KDuniverse

Kind of odd but thought I'd ask, has anyone purchased a pre-owned vehicle and found out the previous owner did modifications or tunes? How can I tell what, if anything, has been done? I already noticed the MMI has access to the green screen, but not sure what has been done. How would you know if the car has a tune?

Redd

It might be simplest to have a dealer do a scan on it, they'd know where and what to look for. If you knew what to look for, you'd probably still need something like VCDS to look into the system.

spijun

VCDS does not have access to the ECU module, this requires a special program

MP4.2+6.0

Yep, won't see a tune easily. Can't see w/ VCDS. But green screen is a clue it was VCDS or app device modded for some things. Try the common mods to see if some are there--does it show what gear it is in when in D, can you roll up windows pressing lock on remote and holding, etc.? Given a supercharged motor, can look for physical external mods like pulley set up. K&N filter, etc.

Bob Petruska

You may be able to go to the dealer and have the SQ5 connected to the corporate server system. They could possibly return your Q5 (by your VIN#) to settings that your SQ5 left the factory with. As others stated it's not always easy to determine if the ECU has been recoded for a performance tune. I have 11 mods I made to my Q5 with VCDS and plan to return them back to factory settings when I trade/sell the Q5.

KDuniverse

Thanks everyone. Yes, I can see what gear I'm in when in D/S. I can also roll up and put down the windows with fob. I was curious to see if there was a simple way to see what changes have been made rather than go through each via VCDS and see what has already been completed.

Thank you,

MurrayA4

No I don't believe there's a facility in VCDS that summarizes the mods made.Why do you want to know unless you want to reverse a change which you don't like ?

HZ60

Actually VCDS does log all coding and adaptation changes and puts them into files named AdpLog.CSV and CodingLog.CSV in the VCDS Debug folder. The problem the OP has is that he probably does not have the computer the changes were made with. That's where those files would be. You can't retrieve the changes with a copy of the VCDS software that did not make the changes AFAIK. Here's the link from Ross-Tech

https://forums.ross-tech.com/showthr...y-nets-for-you

KDuniverse

Thanks everyone. I would like to know what, if anything, has been done to the car. I was reading another thread here where the new owner of a previously owned SQ found out the car had a stage 1 tune. Not sure how he was able to find out though. I was just curious more than anything.

Thank you,

Redd

KD-
From other threads, I've seen it said that there's a "tamper flag" somewhere in the car's systems, probably in the ECU, which a dealer can interrogate and which will show if the engine software had been, or is, modified from stock. Presuming you bought it from a non-Audi source, you could always try dropping into a local dealer and asking them to check it out. They might want an hour's labor ($150) but they might do it free, as a customer courtesy and looking to gain your future business.
The other thing to do would be to contact some "tuning software" companies, or their forums, and ask IF you bought and applied their software, would that always leave fingerprints in the car, that a dealer or someone else could pick up.
If your state has an annual emissions/inspection check, those results are usually kept "forever" at the DMV, and they may be available (at minimal cost) to subsequent owners of the car. If the emissions information shifted or spiked and then reverted, that might also be a hint, either of a tune or some type of repairs.

The "tamper flag" has a legitimate purpose, of course, Especially with flex fuel, turbos, supercharging, there are many ways to boost engine performance--which really have to be questioned if there's a debated warranty failure. Say, from running double the factory boost or any other "simple" change.