I think I remember reading that GM will be able to see the last three flashes the ecu receives. Does anyone know if this is true?

They can't see what was flashed into the ECM, but they can see that it has been reflashed, and with a little digging, how many times. IF YOU FLASH YOUR ECM ANYPLACE OR ANYWAY OTHER THAN BY/FROM GENERAL MOTORS YOUR LMM ENGINE/TRANSMISSION WARRANTY WILL BE VOID.

They can see that the ecm has been altered. If you want to program your truck, then I would suggest getting a blank ecm and swapping them out and flashing that. Then swap them back if you need warranty work done. EFI Live is the way to go for programming.

not to steal the thread (cause I think the answer has been given) but would the new ECM display different miles on the odometer than the original or is that kept somewhere else?

I believe that info. is kept in the DIC.

But a swapping in a spare ECM would not show the correct amount of regenerations to miles shown on the odometer, so they would know something is amiss. So you take your truck back to the dealer for service and swap back your factory ECM, and it shows 3 regens in 15K miles, do you think they will wonder why. Also, your TCM will show torque output, so even if you do get away with that, you will need a stock TCM too. Nothing is foolproof on an LMM.

Yes, but how much digging is the dealer going to do? Most dealers aren't going to try and find a way to void your warranty and if they do, then move on to the next. Most of them just pull up the flash history, take a pic. of it and that's it. It is better to get paid for the warranty repair from GM vs. loosing the customers business. JMHO. It's worked for us out here.

Saying that flashing your ECM WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY is also not necessarily true.

My GM dealer is also a PPE dealer, and warranty all kinds of claims that are within reason. They have done DPF deletes for their customers. I had them do my EGR blocker plate, and at that tiem the service manager told to remove the EGR altogether.

You must be smart with your mods. If you have +300hp tune in your truck and bring it in with a smoked transmission they will not be any warranty on that transmission, nor should there be. Bring in that same truck with a +50 hp tune, and your AC is not working properly, they should fix it no questions asked. Being honest with your dealer is the best, trying to hide stuff is not the way to go.

My GM dealer is also a PPE dealer, and warranty all kinds of claims that are within reason. They have done DPF deletes for their customers. I had them do my EGR blocker plate, and at that tiem the service manager told to remove the EGR altogether.


I want to go to your dealer :D

Yes, but how much digging is the dealer going to do? Most dealers aren't going to try and find a way to void your warranty and if they do, then move on to the next. Most of them just pull up the flash history, take a pic. of it and that's it. It is better to get paid for the warranty repair from GM vs. loosing the customers business. JMHO. It's worked for us out here.

I agree, but that's not always the case. And saying it will solve all your problems (I know you didn't say that) is not right either. If you smoked a piston or a trans. they are going to look deep, especially with the way GM is right now. I just don't want everybody to get a false sense of security with this whole ECM swap thing, because it is not perfect.

Yeah the ECM swap isn't perfect, but it works for the guys that drive their trucks nicely and have a part fail because of defect. It's not for the guys that drive their trucks hard and break parts because of the high hp numbers. Those guys come back and want heavier duty stuff.:D But the ecm swaps work good for guys that want more milage and maybe a little more power for towing and don't want to void their warranty because of it.

Dealers that install aftermarket programmers and DPF delete systems asume the warranty once the aftermarket item is installed, not GM. Feneral Motors will not warrant their products opperating outside of factory parrameters, Don't believe me? Firsthand expirience: prorammed a friend's LMM for DPF delete...few weeks later (like a dummy) he took it in for an ECM update. Dealership called, once the update was performed to inform him that there would be no further work done under warranty as his vin had been flagged due to the non-factory program that had been installed.

I believe that info. is kept in the DIC.
I thought you could switch the gauge cluster without having to reprogram anything which would lead me to believe it's possibly in the ECM (or possibly somewhere else). Does anyone know for certain where that info is kept?

Yes, but how much digging is the dealer going to do? Most dealers aren't going to try and find a way to void your warranty and if they do, then move on to the next. Most of them just pull up the flash history, take a pic. of it and that's it. It is better to get paid for the warranty repair from GM vs. loosing the customers business. JMHO. It's worked for us out here.

