BMW and M Power Owners

[Qitarah]

My I4 M50 is going in for its first server next weekend. £400 for an electric vehicle service. Crazy.

Brake fluid and cabin filter (I think) change and that's about it, kick the tyres tell me they need changing soon and send me a quote for £500 a Tyre most likely.

 

[Bear]

Same for me, which is a bit odd as my car is listed as one of affected model/years. Not sure if the recall checker is up to date?

I presume it takes a while to filter down as it was only announced the other day. My M5 had a recall concerning the expansion tank cracking and that was known about for about a year before my M5 was called in for the fix, I was amazed it took so long but I guess they have to phase these things in else there would be parts shortages everywhere.

 

[Jonny ///M]

You won't be able to do that via ISTA.

I was looking at Bimmercode, I think, and a wireless OBD adapter at first but it felt as though everyone just said get ISTA.

Will Bimmercode so what I'm looking for?

I just don't like stop/start but it could be argued having an engine idle for longer does more wear than the extra start stop cycles ever does. I'd rather just let a warmed up engine run and I tend to start up in comfort turn SS off and then go to eco for the less responsive throttle and forget I've not switched SS off again.

 

[Dangerous Dave]

It’s E-Sys you need to do the coding, a lot of the downloads include both ISTA and E-Sys

 

[aaronyuri]

I was looking at Bimmercode, I think, and a wireless OBD adapter at first but it felt as though everyone just said get ISTA.

Will Bimmercode so what I'm looking for?

I just don't like stop/start but it could be argued having an engine idle for longer does more wear than the extra start stop cycles ever does. I'd rather just let a warmed up engine run and I tend to start up in comfort turn SS off and then go to eco for the less responsive throttle and forget I've not switched SS off again.

You can use BimmerCode, yes.

ISTA is the BMW dealer diagnostic software. It can do bidirectional diagnostics and software updates, but those updates do the whole car to a new i-step level.

ESYS is the BMW coding and flashing software. You can perform coding and flashing in pretty much any regard that you'd like. You do need the firmware image library to do software updates though. This is usually referred to as "full" psdz data.

BimmerCode is a third party app for coding. No service functions.

BimmerLink is a third party app for service functions and diagnostics.

BimmerLink/BimmerCode are very limited compared to ISTA and ESYS, but much more user friendly.

 

[LiE]

New to BMW and service is due in April so looking what is needed. Inspection and brake fluid it seems. What does inspection include? I cannot see it online when trying to book it.

 

[GravyMonster]

They just look the car over, tyres, brakes, suspension etc. and try and upsell you some maintenance work that may/may not be needed.

 

[LiE]

They just look the car over, tyres, brakes, suspension etc. and try and upsell you some maintenance work that may/may not be needed.

How much do they normally charge you for the pleasure of this upsell?

 

[GravyMonster]

It's always done at the same time as other servicing, so I've never been charged individually.

 

[DJMK4]

Yeah! When telling bmw of your finding, say a mate had a look!

Really ? Why would that work if I can't tell them I used it ?

 

[DJMK4]

It probably shouldn't need clarifying but maybe it's worth saying anyway - it doesn't matter if you're using Carly or ISTA or anything else, if you scan the car and rock up to BMW expecting them to authorise warranty work on that basis, you're probably going to be disappointed.

Don't worry about scanning it every other week to try and find things to get fixed - just take it in if you have any actual problem with something

Then how are you going to know if you have a fault.? Not everything comes up on the dash. Not everything makes a noise or is visible .

You could not see any dash lights , hear anything or see anything yet you could be sitting on 10 faults waiting for a warranty sort out yet you don't know because it hasn't been scanned.

 

[matt100]

Then how are you going to know if you have a fault.? Not everything comes up on the dash. Not everything makes a noise or is visible .

You could not see any dash lights , hear anything or see anything yet you could be sitting on 10 faults waiting for a warranty sort out yet you don't know because it hasn't been scanned.

Because they're not faults. When faults happen there's a symptom.

You have a not brand new car, you can't expect it to be completely perfect in every way, the warranty says it'll work so if it's working then it works. They never said it would be brand new.

 

[DJMK4]

I really don't understand the hatred for Stop/Start. Either turn it off or use Sport mode and it disables it.

Because after time it will cause havoc on the starter motor. And it will increase the chances of it dying (happened with my old car and had to have it replaced )

Not only that it's bloody annoying

 

[MissChief]

Because after time it will cause havoc on the starter motor. And it will increase the chances of it dying (happened with my old car and had to have it replaced )

Not only that it's bloody annoying

But it doesn't? The starter motors are rated for anything from 350,000 to 500,000 starts. You will be long rid of any car, be that sold off or scrapped after it started turning to iron oxide before any starter motor needs replacing. 2015 BMW with S/S, original starter motor. Yes I replaced the battery in late 2024 but 9 years is about average for a car battery anyway. I've never heard of anyone replacing a starter motor for years. It's very rare now. Just admit you prefer using more fuel and belching more pollutants when stuck in traffic.

 

[aaronyuri]

I really don't understand the hatred for Stop/Start. Either turn it off or use Sport mode and it disables it.

The best option is coding persistence. Turn it off, stays off and vice versa.

 

[MissChief]

The best option is coding persistence. Turn it off, stays off and vice versa.

Or just use it as intended? If you want to do it, put it into Sport mode and it turns it off anyway.

 

[aaronyuri]

Or just use it as intended? If you want to do it, put it into Sport mode and it turns it off anyway.

Why? For those that want it off, they can turn it off and on as they please. If someone is going to turn it off manually after each start-up, coding persistence for ASS makes perfect sense.

I leave mine on but that's not reflective of everyone's choices.

 

[Tee Hee Johnson]

Really ? Why would that work if I can't tell them I used it ?

It's software you are not meant to have, and to run it you are using a modified version with an iffy license.

 

[Jonny ///M]

It’s E-Sys you need to do the coding, a lot of the downloads include both ISTA and E-Sys

You can use BimmerCode, yes.

ISTA is the BMW dealer diagnostic software. It can do bidirectional diagnostics and software updates, but those updates do the whole car to a new i-step level.

ESYS is the BMW coding and flashing software. You can perform coding and flashing in pretty much any regard that you'd like. You do need the firmware image library to do software updates though. This is usually referred to as "full" psdz data.

BimmerCode is a third party app for coding. No service functions.

BimmerLink is a third party app for service functions and diagnostics.

BimmerLink/BimmerCode are very limited compared to ISTA and ESYS, but much more user friendly.

Cheers guys. I don't have the Mrs laptop to hand but I'm sure it was around 130gb including that psdz file.

I'll do a bit more research on it before messing around with thing's I don't really know too much about.

 

[Jonny ///M]

New to BMW and service is due in April so looking what is needed. Inspection and brake fluid it seems. What does inspection include? I cannot see it online when trying to book it.

I can put my details in the local dealer and it shows my discounted rate for having an old as **** BMW.

Here is what it describes for the vehicle check on there. I believe a specialist I've looked at in Glasgow is £170+vat for the service you see at the top of my screenshot.