Hello, new member here and future golf r owner

[LS954]

So I've been looking at possibly purchasing a 2019 golf r and have my eyes set on one. It's slightly modded with a stage 2 ecu and tcu tune with other supporting bolt-ons. since its a 2019 and with very little miles, below 5k , i am a bit concerned with the tune possibly negating any warranty claims and VW flagging my car.
So my question to you guys is, would i be able to purchase a spare ecu to have on hand with the factory tune and swap it out if I have to turn in the car for something?

I have a grand cherokee ecodiesel with a flashed ecu and have a spare ecu for when ever i have to turn take it to the dealer.

I tried searching for a similar thread but nothing would pop up.

 

[jimlloyd40]

I dont think you can get a spare ECU for a VW. A dealer would have to adapt it to your car and no dealer is going to do that. Especially when every time your ECU is connected at a dealer it's also connected directly to VW.

And welcome to the forum.

 

[Gimpster]

Your perspective cars powertrain warranty is toast. Negotiate as such, or find a different vehicle. The mods added no value, and they smoked the last year of a very generous warranty.

 

[LS954]

well after speaking to some of the local dealerships here in san diego they all said that it wouldnt be a problem getting a new ecu installed and flashed. Prices varied between1800-2100(parts and labor). The only problem would be swapping them back and forth, apparently it requires the ecu to be programmed.

On my grand cherokee i'm able to swap them press on the pedals a few times and its done.

 

[Gimpster]

So, you’re right back where we started. The powertrain warranty on the car is void, find another car or negotiate accordingly.

 

[The Fed]

Ask these dealers if they need to give VW a reason why you need a new ECU. I'm thinking the old one will be inactivated in VW's records and won't be able to be reinstalled. So unless you're never going to flash tune this car after installing a new ECU... Also, the TCU is a separate ECU, so are you also going to replace it? That will probably void your entire driveline warranty, since they'll say firmer/higher RPM shifts affect everything.

 

[jimlloyd40]

Ask these dealers if they need to give VW a reason why you need a new ECU. I'm thinking the old one will be inactivated in VW's records and won't be able to be reinstalled. So unless you're never going to flash tune this car after installing a new ECU... Also, the TCU is a separate ECU, so are you also going to replace it? That will probably void your entire driveline warranty, since they'll say firmer/higher RPM shifts affect everything.

He wants an extra ECU so he can have one for performance and one to install if he needs to go to the dealer.

 

[Gimpster]

I'll be that guy, hell with it.

OR you could like, you know, be an adult and pay for the stuff you break?

 

[artargyle]

You could do an APR w/ warranty (I have it) but it is a second party warranty. My 2019 makes app 359LBS/360 HP. With DSG it is very nice. At this stage in ownership you may have already been flagged & yes they can deny a warranty ty claim.

 

[jimlloyd40]

You could do an APR w/ warranty (I have it) but it is a second party warranty. My 2019 makes app 359LBS/360 HP. With DSG it is very nice. At this stage in ownership you may have already been flagged & yes they can deny a warranty ty claim.

APR is a dead end now since they stopped offering stage 2 tunes. If a person can be happy with stage 1 that's fine but most people once they experience stage 1 want more.