dreamcar2012

Hi everyone,
What is stage 1 and stage 2? i see a lot of talk about it, and makes me nervous since my A4 is at 43,000 miles and the warranty will run out soon!

gunsmoker

Stage 1&2 ECU tune or oil consumption fix?

ghag

As I know it...

Stage 1 is ECU upgrade "chipped"
Stage 2 is Stage 1 + Exhaust

After that...it's up to whomever you speak with.

Stage 3 could be Turbo upgrade
Stage 4 could be motor build/bored out motor
Stage 5 911 TT (just kidding...kinda)

gunsmoker

Stage 2 is Stage 1 without a cat, i.e. with a test pipe.

dreamcar2012

is that covered under warranty and do i just call the dealer and tell them i want an ECU upgrade?

markinarch

I think she is talking about the oil consumption fix and not the performance tuning. The performance tuning that gunsmoker and ghag refer to and describe are different levels or performance upgrades that aftermarket tuners can apply to your ECU and give you more power. The most common are from APR, Stasis and REVO and cost anywhere from $500 to $1500 per stage.
The oil consumption stage 1 and 2 which I believe is what you are asking about is a “fix” to the oil burning characteristics of the 2.0T. If you are constantly having to add oil (every 1000 miles or so) you can take your car to the dealer and they will do the stage one fix (hopefully without any argument). They will tell you to come back after like 700 miles or something to see how much you have burned and if it is too much they will do the stage 2 fix which includes new pistons I believe. I had stage one done, which only replaces some seals and a valve, and it seems to have fixed my problem for now. If you have oil burning issues take it to the dealer before the warranty runs out or it could be coming out of your pocket. Heck just tell them you are burning too much oil even if you aren’t and they should do stage one just bc it isn’t that difficult.

dreamcar2012

Hi there! yes, that is exactly what i was talking about...what you just said! I did have a problem like that when i just got my car and i did bring it to the dealer and the problem was solved. I had an oil change about 5,000 miles ago and i have not had to add oil at all.

markinarch

great! you should be good to go then.