Review: Ashley Chetty & Xcede Performance

[NBN]

Let's try this one last time...

You’re still stuck on one assumption: that this must have been missed during the install. You keep ignoring the other equally possible (and very common) reality, that the sensor or wiring could have failed, worked loose, or been unplugged after the work was done.

You keep framing this as:
“Either it was faulty before, or Ashley missed it.”

That’s a false choice.
There is a third option you keep refusing to acknowledge, it failed or was disturbed later.

And yes, a downpipe install involves the O2 sensor, but that does not mean a fault must immediately exist or show up on a scan. Sensors fail with heat. Wiring gets brittle. Plugs work loose. That can happen weeks or months later, especially on a decatted car.

You also put a lot of weight on:
“ex-BMW tech”
“trustworthy workshop”

That doesn’t mean the owner personally worked on your car, or that a junior didn’t unplug something while diagnosing. Workshops unplug sensors all the time during fault finding. You took it to two different workshops, that doubles the chance of human interference. Pretending that’s impossible is naïve.

You say Ashley should have offered to inspect the car.
But by the time you contacted him, you had already gone to two other workshops, already had a diagnosis, already formed a conclusion

At that point, you weren’t asking him to investigate, you were telling him he caused it. Expecting him to “jump in and help” after that doesn’t make sense, and that, dear sir, is on you.

You keep saying this is “just a review,” but you named a person, named a shop, and tied a fault discovered months later directly to their work without proof of when it happened. That stops being a neutral review and becomes naming and shaming based on an assumption.

You admit yourself:
“I can’t comment on the tuning.”

Yet your whole theory depends on how the car behaved with sensors plugged and unplugged. That’s exactly the part you don’t actually understand, but you’re still drawing conclusions from it.

And the biggest question you still haven’t answered:
If in January you felt the car wasn’t lekker anymore, why didn’t you take it back to the last person who worked on it? Why go to two other workshops first?

That choice was on you.

Right now, the only thing you can still prove is:
a sensor issue existed in January.

You cannot prove, when it happened, who caused it or that it was missed during the install

Yet you published a post that points the finger anyway. That’s not “just sharing experience” that’s making a public claim without evidence of cause.

Your review may have started as frustration.
But the way you framed it turned it into an accusation.

And once you name someone without proof, you open the door to exactly what’s happening now:
a bus full of people jumping on “Ashley bad” street.

That part isn’t on him.
That part is on how you chose to present it.

We clearly don’t sit around the same campfire when it comes to responsibility and ethics, so I’ll leave it there and keep my number to myself.

Im not jumping on anyone's wagon but having had a faulty Lambda sensor on my car all I can say is that no car enthusiast would willingly drive their car for months with the stumbling, over fueling, misfires and engine check light that are associated with a faulty or unplugged Lambda sensor

 

[AshG108]

Im not jumping on anyone's wagon but having had a faulty Lambda sensor on my car all I can say is that no car enthusiast would willingly drive their car for months with the stumbling, over fueling, misfires and engine check light that are associated with a faulty or unplugged Lambda sensor

Yup,
That is true and these i6 turbo motors are not perfect, they can give you some subtle hints and you need to also be able to pick it up.

 

[CharlE]

Let's try this one last time...

You’re still stuck on one assumption: that this must have been missed during the install. You keep ignoring the other equally possible (and very common) reality, that the sensor or wiring could have failed, worked loose, or been unplugged after the work was done.

You keep framing this as:
“Either it was faulty before, or Ashley missed it.”

That’s a false choice.
There is a third option you keep refusing to acknowledge, it failed or was disturbed later.

And yes, a downpipe install involves the O2 sensor, but that does not mean a fault must immediately exist or show up on a scan. Sensors fail with heat. Wiring gets brittle. Plugs work loose. That can happen weeks or months later, especially on a decatted car.

You also put a lot of weight on:
“ex-BMW tech”
“trustworthy workshop”

That doesn’t mean the owner personally worked on your car, or that a junior didn’t unplug something while diagnosing. Workshops unplug sensors all the time during fault finding. You took it to two different workshops, that doubles the chance of human interference. Pretending that’s impossible is naïve.

