Engine Failure with PBox: Experiences?

Hello,
'Yesterday, my engine failed. I have a PBox installed in my Golf 4, with 110 kW. It was supposed to produce 185 horsepower. After the car started shaking at 180 km/h and suddenly white smoke started coming from the exhaust, it stopped working. It still runs, but with a lot of smoke and barely responds to the accelerator. The car has only been driven 5,000 km. Does anyone have experience with VW warranties or with PBox repair shops in cases like this? What's the best way to proceed? Unfortunately, the PBox is still installed, and the car is currently at the VW dealer.'

Best regards, Heiner

Hi.

"At the very least, VW probably won't offer you a replacement engine, especially because they'll find the control unit and blame everything on it – even if the engine might have failed anyway (which, of course, can't be completely ruled out)."

The last hope, in my opinion, is that the boxing equipment manufacturer or supplier offers a warranty not only on the electronic functions of the device, but also on the motor.

Even if it's difficult for you, please write about how things turn out. This is likely of general interest to people here.

Sincerely,
Heiner!
That's really bad, engine failure after only 5,000 kilometers.
But for example, I would never have tuned the 110 kW TDI engine, because even in its standard configuration, it doesn't perform very well.
I won't be tuning my 96 kW TDI either.

MY TIP: GO TO THE VW WORKSHOP ON MONDAY AT 7 AM AND SAY YOU FORGOT SOMETHING IN YOUR CAR, AND THEN TAKE THE BOX OUT! If a mechanic sees you, give them 50 euros!
VW will definitely not pay for the damage, and if you didn't buy a warranty from the PBox manufacturer, you won't get anything from them. You'll only get a new box if the old one is broken.
Please write how it ended!

I just unpacked the box, but unfortunately, the car is 120 km away. Well, hopefully, nothing will be noticeable now. The box manufacturer offered a warranty, but who knows how they'll handle things... I'll keep you updated.

Hi.
Could you tell me which manufacturer the box is from? Is it perhaps from the Austrian company (pbox.at)?
I have those too, and specifically the modified racing version!
However, it is supposedly claimed that a 115 kW PD engine can produce approximately 165 horsepower.
I've now driven about 15,000 km. It occasionally goes into limp mode, but otherwise, there are no problems.

Regards,

Jürgen.

I don't want to comment on a specific manufacturer, as I can't definitively say whether the issue is related to the device itself, and the warranty promises haven't been put into effect yet. However, it wasn't from PBoX.at. I'll let you know how things progress.

Has anything happened?

Hi,
I spoke with the workshop. The engine isn't broken, but according to the initial information, the turbocharger and intercooler are likely the problem. It's still unclear whether this is related to the PBox. The PBox dealer is currently not providing much information about what can be done or whether I can return the box. I will talk to the workshop again tomorrow, and hopefully, the car will be running again soon. Best regards, Heiner.

Perhaps the low-pressure fuel pump failed, causing the turbo to over-rev without generating any pressure and ultimately destroying itself. The engine control unit wouldn't have detected anything because no pressure was being built up.

That's how I imagine it could be.

Hello, the little one is running again. I still don't know exactly what was wrong with it, but it's a warranty case for VW (lucky me). I had the performance measured this morning. The standard output is 123 kW and 366 Nm, and with the tuning box, it's 137 kW and 444 Nm, according to the dyno readings. To be continued...

I once spoke with a manufacturer of pbox devices. The advice I received was: 'Stay away from them, because you don't know what you're doing when you start tuning them.'

wilhelm busch wrote:

I once talked to a manufacturer of pbox devices. The good advice: Stay away from them, because you don't know what you're doing.

Hi.
Could the hidden message behind this be "all chip tuning providers know exactly what they are doing"?
I would like to express some reservations about that...

Which speaker manufacturers do your experiences refer to?

I mean, they don't know what they're doing to the engines, and they're not even trying to hide it.

wilhelm busch wrote:

I meant without hiding it, they don't know what they're doing to the engines.

But even if a programmer manages to burn EPROMs with the correct checksums and whatnot, that still, in my opinion, isn't proof that they understand what they're doing to the engine.

I think there are both "reasonable" and nonsensical offers available for both CT and boxing services.
One could perhaps only discuss the respective percentages --> what is the chance of getting junk in the form of a chip or a box when making a "blind purchase"?

... meanwhile, I had encountered some further problems with my Golf (loss of power and excessive smoke). Now it's working again. I was able to return the box, but with a charge (175 euros). Well, you can think what you want about that...