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      03-29-2021, 08:50 PM   #1
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BM3 flash and now drivetrain malfunction

Flashed stage 1 93 octane on friday and it drove wonderfully. I turned up the burble for sport mode on saturday and got engine oil malfunction messaged. I messaged PFT and they said to reflash again. I did and the engine oil malfunction message went away but immediately drive train malfunction comes up. I messaged them again and they essentially said I should get a windows, not mac, to reflash. I literally went and bought a new windows laptop, reflashed and same drivetrain malfunction message. The car cannot drive and Idk what to do now... PFT doesn't seem too keen on finding me the right solution at this point
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      03-29-2021, 08:58 PM   #2
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I flashed my car two Saturdays ago and had the exact same happen to me. PTF were super responsive and I was able to get in a remote tuning session with them that fixed the engine oil issue but they couldn't correct the drive train malfunction

Ended up flashing back to stock and locking so I can take it to the dealer this week to see if the dealer did something weird to my car when they "fixed" the active air flap problems.

I am going to try again on Friday after it goes to the dealer.
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      03-29-2021, 09:16 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sophisto540 View Post
I flashed my car two Saturdays ago and had the exact same happen to me. PTF were super responsive and I was able to get in a remote tuning session with them that fixed the engine oil issue but they couldn't correct the drive train malfunction

Ended up flashing back to stock and locking so I can take it to the dealer this week to see if the dealer did something weird to my car when they "fixed" the active air flap problems.

I am going to try again on Friday after it goes to the dealer.
oh man sorry to hear. Keep us posted. I had no recent work done on the car and infact it's been driving nicely. Up to when I last parked it. I did the reflash to clear the engine oil message as ptf instructed and then this new message appeared so I am incline to think it's related to the tune...

That's really disappointing to hear that PFT said they couldn't fix it
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      03-30-2021, 05:36 AM   #4
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Originally Posted by thecooltype View Post
That's really disappointing to hear that PFT said they couldn't fix it
I guess I wasn't super clear, the folks at pro tuning freaks cleared all the errors that popped up from the flash.

The active air vents have been stuck in the open position since I bought it. No errors though. This makes me think BMW messed with the code to tell the car not to report the error. So when I flashed the tune, BM3 cleared the BMW "fix." I am hoping BMW will actually fix those vents this time so there are no coding gremlins when I reflash BM3.

If you haven't already set up a remote tuning session with them, you should and they will most likely be able to clear the issues you have.
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      03-30-2021, 01:09 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thecooltype View Post
That's really disappointing to hear that PFT said they couldn't fix it
I guess I wasn't super clear, the folks at pro tuning freaks cleared all the errors that popped up from the flash.

The active air vents have been stuck in the open position since I bought it. No errors though. This makes me think BMW messed with the code to tell the car not to report the error. So when I flashed the tune, BM3 cleared the BMW "fix." I am hoping BMW will actually fix those vents this time so there are no coding gremlins when I reflash BM3.

If you haven't already set up a remote tuning session with them, you should and they will most likely be able to clear the issues you have.
Yup I had a one hour session with them at 12.... Serge fixed it remotely and it's all perfect again....

Regarding what BMW did, that's not nice... I believe that part has a recall or warranty on it.

I bought my car and a month later I got the cel for the active shutter stuck open... it was fixed for free...
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      03-30-2021, 04:47 PM   #6
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Serge fixed it remotely

I bought my car and a month later I got the cel for the active shutter stuck open... it was fixed for free...
Was Serge able to flash it back to stage 1 without issues? If so, that is great news!!

Do you remember what BMW did to fix the CEL? Did they replace parts or just mess with wiring/coding?
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      03-30-2021, 07:40 PM   #7
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Serge fixed it remotely

I bought my car and a month later I got the cel for the active shutter stuck open... it was fixed for free...
Was Serge able to flash it back to stage 1 without issues? If so, that is great news!!

Do you remember what BMW did to fix the CEL? Did they replace parts or just mess with wiring/coding?
yes he did.... he flashed the free mppk map first and then stage1 93 without issues after doing some diagnostics.

