Took car in for timing belt insptection and to fix a persistent CEL after getting repeated codes for a bad CAT. Shop (Prestiege) called and is asking if its been modified, which is has, an MTM chip. Any validity that the chip may be causing the error codes on the CAT? Dont have the exact code but its something to the effect of cat is operating out side of paramaters.

They want 120$ to cealr the codes and run a test plan to see if it returns...

Thouhgts?

for me in the past, its the re-occuring CEL that is tied to the CAT that I'm questioning and want to have replaced under warranty.

cart before the horse no?

Or that's what the dealer service dept is going to say

apparently there is a TSB on the CAT where they need to update the ECM version which basically gives you greater toleraces on the emissions system...they wont cover the CAT until this update is done, NOR will the cover the cost of said update...upate is like 70$...However I cant do the update with the MTM chip..soo..FVCK......called Hoppen Motorsports and waiting for a return call....

Fun.

warranty.

I had tested a confirmed myself that I had a bad cat with VAG-COM using <a href="http://forums.audiworld.com/vag/msgs/13072.phtml" target="_new">this procedure</a>.

My dealer needed to <a href="http://forums.audiworld.com/vag/msgs/13196.phtml" target="_new">reflash my ECU due to a TSB</a> with updated software and test the cat with this update.

Basically, I'm pretty sure a dealer needs/wants to see a stored fault code before they do any work. Standard procedure would be to clear the fault code and do diagnostic testing to confirm the fault code reappears with their VAG-COM tool. Verifying the fault code reappears pretty much tells them the fault is legit.

If they clear the fault code for the bad cat, verify the fault code returns, and replace the cat under any kind of warranty, they should not charge you for the fault code clearing or any diagnostic work. Those things appear because the cat is bad, and is under warranty. Warranty work and any associated diagnoses work that confirms the cat is bad should be covered under the warranty replacement.

In my situation, the dealer SA specifically said that if the cat tested OK after the ECU reflash, everything would be covered by the warranty. That included the ECU reflash and anything else they did (like diagnosing and code clearing via their VAG-COM tool) to properly service my car for the warranty cat work.

About the fact you have MTM chipped ECU.....that can go either way depending on the dealer. If you fight it, you can probably get the cat covered under warranty. They have to tell you exactly how the tuned chip caused the cat to go bad (excess oil blowby, too lean or rich fuel mixture, etc). Some dealers make you fight it pretty hard to get warranty -- their service rate is about $50/hr higher when you pay for it compared to the service rate they can charge back to AoA, not to mention that AoA also specifies a set book time for the job, whereas the dealer could pad you extra time over that. Some dealers play hardball to get that better service rate.

Good luck.

drop me an email..

gobuffs05@gmail.com