Manual power dip and Dinan Software Flash

[Stu]

Took my car in today for this problem..... Since it's just a software update, it's not covered by the CPO warranty...

They wanted $525 total.... remove the DME and send it to NJ for update..

I said... hmmm... that seems like a lot... Okay, $140 for diagnostics, if I don't fix it.. So, net cost to fix vs. not fixing is $385....

That's a lot for a car under warranty, especially when it's related to engine performance. So.. I okayed the repair (since I'm driving their car)...." Oh...we found a nail in your rear tire.. in the sidewall... can't patch it..." They want $440 for a new 255/35-18 Potenza.. mounting and balancing included...lol.

Not a good day.

They still need to send it to NJ? How do they not have the software by now?

Shoot, I think even we can do this ourselves if someone has a hold of it. Actually, check with some of the people going to the Mafia meet.

[danewilson77]

They still need to send it to NJ? How do they not have the software by now?

Shoot, I think even we can do this ourselves if someone has a hold of it. Actually, check with some of the people going to the Mafia meet.

Oh boy....not this again...lol

Droid + Tapatalk = FTW!

[Sockethead]

You should ask for a goodwill repair on the DME update.

Definitely!

[Sockethead]

They still need to send it to NJ? How do they not have the software by now?

Shoot, I think even we can do this ourselves if someone has a hold of it. Actually, check with some of the people going to the Mafia meet.

The dealer fried my DME when they tried to do it themselves... took them a month get another one properly programmed from BMWNA.... just sayin...

[danewilson77]

The dealer fried my DME when they tried to do it themselves... took them a month get another one properly programmed from BMWNA.... just sayin...

So who do we trust more...us...or them? Hehe..

Droid + Tapatalk = FTW!

[Jon D]

You should ask for a goodwill repair on the DME update.

This

[JohnnyGraphic]

I would also push for a goodwill repair. I've heard in other magazines, that BMW is holding some of their information very closely. They don't want that information to be 'public'. They are even withholding that info from the dealerships. There are many instances of having issues referred back to BMW NA to have the problem fixed by the mother ship.

Johnny

[Katu]

Has anyone had any luck of getting the dealership to address this issue with their car out of warranty?

[jam149]

My 4k power dip seems to be more pronounced when the weather is warmer... now that the spring is here and we're pretty much consistently above 50 degrees or so, it's very obvious. It almost feels like a fuel-cutoff situation. I can remember over the winter when it's cold out, that it's barely noticeable.

I just had my car to the dyno - I hadn't researched anything on the dip I was feeling in power before then. So I went in armed with an OBDII reader while it ran the dyno run.

HUGE dip starting right at 4k rpm and usually done by 5k rpm. Related to your original note - the one time, we ran back-to-back runs instead of waiting for the intake runners to cool a bit. In the back to back run, the flat spot lasted all the way up until 5700 rpm. So MUCH more drastic (it was interesting to note that when warm, the ECU changed the AFR quite a bit richer than it was when cool). So, over that whole rev range - power was down approximately 20hp vs where it would be with a smooth curve.

Using the logging of the OBDII reader, I could see the ignition timing jump from around 18-20deg BTDC all the way down to 7d BTDC in the 4k-5k range. This does seem to follow the knock sensor problems explained in the SIB 12 17 05, and the timing drop corresponded exactly to the dyno curve drop.

Now, I have had my ECU flashed with a performance chip (evosport did the upgrade). I have no idea how great their s/w is (I did it long before conforti came out with their shark for the ZHP...and I do not remember whether Dinan was available then). So now I have to consider whether to reflash it back to stock before sending it in or not.

However, my question to the others out there is....do I go ahead and just replace the DISA valve too? The original SIB 12 209 05 listed that as a culprit (and I suppose BMW in order to save money simply changed the knock S/W to ignore the DISA noises so they don't have to replace them). So if one does the DISA change - and not the S/W will the ECU re-adapt over time and NOT retard the ignition?

I also read in a few places that there is a replacement exhaust cam sensor (mine's the original from 2003 I'm sure) - and that should also help with the problem. But information on that is much more scarce.

Thanks!

[Sockethead]

I'm not sure if there was a re-design of the disa valve. At the very least you should remove it and inspect it. Since the shaft is a known weak point.

I'm thinking the the redesign of the cam sensor was more for reliability than anything else. Again, not sure if it could fail without throwing at least a soft code... That's how my intake cam sensor went...