AP and tuner shop question...

Has anybody with an Accessport reflashed back to stock and then brought their car into the dealer for maintenance? If so, did the dealer notice anything had been done to the ecu? I'm in the market for one by the end of the summer, but I have the extended warrranty on the car and it would be really stupid to void the warranty with only 6,000 miles on the car. Also, does anybody know of any good performance shops in either the Baltimore, MD area or the Westechester County, NY area? I'm talking a shop with a dyno and highly qualified tuners as well. I live in Westchester, but go to school in Baltimore and can have my work done just as easily in either place. Thanks in advance for any help!

Our dealership sells the AP and has no problem with warranty related issues! They sell new cars with the AP installed and will finance it in with the price.

The concensus is that the dealer cannot detect the AP with their current equipment - assuming you "divorce" it completely from your car before taking it in (as opposed to simply reverting to a "stock" base or realtime map). Having said that, anytime you modify your car you should be prepared to deal with the potential ramifications that said modification may have on your factory warranty.

 

As the saying goes... "You have to pay to play"

littlesilvermax is on to something though, more and more Subie dealers are becoming very Cobb-friendly. Our dealer will honor our warranty if all our mods and tuning are Cobb. They even sell Cobb stage 1 and 2 modded Subies right off the lot. I thought it was cause they're here in SLC, but I've heard this story in Dallas and elsewhere, so it's best to find a mod-friendly dealer.

 

Otherwise, you can divorce your AP from your ECU and it will be undetectable. Just remember, you only have so many flashes on your ECU (I forget how many, can anyone help me out?), so it's not something you'll want to do once a week.

Thanks for the replies fellas. I know I got to pay to play, I'd just like to limit the possibility of paying as much as possible. My friend has a wrx and the Suby dealer near him in Boulder, CO has a whole tuning department apparently that will warranty any work they do. Anyone else have any experiences?

I have heard 100 flashes, which seems to be pretty enough....

 

Flavio Zanetti

Boston, MA

Check around...

 

I recently changed dealerships where I get serviced.

 

The dealership where I bought the car refused to install pinks and said they would void my warranty - which was kinda odd seeing as they were perfectly willing to sell them to me. (Idiots - they also refused to relace a wiper blade for me once.)

 

The dealership where I go now is more "receptive" shall we say... "I noticed the downpipe" (Like how could they miss it, right?) "You going to do a catback too?" You just gotta find a tuner friendly shop and show them that you make quality aftermarket descisions.

 

Hey, you're in partnership with your tech, whoever it is, and I'm not going to hide anything.

 

Not that I could.

 

From outside the car

Triple Digits, your car sounds sick! What kind of downpipe do you have? I gotta bring my car in for the 5,000 mile service soon, I guess I'll just have to see what they say before I do anything. It doesn't matter that much anyway since there's no way I'll be able to control myself forever and not mod the car...

I have heard 100 flashes, which seems to be pretty enough....

 

Flavio Zanetti

Boston, MA

 

I don't mean to hijack but this is from Cobb's site"

 

"Due to limitations within the ECU's flash memory, one can only successfully reprogram it approximately 100 times. In response to this challenge, our engineers developed a LIMITLESS Map Switching system. This means you can switch between maps as often as you like quickly, easily, and without ever reducing the life of your ECU's flash memory."

 

So I am not sure if the 100 flash limit is fact or fiction. I guess when I am going to buy I will call and ask more details. In the interim it appears 100 is NOT the limit.

 

 

 

Now.... back to our regularly scheduled program....

Triple Digits, your car sounds sick! What kind of downpipe do you have? I gotta bring my car in for the 5,000 mile service soon, I guess I'll just have to see what they say before I do anything. It doesn't matter that much anyway since there's no way I'll be able to control myself forever and not mod the car...

 

Scour this thread and all will be revealed -

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14666&page=1&pp=10

I don't mean to hijack but this is from Cobb's site"

 

"Due to limitations within the ECU's flash memory, one can only successfully reprogram it approximately 100 times. In response to this challenge, our engineers developed a LIMITLESS Map Switching system. This means you can switch between maps as often as you like quickly, easily, and without ever reducing the life of your ECU's flash memory."

 

So I am not sure if the 100 flash limit is fact or fiction. I guess when I am going to buy I will call and ask more details. In the interim it appears 100 is NOT the limit.

 

 

 

Now.... back to our regularly scheduled program....

 

Their statement concerning "limitless map switching" refers to their realtime map technology, which isn't a true reflash of the eprom. I think you'll find that 100 times is the maximum they recommend you change base maps, which are an actual reflash. You have to install the Cobb AP to utilize the realtime map switching technology.

 

BTW, that 100 times is a limitation on some of the older Subaru ECU's. Nobody seems to be sure what the new ones can handle, but it's safe to say that it should be at least 100. I think the guys at Cobb will tell you they have way over 100 flashes on their project Legacy GT and still going strong...

Also they cant void your warranty. Its against the law. They can however deny coverage on certain items if they beleive your aftermarket device caused the problem.

 

You can have the motor completely built with a GT42 Twinscroll on it with standalone engine management.

 

They will still have to fix the blown shock or malfunctioning radiator fan. Given that these items are stock and non related to your mods.

 

However If you grenade the tranny that can be linked back to the 700 or so horsepower you are pushing and it would not be covered by the warranty.

 

Technically they would have to prove that the item in question caused the problem. Its really up to the dealer though. It is at thier discrecion. They can NEVER null and void your warranty. If they refuse coverage, your warranty is still good with the many subaru dealer in north america and at that same dealership for other aspects of the car they choose to cover.

 

So back to somthing more relevant....

 

If you go to dealer A with an engine problem they may refuse to honor the warranty because of your accessport. However they can't void your warrany.

 

You can then go to dealer B which is cobb friendly and they may choose to honor your warrany.

Thanks RobY, thats basically how I understood it, but I figured something like a blown intercooler hose that could potentially be caused by the increased boost with the AP would fit into the category of "we don't need to fix it". Proving that it did not cause the problem, should they choose to refuse fixing it, would force me into a legal situation I'm definitely not prepared to handle. Whatever, I'm gonna do it soon regardless and hope everything functions properly.

The dealership where I bought the car refused to install pinks and said they would void my warranty

 

If you ever hear this from a car dealership in any context, you should immediately ask to speak with the service manager or general manager. This is an illegal practice, don't tolerate it. A dealership can't simply "void" your warranty for a modification to the car. They can refuse to cover a warranty claim if they have evidence that a modification caused it though.

What is the name of one of the dealerships that honor the cobb and has anyone ever had any problems with the AP?