Class Action vs BMW

[Andyro]

Ran into a colleague of mine this morning. He mentioned that a class action suit was filed against BMW recently, regarding software upgrades being performed at dealerships without the knowledge of vehicle owners. He didn't have many details beyond that, except to say it had to do with Turbo engines. Anyone hear anything about this? Tried searching the forum but couldn't find any recent posts.

Found it!

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/12/ca_bmw.html

Has anyone experienced this that could explain further? Thinking (more like dreaming!) of upgrading to X5M, but wonder what issues folks are encountering with the new engine. Thanks.

[RTC]

Originally Posted by Andyro

Ran into a colleague of mine this morning. He mentioned that a class action suit was filed against BMW recently, regarding software upgrades being performed at dealerships without the knowledge of vehicle owners. He didn't have many details beyond that, except to say it had to do with Turbo engines. Anyone hear anything about this? Tried searching the forum but couldn't find any recent posts.

Found it!

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/12/ca_bmw.html

Has anyone experienced this that could explain further? Thinking (more like dreaming!) of upgrading to X5M, but wonder what issues folks are encountering with the new engine. Thanks.

Wrong forum? This is the M forum, these specific updates did not concern the X5/X6 M.

Btw: this is a common/standard procedure. In Germany, we call it Werkstatt or Service Aktion. Most of the time, customers aren't informed because they usually don't feel the changes. In the above case, I think something went terribly wrong but I doubt that a class action could do something about it. BMW could always argue that they did what they did for safety reasons, as weird as this may sound. I'm no lawyer and I know everything is possible in the US when lawyers and class action suits are involved but I doubt that this is class action material. As far as I know, ALL car manufacturers update the ECU software from time to time when necessary and they don't always tell the customer. Dealers usually update the software whenever the car is in the repair shop and it is up to the dealer to tell customers about the update. Usually, they don't tell customers.

It is even worse with Mercedes Benz: whenever a Mercedes is brought to the dealership over here in Germany, the ECU of the car is "looking" for an update at Mercedes central. If it "finds" an update, the update is automatically downloaded and installed. This method also allows Mercedes to verify if the ECU software has been modded (chip tuning) or if there are some current or maybe future problems. Pretty cool.

Welcome to the 21st century.

[Andyro]

HA! Interesting. Thanks so much for your reply.

[FSETH]

Yeah, owners of 135, 335, 535's have been complaining about the new/upgraded software for a while now and in some cases BMW has restored their software back for the ones who complained enough from what I hear. Apparently, there was more lag with the new software and the more perceptive drivers noticed it. I would be upset as well seeing as BMW marketed the new bi-turbos as not featuring traditional turbo lag.

[JCL]

Fairly well documented history (from the vehicle owner's perspective) on e90post.com

Turbo / FI Engine and 335i -335d Tuning / Drivetrain / Exhaust Modifications - E90Post - BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum

Look at the second sticky, re v29.2 software updates. 211 pages of posts, 4600 replies, and nearly 300,000 views on that one thread. Got to love the internet. Maybe the guy with the class action suit should follow the thread above, and see the resolution (software version 34.xx).

I think at least some of the reason for the lawsuit is that as software versions were being updated, more detective features were being installed that allowed BMW to see when tuning chips were being used (flags in the code, etc). This is an oversimplification, but each time a new chip came out that was apparently invisible to BMW technicians, they found new ways to determine it was there. I think they classified it as "warranty cost liability management" or something similar. Ticked off a few owners who were pushing very high boost, and were proud of not being caught by BMW.

Or maybe the guys with the lawsuit never added a tuner chip, lol.

[FSETH]

Originally Posted by JCL

I think at least some of the reason for the lawsuit is that as software versions were being updated, more detective features were being installed that allowed BMW to see when tuning chips were being used (flags in the code, etc).

Or maybe the guys with the lawsuit never added a tuner chip, lol.

Pretty sure more than a few people at 1addicts were upset about this.

[killcrap]

the updated dme software does create a noticable lag. quoted from BMW SIB 11 13 07

All 335i/xi and 535i/xi models built from June 2006 up to September 2007

The updated software causes a small amount of increased "turbocharger lag" under certain circumstances and, while not substantial, the lag may be perceptible to the most sensitive BMW drivers. X6, 135i, 3 Series and 5 Series vehicles from March 2008 production onward are not affected. If said "turbocharger lag" is a customer's complaint, then the vehicle's DME software can be retrofitted to the original waste gate operation.

[J.Belknap]

I wonder if these owners have checked for play in the WG actuator rods.

Well, I guess they shouldn't have to... but fixing that rattle sounds like a simple adjustment/tightening of the jam nut.

[X5 Meister]

And in the USA, we call it another stupid fucking reason to sue someone.

Hey come to think of it, I think BMW might have installed a new oil filter gasket without my express knowledge during the last oil service. Anyone have the contact information for that ambulance chaser?

Incredible story. I hope BMW refuses to sell even a washer to Wayne "dickhead of the year" Barney in the future.

Originally Posted by RTC

Btw: this is a common/standard procedure. In Germany, we call it Werkstatt or Service Aktion.