I've got 30 minutes to burn before I break for Valentines day, and thought this might be interesting reading to a few of you.
I've grown pretty weary of trying to find fixes for the PCM issue. Maybe it's waking up every morning and staring a the 2.93 pulley, the GB belt, the Anodized TB, and the Diablo chip :shrug: ;-) Throw in the cost for a PCM, the hassle of having to use the NGS tool, and the general concern over this, and I've basically run out of patience.
I went to a local dealership today, with the intentions of hearing what some senior service writers had to say about the whole chipping/PCM stuff. I went this morning, and spoke to a guy I've seen up there before, though I don't remember his name. Basically, I walked in with a stupid look on my face, I shortened up my vocabulary to words no larger than two syllables, I slouched, and pretty much did whatever I could to appear meek, timid, and generally slackjawed and stupid
My introduction to the subject went like this:
"I've bought several cars from you guys over the past years, and I'm hoping you can help me out with your superior expertise (Working hard not to crack a smile, or show my sarcasm). I've never done any aftermarket stuff to my cars. I bought this new fast 03 Cobra, and found out about a thing called a "Dyno", and wanted to see if this car actually made the power they advertise. When I did, the mechanics at the shop said something like my tune was off? Like my air and fuel weren't at the right mix? And that it should be corrected or my car will suffer eventually. So I asked what I could do. They told me an easy fix would be to get some kind of chip, and that would take care of the problem. So I said "sure!", and they did it.
Well, a week ago, I started looking for information on these Cobra's on the net, and found out that putting a chip in my car could hurt my warranty. When I found that out, I went right back to the shop, yelled at them, and demanded they remove the chip, since I didn't want to risk my warranty. That's why I bought a new car! (All the while I was working myself into a minor tizzy, to solidify my ruse as an imbecile) Then they told me that the work they did to put in the chip couldn't be undone, so there would be proof that it was put in there. I told them I didn't care, and to remove it.
So, Jim, here's why I"m here. I'm scared and nervous about my warranty. I bought my car because it's fast. If I wanted all this extra performance, I would have spent money to fix up my old Cobra. I don't want to lose my warranty, so if I bring in my car someday and they see this work done, wherever it was done, am I in trouble?" (Insert the "Deer caught in the headlights" look)
He told me "You got bad advice. No performance shop is more quallified than we are when it comes to these cars. They can't possibly know that the A/F mixture is off, so you got suckered. (Insert downtrodden look on my face). So here's what you do. You keep that chip out, you drive it, and you forget about it. If something ever happens, they have to prove that something caused the damage (blah blah blah.....we know this story by heart). So unless those guys in back can prove damage, your fine. Just make sure that there's no evidence of aftermarket stuff on your car, and they won't put the blame on you."
At this point, I professed my most heartfelt gratitude, shook his hand heartily, proceeded around the corner, and laughed like a school kid:lol1:
I then found another service writer on the inside of the dealership, and repeated my earlier performance. He said nearly the identical thing.
Now this got me to thinkin', are we stressing ourselves out over covering our tracks? I'm the first to raise my hand as guilty, since I've been doing whatever I could to cover my tracks. But I'm beginning to think that a good acting job, and a little common sense, will go every bit as far as spending hundreds, or even thousands of dollars, in trying to mask our scent.
With a pulley puller, the stock airbox, the stock TB, and a clearing of any codes, we can make the car look perfectly normal, no?
See, here's my problem. I've found that the NGS tool, which has been purchased by locksmiths throughout our cities, can do everything we need when swapping in a different PCM. I've contacted the tech support of the NGS tool, and he's given me written directions on the EXACT procedure to program the PATS system to make the car start. But frankly, I would anticipate my car maybe having one serious problem in the next 5 years, so is all the worry, and constant swapping of the PCM worth it?
It looks like, for the most part, that as long as we do our homework in putting most of our engine back to stock, we're going to be fine.
Truthfully, how many of us have actually been denied warranty work for a scraped PCM? I was thinking about this last night, and I really can't remember seeing one instance of this. If it has happened to you, please let us know so we can prepare ourselves appropriately
JB, if I remember correctly, your on the management side of this issue. Feel free to chime in here.
Is there really a big point to this thread? Not in the truest sense of the word. But I know alot of us are stressing over this, and I"m beginning to think we're losing some of the joy of our cars, simply because we're worrying too much. Maybe it's just me that feels this way, then again, maybe not.....
