G70 if Management thought that would sell more units or improved the demographic of the car.

I just want some bang and pops man! don't look at me funny!

Not to sound like an internet troll or anything, but if you wanted a car with bangs and pops, why didn't you get one? This car is made to be Grand Touring car. Obnoxious exhaust sounds like that are, well, obnoxious, classless, and bellow the target market intended for this car. Exhaust sounds like that belong on a used civic, which is all fine and well, but this car isn't that. As a result, finding tuners and parts to make our $50k car more like a $5k one will be challenging as there just isn't a market for it. I hope you understand. It's just business.

Look at it this way. While they are driving around with their windows down (they want you to think it's because they want to show off their system but the reality is their AC is broken) making their car pop like an old mans knees, you are doing donuts around them and stealing their women. Make what you have even better.

 

[143GovernaleBobo]

Not to sound like an internet troll or anything, but if you wanted a car with bangs and pops, why didn't you get one? This car is made to be Grand Touring car. Obnoxious exhaust sounds like that are, well, obnoxious, classless, and bellow the target market intended for this car. Exhaust sounds like that belong on a used civic, which is all fine and well, but this car isn't that. As a result, finding tuners and parts to make our $50k car more like a $5k one will be challenging as there just isn't a market for it. I hope you understand. It's just business.

Look at it this way. While they are driving around with their windows down (they want you to think it's because they want to show off their system but the reality is their AC is broken) making their car pop like an old mans knees, you are doing donuts around them and stealing their women. Make what you have even better.

Though I agree with you that the bang n pop fad sounds stupid, I disagree that it is something generally reserved for cheap cars. There are many $70k+++ Audis, Mercedes, and BMWs that ship from the factory with popcorn machines in their mufflers. It isn't a "cheap car" thing. It's a "owner has bad taste" thing.

*Disclaimer: The Germans at least do a good job with their popping exhausts. People that tune cars to try to imitate the high performance German cars are typically left with a substandard annoying cap gun sound coming out of their car's ass.

 

[Houstinger1]

Though I agree with you that the bang n pop fad sounds stupid, I disagree that it is something generally reserved for cheap cars. There are many $70k+++ Audis, Mercedes, and BMWs that ship from the factory with popcorn machines in their mufflers. It isn't a "cheap car" thing. It's a "owner has bad taste" thing.

Really? I thought that was an after the fact thing. Which ones have it? I am curious! Buddy of mine has an R8, and his is smooth as silk. Beautiful machine. Granted, it's a lambo underneath so it should be.

 

[143GovernaleBobo]

Really? I thought that was an after the fact thing. Which ones have it? I am curious! Buddy of mine has an R8, and his is smooth as silk. Beautiful machine. Granted, it's a lambo underneath so it should be.

Off the top of my head I'd say the most well known is the C43 and C63. Both have insane factory exhaust notes with pop pop pop crack BANGS. They both even have factory options to make things even louder. But as I edited my post above to clarify, they make it sound good. When someone's car doesn't have it and they try to tune it into the car more often than not the results are horrible.

For fun, here's a C63 with standard stock exhaust. The AMG Performance option is even more wild. This car can be optioned up to $90k.

And an Audi. Price can get up over $65k.

And to round things out, a $105k BMW (which can be optioned up to a ridiculous $150k)

 

[Houstinger1]

I stand corrected! Maybe my impression of that sound was different based upon my experiences of seeing people go out of their way to trick out a car that should be replaced.

 

[MerlintheMad]

"More BANG (pop/crackle) for your buck!" The new definition.

 

[Savvas]

I like this car and for the money I don’t think I could have gotten anything better. My boys love the performance but I would like more drama when driving up to the Muskokas (Ontario) where you can find some amazing roads! I only modify the car so I can enjoy it when I drive it.

Flash tune will void the warranty and even if you get a spare one they will have to open the original to clone it! There will always be signs of tampering.

 

[Savvas]

This is what it will sound like on the stinger!

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[143GovernaleBobo]

This is what it will sound like on the stinger!

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Oh God no. That truly is awful. Lmfao.

 

[hbstinger]

This is what it will sound like on the stinger!

i like that

 

[sting me]

Pops and bangs??? YES!

 

[Regs120]

lol - this was a bring back from the grave post. It's funny when I read it in retrospect that DaBears moved on to a cutom tuner platform that cost several thousand dollars w/bigger turbos and is a far cry from being concerned over warranty.

I think I am moving on from the JB4 too. Too many spark plug issues with the piggy backs and are now recommending .20 gaps. .20 gap is ridiclious and I can't imagine the vitality, or longevity, of gaping down a spark plug to .20 with no promise that even will resolve the issue.

I think a bench flash or the Motec platform might be the only way to go. The car just has shit aftermarket ability.

 

[Terry@BMS]

Too many spark plug issues with the piggy backs and are now recommending .20 gaps. .20 gap is ridiclious and I can't imagine the vitality, or longevity, of gaping down a spark plug to .20 with no promise that even will resolve the issue.

The factory ignition system is a weak point on the platform. 15k is about par for the Denso plugs. Some guys get 20-30k, others less. On gap we suggest 0.022" with the 1 step plugs, and 0.020" with the 2 step plugs. There are other plugs out there like HKS but they cost a lot more and I've had customers report similar lifespan.

In your case as I said in another thread try the updated 2580 that has been a common issue on older systems. Weak/degraded factory ignition systems are less efficient and can also trigger a JB4 safety causing a stuttering. In the newer 2580 firmware we moved that configuration over to the firmware end so we could adjust it per map. Worth a shot anyway, we've had a few guys who had misfires that the new firmware resolved.

 

[G-695273]

actually, there is a warning. when you purchase any tune, be it a piggyback or a flashed ecu, there is generally a warning saying that you are up the proverbial creek if anything goes wrong because it is not of the manufacturers coding. that being said, a piggy back tune is usually a quick way to get more performance, but, and i stress that, it is just that, it piggy backs onto the actual ecu. you are not going to get the best performance as opposed to an actual tuned ecu. but, again i stress that part, the coding of the ecu is proprietary. manufacturers don't like it when you crack open their ecu's and play around. 1) the extra performance that is usually found is what they leave behind for the next generation of that vehicle and or a special edition vehicle. and 2) they do spend the time and money to research what the engine can and cannot handle. it's not like the old days where you would pop open the "brain" insert a chip, have fun for the weekend and remove the chip when you went to the dealer complaining that your car runs like crap. ecu's will data log, not sure about kia but a buddy of mines gtr did. he went in for a scheduled tune-up, they found out he was using launch control quite regularly, why wouldn't you it was fantastic, and voided his transmission warranty. and it was legal because it stated it in the actual warranty. excessive usage of launch control.
whatever you do to your car, like i had written before, should be at your own wallets risk. if you are not willing to deal with any problems that occur, which might not happen, ex: bigger rims and tires wreaking havoc on steering components, different tunes, bigger turbos, etc, then please do not do any mods. enjoy your car as is and the 10 year warranty will take care of the rest.

An intelligent comment.... Thank you!!!