[BlaqWhole]

Originally Posted by Evansa22

But who's to say the tune on the car is stock? Not sure if this was mentioned by the op, but if the engine is stock it could still have a modified tune which makes the car non carb compliant?
I'm also not sure if the car requires a smog to sell if the 8 year smog grace period hasn't been met, but I find it hard to believe the dealership can sell you a road going car that wouldn't pass smog. I'll read the articles you posted as maybe I'm misunderstanding this new regulation and how it applies to ecu tuning.

Even if that is the case he is outside the time limit to present the car for inspection. So if he took it there within the time limit and it failed then the dealership is responsible. If he never took it there then taking it now, 5 months later, outside of the time limit, is not gonna help him.

[BlaqWhole]

Originally Posted by BBQdDude

At this point do nothing until they tell you the outcome. Once, if, the selling dealership denies any coverage ask the current dealership for stamp on ECU modding stamp. Then I would approach the selling dealership one last time prior to contacting a lawyer. After that game on!

That won't help him one bit. All it shows is that he is not the one who modded it or tuned it. However the warranty will still be void because it was tuned regardless of who tuned it or who bought it some time later. Once the vehicle is tuned, it is void.

However it could help his case if he can find some documentation from the dealership stating that they did their inspection and the ECU was found to be unmolested and has never been tuned. It's a longshot but at this point it's pretty much the only thing he has. Even if the salesman and sales manager verbally told him that the ECU was never tuned, it will still be his word against them and they are not gonna fess up. He needs something in writing to that effect along with the ECU report proving he did not tune it.

[HDRDTD]

My thoughts...

A. As far as the warranty goes, regardless if it's a 'full' warranty or not, You have to read the fine print to see just what the warranty covers. It's quite possible that the warranty covers any and all parts (other than normal wear parts), and IF the ecu had failed, it may be covered under the warranty. However I doubt that any warranty would cover the ECU because it had been re-flashed as part of a tune.

It'll be interesting to see just how the OP's situation is resolved.

My bet is that it'll be decided that he will indeed be responsible for the full cost of repairs.

But then again that's just my guess.

B. As far as GM is concerned, as soon as the ECU has been modified with a tune, it automatically voids the warranty. GM (I believe) checks some sort of a 'counter' that tells them just how many times the ECU has been flashed. Thus, a 'tuned' car voids GM's warranty.

C. as far as passing the smog test, they are the ones that only require a stock tune. It appears as though the smog people don't care if the car has been tuned in the past as long as the original tune is installed during testing.

As far as the selling dealer goes, it's quite possible that the original owner had the car tuned, then reinstalled the 'stock' tune. No idea if the original owner revealed this fact when he sold the car, possibly not.
As long as the car had the original tune when it was sold to the dealer, the dealer would be able to get the car smog certified because tyhe stock tune had been restored.

[BlaqWhole]

Originally Posted by HDRDTD

B. As far as GM is concerned, as soon as the ECU has been modified with a tune, it automatically voids the warranty. GM (I believe) checks some sort of a 'counter' that tells them just how many times the ECU has been flashed. Thus, a 'tuned' car voids GM's warranty.

The counter was in the 5th Gen days. These days the ECUs come locked from the factory. As far as I know there is nobody who has successfully found a way to unlock it and then either relock it or hide it from the dealership. And the only way to tune is to unlock it. Even if the owner purchases a separate ECU and uses that, the mileage will be off between the vehicle and the stock ECU. So that is how they find out. Because the ECU will either be unlocked or they will see some discrepancy with the miles.

A lot of times dealerships will try to scam GM thru any number of means so the car will be covered for warranty work. However a lot of times an investigator will get sent out for any major repairs to make sure there is nothing fishy going on. I had a friend who had an engine blow on a ZL1 and an investigator showed up to the dealership to check everything. Luckily he was bone stock and it was covered.

[Paulie-G]

Originally Posted by Wuiquen

I am at a lost then... are we saying that CA DMV doesnt care whether ECU has been modified in the past as long as when you go to smog, it is back to stock tune? that would be the most ridiculous law ever because anyone can bypass it..

Lol.
How could Ca. possibly decline a passing smog test if the car is stock during the test.
I leave the "off road test pipe and tuner with cables in the bed of my diesel pick up during the test.

San Diego no less. Not a small town as far as testing requirements go.
I think I've passed six tests so far this way.

[BlaqWhole]

Originally Posted by Wuiquen

I am at a lost then... are we saying that CA DMV doesnt care whether ECU has been modified in the past as long as when you go to smog, it is back to stock tune? that would be the most ridiculous law ever because anyone can bypass it..

Well they're not policing your every move day and night. They're simply inspecting the vehicle at that particular time. What you did before or after that is not their concern.