I've grown pretty weary of trying to find fixes for the PCM issue. Maybe it's waking up every morning and staring a the 2.93 pulley, the GB belt, the Anodized TB, and the Diablo chip :shrug: ;-) Throw in the cost for a PCM, the hassle of having to use the NGS tool, and the general concern over this, and I've basically run out of patience.
I went to a local dealership today, with the intentions of hearing what some senior service writers had to say about the whole chipping/PCM stuff. I went this morning, and spoke to a guy I've seen up there before, though I don't remember his name. Basically, I walked in with a stupid look on my face, I shortened up my vocabulary to words no larger than two syllables, I slouched, and pretty much did whatever I could to appear meek, timid, and generally slackjawed and stupid
My introduction to the subject went like this:
"I've bought several cars from you guys over the past years, and I'm hoping you can help me out with your superior expertise (Working hard not to crack a smile, or show my sarcasm). I've never done any aftermarket stuff to my cars. I bought this new fast 03 Cobra, and found out about a thing called a "Dyno", and wanted to see if this car actually made the power they advertise. When I did, the mechanics at the shop said something like my tune was off? Like my air and fuel weren't at the right mix? And that it should be corrected or my car will suffer eventually. So I asked what I could do. They told me an easy fix would be to get some kind of chip, and that would take care of the problem. So I said "sure!", and they did it.
Well, a week ago, I started looking for information on these Cobra's on the net, and found out that putting a chip in my car could hurt my warranty. When I found that out, I went right back to the shop, yelled at them, and demanded they remove the chip, since I didn't want to risk my warranty. That's why I bought a new car! (All the while I was working myself into a minor tizzy, to solidify my ruse as an imbecile) Then they told me that the work they did to put in the chip couldn't be undone, so there would be proof that it was put in there. I told them I didn't care, and to remove it.
So, Jim, here's why I"m here. I'm scared and nervous about my warranty. I bought my car because it's fast. If I wanted all this extra performance, I would have spent money to fix up my old Cobra. I don't want to lose my warranty, so if I bring in my car someday and they see this work done, wherever it was done, am I in trouble?" (Insert the "Deer caught in the headlights" look)
He told me "You got bad advice. No performance shop is more quallified than we are when it comes to these cars. They can't possibly know that the A/F mixture is off, so you got suckered. (Insert downtrodden look on my face). So here's what you do. You keep that chip out, you drive it, and you forget about it. If something ever happens, they have to prove that something caused the damage (blah blah blah.....we know this story by heart). So unless those guys in back can prove damage, your fine. Just make sure that there's no evidence of aftermarket stuff on your car, and they won't put the blame on you."
At this point, I professed my most heartfelt gratitude, shook his hand heartily, proceeded around the corner, and laughed like a school kid:lol1:
I then found another service writer on the inside of the dealership, and repeated my earlier performance. He said nearly the identical thing.
Now this got me to thinkin', are we stressing ourselves out over covering our tracks? I'm the first to raise my hand as guilty, since I've been doing whatever I could to cover my tracks. But I'm beginning to think that a good acting job, and a little common sense, will go every bit as far as spending hundreds, or even thousands of dollars, in trying to mask our scent.
With a pulley puller, the stock airbox, the stock TB, and a clearing of any codes, we can make the car look perfectly normal, no?
See, here's my problem. I've found that the NGS tool, which has been purchased by locksmiths throughout our cities, can do everything we need when swapping in a different PCM. I've contacted the tech support of the NGS tool, and he's given me written directions on the EXACT procedure to program the PATS system to make the car start. But frankly, I would anticipate my car maybe having one serious problem in the next 5 years, so is all the worry, and constant swapping of the PCM worth it?
It looks like, for the most part, that as long as we do our homework in putting most of our engine back to stock, we're going to be fine.
Truthfully, how many of us have actually been denied warranty work for a scraped PCM? I was thinking about this last night, and I really can't remember seeing one instance of this. If it has happened to you, please let us know so we can prepare ourselves appropriately
JB, if I remember correctly, your on the management side of this issue. Feel free to chime in here.
Is there really a big point to this thread? Not in the truest sense of the word. But I know alot of us are stressing over this, and I"m beginning to think we're losing some of the joy of our cars, simply because we're worrying too much. Maybe it's just me that feels this way, then again, maybe not.....
