BMW Performance Upgrade - not a good experience

[dmlgc]

I learned that the BMW performance engine upgrade was available so I ordered the parts (still not sure what the "parts" are figured it was just flash the chips) about 10 days before scheduling an appointment and taking it in.

All of the things that I say were done to the car is what was written on the work orders and/or told to me by SA. When each of these things happened I said to them "oh well it is a car" and took it in stride. Only time I was pushy was when they said it needed to be test driven I said I would put the miles on it and if anything happened would just bring it in, no big deal.

Oct 27 take car in for performance upgrade, get loaner.
Also asked them to check low coolant warning I received previous week (nothing on ground under car, I added coolant).

Oct 27 afternoon - informed that low coolant warning is due to leaky coolant hose that goes to turbos. Parts ordered will take 7-10 days to come from Germany (I can get parts from China in 4 days delivered to Fedex terminal by airport, 5 if I want them delivered to my front door).

Nov 5th car parts are in and car starts getting worked on.
Nov 9th car is ready - coolant issue fixed and performance upgrade done.
Nov 10th start car in morning I get over heating message (car is cold, heat gauge at bottom) take to dealer (there on my way to work) and get loaner.
pick up car at end of day , turbocharger coolant pump replaced.

Nov 12th drove car to work, after I turn it off it will not start. Call dealer SA says call BMW assist , experience tow truck driver from hell, we ended up using my cell phone to call dealer service dept and get instructions on disengaging park and emergency brake (either that or let TT driver disassemble my car looking for it, in spite of my instructions we took the longest possible way to dealer).
get another loaner.

Nov 13th SA calls end of day low fuel pressure sensor was replaced,
they test drove it but it should be driven a bunch more, I say I will and pick up car at end of day.

Nov 16th check engine light comes on when driving to work, take to dealer - get another loaner. SA calls and says the problem seems to come about after 200 miles so a tech would need to drive it home , it will be about 75 miles each way , I authorized (want this over).

Nov 17th SA calls and says they replaced air flow mass sensor and it needs to be driven some more, they can drive it or I can. I say I will and if any thing happens will just drive it into their driveway, no big deal. End of day pick my car, SA says " you're really into your car" as I'm leaving , guess they are surprised that if I pay $100k for a car and it needs to be test driven a bunch I want to put the miles on it.

When I get home I look at the paperwork and it doesn't say anything about a mass air sensor being replaced, just has my original check engine light complaint of Nov 16th and doesn't show any work being done.

Nov 18th 9am call SA and say I would like to stop by to get the paperwork on the air mass sensor thingy that was replaced (get voice mail), no return call all day. At end of day call again (get voice mail) and say I will stop by or he can leave paper work at receptionist as showroom is open later than service. Due to traffic get there after service has gone home , no paperwork at receptionist.

Nov 19th 9am call SA (get voice mail) leave message saying call me. End of day no return call, call again (more voice mail) saying I'm a little pissed off about him not leaving paperwork or returning phone calls and that I'm going to complain to BMW about this (decided not to as that might be more frustration and the next time I take car in would most likely have all kinds of mysterious problems).

So I paid some money and went through big hassle and I don't notice any increase in performance, wasn't expecting to be able to smoke the tires but thought at least it would reduce the turbo lag some (have driven friends 3 and 5 series after Dinan 40-50 hp upgrade and it was noticeable). So maybe this was just a fluke (would love to hear others did this and it worked out better) but in the end all I got was a dealer that I don't trust and a cute plaque under the hood.

Thanks for listening to my rant, all things considered this was one of my cheaper life lessons.

[ws00297440]

i think its the dealers problem, not yours

so I guess what you should do is change your service location to another dealer

my assumption is that they didnt even equip/change anything on your car , they just clear code each time =.=

[BabyBlack]

Bring it to another Dealer

[Ikendiken]

Oh man, that sucks dude.

That's been my concern so far with the Performance Upgrade. If you can't feel it in your seat then is it really worth it? Especially if there is no confirmation other than the dealer saying, "Yep, all done". And then how do you know some tech down the road doesn't 'reset' it somehow. The Dinan upgrade... I bet you can feel that one, but do you really want to deal with the warranty hassle?

Technically, though, it sounds like your troubles were unrelated to the upgrade. I always hate it when there is "something wrong". More often than not my experience is like yours where one thing fixed leads to something else going wrong. Maybe its just the way these cars are; maybe the techs are overworked.