I was watching. I may be wrong but he seem to have ran a diagnostic to see what files were missing from the dme.... He identified 3 files I believe. He then added the files and checked that it worked. It worked so he then flashed the free map and the gear lever worked again and drivetrain malfunction light went away. Finally he flashed stage 1 93 octane. all in all it took a little less than an hour

BMW replaced the lower shutter that was stuck in open.... it now open and closes fine
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      05-27-2021, 09:59 PM   #8
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Bootmod3 Drivetrain Malfunction

Hey guys, I wanted to throw my 0.02 cents in. I recently flashed Bootmod3 on a 2017 540i. Everything was good until I got a cel and the orange light. I ran a diagnostic and it came up oil level can't be read. I hit up PTF and they recommended I download the tune first, then flash. That resolved the issue, but it killed my drivetrain. I had a drivetrain malfunction and the shifter turned off and wouldn't get into gear. Again I contacted PTF and Serge set up a remote session with me. Within an hour he fixed the issue.

I waited about a week and decided to test the flash, so I reflashed Stage 1 ACN91 and it again killed my tranny. Serge hooked me up with another remote session and fixed the issue again. This time, he deleted my old license and registered me to a new one.

Both times he used E-sys to check my system. He flashed a stock tune to and ran a diagnostic, everything was good. He then loaded the stage 1 and the drivetrain malfunction appeared. He found the missing files and reflashed and everything worked fine.

The second time he did the same thing, but this time he associated my account with a new license and that fixed the issue so far. I haven't reflashed with the new account yet, I'm waiting to be off from work a few days just in case it kills the drivetrain again and I have to set up a remote session.

So long story short, I think about 50% of the G30 B58 guys running Bootmod3 might run into these issues. The OTS map was last updated like last year so they need to come back to this and fix some coding. I am not worried at all because both times my drivetrain bricked, Serge was able to fix it within an hour and I didn't even have to wait a day for the coding session.

Would I run Boodmod3 again? Hell yes! Their customer service is the best that I've ever experienced in my life. They are quick to respond and will work to make things right.
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      05-28-2021, 10:30 PM   #9
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I wanted to follow up with the recent flash fix. I changed up a few of the custom settings and reflashed my car. The flash went smooth with no problems or errors, just as it should.
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      06-08-2021, 03:46 PM   #10
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I wanted to follow up with the recent flash fix. I changed up a few of the custom settings and reflashed my car. The flash went smooth with no problems or errors, just as it should.
awesome
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      07-16-2022, 01:30 AM   #11
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I am glad I found this thread because I just ran into this exact problem a couple weeks ago.

I had previously ran Stage 1 91 oct for about a year with no problems. Recently had a high flow downpipe installed (CG DS-1) and decided to flash Stage 2 91. Initially the process was fine and it flashed successfully. However the next day I got an error message while driving stating “unable to determine status” of my engine oil. I reached out to PTF and they recoded my software file and told me to reflash. This did fix the error message but in turn killed my drivetrain. The car would start but I was unable to put it in gear. I started freaking out because I had to leave the next day for vacation.

Serge and Zanin were very responsive in our conversation. We set up a remote session for the day after I came back from vacation. The thing that worried me the most about the remoting was the possibility of my battery going dead while coding, because I left my car sitting for a week. However, as seen on many threads on this forum, Serge did an amazing job diagnosing the ECU and clearing the drivetrain malfunction code, reviving my drivetrain. I bought a battery charger just in case my battery died but it was unnecessary. I was able to flash Stage 2 this time with no problems.

Big props to the folks at PTF for having such incredible customer service!
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      07-16-2022, 06:27 AM   #12
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I flashed my M550i few weeks ago stage 1 93 and no issues so far. This is strange that get an error and some don't.
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      07-16-2022, 12:03 PM   #13
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Flashed my B58 last week to 2.3 (came from 2.1) and am also presented with the "unable to determine oil status" message - dodged that for quite some time...
I'm a bit reluctant to flash again, as most people seem to end up with a stuck transmission (while it now drives).
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      07-16-2022, 06:53 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mikej0h View Post
Flashed my B58 last week to 2.3 (came from 2.1) and am also presented with the "unable to determine oil status" message - dodged that for quite some time...
I'm a bit reluctant to flash again, as most people seem to end up with a stuck transmission (while it now drives).
I’m also a bit reluctant to flash again for the time being… although everything runs fine now, I don’t want to run into this error again if I decide to reflash to turn down burbles

PTF can definitely help you clear all errors even if you get the transmission malfunction, but yeah getting that code was scary as hell and a pain in the a**
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      07-16-2022, 10:19 PM   #15
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Hey everyone, once PTF fixed my issue with drivetrain and oil, I haven't had any issues. They had an update a few months ago and I flashed no problem. They recently updated the Flex Fuel tune and I was able to flash with no issues.

