[Drivaar]

Since the 335i engine's performance and behavior is highly subject to the software that's on the car...

I was wondering how software updates work after the warranty expires?

Can outside shops do software updates, or do updates have to be done at the dealer? If updates have to be done at the dealer, I can see a huge bill racking up if out of warranty... 4 hours of programming at $180/hour = crazy!!!

Are recalls free, even if out of warranty?

Thanks!

[fisherbln]

They have a flat fee for software updates, so you won't have to pay the hourly rate for the whole amount of time it takes. After all, the tech isn't sitting there watching it update all that time. I believe the dealer is the only one that can do it.

For the most part, software updates are only necessary if you are having a problem anyway. In some cases, an update can create a problem that you didn't have before (i.e. turbo lag).

[axztx]

I believe recalls are free in/out of warranty.

[MusclezMarinara]

recalls are free - Any updates that "you" request out of warranty i would assume would need to be paid for

[anerbe]

^ true.

A recall will be covered. If you complain about rattling wastegates out of warranty, they will charge you for the software update (unless perhaps you've complained in the past and they did no work on the vehicle during warranty).

[galahad05]

Originally Posted by anerbe

^ true.

A recall will be covered. If you complain about rattling wastegates out of warranty, they will charge you for the software update (unless perhaps you've complained in the past and they did no work on the vehicle during warranty).

Yeah, that's called a "good will" gesture.

[Drivaar]

And what is the fee for the software updates?

[anerbe]

Originally Posted by galahad05

Yeah, that's called a "good will" gesture.

True - although it's a good will gesture, it's completely within reason to obtain at least partial help from both the dealership and BMWNA.

You have in record all your complaints of the car on BMW's system and all your service paperwork, whether fixed or not. There's a farily decent leg to stand on to approach BMW saying they never addressed your problem.

[bimmercontrol]

you could always find a friend or shop that has a bmw ops or gt1 , though they tend to "download" the software its still good if you dont care where they got it

[carve]

Why does a software update take 4 hours? Do our computers run on reel-to-reel tapes or something? Seems like it should be a 10 minute job.

[Drivaar]

I think they use very old processors in cars... I remember some article bragging about the M5 being able to do... 200 million operations per second! (Uh... 200 MHz??? That's like from 1990.)

Also I bet there is a lot redundancy built in because the software is "real-time" and lives are on the line if it malfunctions. (It can be disturbing how much of the car is computer-controlled... if the DSC unit malfunctions, your car would theoretically start applying random braking forces to each wheel...)