You say Ashley should have offered to inspect the car.
But by the time you contacted him, you had already gone to two other workshops, already had a diagnosis, already formed a conclusion

At that point, you weren’t asking him to investigate, you were telling him he caused it. Expecting him to “jump in and help” after that doesn’t make sense, and that, dear sir, is on you.

You keep saying this is “just a review,” but you named a person, named a shop, and tied a fault discovered months later directly to their work without proof of when it happened. That stops being a neutral review and becomes naming and shaming based on an assumption.

You admit yourself:
“I can’t comment on the tuning.”

Yet your whole theory depends on how the car behaved with sensors plugged and unplugged. That’s exactly the part you don’t actually understand, but you’re still drawing conclusions from it.

And the biggest question you still haven’t answered:
If in January you felt the car wasn’t lekker anymore, why didn’t you take it back to the last person who worked on it? Why go to two other workshops first?

That choice was on you.

Right now, the only thing you can still prove is:
a sensor issue existed in January.

You cannot prove, when it happened, who caused it or that it was missed during the install

Yet you published a post that points the finger anyway. That’s not “just sharing experience” that’s making a public claim without evidence of cause.

Your review may have started as frustration.
But the way you framed it turned it into an accusation.

And once you name someone without proof, you open the door to exactly what’s happening now:
a bus full of people jumping on “Ashley bad” street.

That part isn’t on him.
That part is on how you chose to present it.

We clearly don’t sit around the same campfire when it comes to responsibility and ethics, so I’ll leave it there and keep my number to myself.

This is my main frustration and my reasoning is the fact I booked in a full inspection for January with this workshop. No one before this date touched the engine bay. They do a very thorough inspection and go through the whole car. They only find very minor things, like one engine bay cap cover missing and control arms that were going to need doing in the next few thousand km's. The only real issue was the oxygen sensors being unplugged. They show me the full report and the unnplugged sensors and even ask me do I know if the 02 sensors are unplugged. So my big thing is why would they do a full inspection, only find small things, but then potentially damage or mess with the 02 sensor and then just unplug it. It just does not make sense to me. It wasn't like they were reinstalling the downpipe. On my invoice it will show you it was found during a inspection.

Also the reason I did not take it back to him when I thought something was up, is because he lives very far from me, there are workshops closer to me I also trust and honestly I had no idea it would have to do with something he potentially worked on.

The point im also going back to which you probably also won't believe but I did state in my original post. The car was running better with the sensors unplugged. When plugged in and adaptions etc done, the car was acting more like you guys were describing as in the stumbling, over fueling, misfires. For those months I was driving with the sensors unplugged I only received the occasional jerk and weirdness, as I originally stated. I understand this sounds very strange, and the technicians were also puzzled by this, but I saw this firsthand. You are welcome to come test it, I still have the old sensor haha.

My reason for wanting to reach out privately is I do not want to post all my info, invoices, images on here. I do understand your viewpoint, as of course I don't have a direct image showing Ashley damaging or leaving the sensor unplugged. I was also saying before, maybe he missed it which is also worrying as I feel it would be a basic aspect to check, which is why I also originally stated just be careful when taking your car there. He does come across as someone who loves working on cars so this was very suprising and dissapointing for me too. Im also not sure where else I should have posted a review? He doesn't have a google reviews page as far as I know.

I will say this and leave it there. Put yourself in my shoes, after this discovery was made and me knowing Ashley was the last person to work on my car and having fitted the new downpipe. Couple that with the damage on my car, other similar cases popping up, him mysteriously not being affliated with Xcede anymore. Is it that crazy and outlandish of me to believe he might have made a mistake on my car?

 

[NBN]

This is my main frustration and my reasoning is the fact I booked in a full inspection for January with this workshop. No one before this date touched the engine bay. They do a very thorough inspection and go through the whole car. They only find very minor things, like one engine bay cap cover missing and control arms that were going to need doing in the next few thousand km's. The only real issue was the oxygen sensors being unplugged. They show me the full report and the unnplugged sensors and even ask me do I know if the 02 sensors are unplugged. So my big thing is why would they do a full inspection, only find small things, but then potentially damage or mess with the 02 sensor and then just unplug it. It just does not make sense to me. It wasn't like they were reinstalling the downpipe. On my invoice it will show you it was found during a inspection.

