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      07-22-2020, 01:20 PM   #1
Marlbombs
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Any issues with warranty after using bimmercode?

I am thinking about getting an obd adapter so I can code a few things like easy entry and auto fold mirrors on my M2C, but when I was at the dealer for a PPI the tech was showing me they have a new diagnostic module that looks for tampering with the the ECU. It sounded like its looking for tuning, but im just curious if that is a cause for concern when it comes to coding with bimmercode. thanks in advance!
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      07-22-2020, 01:39 PM   #2
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zero issues. I had the same question a few months ago. I changed a few things, turned off ASD, coded a few things like getting rid of the warning that comes up on the infotainment and a few others i cant remember right now. Brought it in for the 1200 mile service and there was no issue.
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      07-22-2020, 01:49 PM   #3
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I had no issue at break in service
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      07-22-2020, 03:13 PM   #4
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How difficult is it to turn off the ASD? I just wanna hear the real noise
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      07-22-2020, 03:25 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BSM2C View Post
How difficult is it to turn off the ASD? I just wanna hear the real noise
Two ways:

TechnicPNP cable: About 20 minutes of work to bypasses the ASD amp in the left rear of the trunk.

BimmerCode (or similar): About 10 minutes to kill ASD.

Neither way throws codes, etc.
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      07-22-2020, 03:52 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Marlbombs View Post
I am thinking about getting an obd adapter so I can code a few things like easy entry and auto fold mirrors on my M2C, but when I was at the dealer for a PPI the tech was showing me they have a new diagnostic module that looks for tampering with the the ECU. It sounded like its looking for tuning, but im just curious if that is a cause for concern when it comes to coding with bimmercode. thanks in advance!
FYI, you're never going to be 100% safe. If for some reason the BMW tech needs to look at the software on the car and they see that changes have been made, this may lead to you losing your warranty. Now, i know there may be a slim chance, but if you are planning on keeping this car, I would think twice before coding anything on it.
Here's an example, let's say you want to auto fold those mirrors and one of the mirror motors breaks. Pretty sure you would be paying out of pocket for that one.
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      07-22-2020, 04:35 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bumpinjeep View Post
FYI, you're never going to be 100% safe. If for some reason the BMW tech needs to look at the software on the car and they see that changes have been made, this may lead to you losing your warranty. Now, i know there may be a slim chance, but if you are planning on keeping this car, I would think twice before coding anything on it.
Here's an example, let's say you want to auto fold those mirrors and one of the mirror motors breaks. Pretty sure you would be paying out of pocket for that one.
Do you know one person who was in this situation?
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      07-22-2020, 04:38 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by r1sthebest View Post
Do you know one person who was in this situation?
Yes, one person brought his M4 in for repair after it wiped out his iDrive. We were able to get things fixed and back to normal. Most times it's fine, but as with anything - there is risk involved.

Dealerships have been instructed to look for coding, whether it actually happens is a different story as every situation is different.
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      07-22-2020, 04:52 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by r1sthebest View Post
Do you know one person who was in this situation?
It's common practice in the automotive world to check the software when taking your car in, especially for warrantied work. Take a look at your owners manual for warranty information.
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      07-22-2020, 05:24 PM   #10
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part of the information given is true.

When it comes to warranty, your full warranty can never be denied, However the dealership can deny warranty work.

They have to prove that the changes you made, caused the issue. So in the instance of the owner with the M4 who had his iDrive wiped due to coding, that is a valid case to deny warrantied work.

However if you turned ASD off and your headlight stops working, then they cannot deny warranty unless they can prove that you disabling ASD was the cause of your headlight malfunction.

Generally speaking coding your iDrive system is not considered reason enough to deny warranty work. Reason being that iDrive works on an on/off basis. By using Bimmercode, all you're doing is turning a value to 1 or 0. You arent actually writing any new code or asking the car to perform outside of its normal capabilities. Its the same as going into your computer BIOS and saying that you want to boot to CD instead of booting to Windows. Both things are something the computer as standard is already capable of, so Dell cant deny your computer warranty for the fan breaking because you chose boot to CD.
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      07-22-2020, 05:49 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xxyion View Post
part of the information given is true.