I think you were right to just let the air mass sensor thingy go. As long as it didn't cost you out of pocket that is. Who knows if it needed it or even got done. As long as its driving well now calling the SA out on it probably doesn't help you much long term.

[dmlgc]

Originally Posted by Ikendiken

Oh man, that sucks dude.

That's been my concern so far with the Performance Upgrade. If you can't feel it in your seat then is it really worth it? Especially if there is no confirmation other than the dealer saying, "Yep, all done". And then how do you know some tech down the road doesn't 'reset' it somehow. The Dinan upgrade... I bet you can feel that one, but do you really want to deal with the warranty hassle?

Technically, though, it sounds like your troubles were unrelated to the upgrade. I always hate it when there is "something wrong". More often than not my experience is like yours where one thing fixed leads to something else going wrong. Maybe its just the way these cars are; maybe the techs are overworked.

I think you were right to just let the air mass sensor thingy go. As long as it didn't cost you out of pocket that is. Who knows if it needed it or even got done. As long as its driving well now calling the SA out on it probably doesn't help you much long term.

Agree the problems may not be related to the upgrade but since the communication is not there hard to tell. If they are related I would think BMW would want to know, I am curious what other folks experience is with the upgrade is. Agree on callling out SA not worth it, just have to figure out where to take it to be serviced. I am concerned that there is this little plaque under the hood that says performance upgrade was done, if I sell it that would enhance it's value but I would be reluctant to point it out as there is no way I can tell it was done. oh well thanks for tolerating my dumping.

[shenard]

Sorry to hear this. You should just get the Dinan Tune. I did and I was in and out of the dealer in about an hour and the tune is amazing!!! Night and day difference and I "CAN" actually light up all 4 tires!!! I did last night when making a left hand turn from a light from a standstill. Power is very noticeable since it is a 100HP increase and 123lbs of torque. I am glad I did it and it only cost about $2600 out the door. Dinan has the tune on sale right now.

Originally Posted by dmlgc

I learned that the BMW performance engine upgrade was available so I ordered the parts (still not sure what the "parts" are figured it was just flash the chips) about 10 days before scheduling an appointment and taking it in.

All of the things that I say were done to the car is what was written on the work orders and/or told to me by SA. When each of these things happened I said to them "oh well it is a car" and took it in stride. Only time I was pushy was when they said it needed to be test driven I said I would put the miles on it and if anything happened would just bring it in, no big deal.

Oct 27 take car in for performance upgrade, get loaner.
Also asked them to check low coolant warning I received previous week (nothing on ground under car, I added coolant).

Oct 27 afternoon - informed that low coolant warning is due to leaky coolant hose that goes to turbos. Parts ordered will take 7-10 days to come from Germany (I can get parts from China in 4 days delivered to Fedex terminal by airport, 5 if I want them delivered to my front door).

Nov 5th car parts are in and car starts getting worked on.
Nov 9th car is ready - coolant issue fixed and performance upgrade done.
Nov 10th start car in morning I get over heating message (car is cold, heat gauge at bottom) take to dealer (there on my way to work) and get loaner.
pick up car at end of day , turbocharger coolant pump replaced.

Nov 12th drove car to work, after I turn it off it will not start. Call dealer SA says call BMW assist , experience tow truck driver from hell, we ended up using my cell phone to call dealer service dept and get instructions on disengaging park and emergency brake (either that or let TT driver disassemble my car looking for it, in spite of my instructions we took the longest possible way to dealer).
get another loaner.

Nov 13th SA calls end of day low fuel pressure sensor was replaced,
they test drove it but it should be driven a bunch more, I say I will and pick up car at end of day.

Nov 16th check engine light comes on when driving to work, take to dealer - get another loaner. SA calls and says the problem seems to come about after 200 miles so a tech would need to drive it home , it will be about 75 miles each way , I authorized (want this over).

Nov 17th SA calls and says they replaced air flow mass sensor and it needs to be driven some more, they can drive it or I can. I say I will and if any thing happens will just drive it into their driveway, no big deal. End of day pick my car, SA says " you're really into your car" as I'm leaving , guess they are surprised that if I pay $100k for a car and it needs to be test driven a bunch I want to put the miles on it.