Also the reason I did not take it back to him when I thought something was up, is because he lives very far from me, there are workshops closer to me I also trust and honestly I had no idea it would have to do with something he potentially worked on.

The point im also going back to which you probably also won't believe but I did state in my original post. The car was running better with the sensors unplugged. When plugged in and adaptions etc done, the car was acting more like you guys were describing as in the stumbling, over fueling, misfires. For those months I was driving with the sensors unplugged I only received the occasional jerk and weirdness, as I originally stated. I understand this sounds very strange, and the technicians were also puzzled by this, but I saw this firsthand. You are welcome to come test it, I still have the old sensor haha.

My reason for wanting to reach out privately is I do not want to post all my info, invoices, images on here. I do understand your viewpoint, as of course I don't have a direct image showing Ashley damaging or leaving the sensor unplugged. I was also saying before, maybe he missed it which is also worrying as I feel it would be a basic aspect to check, which is why I also originally stated just be careful when taking your car there. He does come across as someone who loves working on cars so this was very suprising and dissapointing for me too. Im also not sure where else I should have posted a review? He doesn't have a google reviews page as far as I know.

I will say this and leave it there. Put yourself in my shoes, after this discovery was made and me knowing Ashley was the last person to work on my car and having fitted the new downpipe. Couple that with the damage on my car, other similar cases popping up, him mysteriously not being affliated with Xcede anymore. Is it that crazy and outlandish of me to believe he might have made a mistake on my car?

Again, not affiliated to anyone or know any of these vendors..
But going to ask this again.... An unplugged lamda should cause an immediate check engine light,is that not something you would've immediately picked up after starting the car up the next day? The math ain't matching...

 

[CharlE]

Again, not affiliated to anyone or know any of these vendors..
But going to ask this again.... An unplugged lamda should cause an immediate check engine light,is that not something you would've immediately picked up after starting the car up the next day? The math ain't matching...

No, I never had a CEL light. Believe me I know it sounds very weird. The technicans unplugged and plugged it in before my eyes and also no CEL. When unplugged it of course did throw some errors on the scanner.

 

[Teezoh]

You’ve just given away the most important detail yourself:
you still have the old sensor.
That means it was faulty, not “unplugged since September.”
If it was unplugged, why replace it?
You don’t replace a plug… you replace a failed sensor.
So now the story has shifted from “left unplugged” to “faulty sensor,” which already changes the accusation.

Next:
You say you didn’t take it back to Ashley because he lives far and you trusted closer workshops.
But in 3 months of feeling the car “jerking and weird,” you never once phoned or messaged him to ask:
“Hey, is this normal after the work?”
You’re assuming how he would have reacted without ever actually giving him the chance.

About the review:
No one said you shouldn’t post one.
The issue is what you posted.
You didn’t say:
“I found a faulty sensor months later and I’m unhappy with how it was handled.”
You said:
“It must have been missed or left unplugged during the install.”

That’s not a review, that’s a conclusion without proof.

And this part:

Put yourself in my shoes… is it crazy to believe he might have made a mistake?

Yes.
Not because mistakes never happen, but because you turned timing + scratches + rumours + business politics into a cause.

No, I never had a CEL light. Believe me I know it sounds very weird. The technicans unplugged and plugged it in before my eyes and also no CEL. When unplugged it of course did throw some errors on the scanner.

I don't believe this for one second. The car must have thrown something at some point unless you have a very special edition B58. The only time where these readings are ignored is when it runs open-loop during WOT, any time other than that it would have.

 

[Peter@AEW]

An unplugged or damaged lambda will show up on diagnostics immediately.
I wonder why the car was not plugged into ISTA or LAUNCH prior to the physical inspection and a report printed for the owner.
An ISTA report on arrival becomes indisputable fact.

 

[modocrat]

🥱

 

[evnmopwr]

This argument needs either evidence… or popcorn. Preferably evidence

 

[Urban963]

This argument needs either evidence… or popcorn. Preferably evidence

I could go for some popcorn though to be fair.

