Did something stupid, left OFT E85 tune in while bringing car for service

[tracerit]

I've had this squeaky clutch for a while now and have been meaning to bring it in to get it looked at. There's only one dealership I'm willing to go to now and it's far from me but this week I'm staying at my sister's place and I passed the dealership on the way to work. Decided to drop in and have them look at it. The tech mentioned that it maybe the throwout bearing and another part needing lube. I agreed to let them work on it after being told it'll be covered under warranty.

As I'm walking out to my car to get the sunglasses, the techs looked a bit confused with their computer. They asked if I made any changes and I had an "oh shit" moment. Luckily I still have the Grimspeed Intake on and told them it was a tune for that, rather than me running E85. Hopefully no one can smell the E85 :/

I'm now concerned they'll invalidate my powertrain warranty after investigating and determining it's not just the MAF change but that I'm also tuned to run on E85. Does that invalidate my ENTIRE powertrain warranty and they won't cover the clutch work? Or will they still cover the clutch work unless they can prove the ECU changes caused the squeaky clutch (highly unlikely).

If they do fix the squaky clutch and make no comments about the ECU, then all is good. However if they do mention it, but will still work on the clutch then i'll have learned a lesson to not be so careless next time. If they decide to invalidate my entire warranty... well i'm going to probably cry for a day then might as well look into supercharging.

[raven1231]

They might make note of it and not saying anything to you. It could very well impact any future powertrain/fuel warranty problems. Then again they might not care and just fix whatever's wrong or have you come back in at a later date for a repair. Likely just have to wait and see what they say.

[continuecrushing]

which stealership you go to?

[ZOMFGAARON]

If they don't offer service they'll need to provide you proof that the modification you did caused the issue.

More info here. https://www.sema.org/sema-enews/2011...ermarket-parts


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[MisterSheep]

Originally Posted by ZOMFGAARON

If they don't offer service they'll need to provide you proof that the modification you did caused the issue.

More info here. https://www.sema.org/sema-enews/2011...ermarket-parts


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Aggreed with the above. They have to prove that you changing to E85 was the problem for your clutch (unlikely). If they do question you, you can say that you switched to E85 to use less fossil fuels and hurt the environment less. E85=Flex Fuel and all you're doing is protecting the environment

[why?]

You're in California so they wouldn't be dumb enough to try and say a tune invalidates a clutch. To be honest subaru goes above and beyond making it easy for people to re-tune the cars, so I don't see how they can ever have a problem with it, but then again they are dealerships...

[KenTK808]

bummers

[Turbo95eg6]

Kiss it goodbye

[zc06_kisstherain]

it's just clutch adjustment. so i think you'll be ok

[JS + BRZ]

It all depends like others have said.

Keep us posted with the squeaky clutch issue.

The dealership that I went in for my squeaky clutch said it's not bad enough for them to work on it. They said I still have a lot of warranty left in the car, so told me to bring it back when it gets worse. sigh...

[Koa]

@steve99 can chime in, but I don't believe they can see that you indeed have tuned your car for E85 unless they do a fuel test?

[raven1231]

Originally Posted by Koa

@steve99 can chime in, but I don't believe they can see that you indeed have tuned your car for E85 unless they do a fuel test?

It's a hard smell to miss though lol

[stugray]

Originally Posted by MisterSheep

Aggreed with the above. They have to prove that you changing to E85 was the problem for your clutch (unlikely).

Originally Posted by why?

You're in California so they wouldn't be dumb enough to try and say a tune invalidates a clutch. To be honest subaru goes above and beyond making it easy for people to re-tune the cars, so I don't see how they can ever have a problem with it, but then again they are dealerships...

I love how these types of explanations pop up every time there is a discussion about tunes & warranty.


The dealer does not have to prove anything to make life miserable for you.
All they have to do is claim "The customer changed the software, so ALL bets are off - warranty void".
It is then up to the customer to take them to court and prove the opposite.
I am not even an automotive engineer and I guarantee that I could make a good enough case to win that one in court for the dealer.
Even as the argument applies to clutch work.


Tune + E85 = More HP
More HP = broken clutch
Your Honor, I rest my case.


So keep your fingers crossed, but the fact that they even had the computer out and connected to the OBD port does not bode well for you.
Was it an OFT tune?
Those still have the factory ROM IDs, so if that is all they look at they might miss the tune.

[tracerit]

well it's not looking good! left the car there yesterday, and the dealership is still waiting for authorization from Subaru (of America?) before getting the OK to open the car up. They usually receive a response right away but it can be up to 48 hours. So... lol fuck

In the meantime I"m driving this loaner Forester that's chugging gas like crazy and the shifter is so loose it makes finding gears difficult.