[olegmukhanov]

Dear forum,

About 6 months ago I bought a lovely low mileage 335i SE auto as an Approved Used from a dealer. It is a low mileage car and had no problems with the exception of occasional hard auto shifting into the 3rd.

Anyway it didn't bother me too much so I asked BMW to look into that only at my annual service today - they confirmed that there is a problem but refused to do the warranty repair as apparently there is / was a chip installed. One thing I know for sure is that I didn't pay an extra for the approved warranty to install a chip and lose it.

Therefore the question is - could it be that during the approved used preparation BMW didn't notice that there is / was a chip (it is a clean low mileage car with 1 previous owner so I could see that happening) and only discovered that during the in-depth diagnostics in connection with my gearbox problem? Or could that just be an excuse not to provide the service? (guess warranty fix of an auto gearbox on a 56 reg 335i is not very economical)

I just want to get this problem fixed instead of finding who has done that as honestly couldn't care less.

Therefore dear forum members have you been in a similar situation and whether the above could be the case?

Thank you,
Oleg

[andy9188]

If it wasn't you that chipped it you have been missold a car with a warranty and have a good legal case. This should have been picked up on the auc checks

[dopper99]

Ask them why they think its chipped? What proof do they have? Would be interesting to understand exactly what criteria they use to state that its chipped.

[olegmukhanov]

Not sure - effectively was servicing the car at a different dealer than the one I bought it from who refused the service. Got in touch with the dealer I bought it from and waiting to hear back.

My friend had a JB4 on his car is Russia which I bought for him (along with some other sweet parts as warranty in Russia is much more relaxed) - he told me how it should be activated - but it didn't work so it definitely not it. The computer did throw the engine warning light couple of times before but restarting the did the trick.

To be fair I want to be prepared as much as possible before talking to these guys. The gearbox is not causing me much issues now but the last thing I would like to happen is having no warranty in case something else happens (my previous 335i had all 6 injectors replaced by warranty - guess it would've cost a small fortune otherwise). And obviously having the already identified problem fixed.

[gangzoom]

What do you by the JB4 'not working', if you connected the device wrongly than you might well have triggered error codes which aren't visible....equally did you damage any connectors/chips when fitting the JB4?

Not sure where you stand with the warranty given the fact you have actually 'chipped' the car (or be it unsuccessfully)?

[Kerr]

Originally Posted by gangzoom

What do you by the JB4 'not working', if you connected the device wrongly than you might well have triggered error codes which aren't visible....equally did you damage any connectors/chips when fitting the JB4?

Not sure where you stand with the warranty given the fact you have actually 'chipped' the car (or be it unsuccessfully)?

The fact it triggered alarm codes it seems a little obvious that this would be how they did know.

[Subzero2003]

You have bought your car from a BMW Dealer under the approved used scheme, and you say have not fitted any kind of mod/chip to your car - you need to get on the phone to the dealer you bought it from and ask why the hell the sold you a car that had been chipped and why were you not told about this. Then get them to carry out the warranty work.

The good news is that the car will probably only need a software update - the bad news is that you may have problems with the warranty in the future. You really need to get on to the dealer you bought it from and tell them exact what has happened.

[Subzero2003]

Reading back over your last post - it seems as though you have attempted to install a JB4, messed up, it has generated tuner/shadow codes and stored them, and this has flagged up when the dealer has plugged it in. If this is what has happened, the only thing you can do now is find someone with a BT scanner/a good diagnostics machine and get them to clear the shadow/tuner codes. Then you need to go to a different dealer (i suggest you go back to the dealer you bought the car off, as dealers are a lot more helpful with warranty/servicing etc if you have bought the car off them) and play dumb, don't mention anything about JB4's or having work refused elsewhere etc etc and hope they fix the gearbox issue for you.

[gangzoom]

Originally Posted by Subzero2003

Reading back over your last post - it seems as though you have attempted to install a JB4, messed up, it has generated tuner/shadow codes and stored them, and this has flagged up when the dealer has plugged it in. If this is what has happened, the only thing you can do now is find someone with a BT scanner/a good diagnostics machine and get them to clear the shadow/tuner codes. Then you need to go to a different dealer (i suggest you go back to the dealer you bought the car off, as dealers are a lot more helpful with warranty/servicing etc if you have bought the car off them) and play dumb, don't mention anything about JB4's or having work refused elsewhere etc etc and hope they fix the gearbox issue for you.

I'm sure I've read that once a code is thrown indicating the car might be chipped BMW keeps a record of it on their system.

I suppose the only other possibility is to ask BMW when/date they thought the car was chipped, if that date is prior to the OP taking ownership than its clear the dealer was at fault for selling it as an AUC car....

[zltm089]

Originally Posted by olegmukhanov

Dear forum,

About 6 months ago I bought a lovely low mileage 335i SE auto as an Approved Used from a dealer. It is a low mileage car and had no problems with the exception of occasional hard auto shifting into the 3rd.

Anyway it didn't bother me too much so I asked BMW to look into that only at my annual service today - they confirmed that there is a problem but refused to do the warranty repair as apparently there is / was a chip installed. One thing I know for sure is that I didn't pay an extra for the approved warranty to install a chip and lose it.

Therefore the question is - could it be that during the approved used preparation BMW didn't notice that there is / was a chip (it is a clean low mileage car with 1 previous owner so I could see that happening) and only discovered that during the in-depth diagnostics in connection with my gearbox problem? Or could that just be an excuse not to provide the service? (guess warranty fix of an auto gearbox on a 56 reg 335i is not very economical)

I just want to get this problem fixed instead of finding who has done that as honestly couldn't care less.

Therefore dear forum members have you been in a similar situation and whether the above could be the case?

Thank you,
Oleg

what "problem" did they find and is it directly caused by the "chip"/ remap?

[The_Bear_Yid]

Yeah I'm confused with this.

Did you not know the 'chip' was there?

Or did you install a JB4 at some point?

The outcome of your problem will be very different based on your answer.

[makkan00]

Originally Posted by gangzoom

I suppose the only other possibility is to ask BMW when/date they thought the car was chipped, if that date is prior to the OP taking ownership than its clear the dealer was at fault for selling it as an AUC car....

Enough said.

[zltm089]

I haven't seen the OP said that hes got a jb4...

Is it a JB4 or a proper remap? What codes did it trigger for them to say that the car is remapped?

The dealer where you bought the car should be your first port of call as others have said...

[olegmukhanov]

Dear all, apologies - guess caused more confusion than clarified things.

I was refused the warranty by a BMW dealer (who is not the one I bought it was) as per their words the car is / was chipped.

As far as I understand the only way to check that is to use a special tool (which I do not have). However given I had prior experience with JB4 having done some research - tried if it was it (you just push two key on the steering wheel to activate it) but it wasn't.

So I am not even sure if the car is / was chipped at all as no evidence was given to me by that dealer - I was simply refused the service and referred to the dealer I bought the car from.

My concern is that I cannot check if it is / was chipped and don't want to go between dealers in circles but just want to have my gearbox problem rectified. Therefore I wanted to know if it indeed could have been chipped and it was just missed by the dealer before a more in-depth analysis or it is just an excuse for BMW not to spend money on my gearbox.

[olegmukhanov]

Subzero, no I haven't attempted to install the JB4 but just checked if the "chip" they are talking about was it (given it easy a 2 second check). And indeed the first thing I have done is e-mail the dealer who sold me the car with that - still waiting to hear back though.

Given I didn't receive any evidence of the "chip" from the other dealer I guess I just need to bring the car where I bought if from to get all the issues rectified - I am not interested in returning the car or having any legal cases but merely would like to get it fixed as per the approved used warranty for which I paid up.

There should be some simple explanation to all that as seems too wrong to be true - let me know if you think otherwise.

Thank you,
Oleg

[olegmukhanov]

zltm08, the dealer (not the one I bought the car from) said that there is some kind of problem with the gearbox but they won't proceed under the warranty due to the "chip" - no more, no less. Hence this whole thread as no point arguing with that dealer but at the same time wanted to understand what to expect / what position to take when bringing it to the dealer I bought it from (and I did tell them that I got refused a service due to the "chip" - given I have nothing to do with that I though that there is nothing to hide as well).

[gangzoom]

I'm confused you say you haven't installed the JB4 but also mention you bought a JB4 from a friende but couldn't activate it and got error codes from the engine?

If you have NEVER fitted the JB4 (plugged it into the ECU) than the dealer who sold the car is at fault but if you have tried to fit the JB4 but it went wrong than that may be why the dealer thinks the car is chipped.

[dopper99]

Originally Posted by olegmukhanov

Subzero, no I haven't attempted to install the JB4 ....

Then why mention the JB4 at all in this thread? Its confusing the heck out of people!

[doughboy]

I'm not confused?

Seems clear the OP is just saying he knows how a JB4 should work (steering wheel controls) and he has tried that to see if his car has a JB4 fitted. The SW controls don't go into JB4 programming mode so he is assuming from that there is no JB4 fitted.

He says he has had the CEL lights before (sometime previously) and they went on startup, so could be any fleeting occassional errors - it is a 56 car.


But OP - it could be a flash program (chip) not a JB3/4, I still think amongst the masses, the JB4 is a minority option, there are so many garage 'chip tuners' offering cheap off-the-shelf flash upgrades now, amongst the general car enthusiast public piggbybacks (JB4) are a bit of a dirty word.

You need to go back to the dealer you bought it from, if they have sold you a chipped/JB3/JB4/Flashed/modified car (it probably happens all the time) they need to sort it out.

[AlwynMike]

My experience with AUC cars from different dealers is that they probably don't do ANY checks on the car. They will do any cosmetic issues YOU bring up, and any obvious mechanical issues. As they usually get serviced, the dealer will be able to see any error codes, and these should be cleared before sale. They will not check for a chip - why should they - it's an extra cost to them.

Any error codes will be date stamped, so any evidence of a "chip" will be stamped as such

Mike

[doughboy]

Good point Mike, seeing them on my BT cable I recall the codes are at least mileage stamped, so if the mileage on the errors is before the OP bought the car then bingo.

[Chris100]

I had a problem with my last 330d and before the dealer would fix it they asked me if it was chipped as the issue was known to be caused by remaps etc, now I bought it has a AUC from the same dealer and they told me if the car was chipped they would be able to tell what date it was mapped on so I would presume that they should be able to do the same for you, so if it was before you bought the car case closed and they missed it before selling it on to you.