Jet Moto
02-22-2011, 04:59 PM
As many of you are aware, our original ZHP stock software can cause uneven idle and may even stall in a few cases. These stalls can occur at the most importunate time. Heck, I stalled at a busy intersection while waiting to make a left turn. Nothing happened, but it only takes a few seconds for a an accident to occur when all sequence of events fall on your unlucky side.
Now some may be thinking, why not just pay the dealership for the software update, its only $120 for some peace of mind. But I am thinking, "Why should I pay for something that BMW should've done right in the 1st place?"
It doesn't hurt to try and get BMW NA to pay for the DME update under a "safety concern". So I contacted my dealership explaining to them how I've troubleshooted all potential causes of stall with no resolve and suggested that there is a high probability that my ZHP is stalling due to poor software.
After showing them various service bulletins and strand of emails for over a week emphasizing that this CAN be a huge safety concern for drivers, here is my dealership's final response:
"I spoke with my BMW engineer about this. He reviewed the SIB’s you supplied to me and said he did not really think either would cause what your are experiencing. However, there could be a software update for your car. In order to address this issue, the vehicle needs to be brought in to the shop for diagnosis as there are many components that can cause these symptoms. When we hook up a car to our diagnostic station, all of the data is transmitted to where the engineers can read it remotely. We are more than happy to try to resolve this and help you get your car fixed, but I cannot guarantee you that BMW of North America will pay for it. The protocol I have to follow is this, I have to get the car in and a diagnosis. I then have to get an estimate for parts and/or labor and submit to my Area BMW rep. I cannot make the decision, but I am more than happy to try and help you. Just let me know what I can do to help.
Thanks,
Richie"
Through all the emails and their final response, I feel that as a customer, I am asking too much when I ask for a courtesy / goodwill software update and that in light of danger, my safety takes a second seat to the bottomline. Apparently, hooking a computer to a car for DME flashing for 30 minutes is too much trouble and labor.
Thoughts?
Now some may be thinking, why not just pay the dealership for the software update, its only $120 for some peace of mind. But I am thinking, "Why should I pay for something that BMW should've done right in the 1st place?"
It doesn't hurt to try and get BMW NA to pay for the DME update under a "safety concern". So I contacted my dealership explaining to them how I've troubleshooted all potential causes of stall with no resolve and suggested that there is a high probability that my ZHP is stalling due to poor software.
After showing them various service bulletins and strand of emails for over a week emphasizing that this CAN be a huge safety concern for drivers, here is my dealership's final response:
"I spoke with my BMW engineer about this. He reviewed the SIB’s you supplied to me and said he did not really think either would cause what your are experiencing. However, there could be a software update for your car. In order to address this issue, the vehicle needs to be brought in to the shop for diagnosis as there are many components that can cause these symptoms. When we hook up a car to our diagnostic station, all of the data is transmitted to where the engineers can read it remotely. We are more than happy to try to resolve this and help you get your car fixed, but I cannot guarantee you that BMW of North America will pay for it. The protocol I have to follow is this, I have to get the car in and a diagnosis. I then have to get an estimate for parts and/or labor and submit to my Area BMW rep. I cannot make the decision, but I am more than happy to try and help you. Just let me know what I can do to help.
Thanks,
Richie"
Through all the emails and their final response, I feel that as a customer, I am asking too much when I ask for a courtesy / goodwill software update and that in light of danger, my safety takes a second seat to the bottomline. Apparently, hooking a computer to a car for DME flashing for 30 minutes is too much trouble and labor.
Thoughts?