When it comes to warranty, your full warranty can never be denied, However the dealership can deny warranty work.

They have to prove that the changes you made, caused the issue. So in the instance of the owner with the M4 who had his iDrive wiped due to coding, that is a valid case to deny warrantied work.

However if you turned ASD off and your headlight stops working, then they cannot deny warranty unless they can prove that you disabling ASD was the cause of your headlight malfunction.

Generally speaking coding your iDrive system is not considered reason enough to deny warranty work. Reason being that iDrive works on an on/off basis. By using Bimmercode, all you're doing is turning a value to 1 or 0. You arent actually writing any new code or asking the car to perform outside of its normal capabilities. Its the same as going into your computer BIOS and saying that you want to boot to CD instead of booting to Windows. Both things are something the computer as standard is already capable of, so Dell cant deny your computer warranty for the fan breaking because you chose boot to CD.
Somewhat true, But not only that single item is blacklisted. For example, when it comes to aftermarket engine mods - the entire drivetrain warranty is voided.

Your defense is only as deep as your pockets, and I'm sure BMW has a great legal team to argue. You just have to decide whether or not this is a game you want to get involved in.
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      07-22-2020, 06:38 PM   #12
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So basically by the letter of the law, using bimmercode could theoretically void part of your warranty, but it sounds like the chances of that are VERY slim, especially if you're only turning on/off features that the car was designed to be capable of.
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      07-22-2020, 06:41 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Marlbombs View Post
So basically by the letter of the law, using bimmercode could theoretically void part of your warranty, but it sounds like the chances of that are VERY slim, especially if you're only turning on/off features that the car was designed to be capable of.
Pretty much.
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      07-22-2020, 08:50 PM   #14
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Coding doesn't void your warranty coverage, per se; trust me, I would know..

What can mess you up is collateral damage, related to something you might of coded.

For instance, say you code in the easy exit/entry (Comfort Entry), which is not included in US-spec vehicles and hypothetically, your friend's dumb kid, leaves a sippy cup wedged under the seat, breaking the frame, as it retracts, with this feature active. Then yes, your actions contributed to the damage.

Or, if you screwed up coding something and it doesn't function, as usual, forcing the dealer to have to reprogram the vehicle, to correct said fault, that's another event that would warrant an out-of-pocket expense..

However, the act of "coding" is built into the system's MO, for factory-level changes.

Aftermarket options like Bimmercode merely just gives the end-user a portal into the hidden, pre-existing menu and there is nothing really nefarious about it and it doesn't trigger any tell-tail alarms, that would alert a dealer anyways.

I bet you anything, more times than any, the dealer only become aware that you made any coding changes because people inadvertently snitch themselves out, by volunteering too much information.

Unless you maybe "VO code" an option - which, if you don't know what that is, then you nothing to worry about..
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      07-22-2020, 09:02 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Poochie View Post
Coding doesn't void your warranty coverage, per se; trust me, I would know..

What can mess you up is collateral damage, related to something you might of coded.

For instance, say you code in the easy exit/entry (Comfort Entry), which is not included in US-spec vehicles and hypothetically, your friend's dumb kid, leaves a sippy cup wedged under the seat, breaking the frame, as it retracts, with this feature active. Then yes, your actions contributed to the damage.

Or, if you screwed up coding something and it doesn't function, as usual, forcing the dealer to have to reprogram the vehicle, to correct said fault, that's another event that would warrant an out-of-pocket expense..

However, the act of "coding" is built into the computer MO, for factory-level changes.

Aftermarket options like Bimmercode merely just gives the end-user a portal into the hidden, pre-existing menu and there is nothing really nefarious about it and it doesn't trigger any tell-tail alarms, that would alert a dealer anyways.

I bet you anything, more times than any, the dealer only become aware that you made coding changes because inadvertently snitch themselves out to a dealer, by volunteering too much information.

