Bench unlock - conflicting info

[AngryCar]

I know this has been talked about a lot, please bear with me. I've spent countless hours reading forums, checking websites, and emailing companies.

I've been wanting to get my 2020 supra tuned with just intake, charge pipe, and exhaust. I've had the parts just sitting for over 2 years and just can't figure out what I need to do because the info on this subject is all over the place. One site says car build before 10/2019, another says before 9/19, others say it not the build date it's if you bought it before 7/20, others say all Supra's need bench unlock, others say it's when the DME was built, other say the dealer probably updated it, some sites even have different dates on different pages.

In 2023 I contacted BM3 to see how I can determine if my ECU is locked or not. Build date of 09/2019, bought car 07/20/2020. They tell me how to check, after 3 different laptops, a phone, two different cables, and working with their support we were never able to get their software to connect to my car. Frustrated I gave up.

I have not done any of the recalls and I doubt the dealer I bought it from updated anything, they didn't even have a tech who was trained to work on the Supra.

A shop 1-1/2 hours away from me quoted me $2800 to install intake and charge pipe, bm3 license and adapter, bench unlock, and dyno tune. Is that normal?

I also did buy a JB4 last year but never installed it. Should I just go with that instead since I'm only doing simple level 1 mods.

Any help is appreciated.

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[mojo_jojo77777]

there is no conflicting info.
Pull DME out
Look at date of pre june 2020 or not

willmy062020plusecugotorussia.com

 

[AngryCar]

there is no conflicting info.
Pull DME out
Look at date of pre june 2020 or not

willmy062020plusecugotorussia.com

Since the car was built 09/2019 I would assume the DME has a date of pre-june of 2020.

And I doubt the dealer updated anything because I just called them and they had no idea what I was talking about.

I also read that a bench unlock is different from the femto unlock. So anything pre-june 2020 does not need a bench unlock or does not need the femto unlock?

 

[Eastwood]

Since the car was built 09/2019 I would assume the DME has a date of pre-june of 2020.

And I doubt the dealer updated anything because I just called them and they had no idea what I was talking about.

I also read that a bench unlock is different from the femto unlock. So anything pre-june 2020 does not need a bench unlock or does not need the femto unlock?

Pre June 2020 only needs a bench unlock. Post June 2020 needs a Femto unlock. As previously stated, even though you have a 2019 build date, go ahead and pull the DME and check for yourself to confirm your assumptions.

After reading your posts I think the problem here is you’re getting yourself confused.

All the info is out there and it’s pretty clear what needs to be sent to Femto and what can be done at your local shop.

 

[AngryCar]

Pre June 2020 only needs a bench unlock. Post June 2020 needs a Femto unlock. As previously stated, even though you have a 2019 build date, go ahead and pull the DME and check for yourself to confirm your assumptions.

After reading your posts I think the problem here is you’re getting yourself confused.

All the info is out there and it’s pretty clear what needs to be sent to Femto and what can be done at your local shop.

I am getting confused, that's why I asked. And it's not clear....

BM3 website says: Vehicles who have been purchased after July 2020 will likely require a DME unlock.
Doesn't state bench vs femto or which is needed.

CounterSpace Garage says: Please note these ECUs are locked either by a Dealer or from the factory. Doesn't explain if they mean bench or femto.

I just read a thread in this forum where someone said ALL Supras need at least a bench unlock and then just read another thread where the guy said he didn't have to unlock anything on his 2020 Supra, that he just used BM3 in his driveway, no bench unlock required.

So let me ask again differently....
Do ALL supras before june 2020 need at least a bench unlock?
Are there any supras that do not need a bench or femto unlock?
Does BM3 do a "bench" unlock on a pre-june 2020, or can only the local shop do that?

Thanks.

 

[razorlab]

I am getting confused, that's why I asked. And it's not clear....

BM3 website says: Vehicles who have been purchased after July 2020 will likely require a DME unlock.
Doesn't state bench vs femto or which is needed.

CounterSpace Garage says: Please note these ECUs are locked either by a Dealer or from the factory. Doesn't explain if they mean bench or femto.

