Buy a spare PCM?

[thiggin2]

The PCM's are on restriction and can only be ordered though TAC with a valid and verified problem.

[mercedestech]

Thanks for the clarification thiggin2.......my conversation with my dealer was back in march...and supposedly they were able to be purchased then. I suspect my dealer wasn't the only one to suggest this...and hence the reason they are now restricted! I would think they would be available to the public for crate motor installs etc.....and that the TAC approval would be for PCM's a dealer was trying to warranty.....but who knows.

[alfie43]

Originally Posted by mercedestech

I don't think minor mods such as these should void anything. If I was running turbos, nitrous, superchargers etcc...then I would not expect a warranty of anykind and the "pay to play" mentality is perfectlly acceptable. But I do not agree with 40-50hp worth of bolt ons with a tune completely leaving you without a driveline warranty. I only have 4k miles on my 2ss/rs, and might forgoe the tune until I'm sure the driveline is sound and without any issues (maybe the 10-12k mark)...that way I don't have to worry about any of this. If something was going to break due to manufacturer defects...I suspect it would do it before then.

I'm not looking for my warranty to cover damage from modifications, but don't want to pay for any defects that pop up after I have tuned that would have failed regardless of whether it was tuned or not...does that make sense?

I follow and agree with your thinking that mild mods shouldn't void a warranty, but if you or I were the manufacturer, at what point would we stop coverage...40 HP...50 HP...60 HP? A line has to be drawn somewhere and a prudent business decision will draw it on the side of caution.

I knowingly voided my warranty at 1500 miles. I knew that I wasn't going to break my car. Seriously, when was the last time I (you) blew a motor, smoked a clutch, or broke a ring gear and didn't deserved it. When I did, I was either racing, full throttle power shifting, doing a 5000 rpm launch, or something stupid.

You asked if waiting for 12K miles makes sense. Maybe, but after 4K miles, I would think that you should feel pretty confident that your drive train is sound. It will only break....if you break it. We all know where "that line" is, when crossed, using the power becomes abusing the car.

My car makes 561 RWHP, around 640 HP at the flywheel with a stock drive train. That's more than a 200 HP increase and believe me I use it, but I don't cross "that line"...I can't afford to.

Alfie

[thiggin2]

Originally Posted by mercedestech

Thanks for the clarification thiggin2.......my conversation with my dealer was back in march...and supposedly they were able to be purchased then. I suspect my dealer wasn't the only one to suggest this...and hence the reason they are now restricted! I would think they would be available to the public for crate motor installs etc.....and that the TAC approval would be for PCM's a dealer was trying to warranty.....but who knows.

I've never seen a PCM come with a crate motor. How long the restriction will last who knows. I was dealing with a regional engineer from GM and he had a hard time trying to get a PCM, so from my experience its hard to get your hands on a new one.

[NVMY68SS]

Originally Posted by Mr_Draco

Unfortunately you can't buy them. They are only available from a GM dealer and also requires that the old ECM to be sent back to GM before the new ECM will be received. The ECM also comes preprogrammed with your vin (which you nor your dealer has the ability to overwrite) so you can't use a ECM from a wrecked Camaro.

Originally Posted by thiggin2

I've never seen a PCM come with a crate motor. How long the restriction will last who knows. I was dealing with a regional engineer from GM and he had a hard time trying to get a PCM, so from my experience its hard to get your hands on a new one.

Hmmm.......and here I was thinking about selling the spare one I picked up on eBay shortly after production started.

I still might if anyone is interested. I picked it up just because I wanted to have a spare. For whatever reason, I don't know.

[herkman]

I had a mail order tune from which company I won't mention and I had a problem to where the car wouldn't start after a cam mod. Vengeance racing went right to the GM dealer and brought back a new PCM, so as far as them being controlled I really don't think that is the case.

[Shift]

If I was a dealer and someone came in claiming a stock car but blown engine and I see clearly mods removed..

Your ass is going to jail

[Rogue Leader]

Originally Posted by NVMY68SS

Hmmm.......and here I was thinking about selling the spare one I picked up on eBay shortly after production started.

I still might if anyone is interested. I picked it up just because I wanted to have a spare. For whatever reason, I don't know.

Was it new or from a wreck?

Originally Posted by Shift

If I was a dealer and someone came in claiming a stock car but blown engine and I see clearly mods removed..

Your ass is going to jail

Yeah jail isn't gonna happen, but you can deny the warranty claim. Not worth pressing charges.

[alfie43]

Originally Posted by Shift

If I was a dealer and someone came in claiming a stock car but blown engine and I see clearly mods removed..

Your ass is going to jail

Yeah, I guess no one wants to talk about the morality, the right and wrong, or even the criminal aspect of this issue. I tried, but whoosh....over the heads.
Alfie

[ffrcobra_65]

Originally Posted by alfie43

Yeah, I guess no one wants to talk about the morality, right and wrong, or even the criminal aspect of this issue. I tried, but whoosh....over the heads.
Alfie

what's laughable is that people would actually post/solicit input on how to perform a scam.

[mercedestech]

Originally Posted by Shift

If I was a dealer and someone came in claiming a stock car but blown engine and I see clearly mods removed..

Your ass is going to jail

I didn't miss the morality part...you guys missed the part about my car only getting an exhaust and tune...no blower, no nitrous, no turbo...just want to make the car sound the way it should have from the factory. The tune would be just to take advantage of any additional airflow the exhaust and cold air intake would provide....no scamming...no removing mods...no stressing the engine to the point of failure then claiming it was stock when it blew up.

That's my whole point....gm will remove my powertrain warranty for making it sound like a muscle car and freeing up a few ponies. I think if a failure ocurred after having these minor modifications, the owner should have the right to have the tune and mods reviewed by an engineer to validate the damage was due to the mods. If it's found they were the cause...the owner should pay for the engineers time and foot the bill for the repair...if not, GM should fix the car.

I work on $100,000 Mereceds-Benz vehicles everyday for a living, and have never once had Mercedes not pay for a repair to a vehicle's drivetrain due to mild mods. (And yes Mercedes owners love to mod their SL 63's, E 55's etc.....and yes ocassionally they break). For the most part the dealer is allowed to judge if the mods caused the issue....and even if the dealer or Benz finds faults in the modifications done, the client pays for the repair and leaves with thier warranty still intact.