Final Review of ESS Flash

[E82tt6]

This is a "just the facts ma'am" review, and I leave the reader to make their own conclusion. I'd like to ask people to refrain from flaming, bashing, or tuner vs tuner, and I'd also like to ask vendors to stay 100% neutral, or not post.

Many of you probably read my first review. If not, here are cliffs: awesome drivability, no lag, super smooth, great torque, awesome part trottle controlability, but ~4-5 psi low, and cat issues. I wasnthe first USA catless stage 3 msd81 car, so didn't have an issue with it.

Todd contacted me three weeks after first installing the tune to tell me that the updated flash was working. Sent in the dme, got it back three days later and rushed to put it in my car. I hit the start button annnnddd... nothing. The car won't turn over. I called Todd, and he told me AR Design had the same issue, as did his msd80 car, but they had worked around it on his car. I told Todd, it wasn't his fault, and that I wouldn't make a stink on the boards about it.

Two days later, I asked for a reflash to stock/refund, and he said no problem. Sent the dme in, and I get an email from Todd that it's been shipped back, buy with the wrong program (the new and improved stage 3) because of a screw up. I was pissed, as I had attached instructions to the dme, but I still did not intend to post anything on the boards, because, hey, shit happens, right?

Fast forward two and a half week, girlfriend checks bank account. No refund. I called and emailed Todd, no response by that afternoon, so she decided to contact the banks consumer services division to contest the charge. The bank has issued a refund. That was three days ago, still no word from ESS.

I've been careful not to bash, hate, or flame. Just the facts, and I think I've been cheritable. I believe it is tough to get it right with a mail order flash. I'd ask the community to refrain from flames or bashing.

Thanks.

[tkd]

how is your car running now? ecu still good?

[E82tt6]

Car is running just fine now, and there was no damage to the ECU iteslf.

[WeekendWarrior]

I've recently installed the ESS stage 3 flash as well and its super great. they managed to fix the o2 issue before they got it back to me but the car still trips the "tampering" code apparently. the car. fucking. moves.

[E82tt6]

Originally Posted by WeekendWarrior

I've recently installed the ESS stage 3 flash as well and its super great. they managed to fix the o2 issue before they got it back to me but the car still trips the "tampering" code apparently. the car. fucking. moves.

I'll bet. Glad your car is running so well!

[M3R1]

Originally Posted by E82tt6

This is a "just the facts ma'am" review, and I leave the reader to make their own conclusion. I'd like to ask people to refrain from flaming, bashing, or tuner vs tuner, and I'd also like to ask vendors to stay 100% neutral, or not post.

Many of you probably read my first review. If not, here are cliffs: awesome drivability, no lag, super smooth, great torque, awesome part trottle controlability, but ~4-5 psi low, and cat issues. I wasnthe first USA catless stage 3 msd81 car, so didn't have an issue with it.

Todd contacted me three weeks after first installing the tune to tell me that the updated flash was working. Sent in the dme, got it back three days later and rushed to put it in my car. I hit the start button annnnddd... nothing. The car won't turn over. I called Todd, and he told me AR Design had the same issue, as did his msd80 car, but they had worked around it on his car. I told Todd, it wasn't his fault, and that I wouldn't make a stink on the boards about it.

Two days later, I asked for a reflash to stock/refund, and he said no problem. Sent the dme in, and I get an email from Todd that it's been shipped back, buy with the wrong program (the new and improved stage 3) because of a screw up. I was pissed, as I had attached instructions to the dme, but I still did not intend to post anything on the boards, because, hey, shit happens, right?

Fast forward two and a half week, girlfriend checks bank account. No refund. I called and emailed Todd, no response by that afternoon, so she decided to contact the banks consumer services division to contest the charge. The bank has issued a refund. That was three days ago, still no word from ESS.

I've been careful not to bash, hate, or flame. Just the facts, and I think I've been cheritable. I believe it is tough to get it right with a mail order flash. I'd ask the community to refrain from flames or bashing.

Thanks.

That sucks...

[M3_Dust]

sounds like you over-reacted, you should really post a link to this thread on E90 so people can see that ESS has responded

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=243471

Originally Posted by Sales@ESS

I do apologize, I wasn't near my computer.

I just want to clear up the entire story, since there is always two sides and the facts are not all present in his account. When Charles came to us asking about the flash, we told him the catless version MSD81 had not been done in the US yet and he would be the first. He was excited and we even offered him the flash for $600 ($150 off the discounted price) because there is always a chance something would be different with US catless programming and it could take a try or two. He accepted and shipped out his DME.

He got the tune and while it ran perfectly, it was limited to 11psi. We discovered the problem and even paid $175 to his local dyno shop to make sure. He sent the DME back (we covered overnight shipping back to him), but the new version did not start. This happened to AR Designs as well (a simple correction that took 1 minute to rectify). Again, these all relate to catless versions, nothing to do with the core flash itself. Catless was an option we wanted to include for the US market owners.

Out of the blue, Chuck instantly demanded to go back to stock even after we explained from the beginning that it could take a flash or two to dial in US catless. We even flew the tuner out to Colorado to AR Designs to get into a MSD81 car physcially and tune it out. Within 10 minutes, the new catless flash ran perfectly.

The fully working tune was loaded into Charles' DME and shipped out on our dime. He still demanded stock and never even tried the working tune. This we take responsibility for, it should have gone out stock as he asked and we apologize for the mistake. We gladly covered the shipping to him again and returned it to stock. We just wanted him to get the flash he asked for.

As for the refund, Charles emailed us only Thursday (two days ago) and asked about it. It was pending in the accounting office. It was promptly processed Thursday, but he must realize that each bank is different and can take up to a week to display CC refunds. It has already been removed from our account, so he should have it as soon as his bank allows.

We take pride in serving our customers well and always wish to make it right.

Charles: If there is anything else we can do for you, please don't hesitate to ask.

[E82tt6]

In what way did you think I over reacted?

I wouldn't have even posted anything if it weren't for the fact that my refund was three weeks late with no word from ess.

To be clear, my gripes:
I had to ship my ecu twice on my dime for a flash back to stock when it should have happened in one trip.

No refund after three weeks, with no word from ess on a delay.

The good;
As I stated in my original review, Todd is great and attentative, flash is fantastically driveable.

My reason for requesting a refund:
Non started flash reduced my confidence, and made me think I had underestimated the amount of testing I had to do. I have no probleming helping finish a product (ask Terry about that), but I didn't think I'd have to very much in terms of time without a car. Quite frankly, it made me think I got more than I bargained for.

Maybe I worded things badly in my first post?

[Yearofthe1]

IMHO, I don't think you over-reacted, but remained respectful and patient throughout this event. Your post added a great deal of valuable info on this product and company.

[E82tt6]

Thanks, and I don't want anyone to think I hold ill will towards ESS.

If someone wanted a flash, I still think they're a worthy contender.