Good question, but I do know this...my truck was reflashed at the dealer recently with the new AQ flash and was not labeled anywhere on the truck to that fact. I guess that reflash info is stored in the DC computer system. I know they used to label the reflash on the radiator support.

 

AMEN!

To my best knowledge, not.

Marco

 

A reflash is stored in the DC computer system if it due to recall for sometype of safety issue.
The C02 flash is a perfect example. I use to get notices in the mail about the safety recall until I had it done at the dealer.

MikeyB

 

If we are talking about Ripping people off...

Let's see.. Dodge puts a speedo "gear" (what ever) in it's trucks that is close to 10% off deliberately. You only go 90,000 miles and your 100K warranty is gone.

That's the 10,000 miles you need the MOST. Times how many Trucks + cars...

I do not condone running a #9 on your smarty and blowing things up by driving like an then pulling into a dealership and "fooling" them by making all the mods disappear.

But I know the dealerships I have been at (except one) would "void" all of your warranty for everything they possibly can if they see any mods.

Saying my CD player is damaged cuz of a Smarty... or sticking calipers or, or, or....

Outta sight outta mind.

My 1997 CTD speedo was 10% off from the factory. How many miles and how many millions of $ did Dodge rip off in legitimate claims?

Glass houses...

Let's just drop the BS, Dodge is breaking the law. 2 wrongs don't make a right, but they are just as bad if not worse then some of the customers.

Performing oil changes w/o being asked and charging the customers for them as a "favor" as an example. That's criminal.

My 5 star dealer dropped my new 13 quarts of Mobil 1 diesel oil and micro glass filter (less than 100 miles on it) and replaced it with dyno oil and a POS dodge filter all for the slight charge of $58 dollars. (for 13 dollars of cheep dyno oil and a $3 filter) Ohhhh how nice of a favor THAT was. They refused to pay for my "used" oil.

It's a money making scam. It's criminal. How many people are they doing this "favor" for?

Sorry but the criminal behavior is on both sides. IMHO the dealers, dodge, and the warranty companies, are doing MORE of it. Charging for the extended warranty then doing all possible to the point of most people having to fight to get the services they paid for. Lemon laws and lawyers are dealing with this BS constantly.

Let's cut the crap and stop bashing Marco for having an invisible Down-loader. I would not have bought it w/o it being that way as I know EVERY claim I had would have been a battle. I run mine at #2 Big deal.

Already the Dealer was going to void my warranty due to the GV Overdrive. I got a letter from the service manager stating it would not affect my motor (pre Smarty).... My guess I am SOL for rear end, and would have to fight for a tranny or transfer case problem. I was not going to purchase the truck unless I could have the Overdrive and Not loose my warranty.

I have been billed for work that was not done (throttle return springs) and had a runaway truck due to this "oversight". Billed for safety recall work and a host of other garbage.

Read the mechanic notes on your work order not the printed ones. OMG! Even I know you sometimes have to bleed injector lines to start a diesel when the lift pump is replaced or the fuel filter replaced!.... "truck would not start after 15-20 tries" "bent and broke injector line" (all for just a fuel filter replacement?)

Or .. watching a mechanic drive a $40K CTD into the work bay from the parking lot using the starter motor. "We do that all the time.. It does not hurt anything" (the service manager after I asked him if he knew about this practice his tech was using) Price your starter motor on your CTD.

How about spraying brake cleaner on a hot injector pump when the motor is running? Why should a customer pay for that little mistake. (VW)

This is not the place to get into a contest about ethics. Start a new thread.

The dealer never seemed to know about my big safety recalls till I printed them out and drove there to prove it.

For fun .. just sit near where you can hear what is being talked about in the service area... for a day... Your opinion of how much Dodge or any dealer wants to really help YOU instead of make $ for the dealership is quickly apparent.

I called to see if I can get my truck in to read a "CEL" (yea yea it's not a CEL). "Sure come on down we can get you in at 3." I get there at 2:45 ... Have to fill out a ton of papers... get mileage etc..

Then after an hour the tech says through the window to the office he can't read it because they do not have a working scan tool which he reminded the people at the front desk about ... "Oh yea.. that's right .. you need that to read a CEL?" from the person at the appointment desk.

the same woman who stood there like I was invisible when I first got there and took 20 minutes to talk to me .. because she was busy talking with her buddies behind the counter about some funny story...

