Tune / Tuning the 6th gen 4Runner engine - worthwhile? voids warranty? OTT experience/review?

[ROBERT18452]

Hello y’all,

I humbly request your collective guidance & direction.

Is it worthwhile to tune the engine of a ‘25 4R?

Does tuning void the manufacturers warranty?

Has anyone had any positive/ negative experiences with OVERLAND TAILOR TUNING?

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration. I anxiously look forward to your response.

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[kt1003]

I’ll be tuning my 25 4R pretty soon, just need to set up an appointment. I had it done in my Tacoma and it made an immense difference in ride. I can’t drive another Toyota without getting it done. I’m not too sure if it voids warranty but you can reach out to your local dealer with any questions. OTT is the way to go ti get the full capability of the engine. Just my thoughts.

 

[photojoe]

I’ll be tuning my 25 4R pretty soon, just need to set up an appointment. I had it done in my Tacoma and it made an immense difference in ride. I can’t drive another Toyota without getting it done. I’m not too sure if it voids warranty but you can reach out to your local dealer with any questions. OTT is the way to go ti get the full capability of the engine. Just my thoughts.

Does the OTT tune affect fuel mileage?

 

[kt1003]

I actually got better mpg after doing it to my Tacoma because I didn’t need to lead foot to get up to speeds anymore. If you dig around on forums like TacomaWorld you can see how it’s effected those I think it’s a mix of helps/stays the same not much on a massive negative drop in mileage.

 

[mjfloyd1]

Yes tuning the ECU and TCU will void your drivetrain warranty if you happen to have drivetrain issues within warranty and Toyota discovers the ECU and TCU were messed with.

I’ve watched this within BMW and Audi forums and they always start out saying that their tune is undetectable and then they have engine/ transmission/ drivetrain issues and they take it to dealership who scans the ECU and TCU and find out that it has been modified and they have their drivetrain warranty voided (Audi labels it TD1) and you are paying out of pocket. The next thing will be that you can flash it back to “stock” but there are flash counters built into the control units and they will know how many times that it has been flashed vs how many times it should have been flashed. They can also detect the amount of boost called for and the amount of boost delivered and discover the discrepancy.

There are APR and Dinan tunes that come with a manufacturer matching warranty so it is pretty evident that your drivetrain warranty will be voided if you have a drivetrain issue.

https://www.goapr.com/blog/post/apr_expands_the_apr_plus_limited_powertrain_warranty_program/

https://www.dinancars.com/dinan-war...l_eyrnocogvsseitgqn6xz5wdeozxgnwuujrntznlq8ep

Gotta pay to play.

 

[brumey]

Yes tuning the ECU and TCU will void your drivetrain warranty if you happen to have drivetrain issues within warranty and Toyota discovers the ECU and TCU were messed with.

I’ve watched this within BMW and Audi forums and they always start out saying that their tune is undetectable and then they have engine/ transmission/ drivetrain issues and they take it to dealership who scans the ECU and TCU and find out that it has been modified and they have their drivetrain warranty voided (Audi labels it TD1) and you are paying out of pocket. The next thing will be that you can flash it back to “stock” but there are flash counters built into the control units and they will know how many times that it has been flashed vs how many times it should have been flashed. They can also detect the amount of boost called for and the amount of boost delivered and discover the discrepancy.

There are APR and Dinan tunes that come with a manufacturer matching warranty so it is pretty evident that your drivetrain warranty will be voided if you have a drivetrain issue.

https://www.goapr.com/blog/post/apr_expands_the_apr_plus_limited_powertrain_warranty_program/

https://www.dinancars.com/dinan-war...l_eyrnocogvsseitgqn6xz5wdeozxgnwuujrntznlq8ep

Gotta pay to play.

I agree. If you want more “something” buy a different vehicle. I will not buy a Honda Civic and invest $$$$ to try and make it a Porsche. A complete waste of money. Save it and buy a vehicle that meets the functional and performance needs without post sale upgrades.

 

[photojoe]

I actually got better mpg after doing it to my Tacoma because I didn’t need to lead foot to get up to speeds anymore. If you dig around on forums like TacomaWorld you can see how it’s effected those I think it’s a mix of helps/stays the same not much on a massive negative drop in mileage.

Great to know. Thank you very much for the info!

 

[don_king]

Yes tuning the ECU and TCU will void your drivetrain warranty if you happen to have drivetrain issues within warranty and Toyota discovers the ECU and TCU were messed with.

