[kentm5]

I have the 2006 M5, a local shop told me about BMW software that upgrades my car to "current". Now I talked to Seattle BMW, said it is about $150 to do this, BUT....there is a remote possibility that one or more of the modules could go belly up, at my cost to replace if it happened. Said it is fairly rare, but happens. Anyone here ever had this upgrade, BMW software? Any module issues? What are the benefits of doing this software upgrade? Thanks for any info...

 

[m5bpro]

Same thing my local Dinan shop told me. Upgrade BMW software for $150. Clean out bugs, faster, etc.... Haven't done it yet though.

 

[kentm5]

Same thing my local Dinan shop told me. Upgrade BMW software for $150. Clean out bugs, faster, etc.... Haven't done it yet though.

It all sounded real good, until they said occasionally a module or two could go bad during the process, at $100/$1000 a pop.. That scared the **** out of me. Hoping to see what the odds of that happening are.

 

[5soko]

I think its pretty rare.. I would do the upgrade to all the modules, and the engine/smg. If your on 2006 software, the engine and smg will thank you!

 

[MarkieM5]

I had my 2006 upgraded last year. SMG, DME, i drive and I think they said the CIC modules. It took about 6 hours to do, my SA never mentioned to me that a module could crap out. They charged me $125.00 and it was worth every Penney. No more clunks or jerks. Car shifts like butter now. I will say it does shift a tad slower unless you are shifting balls out at 8k in S6. I was told there have been 2 revisions of the SMG software and my car was on the original (V1). In my opinion, this is a must-do for the early M5's.


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[128289]

How do you tell which version of the software the car is running on? One of the techs are a local dealer told me I am up to date but I do not trust them any further than I can throw them.

Thanks,

-PRK

 

[5soko]

How do you tell which version of the software the car is running on? One of the techs are a local dealer told me I am up to date but I do not trust them any further than I can throw them.

Thanks,

-PRK

Try an indy who has inpa, they would able to give you details on the SMG and Engine easily. I made a thread showing what the latest software number for smg and engine somewhere back, bpm provided all the up to date info.

 

[mdyaman]

How do you tell which version of the software the car is running on? One of the techs are a local dealer told me I am up to date but I do not trust them any further than I can throw them.



Thanks,



-PRK

It's in the DIY sticky thread...try this

http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e6...-hidden-secret-menu-access-gps-speed-too.html



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[MarkieM5]

How do you tell which version of the software the car is running on? One of the techs are a local dealer told me I am up to date but I do not trust them any further than I can throw them.



Thanks,



-PRK

I would question that also. I was told by my SA that they do not upgrade any software unless it is called for in a repair. If your car is running OK they are not going to just do it. My car was on their equipment for over 6 hours and this may be why they are reluctant to do it. They asked me to bring it on a Saturday for this reason. I even asked them if they could do the euro SMG flash and they said they did not have the euro file BUT had a customer who did coding and could hook me up with him if I wanted. I decided to do the USA factory upgrades and it turned out very well. Every dealer is different. I have some Nissan vans for my business and its like pulling teeth with them to do anything unless they want to do it. I have nothing but good things to say about my BMW dealer.


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[kentm5]

I would question that also. I was told by my SA that they do not upgrade any software unless it is called for in a repair. If your car is running OK they are not going to just do it. My car was on their equipment for over 6 hours and this may be why they are reluctant to do it. They asked me to bring it on a Saturday for this reason. I even asked them if they could do the euro SMG flash and they said they did not have the euro file BUT had a customer who did coding and could hook me up with him if I wanted. I decided to do the USA factory upgrades and it turned out very well. Every dealer is different. I have some Nissan vans for my business and its like pulling teeth with them to do anything unless they want to do it. I have nothing but good things to say about my BMW dealer.


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From what I gather BMW has upgraded software about every year or so. Also told to stay away from piggy back style. From what I gather, if your car is over 2 years old, there are updates available from BMW. Out here, BMW Seattle has a very good reputation, they have three teams that pretty much specialize in the M car, one also races them, been at the tech end for 25 or so years.
Again, my MAJOR concern is if one or more of the modules go bad, could get expensive replacing those. Still don't know how rare that is.

 

[JBond214]

I am having an issue with my XM radio -- keeps saying "channel not available" when I click on one my presets, and I have to scroll back through the iDrive menu to manually select it. Annoying ... and dealer can't fix it without replacing the whole radio module.

Anyway, in an attempt to fix the XM radio issue, the dealer updated my car's software at no cost. I can't say I noticed any real differences with the updated software, which didn't fix my XM radio issue. It may run a bit faster, but nothing too noticeable. Anyway, shortly after the dealer update, I installed an Evolve tune. Now, the Evolve tune made a noticeable difference in throttle response and linearity. That was a worthwhile update.