However, a police officer CAN pull you over, give you an on the spot inspection, and then have your car towed and fine you if they find it to be illegally modded or not road worthy or not street legal. Or they can remove your inspection sticker and give you a warning with a date to have your car reinspected by. They can impound your car too. Remember, a lot of these modifications are Federal offenses. I mean, it's not like they're gonna arrest everyone who mods their cars on Federal charges. But technically I guess they can.

[SFV1LE]

Originally Posted by WhiteMale

I wouldn't put it past Cali that they got in bed with GM and said let's put a stop to this and GM gave em the necessary equipment to read the ECU, tuned, re-flashed, etc.

If you can just re-flash it back to stock and pass inspection that's the dumbest but Sacramento does dumb stuff all the time

Are you saying that Cali only got in bed with GM, and this is not something they arranged with every auto mfr that sells cars in Cali? I dont know much about how Cali works with auto mfrs.

[clg82]

Originally Posted by SFV1LE

Are you saying that Cali only got in bed with GM, and this is not something they arranged with every auto mfr that sells cars in Cali? I dont know much about how Cali works with auto mfrs.

I think that's what their saying, but that seem ridiculous.

[mlee]

I'd be more pissed they stole your money for an Extended Warranty. Doesn't matter who tuned it or when it was tuned the warranty was basically voided when you purchased it. This is where things like "Certified" pre-owned would have helped in this situation.

I got an on-star report on a ZL1 I traded in about a flat tire. Called my sales guy and he said they had to change the tires to get it to pass the certification process. I couldn't believe it since the tires were barely half worn.

But yeah, you are pretty much screwed right now unless the dealer will make it right but it seems like they are scumbags that probably won't.

[Number 3]

Originally Posted by clg82

Huh? The OP is stating that the ECU has been modified per the GM dealership. And if that is the case, and he purchased it from another California dealer (which he did) than they are on the hook to make sure that the California car is smog passable when sold. Just like when, in California, you need to smog your used car first for proof before selling it.

Being smog legal is only a small part of the issue. Recalibrating the ECU has voided the warranty.

Yes, putting the original cal back would allow the car to pass the test IF there is no requirement the original cal was modified.

[Number 3]

Originally Posted by BlaqWhole

The counter was in the 5th Gen days. These days the ECUs come locked from the factory. As far as I know there is nobody who has successfully found a way to unlock it and then either relock it or hide it from the dealership. And the only way to tune is to unlock it. Even if the owner purchases a separate ECU and uses that, the mileage will be off between the vehicle and the stock ECU. So that is how they find out. Because the ECU will either be unlocked or they will see some discrepancy with the miles.

A lot of times dealerships will try to scam GM thru any number of means so the car will be covered for warranty work. However a lot of times an investigator will get sent out for any major repairs to make sure there is nothing fishy going on. I had a friend who had an engine blow on a ZL1 and an investigator showed up to the dealership to check everything. Luckily he was bone stock and it was covered.

This started when Corvette Chief Engineer Dave Hill got tired of paying warranty on modified cars, including people changing the Calibration.

For this, the dealer is required to submit a “snapshot” of the calibration file and submit it for comparison. GM apparently keeps a VIN based copy of the original.

For reference, when I added a GM calibration and fuel injectors to my Saturn Sky Redline, they had to submit the new calibration file against the VIN. Of course this was 10 years ago and I think it’s much simpler with the counter used for the number of times the calibration has been changed.

[MMC(SW) Retired]

Sorry if I missed something here, but the OP said he got a CEL for low oil pressure, loss of power and to stop driving. Had it towed and the dealer refused warranty coverage because it had been tuned. How did the conversation get turned to passing smog? Sounds to me like the oil level was low enough to warrant an issue with a supercharged engine and the ECM flagged it. Why not add or change the oil after the car cooled off and then try starting it? Unless he was driving it hard and blew the motor...

[SHE'Z 18]

When are going to get an update from the OP? Everyone is chiming in (with good info), except the OP. What’s the latest!?!?!

[Gunkk]

Originally Posted by MMC(SW) Retired

Sorry if I missed something here, but the OP said he got a CEL for low oil pressure, loss of power and to stop driving. Had it towed and the dealer refused warranty coverage because it had been tuned. How did the conversation get turned to passing smog?

Internet lawyers trying to help the OP with an angle (albeit narrow) to get the fix on his car paid for by the dealer for selling him a car that (potentially?) won't pass smog. Which I guess is a thing in CA.

Originally Posted by MMC(SW) Retired

Sounds to me like the oil level was low enough to warrant an issue with a supercharged engine and the ECM flagged it. Why not add or change the oil after the car cooled off and then try starting it? Unless he was driving it hard and blew the motor...

Yes, if the only thing that caused the limp mode was low oil, then this is what the OP could have done before getting it towed in the first place.