VQLab
Legal

Terms of Use

Effective 21 October 2026. The agreement between you and VQLab for the VQLab website and software.

The short version. VQLab changes how your engine runs. It's sold for off-road and competition use. Flashing an ECU always carries a risk of damage, so back up your stock ROM first and only flash cars you own or have permission to modify. You're responsible for keeping your car legal where you drive it.

1. Agreement

By using this website, creating an account, or downloading, activating or using VQLab ("the software"), you agree to these terms and our Privacy Policy. If you're using VQLab for a business, you agree on its behalf.

2. Your licence to use VQLab

  • VQLab is licensed, not sold. We grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use it under these terms.
  • Lite is free and read-only.
  • Pro is a one-off payment (NZ$350, unless shown otherwise at checkout). It can be active on up to 5 PCs and flash up to 5 cars, plus any extra car packs you buy. A car uses a slot the first time it's flashed with your licence.
  • Pro needs an internet connection to activate, and must check in at least every 30 days to stay unlocked.
  • Updates are provided as and when we release them. Features, supported cars and patches may change.

3. What you must not do

  • Share, sell or publish your licence key, or let others use it outside your own PCs.
  • Bypass, disable or tamper with licensing, car slots or copy protection.
  • Copy, resell or redistribute VQLab, its definitions or its patches, except for the open-source components covered by their own licences.
  • Use VQLab on a vehicle or ECU you don't own or have permission to modify.
  • Use VQLab to defeat emissions controls on a vehicle used on public roads, or for any unlawful purpose.

4. Off-road use and the law

VQLab is intended for off-road and competition vehicles. Changing an engine's calibration can affect emissions, safety, road legality, your vehicle's warranty and your insurance. It's your responsibility to comply with the laws and rules where you use the vehicle, including emissions, certification and warrant of fitness requirements.

Immobiliser (NATS) delete is provided for engine swaps where the original immobiliser isn't fitted. It removes the vehicle's theft protection. Don't use it on a vehicle driven on public roads, and tell your insurer if you use it.

5. Flashing risk, experimental features and AI suggestions

  • Reading and writing an ECU can fail, for example through a power loss, a faulty cable or a wrong file, and can leave an ECU that needs recovery or replacement. Always keep a backup of your stock ROM.
  • Features marked experimental or beta haven't been fully tested on cars and are more likely to have faults.
  • Claude and other suggestions in VQLab can be wrong. Review every change before you save or flash it; you decide what goes into the car.
  • Tuning should be done carefully, ideally with a wideband sensor, and by someone who understands the effects.

6. Third-party software

VQLab works with third-party tools that are distributed separately under their own licences, including the open-source nisprog flasher (GPL-3.0). Those licences, not these terms, govern those tools. See Credits.

7. Refunds

You can ask for a full refund of Pro within 14 days of purchase, for any reason, provided the licence hasn't been used to flash a car. Ask from your account page or email waimatew@gmail.com. Refunds are not available after 14 days, or once a car has been flashed with the licence. Refunded licences are deactivated. This doesn't limit any rights you have under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 or other consumer law.

8. Warranty and liability

Your consumer rights come first. If you're a consumer in New Zealand, you have guarantees under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 that can't be excluded. Nothing in these terms limits them, or similar rights in your country.

Apart from those rights, VQLab is provided "as is" and "as available", without other warranties, and to the extent the law allows:

  • we're not liable for damage to vehicles, engines or ECUs, loss of use, fines, voided warranties or insurance claims arising from tuning, flashing or patches you apply;
  • we're not liable for indirect or consequential loss; and
  • our total liability to you is limited to the amount you paid us for VQLab in the 12 months before the claim.

If you buy VQLab for a business, you agree that the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 and sections 9, 12A and 13 of the Fair Trading Act 1986 don't apply, and that it's fair and reasonable for you to be bound by this.

9. Accounts

Keep your login details safe. You're responsible for activity on your account. We may suspend accounts or revoke licences that break these terms, including after a chargeback or refund.

10. Changes and governing law

We may update these terms. The version in force when you bought Pro continues to apply to that purchase. These terms are governed by New Zealand law, and New Zealand courts have jurisdiction.

11. Contact

VQLab (sole trader), New Zealand. Email waimatew@gmail.com.