Forgot to flash back to stock-Now dealer says I need a new DME

[LOW4LYF]

Originally Posted by nars3000

When the SWFL version that came from the factory no longer matches the version that's currently on the car... even after "flashing back to stock"

True, but that's not really new.

[drgmt]

Contact BPM. They can salvage any ECU!

[LOW4LYF]

Originally Posted by drgmt

Contact BPM. They can salvage any ECU!

Only if you still can communicate with the ECU. I wouldn't be surprised if the ECU lost coding only during the update.
I would give it a try at least...

[drgmt]

Originally Posted by LOW4LYF

Only if you still can communicate with the ECU. I wouldn't be surprised if the ECU lost coding only during the update.
I would give it a try at least...

It's pretty hard to brick an ECU via obd to the point where it can't be retrieved.

I'm pretty sure there isn't an ECU BPM haven't been able to resurrect ! Worth a shot anyway.

[chewbakam4]

Get your car out of that shitty ass dealer and you can fix it outside. Shit doesn’t fail like that trust me. Shouldn’t be on your bill just because they’re clueless on how to use their own tools.

[LOW4LYF]

Originally Posted by drgmt

It's pretty hard to brick an ECU via obd to the point where it can't be retrieved.

I'm pretty sure there isn't an ECU BPM haven't been able to resurrect ! Worth a shot anyway.

Agree

[RoundelM3]

Just keep in mind that the entire vehicle warranty is not "voided" - they can deny a warranty claim for a powertrain-related issue if they can prove that the tune caused the issue, but the rest of the warranty isn't affected.

[Landjet]

Originally Posted by TR930

What year is your car?

2018.

[G35POPPEDMYCHERRY]

BMW really doesn't give a fly fuck about enthusiasts anymore. Its way easier to tell Martha her spark plugs need to be changed every 50k in her 320i. nothing new tho. stealership is an accurate term.

[blockdoc]

Originally Posted by nars3000

When the SWFL version that came from the factory no longer matches the version that's currently on the car... even after "flashing back to stock"

Don't know if this is your issue but I had a similar experience that may help you

I also have a BM3 with a WiFi agent. I took my M4 to the dealer to help sort out an electrical issue which turned out to be unrelated to the tune. The SA is a good guy and called telling me "something is wrong with your DME and the tech can't connect. There's some aftermarket wires and they don't want to touch it"

Apparently, their diagnostic hardware could not get the DME to respond. They said the DME was likely bricked. It has something to do with the software on the diagnostic device.

I drove over to the dealership and easily reconnected via BootMod. I flashed my "stock" software and then reflashed the custom tune. Problem solved.

Might be worth a try?

[FriedPiston]

Originally Posted by blockdoc

Don't know if this is your issue but I had a similar experience that may help you

I also have a BM3 with a WiFi agent. I took my M4 to the dealer to help sort out an electrical issue which turned out to be unrelated to the tune. The SA is a good guy and called telling me "something is wrong with your DME and the tech can't connect. There's some aftermarket wires and they don't want to touch it"

Apparently, their diagnostic hardware could not get the DME to respond. They said the DME was likely bricked. It has something to do with the software on the diagnostic device.

I drove over to the dealership and easily reconnected via BootMod. I flashed my "stock" software and then reflashed the custom tune. Problem solved.

Might be worth a try?

Not my car, but the customer who got flagged at the dealership level triple verified things to be at 100% stock tune with the DME in a locked state. It didn't stop the dealer from flagging the car, because the expected software version didn't match (newer than factory).

[blockdoc]

Originally Posted by nars3000

Not my car, but the customer who got flagged at the dealership level triple verified things to be at 100% stock tune with the DME in a locked state. It didn't stop the dealer from flagging the car, because the expected software version didn't match (newer than factory).

I'm not worried about being flagged. I am simply trying to help get the DME working?


The guys at the shop I go to know I have mods as I've been upfront all along. They love my M4 lol. The initial question from the OP was about whether his DME was bricked.

[FriedPiston]

Originally Posted by blockdoc

I'm not worried about being flagged. I am simply trying to help get the DME working?


The guys at the shop I go to know I have mods as I've been upfront all along. They love my M4 lol.

You may be confusing what I shared with the OPs dilemma. The flagged car you're referring to had no DME read/write issues.

[blockdoc]

Originally Posted by nars3000

You may be confusing what I shared with the OPs dilemma. The flagged car you're referring to had no DME read/write issues.

