Joined: Dec 2002

Posts: 1,186

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From: HTX

Well this whole dilemma started a more than a month and a half ago. I had been enquiring with different places on getting a tune for my truck and determined that with my financial position at that time I would look into getting a mail order Wait4Me tune. I was very pleased with Jesse and Hannah’s respond times and they were both very helpful in answering questions. Over the phone Jesse told me that he did not have any 06 PCM’s in stock but that he recently started using the GM X-calibrator II tuner box from SCT and that it was an alternative I could consider.

Something else I would like to mention is that I was told by Jesse that “I would NEVER have to send the unit back in for a re-tune as files could simply be e-mailed and downloaded onto the X-cal II”. Well, being that I had my Mustang tuned via the first gen SCT X-cal and was very impressed with the results then, I decided to go ahead and fork up the money for the tuner box. About a week later my shipment had not arrived so I e-mailed Hannah for a tracking number and status update. Apparently SCT had sent in a Ford unit, not a GM one…So my shipment was going to be late. That wasn’t a big deal at all to me, but I have to admit a slight gut feeling hit me at that moment that things were not going to be good.

My shipment arrived in perfect condition a few days afterwards and, while not getting my hopes too high, with excitement I plugged the unit into my trucks diagnostic port. I followed the instructions to the T. I navigated the menu options, found the feature load in my custom tune and hit the button to start flashing it. Well it didn’t work. At around 20-30% it would throw a message saying my PCM wasn’t supported. I called Jesse and he said he had not heard of this problem before and that he would contact SCT to see what was going on. Fair enough, I was disappointed that it didn’t work but what can you do?

The next day I called Jesse and left him a voicemail to remind him of my situation as they weren’t open for business at the moment. Afterwards I went ahead and called SCT’s tech support to try and get some info. This is when everything start going into a downward spiral inevitably leading to my current misery. The folks at SCT informed me that my truck must have “come from the factory with an outdated factory calibration” and that I would either have to A.) Send the unit back to Jesse and have him put a “full file reflash” with the latest GM factory calibration or B.) Go to a dealership that would reflash it onto my PCM. I was pretty disappointed at that point and figured I would opt to try and find a dealership to reflash my computer.

I called Jesse back a few hours later to let him know the bad news. This time Jesse answers promptly and after I tell him what SCT tells me...he says it’s wrong. Okay, so apparently Jesse had spoken to another tech there at SCT and they said they might be able to E-mail me some files that I can load into the X-cal II which would then load the new calibration file onto my PCM and that he would let me know later that day. My hopes were back up a little at that point. Later that afternoon I hadn’t heard anything back, so I called Jesse back to see if there had been any updates. No one answered so I decided to call SCT.

The folks at SCT said they would work on it but it would be the next day before they could work on it. No problem, I’m a patient guy. The next day rolls around and SCT comes through and e-mails me some files to load onto the X-call II. To summarize what happened for the next three days is basically they sent me some DOS prompt commands needed to properly delete and load files onto the unit, but every time I tried to load the file onto my PCM it would give me a “file error” on the unit. Well it turns out the only thing needed to be correct was the file extension one single line of command….just does not make sense why it took three days and however many techs to figure out that out…but anyway.

Okay, so I’m at work, a whole week and 2 days after the product came they give me the correct command prompt to load the file on. I’m thinking things are looking up. I wait all day long until after work to load the tune. I go outside, plug her in, go through menus, do a “full file reflash”, it works! I get into the actual menu with the tunes and notice there is only one (there was supposed to be three different tunes, one for 87 octane, 93 octane and the stock tune) tune with no description. I figure what the hell; I hit the button to flash the computer…30%...60%...100%!!! It gives me a cute little ring tone thing saying it loaded successfully.

I follow the directions, unplug the unit from the diagnostic port and start the truck. Only, the truck doesn’t start. In fact, my truck at that moment doesn’t do anything. The interior doesn’t light up, it doesn’t attempt to turn over, there’s nothing. I’m not freaking out yet because I can load the stock tune back onto the PCM. I plug the X-cal II back in, go to the tune option, select factory tune, hit the flash button…and it throws a cryptic error. Okay now I’m freaking out. I try three or four more times and nothing happens. I’m really freaking out now.

I call Jesse and no one answers. I call SCT, get a tech on the line and he tells me to unplug the battery and also check on a computer to see that the command prompt is correct. I do both, mind you I’ve been stuck in the parking lot in 90 degree heat for over an hour at this point. The commands are correct; I plug in the battery and nothing. It does absolutely, freaking nothing. I call SCT a few times, no answer. I call Jesse and this time he answers, I tell him the situation and he says he’s never had that problem either and that I should try unplugging the PCM for 5 minutes, he also REASSURES ME that NOTHING will have to be sent back in, it can all be fixed via e-mail files.

I try Jesse’s suggestion to unplug the PCM and that and it doesn’t work either. I call SCT back and finally get someone on the phone. These people tell me that I now have to send them my PCM and the X-cal II and that they would have to “look” into the matter. He also informs me that they would only ship it back next day if I send it to them next day…and says that they cannot re-imburse me for shipping. I am so pissed off at that time I didn’t care, I just wanted to go home, park the truck and get some water. I called AAA to come tow my truck and thankfully one of my buddies came up there with some Gatorade.

I had now been in the parking lot in the heat for over two hours. I’m sitting my buddies car cooling off in the AC while he goes and tinkers around with the X-cal II. Miraculously it works after literally 12 attempts and we are able to load in the factory tune. The truck starts up like a champ and all is good. The tow truck shows up a few minutes later and I’m lucky my parents are platinum members or it would have been $50 out of my pocket for him to come out for no reason. I call SCT back but they are long gone, and Jesse/Hannah don’t answer my four phone call attempts (it says they are open till 9pm).

Okay, to cut to the point, basically the next day Jesse and SCT both tell me to send the X-cal II back in (remember what I was told earlier?), SCT mentions nothing about shipping reimbursement, but Jesse tells me firmly, more than once that I’ll be reimbursed for shipping. I pay almost $40 (totaling more than $430 at this point spent) to send it over night to Jesse. What happens in the next two weeks is SCT says the whole problem is with me having my door open when loading the tune (W…T…F?) some how inhibits the computer from loading it properly. Whatever. THEN after hearing nothing from Wait4me and SCT on when my product is coming back, I call them to find out that no one knows where the stinking thing is. It’s lost for all I know. I finally lose it and ask for a refund from Wait4me, which was very prompt and appreciated.

BUT, my situation now is that none of them will pay me back for me $38 and some odd cents for shipping the thing back to them. Jesse offered to pay me back in shipping when I first sent the unit in, but I did not want him to pay out of his pocket because I was assuming SCT would pay him back and then he’d be able to pay me back. I’ve tried to be civil and keep communication to an e-mail level…but I’m afraid now I am so pissed off that I will say something out of line and unintentional if I get them on the phone. I jus want my $38 back for shipping back a product that never worked, cost me a lot of time and caused a lot of headaches.

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