[Phaux]

Hello everyone, Im going to try and keep this post straight to the point.

Long story short, I fried my DME on my Bmw 320ix 2014 after flashing stage 1 of bootmod3. At least thats what my dealer is telling me...

I went through the recommended procedure of turning off all the power in the car
(AC, Radio, headlights, etc.) and plugging in the seatbelt. I also did take a 45 min drive to charge up the battery.

All was fine for the first day... Until my drive back home from work. thats right it only lasted 1 day....

I down shifted down to second gear and pulled the car, then BAM a drive train malfunction light pops right up and my car went into limp mode. It sounded like something within the motor broke or snapped, but according to the dealer it was my DME.

The car does not start up now and only cranks.

Luckily this happened right next to my home so I didnt have to get my car towed.

My question now is how could this have happened?
I have 50k miles on the car and did all the proper maintenance before tuning.

If anyone has any ideas I would love to know.

[chowser51]

What codes are you getting? Have you tried to flash back to stock?

[Phaux]

Originally Posted by chowser51

What codes are you getting? Have you tried to flash back to stock?

I have flashed back to stock successfully before taking it to the dealer to be inspected.
The car is at the dealer waiting for a new DME to arrive from Germany.

The codes I were getting were:

CD0420: ZGW,FlexRay controller signaling fault

801C20: Central fault memory full-no control-unit fault

8040B7: Deactivation of terminal 15: upper startability limit reached

8040B9: Deactivation of terminal 30B: upper startability limit reached

818040BB: The fault code is not found in the database, Please contact us to confirm

8040BD: Reset or deactivation of terminal 30F

804261: Exterior mirror undervoltage

The scan was done using a AUTOPHIX 7810

[gameson]

Well, the silver lining is that DME cost is cheaper than a fried engine, especially on n20, that many suffered due to n20 timing chain

[Phaux]

Originally Posted by gameson

Well, the silver lining is that DME cost is cheaper than a fried engine, especially on n20, that many suffered due to n20 timing chain

Yea I couldnt agree more. The situation could always be worse.

I knew that something like this could happen down the line so I was prepared for it!

Only downside now is I have to get the DME bench unlocked but that isnt too much of a problem.

Its just weird to me that my DME fried out after 1 day of being completely normal....

[gameson]

Could you just bought DME from a wrecked n20 rather than dealer?

Originally Posted by Phaux

Yea I couldnt agree more. The situation could always be worse.

I knew that something like this could happen down the line so I was prepared for it!

Only downside now is I have to get the DME bench unlocked but that isnt too much of a problem.

Its just weird to me that my DME fried out after 1 day of being completely normal....

[Phaux]

Originally Posted by gameson

Could you just bought DME from a wrecked n20 rather than dealer?

Yes, but from what Ive heard, you can never really tell how good the condition of a used DME is.

I opted for the safe route and went straight to the manufacturer to get a fresh one.

Might just buy a used one and get it coded to my vin as a back up, but I havent made the decision to do that yet.

[MTWO]

You can’t possibly have a bad dme lol email bm3 they’ll help you, you probably had your battery die. I mean programming itself can’t do that but maybe you got some freak accident. Last thing i’d do is replace dme as they never fail

[Phaux]

Originally Posted by MTWO

You can’t possibly have a bad dme lol email bm3 they’ll help you, you probably had your battery die. I mean programming itself can’t do that but maybe you got some freak accident. Last thing i’d do is replace dme as they never fail

Yea I honestly thought the same. The DME is honestly the last thing I could of thought was the issue. Battery was perfectly fine and fully charged.

[freespirit]

Originally Posted by Phaux

Yea I honestly thought the same. The DME is honestly the last thing I could of thought was the issue. Battery was perfectly fine and fully charged.

OP, what's the outcome of this? Did you end up replacing DME and everything back to stock?

[Phaux]

Originally Posted by freespirit

OP, what's the outcome of this? Did you end up replacing DME and everything back to stock?

The current outcome is that the car still hasnt been fixed by BMW.....

Apparently the chip shortage going around is still affecting them (I actually doubt it).

They are currently paying for the rental (which isnt a BMW, they just gave me an enterprise voucher which will be covered by BMW until I get my car back).

Its been sitting in the BMW lot for about 5 months now and Ive been on and off with the parts director. I just keep getting the same answer, "The part is still on back order and is number 15 out of 179 in line to be made....

Now Im starting to get a little inpatient.... Im thinking of just buying a used DME and having it re coded to my VIN.

If you are anyone has any ideas for this fix let me know, Im honestly out of options at this point.

[OldDudesBimmer]

Originally Posted by Phaux

The current outcome is that the car still hasnt been fixed by BMW.....

Apparently the chip shortage going around is still affecting them (I actually doubt it).

They are currently paying for the rental (which isnt a BMW, they just gave me an enterprise voucher which will be covered by BMW until I get my car back).

Its been sitting in the BMW lot for about 5 months now and Ive been on and off with the parts director. I just keep getting the same answer, "The part is still on back order and is number 15 out of 179 in line to be made....

Now Im starting to get a little inpatient.... Im thinking of just buying a used DME and having it re coded to my VIN.

If you are anyone has any ideas for this fix let me know, Im honestly out of options at this point.

Sorry to hear about your situation! What did BM3 folks say about this? Were they able to confirm the issue as well and/or offer any assistance to troubleshoot? My initial thoughts, after hearing you could still flash back to stock, were the same as @MTWO , I would be asking BMW\Dealer "Are you sure about that?". In these extraordinary times, perhaps you can ask the Dealer or an indy shop to help procure a used one as you said. I don't have experience dealing with BM3, only MHD, so I am curious about the technical details of the story if there is more to offer? Thanks, and good luck!

[Phaux]

Originally Posted by OldDudesBimmer

Sorry to hear about your situation! What did BM3 folks say about this? Were they able to confirm the issue as well and/or offer any assistance to troubleshoot? My initial thoughts, after hearing you could still flash back to stock, were the same as @MTWO , I would be asking BMW\Dealer "Are you sure about that?". In these extraordinary times, perhaps you can ask the Dealer or an indy shop to help procure a used one as you said. I don't have experience dealing with BM3, only MHD, so I am curious about the technical details of the story if there is more to offer? Thanks, and good luck!

So an update on my situation.

I had a local Indy shop who does DME bench unlocks take a look at my DME.

He had stopped by the dealer and talked to the tech that was working on my car and the tech had basically said that the obd was not communicating with the DME. The guy from the local Indy shop had took the DME out to do some testing on his own workbench and found that the DME was still working. He reflashed it to stock.

I had talked to BMW corporate and my advisor and asked if I could pull the car and just take it to a different shop since its been over 6 months now that the car had been sitting there, and the response that I got was "You would have to pay the $15k for the rental car fees that BMW had been covering for the past 6+ months since it would be a breach of contract."

Like you said earlier, I think BMW misdiagnosed my car and now its probably going to sit there for another couple months.

The local Indy shop owner is going to put the DME back in the car and see if it starts up. If the car dosent start up still, then I have an even bigger problem on my hands.

[OldDudesBimmer]

Originally Posted by Phaux

So an update on my situation.

I had a local Indy shop who does DME bench unlocks take a look at my DME.

He had stopped by the dealer and talked to the tech that was working on my car and the tech had basically said that the obd was not communicating with the DME. The guy from the local Indy shop had took the DME out to do some testing on his own workbench and found that the DME was still working. He reflashed it to stock.

I had talked to BMW corporate and my advisor and asked if I could pull the car and just take it to a different shop since its been over 6 months now that the car had been sitting there, and the response that I got was "You would have to pay the $15k for the rental car fees that BMW had been covering for the past 6+ months since it would be a breach of contract."

Like you said earlier, I think BMW misdiagnosed my car and now its probably going to sit there for another couple months.

The local Indy shop owner is going to put the DME back in the car and see if it starts up. If the car dosent start up still, then I have an even bigger problem on my hands.

Wow, that is so messed up! So, due to their incompetence and supply chain issues (neither of which is your fault), BMW is holding you hostage so you have to go through them and wait...all while the rental car bills pile up for them. I guess I would keep driving the rental if they are willing to pay. Sorry you are going through all this. Keep us posted on what you find out.

[lens]

Originally Posted by Phaux

So an update on my situation.

I had a local Indy shop who does DME bench unlocks take a look at my DME.

He had stopped by the dealer and talked to the tech that was working on my car and the tech had basically said that the obd was not communicating with the DME. The guy from the local Indy shop had took the DME out to do some testing on his own workbench and found that the DME was still working. He reflashed it to stock.

I had talked to BMW corporate and my advisor and asked if I could pull the car and just take it to a different shop since its been over 6 months now that the car had been sitting there, and the response that I got was "You would have to pay the $15k for the rental car fees that BMW had been covering for the past 6+ months since it would be a breach of contract."

Like you said earlier, I think BMW misdiagnosed my car and now its probably going to sit there for another couple months.

The local Indy shop owner is going to put the DME back in the car and see if it starts up. If the car dosent start up still, then I have an even bigger problem on my hands.

If you're tuning a car, never bring it to a dealership for diagnosis, they will make up anything to blame the tune and try to get more money from you.

Originally Posted by OldDudesBimmer

Sorry to hear about your situation! What did BM3 folks say about this? Were they able to confirm the issue as well and/or offer any assistance to troubleshoot? My initial thoughts, after hearing you could still flash back to stock, were the same as @MTWO , I would be asking BMW\Dealer "Are you sure about that?". In these extraordinary times, perhaps you can ask the Dealer or an indy shop to help procure a used one as you said. I don't have experience dealing with BM3, only MHD, so I am curious about the technical details of the story if there is more to offer? Thanks, and good luck!

BM3 customer support is normally very good and extremely responsive, it's actually impossible to brick or fry the DME now (even if the battery dies mid flash) as everything is cloud based. All you have to do is reflash again, and it'll flash over it again, and all is good.

This seems like another issue, (hopefully OP gets it figured out and doesn't spend a fortune)

[dangerus_car]

since everything is cloud based, does it mean that to install, the device needs to be connected to internet? can not install without internet?

[lens]

Originally Posted by dangerus_car

since everything is cloud based, does it mean that to install, the device needs to be connected to internet? can not install without internet?

You can install without internet, you just need to download the map from the cloud, and then car can be flashed with or without internet.

It's just the way the tune is flashed onto the car, I've had thousands of flashes on mine (some were interrupted due to people opening my door, unaware, or lost connection) and I just restart the flash and all is good.

[Phaux]

Originally Posted by chaungo

If you're tuning a car, never bring it to a dealership for diagnosis, they will make up anything to blame the tune and try to get more money from you.







BM3 customer support is normally very good and extremely responsive, it's actually impossible to brick or fry the DME now (even if the battery dies mid flash) as everything is cloud based. All you have to do is reflash again, and it'll flash over it again, and all is good.

This seems like another issue, (hopefully OP gets it figured out and doesn't spend a fortune)

Yea, this is def a different issue at this point, and I have no idea what other problem it could be. I'm guessing it is something electrical related because the car still cranks, but who knows at this point. I'm going to be really disappointed if they tell me my motor is blown....

I've learned my lesson from this experience and wanted to share it with everyone so it wouldn't happen to anyone else in the future.

If anyone has any ideas on what I could do let me know.

[dangerus_car]

Originally Posted by Phaux

Yea, this is def a different issue at this point, and I have no idea what other problem it could be. I'm guessing it is something electrical related because the car still cranks, but who knows at this point. I'm going to be really disappointed if they tell me my motor is blown....

I've learned my lesson from this experience and wanted to share it with everyone so it wouldn't happen to anyone else in the future.

If anyone has any ideas on what I could do let me know.

so what's the update? you said last time DME is taken by local DME expert

[lens]

Originally Posted by Phaux

Yea, this is def a different issue at this point, and I have no idea what other problem it could be. I'm guessing it is something electrical related because the car still cranks, but who knows at this point. I'm going to be really disappointed if they tell me my motor is blown....

I've learned my lesson from this experience and wanted to share it with everyone so it wouldn't happen to anyone else in the future.

If anyone has any ideas on what I could do let me know.

Have you checked battery voltage? if it's still good, have them check the ground and wires, could be a rat chewed through something, or the ground just disintergrated, as those do pick up corrosion, I had that happen and my steering rack through a no signal found error, and I couldn't turn the wheel.

Check that out.

[Phaux]

Originally Posted by dangerus_car

so what's the update? you said last time DME is taken by local DME expert

Update:

Nothing has changed and it has almost been 8 months now.

Sigh...

[Phaux]

Update:

Just got the car back 3 days ago.

After waiting almost 9 months I have finally got the car back.

My tint is all peeled off in the back from being in the sun for so long, the door handles are melting and sticky now, My door handles on the driver and passenger side have so many scratches (It definitely did not look like this before it was at the dealer), The paint has some deep scratches on the back drivers side of the car, and why are my exhaust tips sagging now...

At least I got the car back.