Range AFM
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,358
Likes: 59
I drove my m7 car for the first 2k miles in eco mode some of the time (4 cyl mode). I have come to the conclusion(for myself) that the increase in mpg is not large enough to warrant the irritating roughness when cyl are deactivated. I am sure the vibration is much less on the a6 cars. I seldom notice it on the truck and Tahoe. Plus when the engine is at low revs (under 1500rpm) and or under a load the mpg is just as high if not higher with all 8 cylinders contributing. So...I do not run in in eco mode anymore.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 4,761
Likes: 240
From: Saint Louis MO
St. Jude Donor '14-'15
And not to bring up the elephant in the room, but the AFM looks to be the cause of a lot of failures thus far...
If I didn't go in the direction I did, I would absolutely have made sure it didn't go into that mode. The AFM lifters have been an issue for years now.
I'm glad that there's confirmation now of this working on the C7 - as someone mentioned, it's a lot easier to dismiss something plugged into the OBD port than it is with a tune should the worst happen.
If I didn't go in the direction I did, I would absolutely have made sure it didn't go into that mode. The AFM lifters have been an issue for years now.
I'm glad that there's confirmation now of this working on the C7 - as someone mentioned, it's a lot easier to dismiss something plugged into the OBD port than it is with a tune should the worst happen.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 20,054
Likes: 44
From: Swansea IL
Not to burst your bubble, but they had answered this question recently.
They said (paraphrasing) that the confusion it would cause most people wasn't worth putting it into the options. I'll go find the exact quote.
HPT is your option for doing that at the moment, and you know what that means warranty-wise. Roll of the dice versus something like this that you can plug in and take out at will.
They said (paraphrasing) that the confusion it would cause most people wasn't worth putting it into the options. I'll go find the exact quote.
HPT is your option for doing that at the moment, and you know what that means warranty-wise. Roll of the dice versus something like this that you can plug in and take out at will.
So it's either we live with it as designed/implemented by GM, or by-pass it with two after-market options that completely disables the feature with possible warranty implications.
Cheers
Racer
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 304
Likes: 4
From: Shelton CT
I read this in an Amazon Range V8 review.
"If you subscribe to onstar, when they scan the car for the monthly diagnostics report, if you have this plugged in they cannot complete the diagnostics on the car and they know something is plugged into the port (it says so on the monthly report). I don't know if this is a big deal as far as the warranty goes, but I didn't see this mentioned in any of the reviews I've read here"
I don't use Onstar, except for the Key Fob Services, so I'm assuming (hoping) that they don't do a monthly look at my C7.
Wormwood - thanks for the info from a real user!
Gilk - do you know if they update the software on previous versions? I'm guessing it's a ship it back situation. The way I figure it, the update will happen right about the time I put my C7 in for the winter, so I wanted to buy it sooner than later.
Ed
"If you subscribe to onstar, when they scan the car for the monthly diagnostics report, if you have this plugged in they cannot complete the diagnostics on the car and they know something is plugged into the port (it says so on the monthly report). I don't know if this is a big deal as far as the warranty goes, but I didn't see this mentioned in any of the reviews I've read here"
I don't use Onstar, except for the Key Fob Services, so I'm assuming (hoping) that they don't do a monthly look at my C7.
Wormwood - thanks for the info from a real user!
Gilk - do you know if they update the software on previous versions? I'm guessing it's a ship it back situation. The way I figure it, the update will happen right about the time I put my C7 in for the winter, so I wanted to buy it sooner than later.
Ed
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 3,960
Likes: 1,106
You used to be able to unsubscribe from the monthly diagnostics part of OnStar but I haven't checked recently. An email to OnStar should provide the answer.
A lot of items plugged into the OBD II port will prevent OnStar from running their monthly scan including a number of the electronic gauge accessories. So it isn't just the Range AFM blocker. I will be ordering a Z06 in a about a year with the 8 speed auto and if it is programmed like the regular C7 (active in all modes except when using manual shift) then I will definitely be adding the AFM blocker. I have no desire to deal with the vibration and other possible AFM issues. The Z06 won't be a daily driver and I am not concerned about losing one or two MPG, I would love to completely lose the entire AFM system (including all of its hardware) instead but doing that isn't worth losing the warranty.
A lot of items plugged into the OBD II port will prevent OnStar from running their monthly scan including a number of the electronic gauge accessories. So it isn't just the Range AFM blocker. I will be ordering a Z06 in a about a year with the 8 speed auto and if it is programmed like the regular C7 (active in all modes except when using manual shift) then I will definitely be adding the AFM blocker. I have no desire to deal with the vibration and other possible AFM issues. The Z06 won't be a daily driver and I am not concerned about losing one or two MPG, I would love to completely lose the entire AFM system (including all of its hardware) instead but doing that isn't worth losing the warranty.
Advanced
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 76
Likes: 6
From: Delray Beach Florida
I appears that the Range still has issues especially after reading the reviews on Amazon. Firstly, the unit needs an On/Off Switch to allow you to easily have it working only when you want it. I enjoy using the On-Star service. Secondly, they need the software update to eliminate the problems some users have. (Others report no problems).
Gilk
Gilk
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 20,054
Likes: 44
From: Swansea IL
You used to be able to unsubscribe from the monthly diagnostics part of OnStar but I haven't checked recently. An email to OnStar should provide the answer.
A lot of items plugged into the OBD II port will prevent OnStar from running their monthly scan including a number of the electronic gauge accessories. So it isn't just the Range AFM blocker. I will be ordering a Z06 in a about a year with the 8 speed auto and if it is programmed like the regular C7 (active in all modes except when using manual shift) then I will definitely be adding the AFM blocker. I have no desire to deal with the vibration and other possible AFM issues. The Z06 won't be a daily driver and I am not concerned about losing one or two MPG, I would love to completely lose the entire AFM system (including all of its hardware) instead but doing that isn't worth losing the warranty.
A lot of items plugged into the OBD II port will prevent OnStar from running their monthly scan including a number of the electronic gauge accessories. So it isn't just the Range AFM blocker. I will be ordering a Z06 in a about a year with the 8 speed auto and if it is programmed like the regular C7 (active in all modes except when using manual shift) then I will definitely be adding the AFM blocker. I have no desire to deal with the vibration and other possible AFM issues. The Z06 won't be a daily driver and I am not concerned about losing one or two MPG, I would love to completely lose the entire AFM system (including all of its hardware) instead but doing that isn't worth losing the warranty.
