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AccessPORT TCM/Transmission upgrade question...

1565 Views 8 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  GT-R_NOVA
After reading like a mad man since I joined this forum I am left with only two questions that I do not know the answer to.

I know that Nissan is able to confirm a tune/ecu flash and continues to give customers a hard time regarding warranty be it right or wrong. For this reason when I purchase my GT-R I will not be getting a tune until all warranty has expired.

I like the options the new AP with TCM has and am wondering if you were to purchase one and solely use it to adjust clutch touch points and Clutch gear learning would Nissan be able to view this and attempt to deny any possible warranty work? The reason I would consider this and not just take the car to a dealer is because the closest certified dealer is two provinces away.

My second question is related to the stage 0 Dodson transmission reliability upgrade. My first thought was that this upgrade would be money well spent as to help prevent some of the more common transmission problems. I have since heard that once the transmission it taken apart that Nissan will deny any warranty claim. I guess my question is if you want to have no possible fights with Nissan do you take no preventative steps to prevent a possible failure besides proper maintenance or do you do the upgrade and fight Nissan if you have a problem after?

Thanks in advance for any feedback or thoughts!
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I like the options the new AP with TCM has and am wondering if you were to purchase one and solely use it to adjust clutch touch points and Clutch gear learning would Nissan be able to view this and attempt to deny any possible warranty work? The reason I would consider this and not just take the car to a dealer is because the closest certified dealer is two provinces away.
The dealer would not know. Now the really hard part is that the AccessPORT will not present you with the TCM adjustments until you install it on your ECU. So what you could do is use a "friend's" AccessPORT to do the adjustments, and buy your own AccessPORT when your ready.

Joe
Does that also apply to installing LC4 on the TCM?
Unfortunately in this case, "it depends" is the understatement of a lifetime. If the fear of warranty rejection is overwhelming for you, then modifying the GT-R beyond wheels, suspension, tires, and cosmetics might be a better approach. The fact is, it depends on the dealer and what mods are done to the car. The dealership and Nissan have an enormous amount of discretion on whether to approve or deny any claim. If you play your cards right, you have a high likelihood of getting most issues covered under warranty. Nissan will basically be scanning and downloading items from the ECU/TCM and not opening our transmission to see if Dodson fasteners and O-rings are installed. If boost levels or normal, and all you did was change the TCM touchpoints and capacities, they would be really hard pressed to make a case for warranty rejection. Hope that helps.
Unfortunately in this case, "it depends" is the understatement of a lifetime. If the fear of warranty rejection is overwhelming for you, then modifying the GT-R beyond wheels, suspension, tires, and cosmetics might be a better approach. The fact is, it depends on the dealer and what mods are done to the car. The dealership and Nissan have an enormous amount of discretion on whether to approve or deny any claim. If you play your cards right, you have a high likelihood of getting most issues covered under warranty. Nissan will basically be scanning and downloading items from the ECU/TCM and not opening our transmission to see if Dodson fasteners and O-rings are installed. If boost levels or normal, and all you did was change the TCM touchpoints and capacities, they would be really hard pressed to make a case for warranty rejection. Hope that helps.
At the end of the day I'm just terrified of dropping 75 thousand for a used car and then having a problem with the transmission and not having it covered by remaining warranty. My initial thought was to just pay a little more and get the transmission upgraded to help prevent some of the more common problems.......but from reading on this forum, correct me if I'm wrong, even having a stage 0 or 1 upgrade does not prevent the solenoid failure. So thinking worst case I get the upgrade, have a failure regardless, then Nissan finds evidence that the transmission was opened and denies warranty.

I know my scenario is a lot of "what if" but I just want to know what to do upon purchase so I can plan ahead.

Thanks for the replies so far!
I have the same dilemma. I would really like an AP, but I just worry about having a warranty claim denied.
I don't even own the car yet and am stressed lol I can't imagine what your going through!
At the end of the day I'm just terrified of dropping 75 thousand for a used car and then having a problem with the transmission and not having it covered by remaining warranty. My initial thought was to just pay a little more and get the transmission upgraded to help prevent some of the more common problems.......but from reading on this forum, correct me if I'm wrong, even having a stage 0 or 1 upgrade does not prevent the solenoid failure. So thinking worst case I get the upgrade, have a failure regardless, then Nissan finds evidence that the transmission was opened and denies warranty.

I know my scenario is a lot of "what if" but I just want to know what to do upon purchase so I can plan ahead.

Thanks for the replies so far!
For what ir's worth the defective issues we've seen have been related to sensors and seals, not gears flying off the shafts. So your assumption is correct, in that the basic preventitive measures, aside from perhaps an upgraded fluid will not eliminate the majority of issues we've seen.
For what ir's worth the defective issues we've seen have been related to sensors and seals, not gears flying off the shafts. So your assumption is correct, in that the basic preventitive measures, aside from perhaps an upgraded fluid will not eliminate the majority of issues we've seen.
Thank you very much for the information. Knowing this I will save the money I would have used for the tranny upgrade for maintenance or visual mods until the factory warranty expires.

Now if only I could make the next 5 months go by quicker...count down is on!

I have to say I have never been a member of a more mature, informative, and helpful forum.
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