I’ve watched this within BMW and Audi forums and they always start out saying that their tune is undetectable and then they have engine/ transmission/ drivetrain issues and they take it to dealership who scans the ECU and TCU and find out that it has been modified and they have their drivetrain warranty voided (Audi labels it TD1) and you are paying out of pocket. The next thing will be that you can flash it back to “stock” but there are flash counters built into the control units and they will know how many times that it has been flashed vs how many times it should have been flashed. They can also detect the amount of boost called for and the amount of boost delivered and discover the discrepancy.

There are APR and Dinan tunes that come with a manufacturer matching warranty so it is pretty evident that your drivetrain warranty will be voided if you have a drivetrain issue.

https://www.goapr.com/blog/post/apr_expands_the_apr_plus_limited_powertrain_warranty_program/

https://www.dinancars.com/dinan-war...l_eyrnocogvsseitgqn6xz5wdeozxgnwuujrntznlq8ep

Gotta pay to play.

I think the Tune’s worth it if it’s detectable or not you gotta remember your warranty is only three years 36,000 miles or six years 60,000 miles. I plan on having mine a lot longer than that and I don’t think the drive train will go out before that lol

 

[mjfloyd1]

That’s perfectly fine as long as you realize the risks. Blow a turbo on a tuned vehicle and it is on your dime ,etc

 

[alpa_chino]

I tuned my MKV Supra less than a year after I got it and had it for 5 years. Never had any issues with it or taking it into the dealer for service. Drove it hard on the track as well. The tune really made the car feel like how it should have felt and I'm sure the tune with the 4runner will be the same from videos I've seen (better response/acceleration..etc.). Only "issue" I ever had was them wanting to do a recall to update the ecu but i refused every time because it would have wiped the tune. Only way they could deny a warranty claim is if they can prove the tune was the reason for whatever the issue you're reporting. I have had multiple vehicles tuned and never ran into any issues (fingers crossed). As far as someone buying a vehicle and not doing any upgrades is entirely up to them but saying getting a vehicle that doesn't "need" upgrades is kinda wild since we are all enthusiast and tuners or so I would think being on these forums. I couldn't own a car and not fix it how I want whether its a Honda or Porsche. That being said I will probably tune mine at some point but I plan on doing other upgrades first before I do it.

 

[mjfloyd1]

In my series of one, I had an Audi RS7 that I APR tuned. I didn’t have problems but I knew that my drivetrain warranty was toast if I had problems.

https://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-...ou-td1-recalls-updates-magnuson-moss-etc.html

 

[odins_beer'd]

I have the OTT tune, if you are running bigger tires I'd highly recommend. I'm running 33 M/T's and was able to gain back about 2 MPG. That will essentially pay for itself over the life of the car. I've experienced less gear hunting and smoother downshifting in lower RPM's and some added pep on the way up. Throttle response overall is much smoother/quicker. I spoke with my tuner before and he assured me they'd really have to go looking to find out the car is tuned. For example, the authors of the tune flashed their truck thousands of times and the dealership was never notified of an issue/message from the vehicle.

Not really worried. OTT tune is virtually undetectable. Plugging into the ECM and running a diagnostic will not show it. Even if somehow some way they found it because of an issue, it's on them to prove that the tune caused the issue. You can't just blanket void a warranty because of a tune, or any aftermarket part for that reason.

 

[mjfloyd1]

That’s how it started out with Audi and then they started seeing drivetrain issues and they began scanning the ECU for tuning. Now any time you take your Audi in for service it gets scanned for tunes and reported and flagged.
This is the infancy stage of Toyota tunes. They will catch you if you have a drivetrain issue and if there are a rash of problems they will begin scanning to check unfortunately

 

[mjfloyd1]

That’s exactly what the Audi guys said before they had drivetrain issues and their drivetrain warranty (only drivetrain) was voided.
If you are ok with the risk , it’s perfect. If you expect warranty coverage for in warranty drivetrain issues then you could very well be disappointed and have a bill to pay.

 

[odins_beer'd]

Maybe, but for now my money is on the hundreds of thousands of people that have gotten it and never had an issue. You can't even google one. Even if they get smart here soon, I'll be long out of warranty by then. If I become the unlucky first, so be it. Also, as someone who came from an Audi before this, their drivetrains aren't comparable. That's a mule to a horse.

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