I will try and answer everyone's question on whether chipping does or does not void the Audi warranty. That is a tough one to answer. Everyone is told something different depending on who they talk to. This is what I have been told and what others have been told. I have since learned otherwise and let me explain.

Everyone is told by his or her dealer that chipping voids the warranty. Some of us have been told that doing ANYTHING can and will void your warranty; I have mentioned some of this before!

For those that don't know; I have been told that all of the below has voided my warranty in one way or another:

- Changing my stereo head unit this affects the electronics in the car!

- My entire stereo, not just the head unit same as above, plus I added wiring into the car that is not OEM.

- H&R Sport Springs changes the ride and handling, could affect
bushings.

- Borla Exhaust could damage the turbo.

- AP Racing Brakes could affect the ABS system and other components

I questioned all of the above and had very good arguments, but I realized that I was dealing with a couple of idiots at a dealership on Long Island. The sport springs really pissed me off though seeing as how Audi sells Eibach sport springs and the dealerships install them! That would be too easy to win in court!Some of the items I have since installed were not in the car at the time of one of my run-ins with this particular dealer. They didn't know I have a Garrett Stage II Chip; I put my stock ECU back in before going in for service. Some dealers actually sell and install various chips, I have heard of MTM chips being installed at dealers, APR, AutoThority and even Garrett. This seems to be up to the dealer. The dealer is also taking a very big risk selling a chip and then covering any damage that can occur under the warranty. The one thing that I find disheartening is that the dealers are selling the chips to customers, even at the time of new car purchase and never discuss with the owner what happens if the car breaks and the chip was the cause of the damage. From what I have heard it is possible that a dealer could lose their franchise if they were caught, unless of course the dealer is very large and high volume, like a Hoffmann (#3 in US Sales) in Hartford, CT, or a Biener (#1 in US Sales) in Great Neck, NY, just an example of large dealers, not necessarily ones that sell chips. Like I said it is a dealer-by-dealer thing. You can try and find people that use your dealer and see if they know if the dealer is “chip friendly”. You can ask your dealer and I would begin by asking your salesman, and then ask either the parts manager or the Service Manager. These people will usually be honest with you. Don’t admit to the dealer that you have a chip; if they are not friendly you might have screwed yourself. This is a game and you need to know how to play it properly.I have spoken to 3 different AoA Area Executives. I spoke to all 3 gentlemen about chips, but didn’t mention them specifically, they knew what I was asking and I knew how they had to answer. Two of the men each said that AoA would not cover the car if the chip causes the damage. They each also said that it is very difficult to prove whether a chip caused the damage, but once Audi
determines that a car has a chip, that it will be carefully watched for all warranty repairs. They each encouraged a spare ECU. One of the men I talked to at great length and spoke of the chip. He even drove my car and said how much faster it was than a 225TTQ, he was even surprised how well the drive-by-wire performed. This was in April 2000 before the 225’s had come out! He was very surprised that the chip is not noticeable except for the added power. He didn’t have a problem with the chip and said that he would not bust chipped car owners
chops if a chip were found in a car. Unfortunately I would rather not say who these men are, but some of you know who I am talking about and can vouch for these men.

The other AoA Area Executive I asked about what it takes to void your warranty. He said that the entire warranty COULD NOT be voided! He said it is not possible to void an entire warranty. What he said was, and this makes perfect sense, whatever part you replace with aftermarket parts, loses its Audi warranty coverage! I then said since I have a Borla exhaust Audi will not cover my exhaust anymore and he said exactly! I asked if my exhaust would have any bearing on another part of the cars warranty and he told me NO. So, in turn if
you chip your car, the ECU has now lost its warranty, but anything the ECU touches, which is EVERYTHING, is still covered by Audi! He told me that Audi changed its policy back in February 2000 and it is slowly trickling down to the dealers around the country. They are trying to encourage Audi owners to modify
their cars and not fear “losing their warranties”. He said this is what used to be the policy, but they realized that that was too confrontational and needed to be
changed. AoA has been hounded by quite a few dealers throughout the country about bringing into the US the quattro GMbH tuning brand. For those that don’t know this, Audi has a separate tuning company not unlike ///M Motorsports for BMW and AMG for Mercedes Benz. For Audi the company is quattro GMbH and they actually have stand-alone dealerships throughout Germany, if not all of
Europe. I know that my dealer on Long Island is hoping to get a franchise and are building a new building in anticipation of just such an occurrence. When/if
this happens it will mean that Audi will be providing the tuning to our Audi’s and covering it under warranty, we will no longer have to worry about “losing our
warranty”.

No matter what AoA says, the Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act still protects consumers. It is Audi’s responsibility to PROVE in a court of law that any change you make to your car is the EXACT cause of the failure in question. The law is
on the side of the consumer and protects us; it does not protect the
manufacturer. We don’t have to prove our modification was not at fault, they have to prove that it was at fault. That is very hard for them to do and they know
it. This is why dealerships resort to scare tactics in some cases hoping that the consumer will blink and not modify their cars. Just because you run higher boost
and the turbo blows, does not mean the chip caused the failure. Don’t forget all of us have driven with a defective Diverter Valve since the car was sold! That could just as easily have weakened the turbo and the added boost was just the
final straw to put it over the edge.

The warranty issue is not 100% cut and dry. That is why I tell everyone to get a spare ECU. Even with the APR EMCS, AoA can still pull out the ECU and ship it
off to Germany as they did with a TT owners ECU. The cam broke in their
225TTR. The person swapped out the MTM ECU that was in the car and put in their spare stock ECU before Audi Roadside towed them to the Dealer! Smart owner! That is why I have always carried my spare ECU with me at all times! :)

I hope this helped, even a little.