They might have a policy: NO HARDWARE OUTSIDE PREMISES or something like this. Anyway it's not fair. I would check the tow truck price and ask AMD if you can get your stock map and money back if you bring a car to them.
HELP!!!!!
- Thread starter DolbyS3
- Start date
Unfortunately its is JUST out of the 30 days which is a shame. I have to agree, I run my own business and if a customer has a problem, even if its not our fault we always try our very best to help in anyway we can, its what creates repeat business and builds a good reputation, It's obviously up to them at the end of the day but considering I'm willing to pay I am incredibly surprised they were not interested at all in helping me out.
I'd be speaking to the boss man at AMD and all but demanding they send an engineer to revert your car to a standard map.
Very poor customer service on their part.
Point them at this thread perhaps, let them know their name is associated with a blown turbo and abandoning one of their customers.
Very poor customer service on their part.
Point them at this thread perhaps, let them know their name is associated with a blown turbo and abandoning one of their customers.
Eigdoog
±§~Quadzackular~§±
roadrunner_oz
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Not a great advert for AMD.
But I do admire your positive attitude.
Makes me more certain than before not to do any performance mods to the car in warranty period - which is always for me.
But I do admire your positive attitude.
Makes me more certain than before not to do any performance mods to the car in warranty period - which is always for me.
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I can certainly drop Ben and Shaun a line and see if there is anything they can do.
I know that AMD do not operate a mobile service,and on the very few occasions mine has broken down,I've had it towed to them,most recently when the starter motor gave up,3 miles from them.
They do have a pair of huge race car transporters,but not tow trucks.
My own opinion is that if the car was from the early "chocolate" turbo batch,the meltdown was waiting to occur,and there are then two options...
1.Get the car towed back to AMD and flash it back to stock,if they are willing to do this,but it is possible they would not want to get drawn into the ramifications of this.
2.You've already had it mapped,and clearly this is the route you were heading down......personally,I'd be looking at a TTE420,as you know it's reliable,and will give you a big step forward.
What I'm going to say now is maybe hard,but it is a fact that any of us must accept when modifying a car,and one that I've weighed up at every step.
The responsibility for the failure of anything other than due to negligent work,does lie with us as owners,and I was well aware of the weak points of the 8P before doing what I've done to it.
Right now,if anything fails,it could cost a huge amount to rectify,and for the most part,I'd simply have to swallow that.
I know that AMD do not operate a mobile service,and on the very few occasions mine has broken down,I've had it towed to them,most recently when the starter motor gave up,3 miles from them.
They do have a pair of huge race car transporters,but not tow trucks.
My own opinion is that if the car was from the early "chocolate" turbo batch,the meltdown was waiting to occur,and there are then two options...
1.Get the car towed back to AMD and flash it back to stock,if they are willing to do this,but it is possible they would not want to get drawn into the ramifications of this.
2.You've already had it mapped,and clearly this is the route you were heading down......personally,I'd be looking at a TTE420,as you know it's reliable,and will give you a big step forward.
What I'm going to say now is maybe hard,but it is a fact that any of us must accept when modifying a car,and one that I've weighed up at every step.
The responsibility for the failure of anything other than due to negligent work,does lie with us as owners,and I was well aware of the weak points of the 8P before doing what I've done to it.
Right now,if anything fails,it could cost a huge amount to rectify,and for the most part,I'd simply have to swallow that.
shaun@amdessex.com
Guest
Hi DolbyS3,
Firstly sorry that it seems your turbo has failed on your S3. We don't know for definite what has failed as we haven't seen the vehicle yet.
You have spoken to my colleague and we said we can have the vehicle back here to check the vehicle and reflash back to stock if it needs to go back to the dealer. You did ask if we could come out to flash it back to stock and we said we don't offer that option.
Here are the reasons why we don't offer a mobile facility for tuning:
Unreliable moble internet connection can render an ecu inoperative. The laptop needs to be connected to the internet to flash back to stock with APR.
The vehicle will need a constant power supply whilst reflashing the ecu.
We can't fully diagnose issues whilst car is on someones drive.
We don't reflash cars mobile because of the issues listed above. Before anyone says "its fine to flash cars mobile", we have at least one car a week who comes to us having had mobile tuners who haven't been able to flash their car on their drive or have killed their ecu on their drive.
It was myself who you dealt with when you were at AmD for the remap and rolling road.
I remember advising you NOT to go for the higher output APR map because the turbos are a known issue on these vehicles. You decided to still go for the higher output APR remap because you wanted the highest figures you could get. This doesn't mean that I am happy that your car has failed but I did try and talk you into going for the lower output APR remap that we have had no failures with?