I just read a thread in this forum where someone said ALL Supras need at least a bench unlock and then just read another thread where the guy said he didn't have to unlock anything on his 2020 Supra, that he just used BM3 in his driveway, no bench unlock required.

So let me ask again differently....
Do ALL supras before june 2020 need at least a bench unlock?
Are there any supras that do not need a bench or femto unlock?
Does BM3 do a "bench" unlock on a pre-june 2020, or can only the local shop do that?

Thanks.

Here, very clear since a ton of people on this form are ego driven shits or just make shit up out of the air (I'm sure some idiot will try to correct something in this post):

- Any DME that has a date after June 2020 needs to go to FEMTO overseas for a full unlock

- Any DME that has a date before June 2020 either needs to be bench unlocked (if the ISTEP software has been updated by the dealer) or needs no bench unlock if it hasn't been updated by the dealer. If you have full screen carplay, chances are you need an bench unlock.

You can do a bench unlock at home with the Mission or MHD unlocker. Or pay someone to do it.

If you have a 2020, 99.9% chance you do not need FEMTO.

If you have an OBD2 dongle that works with MHD, you can download the MHD mobile app and check the DME date (no app purchase required).

Where it gets fuzzy is that the tools won't know if it truly needs a bench unlock or not. Example: My 2020 is bench unlocked and all the tools still state it needs a bench unlock even though I have flashed it 100+ times.

Example DME check with MHD mobile app (my personal 2020 Supra), ECU = DME:

 

[Eastwood]

I am getting confused, that's why I asked. And it's not clear....

BM3 website says: Vehicles who have been purchased after July 2020 will likely require a DME unlock.
Doesn't state bench vs femto or which is needed.

CounterSpace Garage says: Please note these ECUs are locked either by a Dealer or from the factory. Doesn't explain if they mean bench or femto.

I just read a thread in this forum where someone said ALL Supras need at least a bench unlock and then just read another thread where the guy said he didn't have to unlock anything on his 2020 Supra, that he just used BM3 in his driveway, no bench unlock required.

So let me ask again differently....
Do ALL supras before june 2020 need at least a bench unlock?
Are there any supras that do not need a bench or femto unlock?
Does BM3 do a "bench" unlock on a pre-june 2020, or can only the local shop do that?

Thanks.

I keep reading what you're writing and it just seems you're confusing yourself.

Why worry about ALL? Just worry about yours.

FYI: EVERY DME/ECU comes locked from the factory. If someone says they didn't have to unlock their DME and they just used BM3, there's probably something missing from the story here.

DMEs (Pre June 2020), can be bench unlocked by a local shop or even at home by the owner if you purchase the software for it.

Post June 2020, basically everyone needs to go to Femto, they're the only ones around that can unlock these specific DMEs.

Your specific DME, build date in 2019, maybe has a pre June 2020 DME, you can likely get it unlocked locally. Don't know why that's so hard to understand.


EDIT: As mentioned earlier, you should pull your DME and check the build date on it. If you bought the car used, you want to make sure the DME wasn't cloned and swapped out at some point.

 

[Eastwood]

Here, very clear since a ton of people on this form are ego driven shits or just make shit up out of the air (I'm sure some idiot will try to correct something in this post):

- Any DME that has a date after June 2020 needs to go to FEMTO overseas for a full unlock

- Any DME that has a date before June 2020 either needs to be bench unlocked (if the ISTEP software has been updated by the dealer) or needs no bench unlock if it hasn't been updated by the dealer. If you have full screen carplay, chances are you need an bench unlock.

You can do a bench unlock at home with the Mission or MHD unlocker. Or pay someone to do it.

If you have a 2020, 99.9% chance you do not need FEMTO.

If you have an OBD2 dongle that works with MHD, you can download the MHD mobile app and check the DME date (no app purchase required).

Where it gets fuzzy is that the tools won't know if it truly needs a bench unlock or not. Example: My 2020 is bench unlocked and all the tools still state it needs a bench unlock even though I have flashed it 100+ times.

Example DME check with MHD mobile app (my personal 2020 Supra), ECU = DME:

Pretty clear and concise, kinda like it's been explained a bunch of times already.

 

[razorlab]

FYI: EVERY DME/ECU comes locked from the factory. If someone says they didn't have to unlock their DME and they just used BM3, there's probably something missing from the story here.