 

[AshG108]

See,
The difference in this here is that there isa review and it is tarnishing someone's ability and reputation. Now every workshop has issues and good and bad experiences and how they handle it is very key.

In this instance, we have ONLY heard one side of the story and we all know, there is one side, the other side and then the truth.

Ashley should chime in on this now as well.
So far, @CharlE - the okes here do what everyone does and looks into the facts being posted about someone known for great service and work through some guys and now we find out also bad experiences too.
So dependent on how you wrote it, maybe you didn't write in exactly as you intended or whatever but it is here and it is being questioned.

Facts:
1. B58 will throw a code on the sensor being defective or unplugged - hence many cars have to have software done when DPs are done.

further to point 1, a catfooler is used when DPs are done on i6 petrol engines.

2. No workshop can ONLY see codes on diagnostic machine of this level, it will throw CEL on your cluster and idrive.

3. you said you have xHP done, xHP requires a minimum 50km drive with easy throttle once mapped, did you do that when you fetched the car as it could also lead the to gearbox learning in the incorrect driving habits or rather jerkiness etc.

4. Misfires can come from sensor being faulty or non-existent BUT however the car will also be in limp mode unless coded out.

5. The timeline of your review is at length, in between the visit to Ashley and the other workshops, anything could have happened...a lose fitted sensor could have jumped out when hitting a rough patch on the road for instance.

At the end, I think your review possibly had good intentions but the way it was written did not make sense hence the deep dive into it.
As long as your car is driving well now, here are somethings you should consider:
1. By Bimmercode or Carly OBD dongle and app. (assists to diagnose + read CELs on your car, log the car as well switch on a few hidden nice features )

2. Keep your maintenance schedules around 7500 - 10000km for oil changes and filter changes.

3. These engines require you to question every misfire, jerk or weird drive and many times those symptoms are also sparks plugs, coils etc.

4. Run Injector Cleaner or 10% eth in the tank to assist with cleaning some carbon buildup as well, car will love you for it and it will also help to kill some of these light symptoms should they rear their head.

So if your car is working, then great and enjoy it.
Best outcome would be to hear both stories or the truth and okes walk away with now no bad blood.

 

[CharlE]

An unplugged or damaged lambda will show up on diagnostics immediately.
I wonder why the car was not plugged into ISTA or LAUNCH prior to the physical inspection and a report printed for the owner.
An ISTA report on arrival becomes indisputable fact.

Yes that is 100% what they did. I have the full report of the diagnostics and the inspection report. I can send it to you privately because it has alot of my info on it. Here is just a cropped in screenshot which I know you will dispute but I am more than willing to privately share the full report.

This was from the first workshop who discovered this issue.

 

[evnmopwr]

Yes that is 100% what they did. I have the full report of the diagnostics and the inspection report. I can send it to you privately because it has alot of my info on it. Here is just a cropped in screenshot which I know you will dispute but I am more than willing to privately share the full report.

This was from the first workshop who discovered this issue.

With 12B104 and 12B304 Listed as Permanent, Pretty Sure the CEL light should be lit

 

[TurboLlew]

This argument needs either evidence… or popcorn. Preferably evidence

I do feel these points @Teezoh makes are valid: Especially on a tuned car where you logically would go to the guys who put their fingers into your toy and understand what was done, rather than getting someone to try to figure out what happened with half the info long after the fact. Those of us reading this also only have half the info I think (if that) but are watching this and trying to understand what actually happened.

Every mechanic (or engineer, or doctor or builder etc) will always put their hands up and nitpick things the previous guy missed, want to start over and do their own thing the 'right' way (or their version of right). It is what it is and you must have your wits about you when doing this. It doesn't mean the previous guy was right or that they are wrong - it is just part of the song and dance.

Easy to find or create a smoking gun or else why would someone spend money or trust you. Converse is also true that the source of the issue can turn around and say "well you took it elsewhere and I have no idea what they did." which I guess is also fair enough.

I suppose it can be any or all of these things and nobody will really know about this specific incident except the parties involved. This is literally a he said/she said situation right now also given that it doesn't appear the other two workshops in between were assigned by Xcede HQ to track down the issues (which could have been an alternative option if trust in Ashley was fully eroded by then).