When I get home I look at the paperwork and it doesn't say anything about a mass air sensor being replaced, just has my original check engine light complaint of Nov 16th and doesn't show any work being done.

Nov 18th 9am call SA and say I would like to stop by to get the paperwork on the air mass sensor thingy that was replaced (get voice mail), no return call all day. At end of day call again (get voice mail) and say I will stop by or he can leave paper work at receptionist as showroom is open later than service. Due to traffic get there after service has gone home , no paperwork at receptionist.

Nov 19th 9am call SA (get voice mail) leave message saying call me. End of day no return call, call again (more voice mail) saying I'm a little pissed off about him not leaving paperwork or returning phone calls and that I'm going to complain to BMW about this (decided not to as that might be more frustration and the next time I take car in would most likely have all kinds of mysterious problems).

So I paid some money and went through big hassle and I don't notice any increase in performance, wasn't expecting to be able to smoke the tires but thought at least it would reduce the turbo lag some (have driven friends 3 and 5 series after Dinan 40-50 hp upgrade and it was noticeable). So maybe this was just a fluke (would love to hear others did this and it worked out better) but in the end all I got was a dealer that I don't trust and a cute plaque under the hood.

Thanks for listening to my rant, all things considered this was one of my cheaper life lessons.

[dmlgc]

Originally Posted by shenard

Sorry to hear this. You should just get the Dinan Tune. I did and I was in and out of the dealer in about an hour and the tune is amazing!!! Night and day difference and I "CAN" actually light up all 4 tires!!! I did last night when making a left hand turn from a light from a standstill. Power is very noticeable since it is a 100HP increase and 123lbs of torque. I am glad I did it and it only cost about $2600 out the door. Dinan has the tune on sale right now.

wow 100hp, light the tires and $2600, that's only $800 more than what I paid to be abused.

[dmlgc]

Update: Started car this morning check engine light on (no control messages, "all systems ok") , took to dealer (got different SA). I was called just after I arrived at work by SA , something about fuel mixture too rich, they were getting BMW involved. I was told I might be able to expect car back tomorrow afternoon, if not no biggie would just like it fixed.

As far as all this being related to upgrade , I drove car all summer long in Arizona in 100+ heat with no issues. So it could be a giant coincidence but I don't think so. I wouldn't mind so much if I thought it was going to make it have snappier response or something . At this point best I can hope for is the car will function without throwing an exception every few days.

I'm envious of those that chose the Dinan route.

[jouzef2]

I'm between installing the BMW Performance Upgrade & dinan ECU ..
don no which is the best & which is more safe for the car

[XBMW6]

dmlgc...I'm sorry mate to hear about your troubles, which I think is due to your dealer Incompetence. I think you've read my post about my experience with performance upgrade, which went smoothly with no troubles afterwards. I've done the upgrade through the dealer and it took one day to complete. The difference is definitly noticeble when compared to stock 50i. It's not huge ( X6M like), however, you do feel that the car is faster and the throttle response is more aggressive. Let me know if you need more info...cheers

[scottjays]

Big +1 for the Dinan tune. Very noticeable difference at tires. I am really happy with it and the price is right with sale!!!!!

[Kanuc]

Who was the dealer - ppl need to know.

I got the Dinan Stage 1 for my 50i - pretty good stuff. Will post more of my impressions after some driving.

[dmlgc]

Originally Posted by Kanuc

Who was the dealer - ppl need to know.

I got the Dinan Stage 1 for my 50i - pretty good stuff. Will post more of my impressions after some driving.

I try not to use a broad brush when judging, so I will see how this works out with new SA. Since others (XBMW6) have had this go well I wonder what went wrong here ( I hope BMW wonders to).

[dmlgc]

Originally Posted by XBMW6

dmlgc...I'm sorry mate to hear about your troubles, which I think is due to your dealer Incompetence. I think you've read my post about my experience with performance upgrade, which went smoothly with no troubles afterwards. I've done the upgrade through the dealer and it took one day to complete. The difference is definitly noticeble when compared to stock 50i. It's not huge ( X6M like), however, you do feel that the car is faster and the throttle response is more aggressive. Let me know if you need more info...cheers

" the car is faster and the throttle response is more aggressive"
So from a standing start you can stomp on the pedal and there is less turbo lag ? it doesn't downshift as much as the power range is stronger ?

