[M235iUK]

*Before the forum trolls jump on my thread... I have done a search on here with limited answers*

Hi All,

Firstly... M235i estoril blue 2015/16 I am in love!!

I currently own the above and reside in the UK. Luckily we have an excellent tuner in the UK known as Lichfield Imports. They are currently developing their 410BHP (with support mods) tune via the OBD port and look to release within the next two weeks. Now the girlfriend moans at me for 'being greedy' wanting more power but guys where do we stand with warranty?

My thoughts are this... car is remapped via ODB port. Car has said warranty issue. I then reflash the ECU back to standard and deliver the car to said BMW dealership. BMW dealership check ECU and find no modifications... sounds too good to be true right? Now... can BMW see that the ecu has been flashed (all be it to the standard map) from a flash can on the board? I really don't want to wave goodbye to my warranty.

Thoughts and answers more than welcome

[mike@x-ph.com]

A simple check from the BMW dealership will show your ECU flash. Im not sure how strict Uk dealership's are with mods but there is no way you can hide an ECU flash (unless you take it back to the shop and get them to install stock map before your dealership visit)

[crbalch]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

A simple check from the BMW dealership will show your ECU flash. Im not sure how strict Uk dealership's are with mods but there is no way you can hide an ECU flash (unless you take it back to the shop and get them to install stock map before your dealership visit)

From my understanding he said he would flash the ECU back to standard i.e. stock...the question then would be whether they could tell that the ECU had been flashed originally.

Based on my research, the dealer COULD dig deep enough to find that the engine had been run harder than stock at one point, but I think many will agree that it would only happen under extreme circumstances.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by crbalch

From my understanding he said he would flash the ECU back to standard i.e. stock...the question then would be whether they could tell that the ECU had been flashed originally.

Based on my research, the dealer COULD dig deep enough to find that the engine had been run harder than stock at one point, but I think many will agree that it would only happen under extreme circumstances.

Correct.

[crbalch]

Originally Posted by M235iUK

Thoughts and answers more than welcome

I would go for it! I waited almost 4 years to tune my 135i because I was worried about warranty, and I regret not doing it right out of the gate. With the new car, I will get through winter and the break in period, then it will get a tune come Spring. Like I alluded to above, unless it is a major malfunction, you should be fine, especially if you reflash to stock.

[kaosHunter]

I questioned the bmw genius about this the other day. He said that they have a software program ironically named 'Isis'. When they get a bad warranty issue such as a blow turbo, etc they first plug it into this software that digs deep into the history of the car and can find the smallest details that were different like even when a device was plugged in and out of the OBD, or a speaker cable was unplugged etc. This program automatically cross references this with the issue and send the data to Germany to decide whether the warranty will be terminated or not. This makes the dealership have no control over terminating the warranty.

This is what he told me, have no idea if it's true since I had never heard of it before then. Also this is in south africa so I don't know if it applies to other countries too

[DfVgyCjmFQnu]

I thought the encryption had not been broken to allow for OBD flashes on the 2 series? Has this company solved the security issues?

Currently, only other option is to bench flash the ECU via hardware.

[harkes]

If you dont dare loosing your warranty - then DONT tune your car. Can it be any simpler?
We all like to hear that the dealers are liberal when it comes to modifications and they might be, right until the point when you have a blow turbo or engine - then I am quite sure they will do anything in their power to blame it on you.

[M235iUK]

Originally Posted by harkes

If you dont dare loosing your warranty - then DONT tune your car. Can it be any simpler?
We all like to hear that the dealers are liberal when it comes to modifications and they might be, right until the point when you have a blow turbo or engine - then I am quite sure they will do anything in their power to blame it on you.

Life is all about risks.

You have a point though

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by harkes

If you dont dare loosing your warranty - then DONT tune your car. Can it be any simpler?
We all like to hear that the dealers are liberal when it comes to modifications and they might be, right until the point when you have a blow turbo or engine - then I am quite sure they will do anything in their power to blame it on you.

I understand what you are saying but most users are just looking for more power without any complicated mods. They just want to add a stage 1 tune that can be easily uninstalled before the dealership visit and they never have to worry about losing their warranty or blowing their engine

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

It really depends on the dealer, some actually encourage and sell tunes. Talk to your service representative and see how they react if you were to tune the vehicle.