The fight to unlock your car's brain

Cars are more complicated, connected, and software driven than ever. The tuning industry is growing, but awash in shady characters promising big power gains if you yank out your car's brain and send it to them to modify. AutoTuner aims to show you can run a legitimate business in this space, but this is at odds with what automakers want. AutoTuner is building its business by primarily offering the tools and services to jailbreak ECUs, not the actual codes. But this all crosses into the battle over right-to-repair, not to mention automakers themselves wanting to sell you more performance via upgraded software for a cost. The Drive's Editor-In-Chief Kyle Cheromcha and Director of Content and Product Joel Feder are joined by AutoTuner USA CEO Arin Ahnell for a frank discussion about the state of and future of software tuning, the right-to-repair movement, and modification culture in a timeline of complex powertrains and EVs. Stories referenced in today's episode: ⁠Why Drivers and Mechanics Are United Against Automakers: ‘Right To Repair’ Explained⁠ Ford’s CEO Doesn’t Want You Fixing Your New Bronco. He Says It’s About Safety The Feds Are Coming for Diesel Truck Owners. They’re Starting With Your Phone DOJ Orders Apple, Google to Hand Over OBDII App User Data in Emissions Probe John Deere to Pay $99 Million in Monumental Right-to-Repair Settlement Ford CEO Jim Farley’s Right To Repair Comment Should Make Every Car Owner Uncomfortable Rivian’s RAD Tuner Is Like An Equalizer For Your EV’s Powertrain 00:00 - Intro 05:13 - What is the state of chip tuning in 2026? 07:14 - What does it take to unlock ECUs at scale? 08:09 - Automakers getting into the tuning game 09:30 - Warranties and tuning 11:18 - OEM collaboration 12:48 - Right-to-repair 15:51 - How do you know when an ECU's unlocked 16:50 - Getting around security protocols 19:37 - Difference between different types of cars from different countries 20:45 - Subscription model 22:05 - AutoTuner One app 24:05 - Legal issues 31:28 - Stories of people sending in their ECUs 32:33 - EVs and tuning 36:22 - Vertical stack integrations 38:53 - Tractors, agricultural market 42:32 - Accessibility and business growth 43:37 - The next cracking goal Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices