Any interest in guide to doing ISTEP update yourself?

[Tsuki8]

So, I was just told that the software is all updated over the air now, no having to hook it up to a computer, read it and then update it. Can anyone shed some light if this is true or not?

iStep/iDrive OTAs are possible on iDrive 7 & 8.
The Supra has iDrive 6.

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[FLtrackdays]

iStep/iDrive OTAs are possible on iDrive 7 & 8.
The Supra has iDrive 6.

I like learning but may be unrelated, if so just lemme know. Since I don’t go to a dealer, my car runs great for track use, do I need to ask my mechanic or race shop about these updates? Just curious. My thoughts are, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, lol. But if it’s a safety issue, assuming the computer they’re using (paid subscription) would tell them. Thanks

 

[kyle9]

Since I don’t go to a dealer, my car runs great for track use, do I need to ask my mechanic or race shop about these updates? Just curious. My thoughts are, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, lol. But if it’s a safety issue, I’d want it ofc. Thanks

definitely ask your race shop for it

 

[razorlab]

definitely ask your race shop for it

Placing bets now of what part will fall off his car this time after visiting his “race shop”…

 

[Tsuki8]

I like learning but may be unrelated, if so just lemme know. Since I don’t go to a dealer, my car runs great for track use, do I need to ask my mechanic or race shop about these updates? Just curious. My thoughts are, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, lol. But if it’s a safety issue, assuming the computer they’re using (paid subscription) would tell them. Thanks

The only noted safety issue is the brake recall from October 2019.
Everything else is just what people have noticed, ie: full-screen carplay.
In other BMW models, people have noticed dramatic differences.

If you are not tuned and running stock iDrive/software, then its worth updating.
Otherwise, not worth re-bench unlocking or another trip to FEMTO.
Unless you have you have a source of unlimited bench unlocks:
https://missiontuning.com/m-link-6/m-link.html

 

[FLtrackdays]

The only noted safety issue is the brake recall from October 2019.
Everything else is just what people have noticed, ie: full-screen carplay.
In other BMW models, people have noticed dramatic differences.

If you are not tuned and running stock iDrive/software, then its worth updating.
Otherwise, not worth re-bench unlocking or another trip to FEMTO.
Unless you have you have a source of unlimited bench unlocks:
https://missiontuning.com/m-link-6/m-link.html

Thanks man. I’ll ask my BMW mechanic next time I go. I just have a JB4 that’s not optimized for track anyway.

 

[Kennith82]

Recently got my iStep updated last Sunday, the version is S18T-23-11-542, is it any different from S18T-23-11-530?

 

[Teleguy11]

Okay, here's the quick rundown. What you need:

• VirtualBox - https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads
• A Windows VM (Edge on Win10) - https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/tools/vms/
• ISTA: https://www.toyota-tech.eu/DiagnosticTools/Software/ISTA
• Techstream Lite - https://techinfo.toyota.com/techInfoPortal/appmanager/t3/ti?_pageLabel=ti_ts_lite&_nfpb=true
• A BMW ENET cable - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BFRW6FO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
• Possibly a USB Ethernet adapter - https://www.amazon.com/Ethernet-Adapter-uni-Thunderbolt-Compatible/dp/B077KXY71Q/
• Some kind of constant charge to the Supra's battery. ISTA will whine at you and prevent you from starting the "Action Plan" if the battery is under its required voltage.
• A power source to make sure your laptop doesn't die or sleep on you while programming.

The biggest caveat that isn't spelled out elsewhere is that Toyota's ISTA requires a VALID Techstream license to work. It doesn't work AT ALL with any of those "no key" cracks or pirated versions.

For Techstream Lite, you'll first have to buy a 2-day subscription to the TIS website ($65), and then you should be able to find the download link. Honestly, the TIS site is kind of junk and hard to navigate, but the software is there and does work. If you find yourself lost, follow the instructions here. Ignore the Mongoose stuff, but everything else is valid about getting the software and registering it. Page 10 also has a super important note about configuring TechStream so you can properly register it.

Similarly, you can follow the instructions for ISTA here.

