So, I was at a local performance shop yesterday asking about tuning/ Programmers etc. I know that tuning can do alot and we were discussing the new trucks. He said that they have a black box so to speak now that logs everything and that the second you flash your truck, the dealership will get codes and automatically void the warranty.

I have no plans to race out the Denali, but I was looking forward to a simple tune to get the MPG up and a slight kick in power with a handheld/ tuner.

So I come to the experts on here. What is truth/ what is here say? How much of that is true?

 

They can't void the warrantee outright. First they have to prove that what you did caused the damage beyond a doubt and if they can... They can only void the warrantee on the affected parts.

 

They check for non-OE calibrations. If you flash back to an OE calibration most dealerships probably won't notice. The PCM calculates calibration hashes which the dealership compares against known OE values.

 

What he said. You can get yourself a mail order tune from a sponsor, and I know at least with Blackbear, if you want to keep your stock tuned PCM you just have to forfeit a deposit. Don't know how much that is for the the NNBS style vehicles, it's $100 for the NBS ones.

 

It's not an actual box. The PCM stores the changes and it gets checked when you go for a service or warranty work. Best way around it is leave the stock PCM alone and get another to tune.

 

He went a bit far. The so called "black box" is really meant to record what happens with the vehicle just before a crash. On the gas trucks, they can only tell if you take it into the dealership with a tune installed. If you flash the stock tune back to it, and then take it in, they can't tell. Now on the new LML Duramax trucks, they can tell if you've ever flashed a new tune to it, so bye bye warranty as soon as you hook up a programmer. All of the new vehicles are becoming this way, but the NNBS gassers are still "safe". With all of that said, I would never tune a vehicle, and then expect the factory to pay for damages related to the tune.

 

I totally agree with that!

Thanks for the responses, I just wanted to know a little more about what I would be diving into with getting it tuned.

 

Just the diesel? The recent tech bulletin read, said all GM vehicles including gas, now store the information. The bulletin tells you step by step how to see if a ECM has been recalibrated and restored back.

 

Lots of bad info in this thread.
Duramax's have a flash monitoring system. This allows the tech to check the CVN aka Check Sum of all of the flashes in the history along with the operating systems.

On the new Global A Vehicles GM has a History counter with OS and CVN recorder also

GM says they will not check the calibration ID's with Onstar, but they can. I would put money on it they do.

When alteration to the GM-released engine or transmission control calibrations occurs, it subjects powertrain and driveline components (engine , transmission, transfer case, driveshaft and rear axle) to stresses that were not tested by General Motors. It is because of these unknown stresses, and the potential to alter reliability, durability and emissions performance, that GM has adopted a policy that prevents any UNAUTHORIZED dealer warranty claim submissions to any remaining warranty coverage, to the powertrain and driveline components whenever the presence of a non-GM (aftermarket) calibration is confirmed – even if the non-GM control module calibration is subsequently removed.

Front hubs will not be covered if GM finds out the car has been tuned.

If you have 50k miles on it I would say tune it and loose the warranty. Why wait until it has 100K?

 

I took this off of Diablo's site. They say "Warranty safe no water-marks, fingerprints or counters". Are they wrong? I would like to tune my 2011 5.3 but not if it means losing my drive train warranty.

DiabloSport :: Gas and Diesel Tuning Systems