The Superchips Flashcal+ is HOT GARBAGE

[AA_Jeeper]

This is a review after (trying) to use the Flashcal+ for 3.5 months. I tried giving Superchips multiple opportunities to fix and resolve this before this review, and the device is now a useless $170 brick.

Superchips won't issue a refund because I bought it from Extreme Terrain, and are sending me their 3571-JL tuner as restitution, a device with less features that I don't want, and I still have to go buy Jscan like I should have in the first place.

TLDR – it won't even connect anymore; I've reached out to the manufacturer several times over the past 2 months, troubleshot live with their tech support, sent in support logs, and the device has only gotten worse over time. It is now completely unusable- connecting MAYBE once out of every 10 attempts, and then only temporarily. These issues seem to be known by Superchips and they're "working on it" with no resolution timeframe. Don't waste the $170 like I did.

Now the full review:

Why did I pick the SuperChips Flashcal+
This device stood out to me for a few reasons:

1. It looked to be relatively plug and play, I liked the phone interface, and I still think it has the nicest user interface in the app. I still think the user interface is less complex than the Tazer, and more user friendly than Jscan.
2. It had all the features I wanted, and none of the excessive ones I didn't want (such as a light show...). Features I wanted:
   1. disabling the auto-start stop
   2. the offroad pages that let you temporarily disable tire pressure monitors when offroad. I hate warning lights on my dash unless something is wrong
   3. Ability to adjust tire pressure alerts and tire size
   4. Extra gauges for monitoring stuff that your dash doesn't readily show (mostly temps)

Installation and form factor
The installation was easy- plug in the bypass plug and plug the device into your OBD slot. Programming was the first annoyance- there were multiple updates needed to the device which needed to be loaded through the app. This took about 20 minutes, and there was NO user feedback to understand if it was progressing. It also disconnected multiple times while updating, and I had to go through multiple retries of unplugging the device, closing the app, and restarting. That said, while annoying, I put up with it. I should also mention that there were NO instruction included. They have now put a very basic install guide in the app.

Next the form factor- I hate it. The device that plugs into the OBD is bulky and I'm confident I would have broken it off if I left it there. Then there's the LED; it is BRIGHT and shines DIRECTLY into your eye. Like almost dangerously so. And it's on and/or flashing all the time. They've now added a feature to dim it, but it is stupidly placed and annoying. For these reasons, I got a short extender cord and velcrod it under the dash in order to make it safe.

Use
So with the above annoyances completed, I was hoping that I'd have a happy life of easily adjusting my Jeep settings. Oh nay nay.

When it works, the connecting time is laggy, 30-60 seconds to connect. When you want to change screens inside the app, it takes 15-20 seconds just to load the new screen. IF it connects.

WHEN it connects, you're lucky if it stays connected for more than 5 minutes successfully. I've tried troubleshooting everything even with their tech support; adjusting my bluetooth settings, disconnecting/forgetting all other bluetooth devices from my phone, removing the extension plug, reinstalling the app, clearing cache... literally everything I could do to get it to work. IT DOES NOT WORK. After 3 months, I can no longer connect to the device (MAYBE it will connect temporarily 1 out of every 10 attempts).

And the features don't work well either:
The things I wanted:

1. disabling the auto-start stop – this works the most consistently – about 7 out of 10 starts it remembers that I had ESS off and sets it that way.
2. the offroad pages – when it's working they're nice and seemed to work well. The inconsistent connectivity is the biggest concern here because I could potentially be unable to reset the Jeep to "road" mode from offroad if I can't connect while offroad.
3. Ability to adjust tire pressure alerts and tire size – this has worked so far.
4. Extra gauges – the device is missing almost every useful gauge you could want, but has stupid ones (throttle position, etc) and gauges that you already have on your dash (speed, rpm, etc). Some gauges that it does not have that I expected: engine oil temp, transmission temp, inclination, roll, and others.

Tech support and troubleshooting:
Firstly – I emailed with all the problems April 3rd (2.5 months ago), supplying screenshots and support logs. They said they would need to live troubleshoot, but they are only open 8a-4p on weekdays. For those of us with a job, that doesn't work, so I asked if I could setup a phone call slot – at least I could schedule a time around my work schedule. No reply from them after multiple attempts.

So I wait until I have a day off, and call them around noon. Their system tells me tech support is busy, but please leave a callback number and they will keep my place in line. No call back until after 5 pm (which I miss because I'm at a kid event).

Wait for another day off – call at 8:05 AM. No one available per the system (WTF) but again leave a callback number. They call back at 12:00 PM and I spend around 1 hour live troubleshooting with the tech support agent. The agent is unable to connect, and has me send in tech support logs (again).

Wait 2 business days with no information or update from them, call back, wait in line this time, finally get a tech support agent- he says it just got to an engineer's desk this morning, no updates but they're "looking at it."

Wait 4 more business days, send an email to see if there's any update... crickets. No response at all.

Wait 3 more business days, CALL them again, finally get through, and the tech support agent says they're aware of connectivity issues and they're working on it. I ask how long until I have a working device, and he says they have no idea. At this point I ask for a refund because the device clearly doesn't work after months of me trying. They cannot issue a refund because I bought this through Extreme Terrain, so they're sending me their 3571-JL tuner as a restitution – a device with few if any of the features I wanted.

The overall experience with this product has been terrible. Superchips tech support, while friendly, has been elusive and unhelpful. Finally, I am completely disgusted with Superchips not standing behind their product.

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[Cips]

I can concur with the easy to use interface. I appear to be more lucky or successful than you. The auto start/stop setting forgets about 15% of the time. I do not have connection issues and I do have some of the gauges like engine coolant temp.

 

[AA_Jeeper]

I can concur with the easy to use interface. I appear to be more lucky or successful than you. The auto start/stop setting forgets about 15% of the time. I do not have connection issues and I do have some of the gauges like engine coolant temp.

You are correct, I must have missed coolant temp in there, mostly because I can't get it to stay working long enough to adjust things. My point is that a lot of the gauges it could have are missing, and the ones it does have are not very useful. I updated the post to reflect that.

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