back Chip Tuning and Warranty FAQs These FAQ's about chipping will help to clarify some of the myths and misconceptions about chipping your Audi/VW Turbo car. These are the most commonly asked questions by people wishing to chip their car: Will it void my warranty? Yes and No: according to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act: "No warrantor of a consumer product may condition his written or implied warranty of such product on the consumers using, in connection with such product, any article or service (other than article or service provided without charge under the terms of the warranty) which is identified by brand, trade or corporate name..." (15 U.S.C. 2302©) So basically, if you have a warranty claim, the dealer (or warrantor) must prove that the part that you modified directly caused the failure. For example, if you chipped your car and the exhaust falls off, then the car is still under warranty. Of all of the chips that APR, LLC has sold, as well as pretty much all other chip manufacturers, there just really aren't any problems in chipping the car. Your Audi/VW was so well engineered, that you really are not stressing anything that was not designed to take the changes that a chip produces. Won't my dealer know that my car is chipped? Not unless he is specifically looking for it. All APR chips are undetectable to a dealers VAG diagnostic scan tool. The only way they will know that the car is chipped is if the physically open up the ECU itself (which they have no reason to), or drive the car (it makes that big a difference). Likewise, the dealer cannot "flash" reprogram an APR chip, so you need not be worried about losing your precious investment. Why should I choose APR? Because we are the best at what we do. There are several reasons to GO APR over other companies. First, we are the only VW aftermarket design firm in the US with engineers on staff (we have three of them). Second, we only tune Audis and Volkswagens (not Volvos, BMW's, Hondas, etc...). Third, we have completely reverse-engineered the entire Bosch Motronic system. We can safely say that we probably know the system better than anyone in the world (except Bosch, of course). Finally, we always strive to provide the best customer service and support possible. What all is included with the chip? All chips that we sell here at APR include the following: Lifetime Warranty against defects in the software/soldering 30-Day Money Back Guarantee Free Upgrades You offer free upgrades, what are they? Like Volkswagen (or any software company for that matter), new software versions are occasionally released by APR. The APR software upgrades are based on the latest version of the factory software, and represent the latest iteration of our continually improving software. How do I go about getting a chip? There are two ways you can get an APR chip in your car. The first method is to send your ECU to us, and we will send it back to you the same day that we receive it. If you choose this method, you need to either call APR just before you send your ECU or include the following information in the same box as the ECU. The second method is to purchase a spare ECU for your car. APR buys factory ECU's (the same you would get at your dealer) in bulk, hence allowing us to sell them relatively cheaply. APR does not profit from these spare ECU's, so if you can find them cheaper, don't hesitate to buy them yourself and send them to us. Usually APR keeps an adequate supply of spare ECU's; however, due to the many variations in cars, we may not have yours in stock. Can I get my chip socketed? Sorry, no. Since sockets cannot be made as reliable as a soldered chip, APR will not sell an ECU with one. All APR chip upgrades use soldered encryption boards, which serve several purposes. First, it keeps prying eyes out of our software and prevents lesser companies from copying the chip and degredating the product. Secondly, the encryption board prevents the dealer from flash programming the ECU. Also, encryption boards help keep APR software from being undetectable to a dealers VAG diagnostic tool. How do I send my ECU to you? Factory ECU's are pretty durable. Just wrap them in bubble wrap and put them in a good sturdy box, and they will be fine. There isn't a need for over packing them. We recommend that you send your ECU to us via INSURED Fed-Ex or UPS. We have had problems with US Mail getting to us in a reasonable time.