Dealer Installed Tune

Do u think Toyota will have this option if not for the 3rd gen maybe the 4th?

https://www.motortrend.com/news/2023-chevy-colorado-pickup-truck-dealer-tune-zr2-power/

 

Its a bad trend. Electric vehicles are already selling de-tuned vehicles and then up sale or have a subscription price to have more power or accessories.

The idea that you buy a vehicle and options are "turned off" just to squeeze out a few more buck from the customer really sucks.

Im totally turned off to companies that are doing this.

 

Totally agree on the subscription part -- unless they are regularly providing you something of value (not just enabling or disabling a feature that is already there and not providing anything more of value), subscriptions are just a way for them to tap into a regular revenue stream that costs them nothing. Razors, XM Radio, I get that (although I don't do XM any more). Heated seats? That's a money grab.

In this particular case it sounds like a one-time charge for a tune that not everybody might want. The charge seems a bit high but reasonable if it maintains your warranty.

What would be even better is if both tunes were available and you could switch between them at will. Kind of like the ECT button, but changing more than shift points. This poses some additional technical challenges, though, and may be significantly more expensive to implement both in hardware and software.

 

Leave us not forget BMW (and a few others) with monthly subscriptions for features such as heated seats, nav, etc...

 

I agree to a point that this is a bad thing. I think most companies try to tune the engine to provide a longer reliable service life. This factory tune usually provides a higher factor of safety on the parts and pieces to allow the stresses to not get anywhere near levels that lead to degradation. However, the Colorado having the same engine with three different factory tunes is something very new especially since they offer it to existing trucks without upgrading any physical hardware. So if the engine is able to handle the additional stress of the higher tunes without affecting reliability it really is just a way to soak more money out of the consumer and try to put the small business tuners out of business. However, I would need to know more about the impact on the engine and the engineering behind these other factory tunes available. And unfortunately Chevy’s track record of reliability is hit and miss. I personally would probably choose the mid range tune just to reduce the overall stress on the components. I seriously doubt the ZR2 tune improves the real world performance enough to notice but then adds additional stress to the engine components all the time, but only time will tell.

I doubt Toyota would do a similar approach as they generally have a different mindset than GM, but car companies have become spec sheet chasers due to all the YouTube reviewers and overall societal need to have the “best”. It even gets me sometimes and I generally value reliability and usefulness over having the best. However with the state of dealership inventory which is basically nil sometime all you have is the spec sheet.

 

According to the article, the base trim engine doesn't have piston oil squirters and is paired with a different transmission. To get the tune in that model, you have to upgrade both the engine and pay for the tune - but, you can get it.

I think most companies look first to get a balance between fuel economy, emissions, and power that will meet the needs of regulations and the target market. Most people don't care much about emissions, so fuel economy and power are likely higher on consumer's list. Not sure if there is a difference in emissions or fuel economy between their tunes, but if there is, this approach may be a way to help meet fleet goals. Consumers like choices, though.