NHTSA Recalls (Aug 3, 2021) - Remedy Available

[Escapist]

Contacted BM3 regarding the flash. They implied the latest software flash may lock out the tune, in which case a bench unlock would be required. They gave no indication that it will prevent future flashing since it'll be the same ECU, just with different software.

This puts my mind at ease, I may take mine in for the recall next week and just bench unlock at some point. My HPDE is in October so it's probably best I don't run my car with a tune since I don't have any supporting cooling mods to deal with the added heat.

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[Lilchief]

I am new to tuning and thinking about getting it done. I have a 2021 but ecu from 3/20. This will be my first tune ever…. Will this recall lock my ecu? Also not quite sure what’s bench unlocking means?

 

[zrk]

I am new to tuning and thinking about getting it done. I have a 2021 but ecu from 3/20. This will be my first tune ever…. Will this recall lock my ecu? Also not quite sure what’s bench unlocking means?

Bench unlock means the ECU needs to be removed from the car, it cannot be done via OBD.

 

[Lilchief]

Bench unlock means the ECU needs to be removed from the car, it cannot be done via OBD.

so after the recall update it will still be tunable but has to be bench unlocked? Do I understand it right?

 

[SuupYota]

so after the recall update it will still be tunable but has to be bench unlocked? Do I understand it right?

Yes, unfortunately ? IF yours was tuneable to begin with of course.

 

[Loco38SUP]

I am new to tuning and thinking about getting it done. I have a 2021 but ecu from 3/20. This will be my first tune ever…. Will this recall lock my ecu? Also not quite sure what’s bench unlocking means?

This is the question all of us with tunable 2021s are wanting answered. As of right now we don’t know for sure.

If you haven’t been tuned yet then you shouldn’t need to worry. Your ECU is currently bench locked. In theory it should remain bench locked after the update.

Bench locked just means a tuner will need to bench UNLOCK before being able to tune your car. Its typically a one time thing. After a bench unlock you can tune your car as many times as you like.

A bench unlock can happen in a tuner shop or remotely via WiFi.

- RJM

 

[pittperson]

This is the question all of us with tunable 2021s are wanting answered. As of right now we don’t know for sure.

If you haven’t been tuned yet then you shouldn’t need to worry. Your ECU is currently bench locked. In theory it should remain bench locked after the update.

Bench locked just means a tuner will need to bench UNLOCK before being able to tune your car. Its typically a one time thing. After a bench unlock you can tune your car as many times as you like.

A bench unlock can happen in a tuner shop or remotely via WiFi.

- RJM

What companies are doing the WiFi unlocking? I'd get this recall done if I knew who to go to for a WiFi unlock. Last time I had to overnight my DME to CA and back.

 

[Loco38SUP]

What companies are doing the WiFi unlocking? I'd get this recall done if I knew who to go to for a WiFi unlock. Last time I had to overnight my DME to CA and back.

@visconti tuning did mine. They send you an interface tool to connect to the ECU with a laptop then unlock via WiFi.

No need to risk losing your ECU in the mail. If you’re not close to a tuner its the only way I would get bench unlocked.

-RJM

 

[Lilchief]

Again, definitely new to tuning . I am a bit confuse tho, so if I get ecutek or MHD if can’t just ”plug and play?” The ecu has to be shipped out first?

 

[Escapist]

Why is there such a discrepancy with the cost for bench unlocking? I'm seeing $175 to $400+. All are established companies.

 

[XtremeMaC]

Why is there such a discrepancy with the cost for bench unlocking? I'm seeing $175 to $400+. All are established companies.

Free market... Cost of doing business.. they set their own pricing, who's there to judge. People pay hefty price for so many things.. there's literally billions of other things that are not standardized in the world. Etc. Etc.

 

[Loco38SUP]

Why is there such a discrepancy with the cost for bench unlocking? I'm seeing $175 to $400+. All are established companies.

I think $400 is the median it can go up much higher for remote unlock.

-RJM

 

[MisterSkiz]

Made my appointment for my '21 Supra...was told it would take 3-4 hours. I'm going to be there right when they open....

Here was my experience with my Supra recall.

Appointment was made for 7:20am - I showed up at 7:15 and bring the guys some Twinkies/Ho Hos and Brownies. (Working at a dealership in the past helped me learn this trick - a little kindness goes a long way)

Car was taken in - I put a "DO NOT WASH" paper on the dash, verified that car has no damage and is brand new at 600 miles.

I sit and wait for it and work remotely while car is worked on - they let me know it will be about 3-4 hours, I say sure not a problem.

They follow up with me every hour until around 11:30 they let me know that the process is taking way longer than they anticipated and the computer is jumping between 3 hours left and 30 min left.

They asked if i wanted a loaner - I reiterate that I do not want anyone driving the car except the tech and the service writer and that I am worried about joyrides and or damage to the car paint/body. They understand and agree that nothing will happen to it and I take the loaner and leave.

Two hours later or so I get a call that the car is almost done and I should be ready to pick up around 330-4pm. The service writer calls at 4pm letting me know the car is done.

I show up and the car is perfect - no issues, no dings, no scratches from a laptop cable - etc.

Besides the snafu of the update taking longer than needed everything went great and I hopefully found a good dealership that is close to home to deal with.

The car will need all of your Bimmercode tweaks redone, and all of your other settings will have been blown away too - so prepare for that. I had no issues redoing the Bimmercode tweaks as other folks had mentioned.

-Make appt first thing in morning, know that it might take longer than you think it should, be honest you are worried about car being damaged/driven, and be as cool as possible and all should go well.

 

[suicidaleggroll]

Again, definitely new to tuning . I am a bit confuse tho, so if I get ecutek or MHD if can’t just ”plug and play?” The ecu has to be shipped out first?

Correct. There are 3 levels of "locking" from the factory:

1) Nothing at all, it's completely open and you can flash it all you like. This describes the first half of the 2020s. Note that having the ECU reflashed by the dealership (including this recall) will move you to #2.

2) Soft lock. You need a bench unlock to program the ECU, but once you get it bench unlocked you're free to flash it as much as you want. This describes the latter half of the 2020s and the first half of the 2021s. Note that having the ECU reflashed by the dealership (including this recall) will require a new bench unlock. Bench unlocks require removing the ECU from the car (takes 2 minutes), hooking up some cabling to it, and running some scripts on an attached computer. This process can be by the tuner directly (either locally if you're there, or you ship the ECU to them) or remotely where the tuner ships the necessary cables to you, you hook them up to the ECU and your own computer, and the tuner remotes in to your computer and unlocks it. As far as I know Visconti is the only tuner offering a remote unlock option, it's more expensive but it means you don't have to ship the ECU anywhere, so there's no risk of it getting lost. And if you were to actually insure your shipment the full value of an ECU replacement, I'm pretty sure the shipping costs would end up being more expensive than the remote unlock anyway.

3) Hard lock. So far there's nothing you can do to program these, but companies are starting to come out with options, so far none of them are great as far as I can tell. This describes the latter half of the 2021s.

 

[underdonk]

The car will need all of your Bimmercode tweaks redone, and all of your other settings will have been blown away too - so prepare for that. I had no issues redoing the Bimmercode tweaks as other folks had mentioned.

My appointment is scheduled for tomorrow AM and I have a question about this. Is there anything special I need to do in Bimmercode to do a backup and restore? I have changed so much that there's no way at this point I could go back and do it all by hand.

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