I am 100% confident in flashing any BM3 tune now. I too would be hesitant, but get in contact with PTF and tell them what's going on. They will fix the issue and it will never come back.

This is for the 540 / B58 platform. I have not heard of any issues with the M550.
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      07-16-2022, 11:54 PM   #16
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I always pick "Download and flash later" then flash, haven't had the oil issue **knock on wood**. Have flashed maybe 10 or 12 times messing with settings and trying different maps.
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      07-17-2022, 05:05 AM   #17
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I always pick "Download and flash later" then flash, haven't had the oil issue **knock on wood**. Have flashed maybe 10 or 12 times messing with settings and trying different maps.
This is what I do now as well. I believe this is the best way to do it.
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      07-18-2022, 09:59 AM   #18
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I flashed the multimap stage 2+ yesterday and did the download now flash later option. Everything went fine and i did a quick test drive with no issues.

This morning I start up the car and have the orange car stating unable to determine oil!

I reflashed with the download now flash later after changing up some configurations, but the error still there.

Emailed PTF and waiting for a reply.
I hate having any lights on.
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      07-18-2022, 10:22 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by I3LaZeN View Post
I flashed the multimap stage 2+ yesterday and did the download now flash later option. Everything went fine and i did a quick test drive with no issues.

This morning I start up the car and have the orange car stating unable to determine oil!

I reflashed with the download now flash later after changing up some configurations, but the error still there.

Emailed PTF and waiting for a reply.
I hate having any lights on.
let us know how it goes
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      07-22-2022, 06:22 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by I3LaZeN View Post
I flashed the multimap stage 2+ yesterday and did the download now flash later option. Everything went fine and i did a quick test drive with no issues.

This morning I start up the car and have the orange car stating unable to determine oil!

I reflashed with the download now flash later after changing up some configurations, but the error still there.

Emailed PTF and waiting for a reply.
I hate having any lights on.
That sucks bro. Hopefully PTF gets at you soon. On the plus side, and off-topic, but I contacted Dorch about their ECA kits and they have them ready and available to ship. They said they don't have it listed on their site because they want to verify in house that it fits the 540, but many customers and installers have already installed the kit without issues. Also, the MHD ECA will work too. So we are Flex-fuel ready.
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      07-22-2022, 08:31 AM   #21
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Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com View Post
let us know how it goes
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Originally Posted by 540iSUP View Post
That sucks bro. Hopefully PTF gets at you soon. On the plus side, and off-topic, but I contacted Dorch about their ECA kits and they have them ready and available to ship. They said they don't have it listed on their site because they want to verify in house that it fits the 540, but many customers and installers have already installed the kit without issues. Also, the MHD ECA will work too. So we are Flex-fuel ready.
Thats good news!

So far, no help from PTF in resolving.

I sent in the info they asked for, they told me after that to go ahead and redownload it, and flash later.
I did that and then got the dreaded gear malfunction where i couldnt put the car in any gear.

I quickly reflashed the 93 stage 2+ map and i got my gear ability back but very weird, Drive was starting in 3rd gear.
I reflashed it and it went back to normal.

I'm getting 1 email daily from PTF which is really annoying. I just sent another email asking for support here so lets see. Not sure if they need to something remotely orrr, but for now, stage 2+ 93 is fine.
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      07-24-2022, 03:32 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mikej0h View Post
Flashed my B58 last week to 2.3 (came from 2.1) and am also presented with the "unable to determine oil status" message - dodged that for quite some time...
I'm a bit reluctant to flash again, as most people seem to end up with a stuck transmission (while it now drives).
After contacting PTF support they have been very helpful in resolving this issue.
Had a coding session with Serge last Friday - fixed it permanently by storing the proper version with my profile (if I understood correctly, and did not have issues while flashing other maps, so that worked &#128077

Also I found a small issue regarding not having any burbles. They resolved that today by letting me reflash the same map (it had a different ID, so I suppose a different revision).
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