350z UTEC comments from TurboXS
 

Hello Guys,

I want to try to help clear up some things regarding some problems that customers have experienced with the 350Z UTEC. If you have had a UTEC on your vehicle and it has been tuned and runs well, none of this pertains to you. If you are having any problems, please read below.

There have been two different issues that we are aware of:

1. Immediate CEL, no throttle response, slow revving to 2000 rpm. This is a software problem that can be fixed by reloading the Throttle Software on the DBW processor on the UTEC. This is a simple process that is explained in the manual. I would also be happy to walk anyone through the process on the phone. This software is available on the CD shipped with the UTEC and is available on our website for download.

2. More recently we have had several UTECs cause a steep drop off in power in the 4800-6200rpm rev range. These UTECs run the car fine under idle, cruise, and low load driving conditions. The problem does not manifest itself until you are under load or aggressively accelerating the vehicle. This problem should not be confused with massive knock events and/or poor tuning which could cause the same "symptom"of power drop off. There is no way to "tune this problem out".

We currently have all of our engineering resources working to understand what is causing this recent problem and what we can do to fix it. Until we have a solid answer to those questions, we will not ship any more 350Z UTEC's. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

If you are experiencing any of these problems or have any questions or concerns, please call us directly toll free at 877.887.2679 and ask to speak to me, Jermaine or to Mark McGovern, the owner.


Jermaine~
www.turboxs.com
877.887.2679

Thanks for posting, but I think you did not update your site with the DBW update

Hi Jermaine

as I said to Mark on the phone 2 minutes ago, this is to basically call off our deal on the UTECs for the UK market too. Can I just add also that communication with us (the whole deal has been going on for months now) has been very poor and and if I hadn't called you several times over these couple of months, you wouldn't have contacted me. I understand you must have been very busy trying to solve this issue, but no communication made us feel as if we were at the bottom of your priority list.

I am not impressed with how you dealt with the issue, and personally will not organise another group buy/tuning session/trip to the UK with your Company in the future.


Valerio
350z-uk.com

Valerio,

The deal between me and you has been going on for months you are right. Until the end of the last week I was ready to complete the transaction with you and spend few a days training anyone who was interested. I do have tickets and all, which we are still left with. The only hold up was the last set of UTEC's I am not confident with to travel overseas and possibly have a situation.

I do not expect a sympathetic response from you. I would ask that if you have any further words on our specific details please contact me phone or email and not post them here. This is not the intention of this post.

Thanks,

it is intrinsically linked to our deal though, hence my reply. I have already expressed my views with Mark, and won't add anything else that I haven't said already.

I myself have the opposite to report about my personal communications with Jermaine @ TurboXS.

I have been dealing with Jermaine for over a month now via telephone and email and although I can't say that they are PERFECT, I can say that they have definitely resolved all of my issues in a professional and timely manner.

As an example, shortly after receiving my replacement UTEC, I encountered the Throttle Software issue. Of course, at the time I knew nothing of this issue and actually typed up a long email to Jermaine complete with Cipher screenshots of my CEL's. That was done on a Sunday. The following Monday, bright and early, Jermaine was calling me to fix the problem. A short flash later and I was up and running.

As a result of this type of service, I will continue to do business with these guys, despite some hiccups with the product. As far as I am concerned, good customer service can make up for these short fallings.

Bill
.

Thanks for the post. It helps clarify the issues and eliminate some of the misinformation that has been spreading.

One question though, when you state there is a "steep drop off in power in the 4800-6200rpm rev range" what kind of power are we talking about exactly? Does it relate at all to what some people are seeing with odd MAP values in the 10% column (when it should be in the 0% column)?

Do you anticipate a major firmware upgrade that will or may effect all 350z UTEC owners?

Thanks.

I can say the same thing .. I had an issue with the MAP sensor that I got with the UTEC and Jermaine sent a new one for me free of charge (on the same day I called them) Due to the fact that I'm in Saudi Arabia and it would cost more to send back the one I had for an exchange with the new one.

Thanks Jermaine and TurboXS :thumbup: for an excellent service

The DBW Update Link
 

Right click and save as ... The DBW Update

The Odd drop off in power we are talking 100hp +. It is immediately noticeable. The map number in the 10 percent columns are due to interpolation, just simple averaging of values in between load sites. This keeps you from having large jumps from what the Factory Ecu would be running or the UTEC mapping values.

We are always working on software updates, for now it they will be on the back burner.

Thanks,

Jermaine~

Jermaine are the issues with the utec's version specific?
Exp- version 2.3 have issue #1 and version 2.6 have issue #2 or both versions affected with both issues?

The software version does not matter at all.

Does the car year matter?

Thanks for the helpful info! Subscribing for future reference.

Did this only affect the last batch?...or maybe a better question is when did people start noticing it. I recieved my UTEC a few weeks ago and have not installed it yet. I'm just wondering if it will be worth the time/trouble/money to install it now...or if I should just wait until Jermaine and crew find the solution. Is there any chance that it will not be affected?

Please keep us posted on the outcome of this issue.

I suppose it's fair enough not to mention specific misunderstandings in this thread, but what I don't get is this: "The only hold up was the last set of UTEC's I am not confident with to travel overseas and possibly have a situation". What exactly is meant here? Does this mean you weren't confident with the UTECs or with travelling with the UTECs with you? I am not going to turn this thread in a beating towards TurboXS, but I believe nothing was mentioned to us here on the italian group buy either. Any thoughts? Nevertheless, it's good you bring this issue up here because it shows good customer service, as Bill mentioned. s**t happens I suppose

Subscribing
 

:eek:

For now it's been mostly 2004. I am not willing to lock it to only these model years.

Thanks,

is there a more nightmarish car than the 350z in regard to ECU and EMS? Or do we have the worst? :icon39: