Inspection 1 service - ECU Faults

[Z4MPO]

My car is in for its Inspection 1 service today, the dealer has called to say 2 faults appear on the ECU. One of the faults listed can be rectified by a reprogamme of the DME control unit (recommended for cars between 09/01/06 and 02/10/06) I believe its something to do with a throttle valve?!. He wasn't aware of any advantages or disadvantages, but wanted an extra £90 plus vat to clear to fault. I agreed for the initial £50 plus vat for them to looking into the 2 faults, but have just asked for more info on the DME control unit.

Has anyone had this done on their vehicle? I can't help but feel I am being fleeced for every penny! They have found a nail in my tyre and want to replace it, saying they don't recommend a repair job on a high performance vehicle, but when asked why, they just said it was due to the speeds its capable of. My local indi only wants £16 plus vat to repair the tyre, and I have 3-4mm tread, so inclined to do that! Better than £200 for a new tyre!

if anyone has any information on these ECU faults it would be much appreciated.

 

[Darren M]

Can`t help much, but if this is recommended for cars built within certain dates, I call that defective at time of manufacture even if it isn`t a serious issue. It therefore should be fixed for free, especially if it is software (a 10 second or less fix).
It sounds like they`re making you pay £90 for a software update to fix an original defect in the software. Push them to fix this for free.

 

[AlanJ]

Both my Zed and 3 series have been in for service and had software upgrades done for free (Zed 'out' and 3 series 'in' warrantee)

 

[Andy]

Would think it was more involved than 10 seconds but it makes a lot of sense.

I've got a car built in those dates and haven't heard of such a thing, and I've read the codes manually. I'm guessing they're not the supplying dealer?

Long story short, the car has developed a fault, within warranty (I assume?) so they have to fix it.

If it's out of warranty I'd want to see a copy of the bulletin and a description of the code before parting with any cash. Incidentally I've put a complete list of codes in the How-To section so you can back reference it

 

[daz05]

If your car is in warranty tell them to fix it for free or you will be contacting BMW about the poor service you have received.

Doesn't sound like a major problem anyway.

 

[Z4MPO]

Thank guys. Unfortunately its no longer in warranty, but I too couldn't believe the job involves more than a few minutes! I left it with the dealer (who I bought the car from) to tell me any clear advantages or disadvantages if I didn't have the updated. He could tell me, or recommend that I should have it done, so I didn't!

They also found a nail in my tyre, said they didn't recommend repairing tyre's on 'M' vehicles, £204 plus vat for a new rear. I asked if they thought it 'could' be repaired, so my local indi will fix for £16.99! I still have appox 4mm tread! When asked why they don't recommend, they simply said that its due to the speeds my car is capabe of, I just reminded him of the national speed limit and told them to leave it! I was a little hacked off by that time!

 

[chetalien]

I had 3mm on my tyres left with the outer i think 2.5mm and was told replace the tyres because of it being perfromance car and also speeds it was capable of. I drove it for another 6 months and when it was barely legaly i changed it. Load of rubbish- the stealers take u for a ride dont they.

 

[chetalien]

I had 3mm on my tyres left with the outer i think 2.5mm and was told replace the tyres because of it being perfromance car and also speeds it was capable of. I drove it for another 6 months and when it was barely legaly i changed it. Load of rubbish- the stealers take u for a ride dont they.