Whatever happened, I do have an awkward question: Was this single incident the reason that Xcede and Ashley parted ways? Surely not? Is Ashley bad because of this one incident? No. But if there is enough of a pattern that your partners break ties with you that's a different story. We can go off at the OP about ethics/logic etc. but Xcede themselves have left a pretty loaded comment here.

Either way, prior comment stands in terms of checking and double checking work. I didn't look in too much detail initially but it also appears that the lambda sensor replacement worked to fix the issue. I assume this is running on the same map, so suspecting that the map that was 'done with no lambda sensors' doesn't really make sense or else the car would not work with the new sensors either.

Also on a more technical note, I am not familiar with B58 tuning but there definitely are platforms where you can turn off the lambda sensors and closed loop... whether that is a good idea or not... as well as defeating even pretty serious sensors/warnings/safeties . Its probably why half the subarus and evos are sitting in garages broken. I am not suggesting this is what was done here BTW.

 

[Teezoh]

With 12B104 and 12B304 Listed as Permanent, Pretty Sure the CEL light should be lit

This, those are permanent, so it must have. That car would have made it clear that something is not right...... FOR 3 MONTHS

 

[CharlE]

With 12B104 and 12B304 Listed as Permanent, Pretty Sure the CEL light should be lit

No it never came on, I really wish it had. As I said when i was driving the car without the sensors unplugged there was just the occasional stutter or weirdness. I know its easy for me to say that but that is the truth. The workshop would confirm it, as they tested it like that as well and the check engine light did not come on

 

[Peter@AEW]

This, those are permanent, so it must have. That car would have made it clear that something is not right...... FOR 3 MONTHS

And would have developed misfires no question about it.

I am not taking sides merely stating a fact.

The report shows pre and post cat lambda error but I do not see a misfire across multiple cylinders which is somewhat strange.

 

[NBN]

And would have developed misfires no question about it.

I am not taking sides merely stating a fact.

The report shows pre and post cat lambda error but I do not see a misfire across multiple cylinders which is somewhat strange.

Yes, this was my experience ...misfires, hesitation, stumbling....

At the time I had a jb4 that I could autoclear the error whilst on the go but the car would still go into limp mode as soon as I attempted wot and throw a check engine light

 

[Teezoh]

The way I see it and what it comes down to is that we will never know who unplugged the damn sensor that was clearly faulty over the course of 3 months. I gave feedback based on my experience with Ashley and how thoroughly I know he works. If it was faulty when he worked on your car then your pocket would have felt the additional 5-9K, the more people make from you while your car is there the better it is for them, no sugarcoating it, it's business.

We're all human, anyone can make mistakes, yes, even Ashley, I'm not totally moving that option aside; I was simply pointing out obvious bullshit scattered from blaming someone for something you have no actual proof of to technical info that makes no sense at all.

With all the knowledge I've built in understanding these cars, I also know that tunes can mask the problem on your car, specifically on Stage 2. They can disable cat efficiency monitoring, suppress some lambda plausibility and heater faults and delay or prevent a CEL, which fits perfectly with what you're trying to explain. BUT, you, as an owner of a great and well-sought-after motor, should know better than to fck around for 3 months before you start doing something about it.

This is the point I was trying to make, Xcede HQ does the files and Ashley simply installs it, so if you combine this big mess into one name, work was carried out by Xcede, end of the story. Don't blame a guy who's not there and then just walk away with your hands in the air because he's not part of it anymore.

We're all very quick to just accept and fall into a blinding narrative that these big names can't deliver bad service simply because, well, they're praised by everyone so I must be wrong. That's bullshit, period. After-sales service is the number 1 thing that makes a business successful, followed by communication. It's bold, ffs, communication!

 

[AshG108]

Yes that is 100% what they did. I have the full report of the diagnostics and the inspection report. I can send it to you privately because it has alot of my info on it. Here is just a cropped in screenshot which I know you will dispute but I am more than willing to privately share the full report.

This was from the first workshop who discovered this issue.

Was this car also accident damaged before?
Your fender liners are missing as well as the cowl covers?