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Subaru ECU reflash date / Warranty denial?

PostPosted: Tue May 31, 2011 5:28 am
by Mart
Hi,

there have been reports in canada that Subaru of Canada were declining warranty after the inspection of the ECU when the engine fails. Customers received a letter stating that the ecu has been reflashed and that they can provides a date of the last reflash.It was for the model WRX 265.

Now I have a sh7058 on my bench and I do not see any RTC (or battery) and the SSM protocol is pretty basic and does not seem to include any date/time synchronisation from what I can see. Anyone have more info on the subject? They might be a counter hidden somewhere I guess...

thanx

Mart

Re: Subaru ECU reflash date / Warranty denial?

PostPosted: Tue May 31, 2011 4:57 pm
by radsdau
I can't verify any of this, but if it were me designing these ECUs, I'd hide some reflash counter somewhere. RTC is tricky, but perhaps the BCM has access to time/date (clock / entertainment system) that can be queried by the ECU on transition to the 'run kernel' event. That is quite feasible.

Either way, it's irrelevant; if you are reflashing your ECU then you should expect your drivetrain warranty to be voided. It goes with the territory. Anything other than 'standard' increases the chances of mechanical failure. Subaru should never have to pay for drivetrain failures in aftermarket tuned Subarus, no matter how good the tune is.