I know that 'chipping' an engine will invalidate a manufacturers warranty and what I would like to know is; has anyone actually experienced this at first hand?
What I mean is, has any Back Roomer made a claim which has been rejected because the engine has been chipped?
Is it an urban myth that you will always be caught out?
No, I have not got a problem, just curious really.
|
|
I'd be just as interested in whether my insurance was invalidated.
|
Don't know anyone that's been caught out on warranty. A couple of friends have had their diesels remapped at a very modest insurance premium hike .... IIRC one was an extra £30, and the other £35.
|
A few years ago I had a Merc C270CDI chipped and about a year later the EGR Valve went. To be on the safe side I had the car 'unchipped' before having the valve replaced under warranty - don't know if the valve failure was connected to the chipping.
There's chipping and chipping. If the chipping takes the form of a plug-in box, any garage worth its salt will spot it and possibly decline a warranty claim. If the chipping takes the form of rewriting software (as mine did), the only way of spotting it is by interogation, and I'm not sure if this would routinely be done.
The people who chipped my car said that they are sometimes asked by insurers to interogate cars to see whether some accident-damaged cars have been chipped (usually otherwise modded cars - big wheels, big stereos, big fluffy dice, etc.) to give them grounds to refuse claims.
|
|
|
|
My local main dealer is an agent for Revo. They tell me they will honour the manufacturers warranty on any car they have remapped, although I did wonder what the manufacurer might have to say about it. I've had 2 cars remapped by them previously and am currently debating the merits of having my current car remapped.
I covered around 20K miles in my remapped cars and found no obvious downsides, insurance and installation costs excepted. Both cars were much quicker, especially in the mid range, with no noticeable increase in fuel consumption. The throttle also felt much more "immediate" in the diesel car I had remapped.
|
You would think that all manufacturers would be well aware of chipping and be on the look-out for signs of it, especially on a warranty claim, say for a melted piston.
I have heard much talk of the problem of warranties being invalidated, but have never met anyone who has had the experience at first hand. Everyone seems to know of someone who met a man in a pub whose brother's first cousin three times removed met a man who ..... etc, but never first hand.
|
|
|
|
I know that 'chipping' an engine will invalidate a manufacturers warranty
Not necessarily - if the chipping is undertaken by the manufacturer, or an approved partner, then it will not affect it. A good example is Saab, who have an arrangement with Hirsch. You can get most of the range chipped at Saab dealer & it has aboslutely no effect on the warranty.
|
|
Chrysler 300C warranty is also not affected if the 'chip' is the Startech SD6 unit approved by Chrysler.
|
I have chips in my car quite often.
It's quite old though and not under warranty.
Vinegar smell can linger a bit unfortunately.
|
|
Ugh - vinegar on chips - the ruination of a good chip.
|
|
|
|
