Frigid North Performance

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:  This is the first I've heard of any release of liability from them and that my car was at risk...  I never put down a "tune deposit".  To me it should go like this if it's such a "risk"  Mr. [redacted] we're about to put your car through extensive test and push it to the limits please sign this waiver releasing us from liability in the case of any engine mishap.  I could understand that but you can't come after the fact and proclaim innocence.  I didn't take my car to them because I lost 100% of there trust as they sent me to Subaru seeking a false warranty claim and never bothered calling to check on my status, I had to call them.  They promised to take care of me but in the end did nothing.  I asked them if they wanted to help pay and they said only if we can inspect it, I have such a bad taste I don't trust them to even touch it.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

The customer brought their car in for a custom dyno tune on 2/20/2016 at which time we completed the requested work and they left a happy customer. We custom tuned the vehicle via the Cobb Accessport, for which we are a certified pro-tuner directly through Cobb. The customer messaged us four months...

later on 6/19/2016 stating that the car was beginning to overheat. We replied the same day and asked her to test her radiator caps. We first provided this option because it is something the customer can check immediately at home. We didn't hear back from the customer until almost two months later on 8/5/2016 stating that her head gaskets had failed and we were responsible for the damage. The customer stated that she had taken the car to a mechanic who informed her about her failed head gaskets as well as that the damage was our fault. We were not able to find a business license or any verification that this mechanic was legally doing work on vehicles. The customer provided a copy of the check they used to pay the third party mechanic which was addressed personally and not to an automotive shop. This is part of the reason that we cannot be sure of what happened and the information the customer provided us with.If we make a mistake, we always want to own up to it as we have a handful of times in the past. We can't verify what tests were performed on the customer's car or what other conditions the car had experienced between the tune in February and when the customer had the car taken apart. This is a span of almost six months between when we tuned the car and when the customer contacted us about the damage to their car. There are many possible causes for a head gasket failure. All of the automotive work we do is not OEM and not to OEM specifications. Meaning, the car was tuned with customer installed, aftermarket performance parts that are meant to push the car's limits beyond that which the vehicle manufacturer designed it for.It is common practice for tuners to lock their maps. This is to protect each tuner's unique approach to tuning so it cannot be copied by other people. It is inaccurate to state that they do not have a copy of their map. The customer does have a copy of the locked map that they paid for.The customer is seeking $2,310. Which is clearly a lot of money. It's reasonable for a business to be cautious about refunding that amount of money. Unfortunately, due to the circumstances, we cannot confirm what happened to the car in the six months between our work and the mechanical failure. We have been tuning 7-12 cars per week for the past eight years and have earned several professional tuning certifications across multiple platforms. It is in our best interest to provide each customer with the best service and support possible, which is what we strive for. However, we are not able to stay in business if we are taken advantage of. We are not trying to prove that the customer is trying to take advantage of us. Just simply that because of the way the customer handled their mechanical issue, there is no longer a way to verify the cause of the failure. A tune is the ECU parameters which tells the vehicle how to function. Because a tune is a programmed set of numbers, a tune cannot change, does not have wear and tear, nor will it randomly fail.  www.fnptuned.com385-399-9649

We do our best to keep customers happy and we’re sorry to hear that you experienced such an expensive failure. At this point, any pointing of fingers as to the cause of the engine failure is speculation. The bottom line is, every customer should understand that modifying a vehicle can not ever be...

guaranteed. While we have 8+ years of experience in this industry, many industry certifications, and hundreds of happy customers, vehicle modification has it’s risks. It’s a rare case when a customer’s vehicle experiences this type of failure, but it does happen. This is why we outline in the tuning deposit Terms and Conditions on our website, that we will not be held liable for mechanical failures. All customers agree to these Terms and Conditions when reserving their tuning appointment.Customers come to us with the goal of increasing the power of their vehicle, in this case, the customer was in the range of a ~150% increase over stock engine power levels. This is clearly not what the vehicle was designed for from Subaru, which has obvious risks. It should be made clear that the nature of this business consists of hobbyists, not customers seeking vehicle repair to OEM/stock specifications. Again we’re very sorry you experienced this type of failure, which is why we offered to repair your vehicle at our cost. The only benefit we would have received as part of this offer was make the customer happy. We receive no other benefit and make no money at all. Unfortunately, the customer opted to not take our offer and pay full price somewhere else, then ask us to pay for it.-- www.fnptuned.com