He said he was told "the DME failed and needs to be replaced" by the dealer because they "didn't know he was tuned".


What am I missing? I could be totally confused here...I was just trying to help the OP as I had the exact same happen and was able to resolve it.

Sorry if I twisted things up lol

[FriedPiston]

Originally Posted by blockdoc

He said he was told "the DME failed and needs to be replaced" by the dealer because they "didn't know he was tuned".


What am I missing?

Yes, that's certainly the OP's case, and OP have long realized that he should've flashed back to stock prior to the dealer visit. The post you quoted me with was for a different (FYI) matter, but no worries.

[cossie1]

So your DME is bricked (this means it doesn't respond), so how do they know it has a tune on it then, if it is a brick ?

[RevNev]

Unless they can retrieve a date and time it was flashed with a tune, you can deny knowledge of it and blame them. For all you know, someone at the dealership may have used your car to practice flashing tunes or purposely bricked the DME to rip you off.

Does anyone know if date and time is recorded against a flash tune?

[MisterF80M3]

Originally Posted by RevNev

Unless they can retrieve a date and time it was flashed with a tune, you can deny knowledge of it and blame them. For all you know, someone at the dealership may have used your car to practice flashing tunes or purposely bricked the DME to rip you off.

Does anyone know if date and time is recorded against a flash tune?

Absolutely agree. But he should have done that before making a thread online. It is too late for that now.

[drgmt]

Originally Posted by MisterF80M3

Absolutely agree. But he should have done that before making a thread online. It is too late for that now.

No he shouldn't. He should take responsibility for his actions. Not try to defraud BMW for a warranty he is not entitled to.

[Darth One]

Originally Posted by BPMSport

We can fix it no problem.

No one's acknowledged this post yet, but I hope OP noticed and is resolving via PM. I can see where the rest of this thread is going

[BPMSport]

Originally Posted by nars3000

Not my car, but the customer who got flagged at the dealership level triple verified things to be at 100% stock tune with the DME in a locked state. It didn't stop the dealer from flagging the car, because the expected software version didn't match (newer than factory).

If the expected software version doesn't match, then it technically isn't "100% factory" - meaning the configuration that car came with, or was flashed by BMW with.

We have never seen an ECU brick at the dealer even when it had our tune on it. Technically (and depending on how the ECU is patched for tuning), this shouldn't happen. I'm not sure how other companies patch the ECU for flashing and whether their restore back to stock programs back the exact version they had prior to flash.

I can only speak for our platform in which
1. Dealer flashes should not cause any damage or software problems with the ECU, they will simply overwrite.
2. The stock version for restoration we provide is the exact version the vehicle was on as to not raise any flags.
3. The flash counter is locked to the original value.

Fortunately we've had next to no warranty issues by erring on the side of safety with everything we do.

We've recovered over 100 ECUs flashed by various other platforms and fortunately we have not in one that was not recoverable. The only way it would technically be "bricked" for good is if bad data was flashed to the program area, corrupting the ECU and preventing it from booting properly. A failed flash in the middle shouldn't pose an issue.

[FriedPiston]

Originally Posted by BPMSport

If the expected software version doesn't match, then it technically isn't "100% factory" - meaning the configuration that car came with, or was flashed by BMW with.

We have never seen an ECU brick at the dealer even when it had or tune on it. Technically (and depending on how the ECU is patched for tuning), this shouldn't happen. I'm not sure how other companies patch the ECU for flashing and whether their restore back to stock programs back the exact version they had prior to flash.

I can only speak for our platform in which
1. Dealer flashes should not cause any damage or software problems with the ECU, they will simply overwrite.
2. The stock version for restoration we provide is the exact version the vehicle was on as to not raise any flags.
3. The flash counter is locked to the original value.

Fortunately we've had next to no warranty issues by erring on the side of safety with everything we do.

We've recovered over 100 ECUs flashed by various other platforms and fortunately we have not in one that was not recoverable. The only way it would technically be "bricked" for good is if bad data was flashed to the program area, corrupting the ECU and preventing it from booting properly. A failed flash in the middle shouldn't pose an issue.

Yup, the SWFL version mismatch was caused by a widely popular tuning software, but per this particular BMW dealer, the tuning software brand is irrelevant once the DME has been flashed. They have way multiple ways to trace a flash tune if the car ever comes in for a major warranty claim.