Disclaimer

Research and Educational Use Only

OpenRemap is experimental software developed for research, educational, and development purposes only. It is not a commercial product, it has not been certified or validated for use in any safety-critical or production environment, and it is not intended for use on road-registered vehicles.

Right to Repair

OpenRemap is built in the spirit of the Right to Repair movement. Vehicle owners have a legitimate interest in understanding, analysing, and archiving the firmware on hardware they legally own.

In the United States, the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) grants exemptions that allow vehicle owners to access and modify the software on their own vehicles for the purpose of diagnosis, repair, and personalisation. These exemptions have been renewed and expanded by the Copyright Office, most recently in 2021.

In the European Union, the Right to Repair Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 and related directives affirm the right of consumers and independent repairers to access tools and information necessary to maintain their own property.

OpenRemap does not circumvent any security system. It operates on binary files that the user already legally possesses. Its purpose is to make the contents of those files understandable, comparable, and reproducible — not to enable unauthorised access to any vehicle or system.

This framing applies only to vehicles and ECUs that you legally own or have explicit authorisation to work on. Using this tool on hardware you do not own or are not authorised to modify is outside the scope of this project and is your sole legal responsibility.

No Warranty. No Guarantee of Correctness.

This software is provided "as is", without warranty of any kind — express or implied. This includes, but is not limited to, any warranty that:

• ECU identification is correct for a given binary
• Recipes are free from errors or omissions
• Patched binaries are safe, functional, or suitable for any purpose
• The software behaves as documented in all cases

The authors make no representations about the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any output produced by this software. Use it at your own risk.

Professional Review is Required Before Flashing

Any binary file produced or modified by this software must be reviewed and verified by a qualified automotive engineer or professional ECU tuner before it is flashed to any vehicle.

This is not optional. The software includes post-patch validation tools to aid this review process — but those tools are not a substitute for professional judgement. You are responsible for ensuring that any modified firmware is safe and appropriate for the specific vehicle and ECU it will be installed on.

Flashing incorrect, corrupted, or incompatible firmware to a vehicle ECU can result in:

• Permanent damage to the ECU
• Engine damage
• Loss of vehicle function
• Safety hazards to the driver, passengers, and others

The authors accept no responsibility for any damage, loss, or harm arising from the use of this software or any output it produces.

⚠️ Checksum Verification is Mandatory

Do not flash any binary — patched or otherwise — without first running an independent checksum verification.

This is the single most important step between this tool and a vehicle. Every ECU family uses one or more checksum algorithms to verify the integrity of its firmware. If a checksum does not match, the ECU will reject the file, fail to start, or enter a recovery mode — at best. At worst, it will flash corrupted firmware silently.

What openremap does NOT do:

• It does not calculate or correct ECU checksums
• openremap validate tuned confirms that recipe bytes were written correctly — it does not verify that the resulting binary is a valid, flashable image

What you must do before flashing:

1. Open the tuned binary in a professional-grade tool — WinOLS, ECM Titanium, Alientech KESS, or an equivalent
2. Run the tool's checksum correction function for the specific ECU family
3. Confirm the binary passes integrity validation before touching any vehicle

Skipping this step can result in a permanently bricked ECU. There is no software recovery from a bad flash on most production ECUs.

Legal Responsibility Rests With the User

The legal status of modifying ECU firmware varies significantly by country, region, and intended use. Depending on your jurisdiction, modifying engine management software may:

• Violate vehicle type approval regulations (EU)
• Violate emissions laws such as the Clean Air Act (United States)
• Invalidate roadworthiness certifications (UK MOT, German TÜV, and equivalents)
• Void the vehicle manufacturer's warranty
• Be subject to additional regulations specific to your region

It is your sole responsibility to understand and comply with all applicable laws and regulations before using this software or applying any output it produces to a vehicle. The authors of OpenRemap provide no legal guidance and accept no liability for regulatory or legal consequences arising from the use of this software.

Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall the authors, contributors, or copyright holders of OpenRemap be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, or consequential damages — including but not limited to loss of use, data, revenue, or profits; vehicle damage; ECU damage; personal injury; or business interruption — however caused and on any theory of liability, whether in contract, strict liability, or tort, arising in any way out of the use of or inability to use this software, even if advised of the possibility of such damage.

Anti-Tampering

OpenRemap must not be used to perform or facilitate any of the following. These are not tuning activities — they are criminal offences in most jurisdictions and are explicitly outside the scope of this project:

• Odometer fraud — altering mileage data stored in an ECU or instrument cluster
• Immobilizer bypass — disabling or circumventing factory anti-theft systems
• Safety system tampering — modifying or disabling airbags, ABS, ESC, seatbelt pretensioners, or any other active or passive safety system
• Speed limiter removal on commercial vehicles — where governed by law (EU Regulation 2019/2144 and equivalents)
• Theft facilitation — any use that assists in the theft of a vehicle or its components

The authors reserve the right to refuse contributions, close issues, and remove forks that appear to pursue any of the above purposes. If you discover that this tool is being used for any of these activities, please report it via the repository's security contact.

Interoperability

OpenRemap is developed and distributed under the principle of software interoperability as recognised by:

• EU Directive 2009/24/EC, Article 6 — which permits the reproduction and translation of software code where indispensable to obtain interoperability of an independently created program with other programs
• DMCA Section 1201(f) — which provides an exemption for reverse engineering undertaken solely for the purpose of achieving interoperability of an independently created computer program
• DMCA Section 1201(j) exemption renewals (2021) — which extend interoperability and repair rights specifically to motorised land vehicles

This tool does not circumvent any copy protection or access control mechanism. It operates exclusively on binary files that the user already legally possesses. Its purpose is to make the contents of those files readable, comparable, and reproducible using independently created, open-source software — which is the definition of interoperability as intended by these provisions.

Contributors who develop extraction patterns and identification logic do so under the same interoperability principles. Pattern matching against a binary file you legally hold is not a circumvention act — it is the foundation of every compatible tool in this ecosystem.

Summary

If you are unsure whether using this software is legal or appropriate for your situation, do not use it. Consult a qualified professional first.