I had purchased a block heater cord while waiting... so I said "how about you but this in for me since I wasted 3 hrs of MY time (figuring I'd be comped the 10 minute install as a gesture) "Sure"

Then get a $50+ labor fee on the bill.. "What made you thing we'd do it for free?" (AFTER they put it in!) No clue why it was so much anyway. Grrrrr I seriously thought they were going to do it for free.

Ya wonder why people hate dealers.

 

This is a total lack of communication on your part in my opinion, but .....Yup, your right, screw'em .......... how can I argue with that?

I said my peice and Marco calmly stated his position.

Y'all can have your thread back now.

 

Actually, if I am thinking about the correct thing here, tennman's assumption was correct. None of the downloaders have the ability to copy and return your stock software.....yet. Whether your using a Smarty, BDDL, Flashpaq, etc., they all come pre-programmed with the programmer manufacturer's version of "stock" software for your rig. When you return to stock, you get that version, not the version your truck originally had on it. It will be a DC stock version though, but it may be newer or may be older than what you had depending on how old your programmer is or the last time it was updated.

If you have an older 3rd Gen like mine that has not been to the dealer since new, you could borrow a buddy's programmer, preferably with current updates on it, program your truck and immediately return to stock and you would have DC's latest software with all of the TSB updates released since you purchased your truck. Easy way to prevent a trip to the dealer if you need a flash. Assuming your programmer manufacturer keeps their software up to date and chooses to incorporate TSBs.

 

Yes, thats what I was asking AK.


These devices might in fact be undetectable but if they cannot put back the exact flash that was on yours
you could kiss whatever remaining warranty you had left goodby.
This is assuming the dealer did update the reflash info either with a label or in their computer.



I would think that if you went to the dealer with an ECM that was dated 05/05 and you had a flash that was not released
until sometime in 06 it would not take a rocket scientist to figure out that you have been doing something you were not supposed to be doing with your truck.


If it has the original flash like mine does I think I would be
up the creek if I tried to have warranty work done on anything once the scanner read the flash.

It is in fact pay to play as many have said.
That said I have elected to not play at this time.

I don't know about you but 30+k for a truck is too much to invest to risk any repair that could run in the high $1,000's.
I am not poor by any stretch but a repair of that sum would really hurt if it had to come out of my pocket.

 

My Question was asked above but I don't think Marco answered it..

So here are a few extra questions to clarify it for me, if you can induldge me..

1) Does the Smarty have multiple stock programs in it and return it to whichever program that was in the truck??

OR

2) Does it have only the latest program avaliable when the smarty was purchased.. So if the truck is a older truck and never reflashed will it now have a later version of DC's software in the ECM...

I know DC keeps track and stickers the trucks when they are reflashed..Lets just say that a truck had the first reflash avaliable but not the 3rd, 4th etc...
then someone buys a smarty, when the truck is returned to stock will it have #2 reflash or possibley #1, #3 or #4 reflash dempending on which was in the smarty when it was purchased??

This is the burning question keeping me from buying a Downloader...

Gerry

 

Very good question Gerry, I don't think anyone is giving away proprietary information in answering this.

But...FYI...my truck was reflashed at the dealer and no stickers were placed on it to identify the reflash.

 

I thought Marco said Smarty saves whatever software was in there before you loaded the Catcher program. It did not sound like Smarty has any stock programs saved in it, just saves the program your truck has on it stock/before smarty?........that's how I was reading it anyway?


hopefully Marco will clear things up????


I don't even have a Smarty but am very interested in one.

 

We may not hear from Marco about this on an open thread...

 

I deal with a couple different dealers, one while i am at school one and one at home . Each time i take it to another dealer, they have a printout of previous work done by the other dealer including ECM flashes and TSB's. IDK were that stands in things, but they deffinatly have record of what they have done. i also have no stickers on mine.

 

Bump. To the top.

 

Hummmm wonder if we will find out... Maybe the silence means it is detectable if you don'thave the same program ???

Guess I won't be buying a downloader... boxes only!!

 

when i delete dtc's at work with my modis or genesis it also deletes frees frame data b/c the freese frame data is supposted to help you diagnose the problem and simulate the same driving conditon the dtc was set so the freese frame data should be deleted when the dtc is deleted