I agree that the dealer does want to keep the customers business and many times will go above and beyond to help the customer even if it isn't always fair to GM. That is why GM periodically checks on stuff and makes the dealer send in the failed part so they can make sure it is not customer abuse of the vehicle or modifications that caused the need for repair.


Dealers that install aftermarket programmers and DPF delete systems asume the warranty once the aftermarket item is installed, not GM. Feneral Motors will not warrant their products opperating outside of factory parrameters, Don't believe me? Firsthand expirience: prorammed a friend's LMM for DPF delete...few weeks later (like a dummy) he took it in for an ECM update. Dealership called, once the update was performed to inform him that there would be no further work done under warranty as his vin had been flagged due to the non-factory program that had been installed.

I Agree but the dealer would have to state that they are providing a warranty in place of GM or tell the customer that the modifications they are making WILL void factory warranty. GM should not have to provide a warranty for every possible way that the end consumer chooses to punish their rigs. You're taking a chance that you could break something by modifying your truck and that your dealer might not be able to provide you with warranty service. The example you provide seems awful agressive on the dealer's part tho.

This has been bugging me since I got my new truck. Right now I would not mind just adjusting for bigger tires and raising the top speed.

So if I do this and 6months from now a piston goes or something............seems like gm would have to prove that my changes caused the failure. Which they could not if I never upped the hp any. I just can't see where the Magnunson-moss is no longer applicable to these trucks ..........I just don't get it !!

I thought you could switch the gauge cluster without having to reprogram anything which would lead me to believe it's possibly in the ECM (or possibly somewhere else). Does anyone know for certain where that info is kept?

When the cluster is replaced the dealer reprograms them to put in the miles and engine hours. These units come blank from GM. Been down that road already.

I never asked but does the ECM record the time and date it was reflashed?
Reason i ask is maybe if you leave it the way it is meaning leaving the tire size change in there and not returning to stock and say you did this 6months ago thenthey should be able to pull the ECM and look through it. If the only change to it was then and no other ECM changes before a stock and till now then I would say they have to eat it. Basically you reprgrammed only once and it is still in there. Shows your not trying to hide anything.

Brian

Yeah the ECM swap isn't perfect, but it works for the guys that drive their trucks nicely and have a part fail because of defect. It's not for the guys that drive their trucks hard and break parts because of the high hp numbers. Those guys come back and want heavier duty stuff.:D But the ecm swaps work good for guys that want more milage and maybe a little more power for towing and don't want to void their warranty because of it.

I'm not sure you're getting my point, the ECM swap doesn't guarantee that your warranty won't be voided, it just makes it easier to hide, but not untraceable. This is the false sense of security that I'm talking about. It isn't a get out of jail free card, that's all I'm saying.

Now I'm done stating my point, you can get on with this thread, i'm finished.

Saying that flashing your ECM WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY is also not necessarily true.

My GM dealer is also a PPE dealer, and warranty all kinds of claims that are within reason. They have done DPF deletes for their customers. I had them do my EGR blocker plate, and at that tiem the service manager told to remove the EGR altogether.

You must be smart with your mods. If you have +300hp tune in your truck and bring it in with a smoked transmission they will not be any warranty on that transmission, nor should there be. Bring in that same truck with a +50 hp tune, and your AC is not working properly, they should fix it no questions asked. Being honest with your dealer is the best, trying to hide stuff is not the way to go.

I don't know where your dealer is, but I find it hard to believe the dealer would do a DPF delete, especially if it's in the US.

I never asked but does the ECM record the time and date it was reflashed?
Reason i ask is maybe if you leave it the way it is meaning leaving the tire size change in there and not returning to stock and say you did this 6months ago thenthey should be able to pull the ECM and look through it. If the only change to it was then and no other ECM changes before a stock and till now then I would say they have to eat it. Basically you reprgrammed only once and it is still in there. Shows your not trying to hide anything.

Brian

The ECM does not record the date or time in any way shape or form.


Here is a detailed explanation: http://forum.efilive.com/showthread.php?t=8471

It's legal in Canada to remove that equipment.