Is there anyway of finding out how many times Launch Control has been used?

[2k328ci]

Hi all,

I'm in the market for a used M3 and was wondering if there was any easy way to find out how many times Launch Control was used on a particular vehicle. I see that dealerships can tell so its stored somewhere, but can I just access this info from the iDrive interface? It would be nice to tell if a particular used M3 has been abused or not.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by 2k328ci

Hi all,

I'm in the market for a used M3 and was wondering if there was any easy way to find out how many times Launch Control was used on a particular vehicle. I see that dealerships can tell so its stored somewhere, but can I just access this info from the iDrive interface? It would be nice to tell if a particular used M3 has been abused or not.

I know from a case at my local BMW/Dealer and dates from 5-6 years ago about an ///M5 E60 that the owner blew up the DCT by using the Launch Control too mutch,car was still under waranty but they could see it only with the keyfob how many times the launch was used ,the answer was way too much and so it was not covered by the BMW waranty !
About seeing it on our IDrive....> No .
So try to get the keyfob of the car and go with it to a BMW/Dealer .

[Law]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

I know from a case at my local BMW/Dealer and dates from 5-6 years ago about an ///M5 E60 that the owner blew up the DCT by using the Launch Control too mutch,car was still under waranty but they could see it only with the keyfob how many times the launch was used ,the answer was way too much and so it was not covered by the BMW waranty !
About seeing it on our IDrive....> No .

You're correct. There is a "blackbox" but i think what you meant is SMG & not DCT

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by Law

You're correct. There is a "blackbox" but i think what you meant is SMG & not DCT

Indeed !

[Yvette]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

I know from a case at my local BMW/Dealer and dates from 5-6 years ago about an ///M5 E60 that the owner blew up the DCT by using the Launch Control too mutch,car was still under waranty but they could see it only with the keyfob how many times the launch was used ,the answer was way too much and so it was not covered by the BMW waranty !
About seeing it on our IDrive....> No .
So try to get the keyfob of the car and go with it to a BMW/Dealer .

lol used it too much and not covered under warranty, sounds BS to me.

[WinterSoldier]

I would ask Mike Benvo at BPM Sport. bpmsport.com
If it's there, he can find it.

[Flying Ace]

How bad is the clutch? Lol

[Nola 32/65]

Launch control is just in DCT cars right?

[bdaddylo]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

I know from a case at my local BMW/Dealer and dates from 5-6 years ago about an ///M5 E60 that the owner blew up the DCT by using the Launch Control too mutch,car was still under waranty but they could see it only with the keyfob how many times the launch was used ,the answer was way too much and so it was not covered by the BMW waranty !
About seeing it on our IDrive....> No .
So try to get the keyfob of the car and go with it to a BMW/Dealer .

The car's computer stores this data as well as many other parameter. The keyfob gets data from the computer not the other way around.

Originally Posted by Nola 32/65

Launch control is just in DCT cars right?

Wrong. SMG had it first.

[Nola 32/65]

Originally Posted by bdaddylo

Wrong. SMG had it first.

I'm sorry, I should of asked if only the autos had them, lol.

Since this is the E9x section, I really wasn't talking about previous generations.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by e90sexion

lol used it too much and not covered under warranty, sounds BS to me.

BS ?!?! No way man !
That's what they told me at my BMW/Dealer !
The full story is that the guy was not covered by using the SMG launch all day long ,and he wanted the car anymore and sold the car with a blew SMG !
But what happend next....
Same day he ordered exactly the same car and after I saw him with the new car,because the guy is local ,about 5 miles from where I live !
After 6-7 months he totaled the new car ?!?!
So after two ///M5's I saw a Porsche parked on his driveway .....
The reason why the guy was acting like this is....It was a Lotto winner !
Don't see him anymore...and people are saying... he's moved to another country !
End of story and no BS !

[miringrains]

You can check if you put your car on a lift. There are these rubber pieces next to the differential cooler, they should be tight and in an o shape. If they are stretched out and elongated that means the car has been launched a lot.