We take our responsibilities seriously regarding customers at AmD and we are keen to have the vehicle here to, A) diagnose the problem, B) do what is necessary to get the car ready to go back to the dealers under warranty.
Liaise with us and we can get the car back to stock. You can get it to a dealer and go from there with the warranty process?
Regards
Shaun Hollamby
AmD Tuning.com
Firstly sorry that it seems your turbo has failed on your S3. We don't know for definite what has failed as we haven't seen the vehicle yet.
You have spoken to my colleague and we said we can have the vehicle back here to check the vehicle and reflash back to stock if it needs to go back to the dealer. You did ask if we could come out to flash it back to stock and we said we don't offer that option.
Here are the reasons why we don't offer a mobile facility for tuning:
Unreliable moble internet connection can render an ecu inoperative. The laptop needs to be connected to the internet to flash back to stock with APR.
The vehicle will need a constant power supply whilst reflashing the ecu.
We can't fully diagnose issues whilst car is on someones drive.
We don't reflash cars mobile because of the issues listed above. Before anyone says "its fine to flash cars mobile", we have at least one car a week who comes to us having had mobile tuners who haven't been able to flash their car on their drive or have killed their ecu on their drive.
It was myself who you dealt with when you were at AmD for the remap and rolling road.
I remember advising you NOT to go for the higher output APR map because the turbos are a known issue on these vehicles. You decided to still go for the higher output APR remap because you wanted the highest figures you could get. This doesn't mean that I am happy that your car has failed but I did try and talk you into going for the lower output APR remap that we have had no failures with?
We take our responsibilities seriously regarding customers at AmD and we are keen to have the vehicle here to, A) diagnose the problem, B) do what is necessary to get the car ready to go back to the dealers under warranty.
Liaise with us and we can get the car back to stock. You can get it to a dealer and go from there with the warranty process?
Regards
Shaun Hollamby
AmD Tuning.com
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shaun@amdessex.com
Guest
In my opinion removing the ecu would make it even more obvious to a dealer that the car had been modified?
It may be the only practical option available to the OP, and I'm sure they'll be careful 
(In case the OP or anyone else wants to remove the ECU):
New cage incase you scratch it getting it off: 5Q0907411B - £21
bolts: N91146801 - £1.10 each
From:
http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/mtm-m-cantronic-8v-s3.207286/#post-2065201
(In case the OP or anyone else wants to remove the ECU):
New cage incase you scratch it getting it off: 5Q0907411B - £21
bolts: N91146801 - £1.10 each
From:
http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/mtm-m-cantronic-8v-s3.207286/#post-2065201
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I would tow the car to them especially as Shaun said them willing to help. Try to Google tow trucks services around you. You might find some cheap ones. I wouldn't go RAC or AA as their prices won't be very good.
shaun@amdessex.com
Guest
We use a local tow man for local tow but for this I would use www.shiply.com and get a quote as they are usually cheapest option?
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Thanks for getting back to me Shaun, as I have said many times I'm not at all blaming you and in no way hold you responsible, I took the decision to remap my car and therefore the responsibility lies with me. I'll Liaise with you directly to discuss my options.
After reading amd response i hope revo would fair better if this happens to me . Im sure when I had my apr maps they could be changed via cruise control stalk of lap top , sounds like a superchips set up
But fair play at least they are willing to help you
But fair play at least they are willing to help you
^ Things have changed since those days.
In the new world, a TD1 will be flagged at the dealership, if the contents of the ECU differ, from when the car left the factory.
In the new world, a TD1 will be flagged at the dealership, if the contents of the ECU differ, from when the car left the factory.
shaun@amdessex.com
Guest
The difference with REVO or AmD remap is that the dealer has an original file on the laptop and wouldn't have to download from the internet as with APR. Hence why we couldn't do this reflash "mobile".
In the past I HAVE driven to a customers house to reload an original file when the car has had an AmD remap as I don't have to rely on an internet signal. This was because the customer was selling the car and didn't want to go over a certain mileage, hence my trip.
There is still no guarantee that the car won't show that it has had a remap with whoevers software is used.
We always said we would help, that hasn't changed from the first time we spoke to the customer.
Regards
Shaun Hollamby
amdtuning.com
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I think Shaun has been characteristically honest and upfront,and should put to rest the doubters,who were a bit quick off the mark.
Exactly.
Things move very fast in the digital end of tuning,as I've also found.
Relying on a mobile internet connection isn't good enough and APR are not alone in encrypting their downloads and requiring them to be validated against an individual customer,so paulk may be a little behind current situations.
I think It sounds behind the times to have to rely on a internet to flash a car to stock, also what's to say amd has better internet than the guy at home ?
