Carly Coder - BEWARE

e85van · Post by **e85van** » Sat May 27, 2023 4:12 pm

Anyone else have serious concerns with the above company and its coder? I purchased a coder etc for about $140 Cnd to help ‘access hidden feature’ in my e85. I was specifically interested in being able to raise/lower the roof with the key fob.

Despite advertising that the coder would work with my vehicle, it simply does not! I can’t change any of the GM module codes, any of the lighting codes or the any of the cabrio codes. The changes made by the Carly device simply don’t have any affect.

I’ve contacted the company and have worked with their tech support to try to resolve the issues, but no success. This morning Carley told me, the cofer wouldn’t work on my car but that they could not offer me a refund! No exceptions they said. I was absolutely shocked.

Seems funny to me that they (Carly) would not stand behind a product that simply, and clearly, doesn’t work at all.

Wanted to check to see if other e85 owners had similar experiences and what, if anything, they did.

Evan

mmm-five · Post by **mmm-five** » Sat May 27, 2023 4:28 pm

I use Carly for BMW dongle and the app on my e86 (bought it about 8 years ago before the all-vehicle, Basic & Premium versions came out)...and it does 'work'...but maybe the options/coding you wanted specifically does not? I've only really used it to code out bulb checks after I fitted LED sidelights, and some other things.

bigwinn · Post by **bigwinn** » Sat May 27, 2023 4:31 pm

I know Ian

IRD

had some issues when his wouldn’t work

I have Carly and it’s superb on the e85

Is yours the correct adapter as I think mine is generation2?

Zedebee · Post by **Zedebee** » Sat May 27, 2023 4:31 pm

In UK you would have the protection of the Sale of Goods Act. Unfortunately it sounds as though you are in Canada.

Sue the b4st4rds instead

j3nks79 · Post by **j3nks79** » Sat May 27, 2023 4:32 pm

I’ve used it on a few E86 and E85 and had no problems with it.
Make the changes then turn the ignition off for 10 mins. Then start car and changes all take place

markplant · Post by **markplant** » Sat May 27, 2023 6:36 pm

I think the roof opening is press an hold while it completes the process, like if you code it with BMW software, if you want just a few presses on remote you need a gaptech or similar module

u02sgb · Post by **u02sgb** » Sun May 28, 2023 12:14 am

I couldn't get the roof to work for my 2003 e85 roof. Changed a couple of things but was pretty disappointed and won't be renewing subscription.

e85van · Post by **e85van** » Sun May 28, 2023 12:16 am

Thanks for the replies.

Yes I'm in Canada - not sure that we have anything here to protect consumers (would be nice). Got to admit Im a little surprised with the response from Carly. I did a fair bit of research before buying and found them to have the best reputation for quality, customer service, etc. I gather when something goes wrong they just wash their hands of it though. Anyway, Ive started a dispute through PayPal as that's how I paid.... I guess we'll see what comes next.

On the coder - Ive tried pretty much everything and it still doesn't work. I can't even get it to change coding so the horn beeps when I lock the doors. It just doesn't seem to want to accept/enact any of the coding changes. Ive tried to start the car after coding, Ive tried to wait for 10-30 minutes, Ive tried turning certain codes off then back on. None of them seem to make a difference or affect.

Im not sure what generation I have, I guess I could check that with Carly.... but I assume they would have sent me the most recent coder.

BumpyZ4 · Post by **BumpyZ4** » Sun May 28, 2023 2:29 am

If you have a laptop just get the INPA Suite (free download) which comes with NCS Expert for coding and a K+Dcan cable. Or you can get BMW Scanner 1.4 (cheap off eBay) which will also code.

smorris_12 · Post by **smorris_12** » Sun May 28, 2023 9:18 am

FWIW, you can save a load of time by not worrying about this "turn it off for 10 minutes" nonsense. Coding changes take place immediately on an ignition cycle (ie off on.)

e85van · Post by **e85van** » Tue Jun 06, 2023 3:35 pm

Just a note to close the loop on this…. Despite Carly saying there were ‘No exceptions’ to their no-refund policy, they have offered me a 50% refund on the coder and licence. In addition, I can keep the coder and will have access to the software for the term of my licence agreement (1 year).

While this is not entirely what I was hoping for, I note that the licence is for ‘all brands’ so I can try to use the coder on my wife’s Jeep or on my GMC a truck - so not all is lost.

Anyway - good on Carly for offering me a compromise…. and a good note for those Z4 owners from the early years, that the coder may not work for you.

MikeyH · Post by **MikeyH** » Tue Jun 06, 2023 3:53 pm

Well I'm glad you have a reasonable outcome from all of this. When I bought my Z4 I was quite keen to get a Carly as quite a few YouTubers were pushing them on their channels. Now I'm glad I didn't.

Chii · Post by **Chii** » Tue Jun 06, 2023 5:28 pm

e85van wrote: ↑Tue Jun 06, 2023 3:35 pm Just a note to close the loop on this…. Despite Carly saying there were ‘No exceptions’ to their no-refund policy, they have offered me a 50% refund on the coder and licence. In addition, I can keep the coder and will have access to the software for the term of my licence agreement (1 year).

While this is not entirely what I was hoping for, I note that the licence is for ‘all brands’ so I can try to use the coder on my wife’s Jeep or on my GMC a truck - so not all is lost.

Anyway - good on Carly for offering me a compromise…. and a good note for those Z4 owners from the early years, that the coder may not work for you.

Not that it helps you Van, but I also would like to mention I have had a pretty decent support from Carley.
My E85 has started to eat the Carley adapters... First one I thought just went wrong. Carley sent me another FOC.
That one has also gone wrong, and but before plugging it into the E85 it was working perfectly on my F13 !

I've no idea why that is, but if I get another one from Carley, I won't be plugging it into the E85 ever again ^^

paulc_bkk · Post by **paulc_bkk** » Sat Jun 10, 2023 6:25 am

I’ve had Carly for years, and admittedly don’t use it much anymore but I’ve had a lot of success on multiple cars when coding the roof to open and close from the key

The only car that the coding didn’t work on has recently been diagnosed as having a fault in its roof module, so it’s not impossible that that could be your issue, not the Carly dongle.

I’ve also had a run-in with their tech support when my original dongle stopped working, but credit to them, they shipped out a new one to me (all the way to Bangkok) free of charge.

ori · Post by **ori** » Sat Jun 10, 2023 3:06 pm

I’ve used Carly on multiple zeds, but never e85.
It’s useful to a point. I’ve loved over to bimmercode which does more.

Saying that Carly is still useful for diagnostics and what you describe sounds like a problem with your control modules.

Z4-forum.com

Z4-forum.com