[jetblackcoupe]

I had my car in for service a few days ago. It had a rough idle (sputtering, unstable rpm's, rough driving in 1st gear in the mornings), and apparently something was wrong with the crankcase ventilation valve. I also got my intake valves walnut shell blasted due to some buildup. Idle is slightly
smoother but still rough. Anyway, I talked to my SA about aftermarket mods when I picked up the car. He said warranty won't be voided by parts unless there is a direct connection, which I knew (e.g. if you install an exhaust and your radio stops working, it's not related). He also mentioned tunes. He said that if I were to install a tune and the turbos were to go bad, even if I uninstalled, BMW would know. He drew a parallel to a black box on an airplane and said that BMW will be able to tell and it wouldn't be covered. Does anyone know if this statement is true?

Don't tell me to search, no one is in pain from the creation of this thread and it's a pretty simple question.

Thanks.

[E90Company]

From what I know, if you clear the codes and pull out the piggybox unit from the ECU area they will never know.

[Beemw335]

Remove and clear codes an youre fine.

[5soko]

I cleared codes and put my JB4 on map 0.. Left it physcially in the car.. They updated my DME and navi and a bunch of other stuff and programmed a few things.. No issues or questions. Hell ive gotten 2 HPFP, injectors, replaced the same way.

[blacknbean]

if you go for a big warranty claim they will dump the ECU data and open up a PUMA case and send all the info to BMW. BMW will review and if the data doesnt look normal they can deny your warranty claim. for most small things they do not do this, mostly big ticket items like turbos or blown engine. so yes, if they really want to they can find out.

[joed1]

Yep, if they really want to know, they will.

[E90SoFlo]

Yeah if they dig enough I'm sure they will find something.

FFS they know if you hold buttons down longer then 5 seconds.

[jetblackcoupe]

so the only true risk is a big warranty claim such as turbos/engine? or do certain dealerships dig deep for things like HPFP/injectors/sensors?

[Outlaw 06]

I really don't know, I'm just speculating based on the following:

N54 engine tunes “trick” the ECU into thinking it’s operating at higher altitudes/lower air densities in order to produce higher boost (and horsepower) at sea level. This creates more stress, strain, and heat on the engine, transmission, driveline, etc.

Any programmer worth his salt could easily incorporate a non-erasable fault history into any program, so it’s quite likely that the software engineers at BMW have done that within the N54's ECU code. While the tuners may technically be correct about the ability to erase fault codes and BMW not being able to detect the tune itself, the lingering evidence of the tune is there.

For example, when a BMW tech checks the history of your car's suspiciously high turbo boost pressures, he knows that you probably haven’t driven on top of Mount Everest recently. This is just one way BMW can figure out that you had an aftermarket tune installed. They can also check engine operating temperatures, fuel pressures, etc.

This is probably how BMW discovers the evidence of aftermarket engine tunes but it's complete speculation on my part.

[skim7x]

The N54's have a special transmitter and anything you do to the ECU will be transmitted directly to BMW NA. They have a special division specifically for N54 and N55 tunes as they have become so popular. Beware, every time the OBDII port is accessed or a wire is unplugged from the ECU, a signal is sent directly to BMW NA.

[joec500]

I have had my early build 2007 E92 335i in and out of service since I bought it 2nd hand in 2007. It had every iteration of the Procede from the V1 ----> current rev (2.5) and I have had the following replaced: Both Turbos, camshafts, all VANOS components, 2 HPFP, and 1 set of injectors under warranty without ANY issues. They have opened PUMA cases, the car has been inspected by the local BMW field engineer. I have NEVER been hassled once about the removal of my mods and clearing of the codes.

[TOS_335i]

I had a Cobb tune installed and removed the tune before service... I had a turbo replaced under warranty at 11k with no questions asked (PUMA case was opened). Turbo failure was not due to tuning the car... Now running stage 2+FMIC and loving it!

BTW... I understand the potential (albeit small) risk that I'll be on the hook for a major repair. You do have to be ready if something big were to happen and you need to pay, but... It's always been that way in the search for more HP...

[Brey335i]

Originally Posted by skim7x

The N54's have a special transmitter and anything you do to the ECU will be transmitted directly to BMW NA. They have a special division specifically for N54 and N55 tunes as they have become so popular. Beware, every time the OBDII port is accessed or a wire is unplugged from the ECU, a signal is sent directly to BMW NA.

This is true! They also keep count of how often you pick your nose in the car and that really affects resell value.

[bboy8282]

I have Cobb and typically whenever i get any problems ill clear and uninstall my cobb prior to going in...i had the dealer replace my turbo, plugs and coils without any complication or problems

[tres]

Originally Posted by Brey335i

This is true! They also keep count of how often you pick your nose in the car and that really affects resell value.

[spiike32]

If puma case is opened and your car's data dumped to BMW, they can find out. There is a thread on here from a while back regarding how it is done. Can't find it at the moment.

[vase330]

Majority of the time they don't care or at least they "make believe" they don't know. When something major goes wrong, you better believe they will know. Nothing is 100% foolproof. My SA told me to not "hook up my toys to the car" again for a while until they could definitively figure out what was causing a stalling issue they had a PUMA case on and that a field engineer helped trace to fuel system but which left no codes. Maybe they didn't know what exact toy had been in the car, but they knew. If you blow your engine for example, and its your fault, you living in a fool's paradise you think BMW won't know and just give you a new engine.

Its fun modding, and none of the popular tunes is currently known to do any damage, but we all take risks knowing we take risks but we assume they are reasonably safe.

[ppatel223]

Originally Posted by skim7x

The N54's have a special transmitter and anything you do to the ECU will be transmitted directly to BMW NA. They have a special division specifically for N54 and N55 tunes as they have become so popular. Beware, every time the OBDII port is accessed or a wire is unplugged from the ECU, a signal is sent directly to BMW NA.

You are paid bmw advocate or high on something

[techwhiz]

The MD80 ECU, from what I understand, can't store or reveal tune history.
The MD81 on cars after ~02/2008 can store tune codes and additional history.

[vase330]

Originally Posted by jetblackcoupe

so the only true risk is a big warranty claim such as turbos/engine? or do certain dealerships dig deep for things like HPFP/injectors/sensors?

I had all those replaced with tune left in car too, even my Turbos too, but mine failed for totally different issue. I have one of the early model 335s that had the original Turbos and waste gates. Mine had waste gates replaced and then they wouldn't seat properly and couldn't hold boost, so eventually got new twins. But then again all those things fail even with no tune, unlikely to be denied for having a tune. Engine blows however and you were tuned good luck with that. Ofcourse they will know and I have a bridge am selling you think BMW will eat the cost of a new engine.

[Q4P]

Originally Posted by spiike32

If puma case is opened and your car's data dumped to BMW, they can find out. There is a thread on here from a while back regarding how it is done. Can't find it at the moment.

+1, this is the only case where this can happen.

[cn555ic]

Originally Posted by techwhiz

The MD80 ECU, from what I understand, can't store or reveal tune history.
The MD81 on cars after ~02/2008 can store tune codes and additional history.

Even the MSD80 with the new software still doesnt have the detection capabilities from what I read...Only the MSD81 can be updated for this..