I'm trying to figure out a definitive way to judge, so far didn't notice any difference but then again haven't had it long enough to give it a work out.
Glad to here yours worked out makes me feel better that BMW is actually taking aftermarket performance segment seriously. Agree this was activated by dealer issue (communication and technical), since yours took one day after first day they should have pinged BMW to get involved.

cheers

[shenard]

I don't think any of the tunes will reduce the turbo lag but mine was never that bad from the get-go and I never notice it being a problem. I know for sure that when I step on it from a stop now it takes off with zero hesitation.

Originally Posted by dmlgc

" the car is faster and the throttle response is more aggressive"
So from a standing start you can stomp on the pedal and there is less turbo lag ? it doesn't downshift as much as the power range is stronger ?

I'm trying to figure out a definitive way to judge, so far didn't notice any difference but then again haven't had it long enough to give it a work out.
Glad to here yours worked out makes me feel better that BMW is actually taking aftermarket performance segment seriously. Agree this was activated by dealer issue (communication and technical), since yours took one day after first day they should have pinged BMW to get involved.

cheers

[XBMW6]

Originally Posted by dmlgc

" the car is faster and the throttle response is more aggressive"
So from a standing start you can stomp on the pedal and there is less turbo lag ? it doesn't downshift as much as the power range is stronger ?

I'm trying to figure out a definitive way to judge, so far didn't notice any difference but then again haven't had it long enough to give it a work out.
Glad to here yours worked out makes me feel better that BMW is actually taking aftermarket performance segment seriously. Agree this was activated by dealer issue (communication and technical), since yours took one day after first day they should have pinged BMW to get involved.

cheers

Actually, the whole upgrade process is computarized and the parts are basically an authorized programming code that the dealer aquire from BMW to reprogram the ECU unit. So your dealer had to go through some kind of authorization process with BMW in order to complete the upgrade.

As far as judging the difference...as i told you, I can feel that the car pulls harder through the range and has better throttle response, which i think means less lag. Even the foreman who took it for test drive noticed the difference compare to stock 50i. Again, it's not a big jump, but definitely worth it for the price and warranty.

[dmlgc]

Originally Posted by XBMW6

Actually, the whole upgrade process is computarized and the parts are basically an authorized programming code that the dealer aquire from BMW to reprogram the ECU unit. So your dealer had to go through some kind of authorization process with BMW in order to complete the upgrade.

As far as judging the difference...as i told you, I can feel that the car pulls harder through the range and has better throttle response, which i think means less lag. Even the foreman who took it for test drive noticed the difference compare to stock 50i. Again, it's not a big jump, but definitely worth it for the price and warranty.

thanks for the parts info always wondered what it meant and figured that was either that or changing some chip. So I guess the parts order comes with authorization code and plaque that goes under the hood. When I get it back I will give it a work out to see if i notice the difference, that is if i have it long enough this time.

[XBMW6]

Originally Posted by dmlgc

thanks for the parts info always wondered what it meant and figured that was either that or changing some chip. So I guess the parts order comes with authorization code and plaque that goes under the hood. When I get it back I will give it a work out to see if i notice the difference, that is if i have it long enough this time.

I hope it works out this time. As far as the performance upgrade, if your concerned whether the dealer have done the upgrade successfully, they should have a definite confirmation since the whole process is computerized. In order to notice the difference in performance, you should know well how your car drives before the upgrade or check if your dealer has a 50i demo so you can compare.

[dmlgc]

Update :
Car will remain at dealers for another 3 weeks waiting on more parts from Germany. Sent BMW email asking about their involvement , no response. Wife was going to replace her 2006 for Christmas, that's off.

[Sharpie12]

Originally Posted by shenard

Sorry to hear this. You should just get the Dinan Tune. I did and I was in and out of the dealer in about an hour and the tune is amazing!!! Night and day difference and I "CAN" actually light up all 4 tires!!! I did last night when making a left hand turn from a light from a standstill. Power is very noticeable since it is a 100HP increase and 123lbs of torque. I am glad I did it and it only cost about $2600 out the door. Dinan has the tune on sale right now.

Isn't their price $3,000?

[dmlgc]

Originally Posted by Sharpie12

Isn't their price $3,000?

Think was that price because he said Dinan has the tune on sale right now.
Considering my grief right now this would have been a huge bargain at full price.

[Deda]

Oh dmlgc, i sorry to hear! i hate that stealership bastards!