I did this successfully using a USB-C only Macbook Pro using the software from the exact same links here. There's one issue in particular with the Windows VM image, and it's that the virtual disk is way too small to install ISTA and Techstream. So, after you import the VM to VirtualBox, you'll have to edit its settings to increase the disk size to around 70GB, or 80GB to be safe. After that, you'll need to go into the Disk Manager for Windows and expand the C:\ drive to occupy that space.

EDIT: The other issue is that the Windows VM by default has very little CPU and RAM, so...you should increase those to as much as VirtualBox will allow while you're editing the VM.

The reason for using this particular Windows VM is that it's free for 90 days, and can be downloaded direct from MSFT. You can use a native Windows computer or different VM if you want.

Anyway, the process from there is pretty simple. Once you have your Supra hooked up to a battery charger, you should be able to connect OBD to ethernet cable to the laptop, then the car. From there, you should be able to follow the ISTA instructions to find the car and connect up. It shouldn't take more than like 10 seconds to find the car if things are working properly. The important things to check are:

• The VM has access to the USB to ethernet dongle
• If you're using built-in ethernet, the interface is passed to the VM in "Bridge" mode
• The car is in "Diagnostic" mode (with the engine off, press the Engine Start button three times in a row. It'll tell you it's in Diagnostic mode)
• WIFI and any other network is disabled for the VM

I personally ended up configuring my USB ethernet's IP address manually, and it worked, following these instructions: https://blog.uobdii.com/how-to-connect-bmw-enet-cable-with-bmw-ista-rheingold/

If all goes well, ISTA will discover the car, and begin grabbing data from it. This process took probably 5+ minutes, but after that, it immediately recognized that there was a software update and created an "Action Plan" to update all the modules in the car. You can edit the action plan, but you're on your own there!

Once I was in the clear from the battery voltage warning (you'll know if you don't have a high enough voltage. It won't shut up about it), I just told it to execute the action plan and waited for about 45-50 minutes while everything got programmed. After the primary phase, there's a validation step, which took another 10-20 minutes.

Geeze! Would it be easier to make friends with a Toyota/BMW engineer?

 

[Tsuki8]

New version!
Toyota ISTA:

4.34.41	S18T-22-03-535 (March 2022)
4.37.31	S18T-22-07-550 (July 2022)
4.39.34	S18T-22-11-553 (November 2022)
4.42.31	S18T-23-07-505 (July 2023)
4.44.32	S18T-23-11-530 (November 2023)
4.45.34	S18T-23-11-542 (November 2023)

 

[bajanstefan]

New version!
Toyota ISTA:

4.34.41	S18T-22-03-535 (March 2022)
4.37.31	S18T-22-07-550 (July 2022)
4.39.34	S18T-22-11-553 (November 2022)
4.42.31	S18T-23-07-505 (July 2023)
4.44.32	S18T-23-11-530 (November 2023)
4.45.34	(Downloading, will update when extracted) S18T-23-11-542?

Any update on the extraction?

 

[razorlab]

I recently used Techstream and ISTA to update my 2020 Supra from basically the original programming, S18T-19-03-546, (had never been to a dealer post sale) to the newest programming, which at the time (yesterday) was S18T-23-11-542.

This thread was very helpful. I used a windows 11 machine. I didn't need to use VM or a virtual box. I just installed Techstream GTS+ and ISTA off their servers, and payed for a license. Install and setup wasn't bad at all, other than Techstream being ancient and hard to navigate. The good news is that after setting up Techstream, you don't have to use it again. It's all ISTA after that. ISTA is more modern and very step by step and pretty easy to use.

I used the +70amp charger from Amazon that was recommended here. I set it to 13.5v and it never dropped below 13.3v the whole time. Programming took about 35-40 minutes.

The hardest part of the process was putting both my OEM seats back in. Haha.

 

[CarGuy11]

^^^ Nice notice any changes?

 

[Kujiwara]

Do you guys see any access in iStep to fine tune the adaptive damper settings?

 

[razorlab]

^^^ Nice notice any changes?

I haven't driven it yet

 

[calmeda1]

Does ISTA care about CEL(DP related)? I'm no sure if there will be any issues due to that.
Also, is a steady wifi connection required during update, or is it all local to the PC?

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