8/2011 xDrive35d FRM problems

[bawareca]

You know that is not how a dealer works Except very rare shops that have a smart foreman willing to fix cars and not only collect money.

[josiahg52]

Originally Posted by bawareca

You know that is not how a dealer works Except very rare shops that have a smart foreman willing to fix cars and not only collect money.

Yeah, I know. This is the first time I've been at a dealer for any extensive period of time for anything like this. I've only used a BMW dealer to read/diagnose fault codes and perform recalls/campaigns on my vehicles. So far my experience has been good with the dealers I've chosen to have dealings with; they often have performed the diagnosis or even DTC resets free of charge or for a very low price.

Most of the time, I do work the myself and if I don't, I have a trusted independent to do the work. The guy who just did some major work on my M5 early last year was VERY helpful, listened to me, involved me in the process and in the end, my car was better for it and I felt happy that the problem was actually repaired.

These guys at the dealer are not bad, I don't feel there is any malpractice or fleecing in the works and so far they have been very helpful, giving me a loaner, installing some new trim pieces for me that I bought earlier free of charge and all but as a troubleshooter myself, sometimes it's frustrating watching other people try and do it. Actually, it's always frustrating.

I can't fault BMW yet. This problem is all my doing and they are simply working the problem as their policies and procedures dictate. If I wasn't away at work, I might have taken it to my independent but who knows if I would be any further along.

If I had any initiative, I would get my diagnostic/programming terminal fully up and running and give it a go myself but so far it has been quite frustrating to get it all to work 100% of the time.

[josiahg52]

Finally picked up my X5 this afternoon. It spent a week there; its stay was extended due to an IRAP session being required to load the vehicle order information and network connectivity problems at the dealer.

I talked to the technician who was working on my X5 last night for about an hour. We talked about my X5 and then about BMWs in general. As he explained it to me, there was no problem actually registering the new FRM. The problem came when encoding the new module. I'm still not sure of the specifics but essentially the problem was that the vehicle order information, that is, the "file" that defines all of the features, options and equipment simply did not exist on my vehicle.

Apparently the vehicle order (VO) is not available to the dealer directly. The IRAP session allowed BMW NA in New Jersey to upload the VO to the X5. It took about an hour once the session commenced and everything worked perfectly after that.

I am satisfied with the service the dealer provided. It went in last Thursday. They tried all day to get it to work. On Friday, after a few more attempts, they issued a request to BMW NA for assistance. The New Jersey folks weren't in on Monday. Tuesday morning, the computer terminal that the dealer had for this stuff had network problems. I guess the intent that it was "one-click" setup and connect but that wasn't to be. These network problems persisted until this morning when their IT guy setup a laptop.

Once the session started everything went perfectly and quickly on their end. Of course, I would have liked the entire repair to have been completed faster but the dealer had never performed this process on any vehicle before so maybe I understand. I also taught them some features on the entertainment system and DVD player in my X5 that they were completely unaware of. The service advisor kept me up to date throughout and provided one of their fleet rental Toyota Camry and installed two pieces of trim for me free of charge. At the end, they thanked me for being patient. I appreciated that.

I used BMWhat to code back the options that I had before. I still am not sure what all the brake force display options in BMWhat exactly do but I want to change that behaviour as soon as I do. A more pressing matter, rear fogs. The new headlight switch and contacts arrived today as did my registration. Just in time, too.