My friend is looking into a 2021 A90

[Benjilis]

This is what he got from the dealership. Thoughts so he won’t get screwed?

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[BrettS]

Dealers don’t do unlocks. They’re totally talking out of their ass to try and get a sale

 

[Benjilis]

Dealers don’t do unlocks. They’re totally talking out of their ass to try and get a sale

Can he have them pull info?

 

[Axix23]

Probably mean unlocking the door for you so you can sit inside the car man..... lol

 

[XtremeMaC]

Well of course on their end it'll be "unlocked" to perform updates.
They can't unlock it to be tuned by you.
You're better off asking for the ECU date

 

[underdonk]

I'm in the lucky position to have been able to purchase my (unlockable) '21 3.0 Premium outright (so no issues with a bank technically owning the car). I also don't care about the warranty given the track use of the car - I assume that's gone anyways. I don't know the answer to your question, but I am friends with the Sales Manager at the Toyota dealership I do business with. I reached out to him just now and he said he would get with the Service Manager on Monday and see if it's something they will do (we know they can do it) for customers who don't care about their warranties. I'll certainly let you know what they say!

Edit: This is honestly something I hadn't even considered - just asking Toyota to unlock it.

 

[Axix23]

I'm in the lucky position to have been able to purchase my (unlockable) '21 3.0 Premium outright (so no issues with a bank technically owning the car). I also don't care about the warranty given the track use of the car - I assume that's gone anyways. I don't know the answer to your question, but I am friends with the Sales Manager at the Toyota dealership I do business with. I reached out to him just now and he said he would get with the Service Manager on Monday and see if it's something they will do (we know they can do it) for customers who don't care about their warranties. I'll certainly let you know what they say!

Edit: This is honestly something I hadn't even considered - just asking Toyota to unlock it.

I am super curious on why Toyota would even have the tools to unlock an ecu? And do they even know what that means? 99% of the Toyota dealerships I been to are clueless about the a90. They can’t even get the correct oil/filter in to change the oil and filter. Do your really think they can unlock an ecu? Lmao

That’s not a factory warranty issue. The ecu needs to be unlocked so it can be flashed by an aftermarket software.

 

[underdonk]

I am super curious on why Toyota would even have the tools to unlock an ecu? And do they even know what that means? 99% of the Toyota dealerships I been to are clueless about the a90. They can’t even get the correct oil/filter in to change the oil and filter. Do your really think they can unlock an ecu? Lmao

That’s not a factory warranty issue. The ecu needs to be unlocked so it can be flashed by an aftermarket software.

I have no idea, but we'll find out! I actually have had really good experiences with this dealership all around, service department included. The only issue I've ever had has been receiving my car with the nav system not activated, which they resolved quickly - the service department knew what needed to be done, just missed it during the PDI.

 

[Benjilis]

I'm in the lucky position to have been able to purchase my (unlockable) '21 3.0 Premium outright (so no issues with a bank technically owning the car). I also don't care about the warranty given the track use of the car - I assume that's gone anyways. I don't know the answer to your question, but I am friends with the Sales Manager at the Toyota dealership I do business with. I reached out to him just now and he said he would get with the Service Manager on Monday and see if it's something they will do (we know they can do it) for customers who don't care about their warranties. I'll certainly let you know what they say!

Edit: This is honestly something I hadn't even considered - just asking Toyota to unlock it.

Would love a follow up. I told my friend that if they won’t let him see the ECU at the dealer to just ask to take it home for a day or move to somebody else

 

[joshthorsc]

That dealership definitely wants to make a sale by luring your friend in. lol

 

[Xxyion]

I am super curious on why Toyota would even have the tools to unlock an ecu? And do they even know what that means? 99% of the Toyota dealerships I been to are clueless about the a90. They can’t even get the correct oil/filter in to change the oil and filter. Do your really think they can unlock an ecu? Lmao

Actually i'm willing to bet that manufactures have the ability to unlock ECU's. Part of be believes the whole new ECU that comes locked, is a push by the car manufactures to essentially push their own tuning services. Now i've only really seen this with German cars (Audi also has locked ECU's) but i do know that Volkswagen already utilizes APR tuning for warranty covered tunes.

It makes sense from a business perspective to release an ECU that cant be unlocked by traditional means, and can only be unlocked from "specialized dealership approved tuners". This way, BMW, and the VW group can charge an arm and a leg for a warranty covered tune.

That being said, the new C8 Corvette had a locked tune as well and it was only recently unlocked by third party tuners. it'll just be a matter of time before ours are unlocked as well.

 

[Benjilis]

Actually i'm willing to bet that manufactures have the ability to unlock ECU's. Part of be believes the whole new ECU that comes locked, is a push by the car manufactures to essentially push their own tuning services. Now i've only really seen this with German cars (Audi also has locked ECU's) but i do know that Volkswagen already utilizes APR tuning for warranty covered tunes.

It makes sense from a business perspective to release an ECU that cant be unlocked by traditional means, and can only be unlocked from "specialized dealership approved tuners". This way, BMW, and the VW group can charge an arm and a leg for a warranty covered tune.

That being said, the new C8 Corvette had a locked tune as well and it was only recently unlocked by third party tuners. it'll just be a matter of time before ours are unlocked as well.

He’s asking for the ECU codes from the car and he gave a screenshot of a car that was locked. If they say “the codes match up” then he will simply walk away.

 

[Xxyion]

He’s asking for the ECU codes from the car and he gave a screenshot of a car that was locked. If they say “the codes match up” then he will simply walk away.

yeah that wouold be for the best. If he really wants to tune i recommend him just getting a used 2020. He'll save a few thousand that way and i dont think people have actually seen any major benefit to tuning a 2021 vs a 2020.

 

[black_sedan]

Even if the ECU date is good, that ECU may require a bench unlock. Going thru the same with one of my buddies. His date on the sticker is 01-30-20 but BM3 is giving him the error stating it needs a bench unlock. $300 from Titan and a 2hr trip to do it.

 

[XtremeMaC]

If I'm not mistaken after the build of Launch Editions, there was a first update that made it only bench unlockable. Then, with A91 and 2021's past 6/1 it became unlockable.

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