That's actually not true. Mine was not locked until I updated the DME via ISTEP, then I had to bench unlock it. If a 2020 is out there that never went to the dealer(or performed by the owner) for an update, it is not locked.

 

[Eastwood]

That's actually not true. Mine was not locked until I updated the DME via ISTEP, then I had to bench unlock it. If a 2020 is out there that never went to the dealer(or performed by the owner) for an update, it is not locked.

Well. Today I learned something new! Haven’t seen a lot of those cases when I’ve researched unlocking.

 

[razorlab]

Well. Today I learned something new! Haven’t seen a lot of those cases when I’ve researched unlocking.

Yea, at this point, most 2020's have been to the dealer for brake recall or something else that has updated the DME.

 

[AngryCar]

I keep reading what you're writing and it just seems you're confusing yourself.

Why worry about ALL? Just worry about yours.

FYI: EVERY DME/ECU comes locked from the factory. If someone says they didn't have to unlock their DME and they just used BM3, there's probably something missing from the story here.

DMEs (Pre June 2020), can be bench unlocked by a local shop or even at home by the owner if you purchase the software for it.

Post June 2020, basically everyone needs to go to Femto, they're the only ones around that can unlock these specific DMEs.

Your specific DME, build date in 2019, maybe has a pre June 2020 DME, you can likely get it unlocked locally. Don't know why that's so hard to understand.


EDIT: As mentioned earlier, you should pull your DME and check the build date on it. If you bought the car used, you want to make sure the DME wasn't cloned and swapped out at some point.

Uh.... razorlab just conflicted your statement.... not sure what's so hard about understanding....
he wrote: Any DME that has a date before June 2020 either needs to be bench unlocked (if the ISTEP software has been updated by the dealer) or needs no bench unlock if it hasn't been updated by the dealer.

You wrote: that all of them are locked.

Razorlab confirmed that's not true. So like I said conflicting info is everywhere and ignorance is bliss. You should probably apologize for being wrong and thinking you knew it all. Man up!

I'll believe razorlab, since you obviously don't have the correct answers.

 

[AngryCar]

Yea, at this point, most 2020's have been to the dealer for brake recall or something else that has updated the DME.

Thank you for the detailed info and explanation. My DME is pre june 2020, I checked, and I have not had any of the recalls done. My dealer won't even do them since several were bricked by them. I do not have full screen car play (I don't use it anyway since I have an android device).

I will check out those unlocker programs just for the heck of it since I'm an IT guy and have an interest in tech and software. My local shop wants $500 to do a bench unlock. If I had to, which looks like I don't, I'd rather just do it myself. I'll also check to see if my dongle I use for bimmercode works with mhd and if so I'll check that way too.

But from what I gathering, from the date on the DME, and the fact that I haven't done any of the recalls, it sounds like I do not need a bench unlock.

Thank you. The info and explanation is much appreciated. I am much more clear on the subject now.

 

[razorlab]

Thank you for the detailed info and explanation. My DME is pre june 2020, I checked, and I have not had any of the recalls done. My dealer won't even do them since several were bricked by them. I do not have full screen car play (I don't use it anyway since I have an android device).

I will check out those unlocker programs just for the heck of it since I'm an IT guy and have an interest in tech and software. My local shop wants $500 to do a bench unlock. If I had to, which looks like I don't, I'd rather just do it myself. I'll also check to see if my dongle I use for bimmercode works with mhd and if so I'll check that way too.

But from what I gathering, from the date on the DME, and the fact that I haven't done any of the recalls, it sounds like I do not need a bench unlock.

Thank you. The info and explanation is much appreciated. I am much more clear on the subject now.

If you are technically inclined then you should have no issue with a bench unlock. The Mission unlocker is $350. However, it sounds like you might not even need it.

Which dongle do you have?

 

[AngryCar]

If you are technically inclined then you should have no issue with a bench unlock. The Mission unlocker is $350. However, it sounds like you might not even need it.

Which dongle do you have?

Yes I am technically inclined with computers and tech gear. I'll check that software out.

I have the OBDLink MX+ (bluetooth dongle), Model: MX201

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