Unless you "VO code" an option - which, if you don't know what that is, then you nothing to worry about..
Thank you for the reply. What do you mean when you say you would know? I am new to these boards but I do see people asking you things a lot. Are you the M2 guru? lol
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      07-22-2020, 09:50 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bumpinjeep View Post
FYI, you're never going to be 100% safe. If for some reason the BMW tech needs to look at the software on the car and they see that changes have been made, this may lead to you losing your warranty. Now, i know there may be a slim chance, but if you are planning on keeping this car, I would think twice before coding anything on it.
Here's an example, let's say you want to auto fold those mirrors and one of the mirror motors breaks. Pretty sure you would be paying out of pocket for that one.
Of course, the burden of proof would lie with BMW to show that coding broke it.
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      07-22-2020, 10:13 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Marlbombs View Post
Thank you for the reply. What do you mean when you say you would know? I am new to these boards but I do see people asking you things a lot. Are you the M2 guru? lol

No, no expert; just some random guy on the internet, with a smart phone and more than half of a brain, that uses both, to get stuff done.

Anyways, BMW arranges each individual option and its corresponding coding configurations, with a three or four digit character, at the factory.

So, say your vehicle has the Comfort Access feature, it would be saved, as one file, per se, as "S322" under the factory's vehicle order or VO.

VO coding means using a much more intricate program, to dig into the computer mapping and add or remove said features (as the factory did), via its "Vehicle Order" instead of using something like the Bimmercode APP, where alternatively, you make individual changes, to add or remove features.

Say I want to "VO code" in Comfort Access to my vehicle, that didn't come with it originally.

Instead of going into Bimmercode's "Expert mode' and make individual coding changes, to add/remove this option, I could instead "VO code" file "S322" and it would add/remove all those required coding changes, in one fell swoop.

The problem with the VO coding method is if a BMW franchise dealer ever has to do a software update or a new part integration, which is required, to complete and bill some warranty covered repairs. Incidentally, their system does a checks of your original "Vehicle Order" against any or our hypothetically, self-added "S322" option and detects any potential discrepancies.

It's not even a "gotcha" but more of a fail-safe and integrity check. So, by design, it would generate an error, which is a dead giveaway that you messed with the original vehicle order and programming.

But VO coding does give you a ton more flexibility and intricate changes, over the APP, which is its whole advantage.

With something less invasive like the Bimmercode APP, you don't actually add a file, (or i.e. VO code), you merely making changes, to a file that already exists, in the original vehicle order, so it doesn't trigger a mapping mismatch.

I hope this wasn't too nerdy and explained it a bit.


ESYS G20 coding - getting started https://www.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1673049




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      07-22-2020, 10:25 PM   #18
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Not too nerdy, that's interesting information to have. That said, I'm not looking to do anything of the sort haha. I just want to use bimmercode for some basic stuff.
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      07-22-2020, 10:50 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Marlbombs View Post
Not too nerdy, that's interesting information to have. That said, I'm not looking to do anything of the sort haha. I just want to use bimmercode for some basic stuff.
I hear you; I had paid some Russian hacker / part-time Nigerian Prince, to remotely install the program (Esys), on my laptop, for the purpose of VO coding, however, I never actually used it.

Bimmercode works just fine, for my every coding needs and it's just so intuitive to use..

So, I say you'll be ok. And all the coding info is already lurking somewhere, in these threads
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      07-23-2020, 03:07 PM   #20
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I told my SA and he didn't even care,

SA: "Not a tune right?"

Me: "No"

SA: "That's all fine"
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      07-23-2020, 03:53 PM   #21
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I recall reading about a dealer who saw the auto-folding mirrors and giving the person a hard time about it, telling him the warranty is voided because "coding".

I can't seem to find the thread though -- closest I found was this guy who wrote: "mine said they would void my entire warranty if I so much as coded my mirrors to fold." See post #22 at https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1628903
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      07-23-2020, 04:05 PM   #22
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That's just an ignorant person speaking.
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