Hi all,

Long time lurker here.

So long story short. I used FDV level 1 (software-based) to tune my 997.1 2009 Turbo which was under warranty for 2 years.

On warranty renewal, Porsche service center inspected the car and noticed range 6 revs recorded (car is auto) which made them further dig into the readings.

They figured out that the car has been tuned and voided my warranty, which really pissed me off. FVD claims that it's undetectable and it's good for warranty renewal.

Questions come to mind:

- How did the car reach range 6 rev?
- Why do they claim it's undetectable?
- What would be the right course of action against FVD provided that resale value of the car now tanked?

Cheers.

 

Did you remove the tuned file before the car was inspected?

 

A stage one tune won't allow anything even approaching a range 6 over rev. Something crazy had to happen to pull that off on an automatic car. Also, your warranty is voided because of your very, very high recorded over rev, not the tune, IMO. That's a much bigger deal than a mild stage one flash.

 

I get what you are saying here, but it's possible that P's position is that were it not for the tune, the over-revs wouldn't exist. They'd be hard-pressed to deny responsibility for over-revs on an automatic car that has NOT been tuned.

 

"FVD claims that it's undetectable and it's good for warranty renewal"
"Why do they claim it's undetectable?"

It seems he's saying is FVD should responsible because the tune was detected and that's why I asked if he removed the modded file before the car was inspected.

The way it suppose to work....FVD suggests if you use their modded file then you should remove it and go back to your original unmodded file before taking the car in for service

The number of times that the owner changed from original file to the modded file and back suppose to be undetectable.

 

i also bought FVD level 1 tune for my 997.1TT, TIP, on their Feb sale in 2013 at great discount.
Before i bought tune i contacted Rhonda to get specifics on the tune & if it could be detected, as my car was under CPO warranty. She advised that when you flash back to stock even their digital signatures are from
Porsche so they cannot tell. However i also read on forum that while this maybe true (some argued that it was not), if Porsche does an investigation & digs into the car's files- even if it is flashed back to stock, they would be able to tell that something had been done.

Even though my car is long out of CPO warranty, whenever i take car to Porsche for any reason I've always flashed my ECU back to stock file & also take out my DSC unit & replace it with the stock PASM.
Even though my car is a TIP & i asked FVD to keep my Rev at stock level on their tune (understood they normally incr rpm level by 200rpms) I've noticed that i have some type 1 overrevs & also some level 2 overrevs. Nothing beyond type 2 though- FVD said this is normal & allowed.

 

I'd love to know how range 6s would be possible in an automatic transmission. Never seen it before. Did they supposedly happen during your ownership, according to the hour counter? It has to be some weird glitch in communication between the tune and transmission, I'd think. Are there the accompanying ranges 3-5, too? How many?

 

Exactly. How the car reached range 6 is beyond me. Maybe something was messed up in the tuning file provided by FVD.

 

Yes it's definitely during my ownership. I bought the car 2 years ago, renewed warranty (it was out of warranty). It had 0 over revs at the time.

It's at this point where I tuned it.

I don't have the details but the range 6 was recorded. Asked them for the full report and I'm now waiting for it (if they are allowed to give it out).

 

I denied that the car was tuned obviously, but they were confident that it was. Hence, they didn't grant the renewal.

 

You seem to be taking FVD's side even while being totally oblivious to the fact that the car had reached range 6. That's the tip off right there. Whatever I say is irrelevant. I kept denying the car is tuned but they won't listen.

 

That was a wise ask - keeping the rev level as it was. I'm now stuck with a 09 car with no warranty that I'll probably end up keeping forever because of the 'reliability' of FVD tune.

 

I asked earlier....did you revert the car back to stock before it was inspected?

 

Is this a good or bad thing....keeping the car forever? I am going to keep my '09 until my arms fall off...but it's a MT. Not too many with warranty floating around.

 

I'd wait to see the DME report. See if the range 6 over revs are an error. Can't imagine an automatic car rev'ing (even wheel spinning) to >9000 rpm.
Value lost is subjective. Most 997.1s won't have any warranty anyway and if so it'll be an aftermarket warranty worth 2.5-5k. As for resale with a range 6 over rev, that might be a bigger hit if not an error. Their tune shouldn't have affected whether a range 6 over rev would occur or not occur however; unless they completely screwed it up and removed the limiter.
post the DME. Dealer should give it to you.