96 TA

First off id just like to say that I have done business with Hawks now for roughly 8yrs with not one problem so this is not a bash on the company but I think they got this one wrong and id like to just get some clarity on my problem.

I bought a PCM from Hawks for my all stock (no mods) A4 1996 trans am. I provided them with all the information of my vehicle they requested and few days later I had there PCM.

When i installed the PCM and went for a test drive the first thing i noticed was the speedo was WAY off. It was telling me my speed just in my neighborhood was 50mph. When I took it out of my neighborhood on and the streets the speedo was telling me I was going 100mph while keeping up with traffic in a 45mph zone.

Thats when i noticed my next problem. The car wont shift and is stuck in 3rd gear. I can manually put it into 1st at a stop and shift it up but still wont shift any higher than 3rd gear. Also when i go from park to reverse it shifts really hard, the same thing happens when i go from reverse into drive. Needless to say im un happy with how the PCM is making my car operat e,and nearly having to cruise at 2,800 rpms or more just to keep up with traffic in 50-60mph zones is killing gas milage and making my transmittion run hotter than it ever has (per trans temp gauge)

I called Hawks and explained what was going on with my car to the lady that took my call. She told me my problem was that the gears that I have (stock 3.23) was different than what was programed into my PCM. I told her how far off my speedo was from the actual speed but she insisted it was nothing else other that what she just explained to me. When I told her about my car not shifting out of 3rd gear she again explained to me that it was the difference of my actual gears and the PCMs program. I then asked if i could return the PCM for another and she said no. Reason being is that she believes that id experiance the same problem with the next pcm if it wasn't programed for the gears in my car. She then told me i could send the PCM i bought from them back to them so they could tune it at the price of $150. I said no thanks and that id just like to return the PCM for a refund which she agreed to.

Here is the thing, ive had an LT1 auto in the past with aftermarket gears with no correction made to the PCM and it NEVER gave me such a wack speedo reading. At most it was off 5-9mph and it also never was stuck in third gear. Im thinking the problem is with there PCM and im disapointed that through our discussion we couldn't come to an agreement to swap the one I got for another one they had. Im basically stuck with what I think is Hawks broke PCM or I have to return it and go with out a PCM until i can find another place I can pick one up from.

So what does the problem sound like to you guys with experiance with tunning and PCM swaps? Is Hawks wrong? I don't know whow a PCM for an M6 woud work in a A4 but maybe they sent me a PCM for the wrong transmittion?

Injuneer

If you have an auto trans (VSS = 40 pulses/rev of output shaft), and you run and M6 program (VSS = 17 pulses/rev of output shaft), the speedo will read 2.35 X the actual speed. At a true 45mph, your speedo would read 105mph. I swapped a TH400 with a 40-tooth VSS reluctor into my T56 PCM car, and had exactly that problem.

With you having a similar problem, and the 4L60E not shifting, it would appear they sent you a PCM with a T56 program.

calaban

I don't get why they wouldn't give you an exchange but would give you a refund, what's the difference? You could turn around and buy a correct PCM from them anyway. On top of that, it sounds like they sent you the wrong part to begin with. I'd make sure they refunded shipping as well since they sent you the pcm tuned for a T56 and I'm sure you told them it was an Auto.

Sad to say I dont deal with Hawk's anymore anyway. Not that I've had any issues other than having to wait longer than expected for items that were "in stock" yet didn't ship because they were "waiting for them to arrive from the Manufacturer." Yet, some how they seemed a bit shady when I dealt with them.

Take shipping as an example. After I bought the first items I was going to order some hatch pulldown motor guides from them, which were only like 10 bucks. They were going to charge me 10 or 15 to ship from SC to NC. This was something that you could have put in a padded envelope and shipped with no issue. They never have the shipping stated or anything either. It looks like with the USPS "if it fits, it ships" thing they'd be able to ship out for a decent price and actually quote shipping. It was 4 or 5 years ago though so they may have improved in this area.

96 TA

I don't get it either, it aggravates me when I think back at it. The lady from Hawks was so convinced the problem was my gears. She didn't take in account that no matter what size gears I had that it wouldn't make my speedo be that off and make my car unable to shift out of gear. When she heard me say my speedo was off she immediately made up her mind of what the problem was and no matter what I said after that would change her mind. I straight out told her that I didn't pay $100 for my car to perform like it was, and the fact she didn't want to try and problem solve with me is what really got to me. They could have kept my $100 and sent me a different PCM in exchange for the one they sent the first time. Instead ill return it and get my money back and they wont be making a profit off me at all. Sorry about your problem with them to, they aren't normally like that.

Injuneer; After reading your post it sounds like Hawks did in fact send me a PCM for a T56. Is there away to confirm that the PCM is for a T56 by the service # Thanks for your help!

Injuneer

The PCM hardware is not specific to an A4 or an M6. It just has different programming. So there would be no external indication.

You could have it reflashed by a mail-order tuner.