Sorry but the mans asking for a flash back to standard why does it need to be encrypted , iv had apr maps from vw racing my car was adjusted while on a test drive changing the software options I'm not saying amd are wrong to refuse to go if that's policy just say
roadrunner_oz
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Please read back through the thread and tell me where I have been "whinging", pretty sure you'll struggle!
roadrunner_oz
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You are re getting it towed and AMD not coming to you.***!!
The longer you leave it the more suspicious it looks. Audi can tell when it failed and will think it is strange that so much time has past.
The longer you leave it the more suspicious it looks. Audi can tell when it failed and will think it is strange that so much time has past.
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I think a few points are getting buried here....
Despite a bit of grizzling above,the OP has no issues with the work done.
Shaun advised against the APR remap,but the decision was taken to have that file in any case.
The turbo blew,maybe consequent to that,but certainly from the early batch prone to failure.
AMD have offered to reflash the ECU,in conditions which they know are very unlikely to result in damage to the ECU,as that would only compound the problems.
We all know that there are people who will do mobile work,and we know that most are OK,most of the time,but frankly I wouldn't wish to be the one with a dead ECU,and a blown turbo.
Why not leave this to AMD and DolbyS3 to sort out,and wait for the results.
You've got really hard choice to make. From one side spent money on tow trucks to AMD and to Audi. Maybe some more on putting stock map by AMD ( they might do it for free) and after all this there is a big risk that audi will have a look. Charge you for their time isn't cheap) and say that the warranty doesn't cover that because remap. Even if they do it they will put a stock turbo in it.
What if after a year you decide that you want more power and bigger turbo. All that hassle and money wasted.
I would consider getting bigger turbo now and get it fitted by your local place.
What if after a year you decide that you want more power and bigger turbo. All that hassle and money wasted.
I would consider getting bigger turbo now and get it fitted by your local place.
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I did say this earlier in the thread.
It's a relatively big decision to make in terms of cost,but worth considering in the long run,as there are plenty of ifs and buts in the other route.
Not many of us have a clear idea of where we want our cars to be in a couple of years,or even if we'll keep them,but if you do it makes decisions much easier.
roadrunner_oz
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sounds like turbo... its a know issue with s3/ golf r's. so getting it replaced with warranty shouldn't be a problem
Worth going back through the thread first.
It's already been confirmed as the turbo.
The issue here is getting the ECU flashed back to stock first,which AMD have already agreed to help with.
ACWKGYTO
Registered User
Firstly truly sorry to hear about the failure.
Personally I would not waste any money putting the car back to 'stock'. Especially given your incredibly positive outlook to this and hint you may look for more power anyway. Assuming the S3 8V is similar to the RS3 8P in terms of APR map and ECU (but I have no idea about this so will speak from personal experience) even if the car is put back to 'stock' Audi can easily detect if a vehicle has been previously mapped. I would go so far as to say Audi can tell if you do ANYTHING to modify anything electronic to gain more power if it breaches a factory tolerance. What I am getting at here is I believe tuning boxes even once removed are still detectable.
On the RS3 its ECU out EVERY time you want to make any change to the map. So whether it's file revision change, revert to stock, stage I to stage II etc etc this means the ECU is prized open, anti tamper bolts have to be ground off using an angle grinder and replaced. As I said I don't know if the S3 8V is ECU out for a map but regardless of who your tuning company is and how careful they are do this multiple times possibly even once and even if a scan of the car doesn't detect the map there will be viable signs the ecu has been out. This is not a dig at APR or AMD who actually have done a lot of work on my car and are mostly very good guys. Some tuners are evidently less careful as 4 APR dealers have had my ECU out its been out a number of times so evidently shows signs of this.
If Audi scan your car and look at measured value blocks 9 through 225 they will be able to detect things like high boost pressure to the turbo exceeded factory parameters and the mileage that this occurred even if you have been flashed back to 'stock'. They wont necessarily normally do this for me it was when the RS3 went back for its 6th + set of squealing discs pads and calipers 47i6 update. They were looking for any excuse not to honour the warranty. In my case I wasn't that bothered as after 4 years and multiple sets its quite clear the brakes on an RS3 are not up to spec so I uprated them.
It sounds like your London ish based who is your dealer PM me if you prefer. Some dealers wont highlight modifications to vehicles and will put a failed component claim in under warranty on face value. It sounds like this maybe your cheapest option even if they void your warranty its highlighted above the component in question is known to fail under certain circumstances so whilst not a recall they may look at your chassis number and say your affected. There is then a possibility of good will, premature turbo failure so repaired a cost.
I'd say you need to get it to Audi to see what position your in and get a quote from TTE for an uprated turbo whilst its there.
Personally I would not waste any money putting the car back to 'stock'. Especially given your incredibly positive outlook to this and hint you may look for more power anyway. Assuming the S3 8V is similar to the RS3 8P in terms of APR map and ECU (but I have no idea about this so will speak from personal experience) even if the car is put back to 'stock' Audi can easily detect if a vehicle has been previously mapped. I would go so far as to say Audi can tell if you do ANYTHING to modify anything electronic to gain more power if it breaches a factory tolerance. What I am getting at here is I believe tuning boxes even once removed are still detectable.
On the RS3 its ECU out EVERY time you want to make any change to the map. So whether it's file revision change, revert to stock, stage I to stage II etc etc this means the ECU is prized open, anti tamper bolts have to be ground off using an angle grinder and replaced. As I said I don't know if the S3 8V is ECU out for a map but regardless of who your tuning company is and how careful they are do this multiple times possibly even once and even if a scan of the car doesn't detect the map there will be viable signs the ecu has been out. This is not a dig at APR or AMD who actually have done a lot of work on my car and are mostly very good guys. Some tuners are evidently less careful as 4 APR dealers have had my ECU out its been out a number of times so evidently shows signs of this.
If Audi scan your car and look at measured value blocks 9 through 225 they will be able to detect things like high boost pressure to the turbo exceeded factory parameters and the mileage that this occurred even if you have been flashed back to 'stock'. They wont necessarily normally do this for me it was when the RS3 went back for its 6th + set of squealing discs pads and calipers 47i6 update. They were looking for any excuse not to honour the warranty. In my case I wasn't that bothered as after 4 years and multiple sets its quite clear the brakes on an RS3 are not up to spec so I uprated them.
It sounds like your London ish based who is your dealer PM me if you prefer. Some dealers wont highlight modifications to vehicles and will put a failed component claim in under warranty on face value. It sounds like this maybe your cheapest option even if they void your warranty its highlighted above the component in question is known to fail under certain circumstances so whilst not a recall they may look at your chassis number and say your affected. There is then a possibility of good will, premature turbo failure so repaired a cost.
I'd say you need to get it to Audi to see what position your in and get a quote from TTE for an uprated turbo whilst its there.
UPDATE!
Right guys, in the end I decided to just put my hands in my pocket and get the turbo replaced ASAP. I really didn't like the thought of going through all the hassle of getting the car to AMD, having it put back to standard and taking it to Audi only for them to spend god knows how many hours checking it over, find he map, void my warranty and give me a bill with far too many 0's on the end and my car is till bust!
Anyway, car is now back up and running and I have the new revised 722H turbo installed (my original turbo was 702N) which is a nice comfort. For anyone who's interested on the cause of the failure I have attached some images. The impeller wheel on the exhaust side had completely sheared off and was sat in the downpipe, mechanic feels that the map would not have caused this in anyway and looks very much like a manufacturer defect.
I have also read a couple of interesting conversations online that state the APR stage 2 map is actually easier on the turbo as it runs lower boost levels, I ahve asked Shaun at AMD for some clarification on this.
Thanks to everyone who offered advise and suggestions, it was much appreciated!
Right guys, in the end I decided to just put my hands in my pocket and get the turbo replaced ASAP. I really didn't like the thought of going through all the hassle of getting the car to AMD, having it put back to standard and taking it to Audi only for them to spend god knows how many hours checking it over, find he map, void my warranty and give me a bill with far too many 0's on the end and my car is till bust!
Anyway, car is now back up and running and I have the new revised 722H turbo installed (my original turbo was 702N) which is a nice comfort. For anyone who's interested on the cause of the failure I have attached some images. The impeller wheel on the exhaust side had completely sheared off and was sat in the downpipe, mechanic feels that the map would not have caused this in anyway and looks very much like a manufacturer defect.
I have also read a couple of interesting conversations online that state the APR stage 2 map is actually easier on the turbo as it runs lower boost levels, I ahve asked Shaun at AMD for some clarification on this.
Thanks to everyone who offered advise and suggestions, it was much appreciated!
ACWKGYTO
Registered User
Thanks for posting, most useful.
From memory, the "dodgy" batch of 702N was produced "sometime in April/May" - what is the date stamp on your old 702N?
Mine is 140217 (3rd row of numbers, 1st cluster) - so hopefully I've dodged the dodgy batch. But who knows, there seems to be other factors in play.
http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/s3-turbo-issues-reported.224078/
From memory, the "dodgy" batch of 702N was produced "sometime in April/May" - what is the date stamp on your old 702N?
Mine is 140217 (3rd row of numbers, 1st cluster) - so hopefully I've dodged the dodgy batch. But who knows, there seems to be other factors in play.
http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/s3-turbo-issues-reported.224078/
