brents

We got ours done at about 4500 miles, just coincided with the APR sale in April. Took the car in for the 5000 mile service, and they did an "update." We lost all of the VagCom mods, but the APR software was still there no problem. I had locked it, but as everyone says, the dealer can't detect it and won't have any idea you have it if you put it in stock mode and lock it.

Do it while they still have the sale on, you'll be glad you did. As far as negatives, I haven't found any. Ours us a 2011 Prestige 6sp manual.

KremlinGremlin

I have APR tune, and no problems. Like poster after me said, just put it back into stock mode when I took it in.

KremlinGremlin

It might erase the tune, but most times that happens you can go back to the shop where you had it installed and they will flash you again.

I had a little bit of a different story, I got my TCU flashed because there was a TSB for the 8-speed tranny (made shifting a lot more smooth than before) but it had no impact on the flash of course.

QUA77R0

Depending on your dealer if/when it is discovered, you may very well have any ECU and engine related warranty claims denied. Numerous people with every companies ECU tunes have had issues with their ECU's locking up during the flash process. While most of the problems with B8 A4 ECU coding have been solved, only the Stasis ECU tune will still maintain your new Audi's warranty.

Do you know how much a new intake costs? I don't because it has been replaced twice under warranty. Apparently it is a common weakpoint in the 2.0TFSI when it has increased boost. I am sure that it would have cost several times the cheaper amount one pays for an APR tune. Would APR pay for them? Doubt it... They would probably tell you you need their DV. Hmmm... I'll take the simplicity of pulling into a Stasis Audi dealer and just having things dealt with.

I don't have anything against APR or any other tuner but if we are talking about a new car under warranty, the costs to you the consumer, of losing your warranty could very well exceed the cost of 10 tunes by any company. APR has some cool features. Multiple tunes, love the valet setting. I wouldn't risk invalidating the warranty on a new car though. Might as well have purchased a second hand Audi if you don't care about the warranty... The warranty is one of the main things that makes me willing to take the depreciation hit of buying a new car.

I know some people claim that the warranty is ONLY supported by individual Stasis authorized dealerships. BUT, when I went out and my car wouldn't start one morning, I put in a call to Audi Customer Service and they got a flatbed sent out to my house. Transported the car 75 miles to the nearest Stasis dealer (passing 3 "normal" Audi dealers on the way) Hello, 2011 Meteor Grey S4 as a loaner for the 9 days the Avant was in the shop.. The next week when the repairs were done, the dealer offered to deliver my car back to me if I didn't want to make the drive to pick it up... Considering the S4, I was happy to drive down one of Northern California's few remaining "autobahn's" to pick up my Avant. APR may be an excellent company but they can't match the warranty or that level of customer service.

I LOVE modified cars and my E55 AMG and EVO are nowhere near stock but they are well out of warranty...not something I would have risked while they were, no matter what Renntech or HKS could have assured me....

An acquaintance of mine lost the warranty on his 2010 BMW 335 the ONE time he forgot to remove his JuiceBox before taking it in for a simple LOF service. Who knows how they found the JB behind the glovebox. The dealer filed his warranty invalidation with BMW NA and no dealer in Southern California would touch it once they ran his VIN. He ended up dumping it on ebay...

Use unapproved mods at your own risk. Caveat emptor.

I'm sure that I'll get flamed by the APR faithful but bear this in mind... I would be HAPPY to have a multi-program APR ECU in an out of warranty car. I fully support companies that help us make our cars the way we want them. Stasis just happens to have a HUGE edge over everyone else when it comes to any Audi that is still under warranty.

KremlinGremlin

Wise words by QUA77R0. I agree with all said, but also it largely depends on your dealer. I was very wary of putting mine on and seriously considered going with Stasis but found out from multiple people that my dealership was mod friendly and will not void your warranty with APR tune. So mod at your own risk.

Turbo Freak

The APR multi program is great and it gave me an idea that they could offer a Stage 0.5 that would improve the drivability of the car without going all out.

I wrote to them with my idea recently, but did not get any feedback. They could offer a tune that could be used for Winter when you might not need all the power of the regular program or if you have cold feet about the agressive program, you could choose the less agressive one.

I know I would in order not to put too much stress on the turbo... If I want to have more fun, I would just need to select the regular 91 octane or 93 octane program.

No one else than APR could offer this with so much ease...

SeaBlue

I was told by the people that did my tune they whould just retune it for free.

SeaBlue

What effect would a tune have on your intake? I hope your not trying to say the tune would void the warranty of the whole car because if you are I'm going to say your wrong.

Sundowner

+Eleventyone on everything above.
you're gonna pay $40,000 for an A4 and then chinz a few hundred bucks on the tune?

I can see the argument in a $22k GTI where the VW dealer is gonna treat you like garbage no matter what you did or didn't do to the car, so why spend the extra money to ensure a worthless warranty from a disreputable dealer working under the aegis of a despicable brand?

For the Audi, pay the extra money so you can freely tell the servie manager to fix the damn car. and get me a cup of coffee while you're at it. Don't forget the donut. pink frosting and sprinkles.

QUA77R0

It seems that your comment is directed at my previous post.

Let's not go completely OT. This a thread about chipping our cars. If you have missed all the threads that have discussed the problems with the plastic intake manifold, do a search on "intake manifold" in this forum or at Audizine.

To briefly answer your question... I am on my second replacement of the cheap plastic manifold that seems to fail more often when boost is increased. We could start a whole new thread about it if you want...but there are already scores of them...

I never said that the "warranty of the whole car" would be invalidated...nor does that matter really. I am saying that the new car warranty for EVERYTHING that matters may be "void" (thanks I'll use your word here) if a dealer discovers that you have modified your ECU.

I better define what I mean by "EVERYTHING important":
Let's start with:
Engine: mechanical components and sensors, ancilliary components,
Electrical: ECU, all control units, wiring,
Driveline: transmission, differentials...

The list could continue but losing your new car warranty on the above items would make the initial cost of ones investment in a new car pointless to say the least.

Feel free to argue that I'm wrong. I can take it. If I am, I'll admit you taught me something.

Some people who think they understand the Magnusson Moss Act, try to take on dealerships for denying warranty claims. I hope you are independently wealthy, have an excellent contract and automotive law specialist attorney on retainer, or were top of your class in law school and are now unemployed with nothing but time on your hands to go and fight a dealership's attorneys in court. Dealerships all have attorneys on retainer and ready to knock out these cases. Basically if none of those apply to you, you are better off staying on the "good" side of your dealership than trying to "take them on." You will lose 99 times out of 100. (odds are probably much worse actually)....

Bottom line is that if you modify your ECU you risk losing significantly more than just the warranty on the ECU itself.

As KremlinGremlin pointed out, some dealers ARE mod friendly. The only concern there is, what if the dealer gets a new service manager....? Will that dealer remain mod friendly?... maybe...