[2k328ci]

Thanks for all the input. I think I will definitely take it to a dealer for inspection instead of my trusted mechanic as I don't think he can read key fob data.

[Ludey]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

BS ?!?! No way man !
That's what they told me at my BMW/Dealer !
The full story is that the guy was not covered by using the SMG launch all day long ,and he wanted the car anymore and sold the car with a blew SMG !
But what happend next....
Same day he ordered exactly the same car and after I saw him with the new car,because the guy is local ,about 5 miles from where I live !
After 6-7 months he totaled the new car ?!?!
So after two ///M5's I saw a Porsche parked on his driveway .....
The reason why the guy was acting like this is....It was a Lotto winner !
Don't see him anymore...and people are saying... he's moved to another country !
End of story and no BS !

So, what exactly is the limit? And wouldn't something like that have to be stated in a contract somewhere? Actually, there's most likely blanket statement somewhere like "if the car is determined to be abused or driven on the track, the warranty is void" - would be my guess. Just seems like one of those subjective things that is fight-able. I've never launched mine.. don't really see the need actually. Just thinking out loud here... but if I were in a similar situation, I'd be like

Saying "nope, launched it too much" to deny a warranty claim just seems dodgey. I know this has been discussed before but it's a feature that comes on the car from the factory... and by using it, it voids a warranty... they should call it warranty voider control, lol

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by Ludey

So, what exactly is the limit? And wouldn't something like that have to be stated in a contract somewhere? Actually, there's most likely blanket statement somewhere like "if the car is determined to be abused or driven on the track, the warranty is void" - would be my guess. Just seems like one of those subjective things that is fight-able. I've never launched mine.. don't really see the need actually. Just thinking out loud here... but if I were in a similar situation, I'd be like

Saying "nope, launched it too much" to deny a warranty claim just seems dodgey. I know this has been discussed before but it's a feature that comes on the car from the factory... and by using it, it voids a warranty... they should call it warranty voider control, lol

Don't know about the limit of launches,i've no idea ,but personal I think that in case of blew SMG or DCT or clutch starts to slip and the car is under warranty with not much miles on it that it's normal that they take a deeper look into the problem (investigation) why this could happen , and when they see how many times the car was launched in time and date period...I would say at that moment the ball starts rolling ....but out of the warranty !
In a case like this... the SMG or DCT was not worn out, there was no malfunction... it was destruction !

[iansanderson]

Yes, the data can be retrieved. It is stored in Mechatronics module in the informations memory in INPA. See image below, DCT similar to SMG.

I used INPA to view the freeze-frame data in my DME of my 6MT to see how many times the engine was operated above redline and when.

My car was redlined once at approx 21,057 miles @ 8625 RPM. Coincidentally, it was for sale at a BMW dealership at that time according to the CarFax. Engine is fine, but it was good to know before buying.

[M3-S65]

Does it show date also or just the mileage it was at when the launch control was used?

[2k328ci]

Thanks! But it seems like I would have to take it to a dealer to retrieve that information. What program is that screenshot from? Excuse me because I'm a newbie, but do you take your laptop to plug it into the car's OBC port to get that read out?

[Killerfish2012]

I fail to see how this can be someone's sole criteria for judging a transmission's long term viability. So what if the previous owner took the car to the drag strip a bunch of times? Other more important things to look for are; fluid change intervals, total amount of fluid exchanged, and on road driving habits (city vs Highway). Sadly a majority of M3 owners don't flush their transmission fluid at all, so it's a real luck of the draw regarding wear and tear. Here's a quick example to put my points into perspective. Which of the following 75K DCT M3's of the same build date would you buy:

Car A. Vehicle spent more than a couple of occasions at the drag strip, but had a 100% DCT fluid flush at 50K miles, and only did highway driving.

Car B. DCT fluid was never changed, and the car was never launched at the strip. All 75K mileage was spent in stop and go city traffic.

[drchuck72]

This is just sad that BMW doesn't have enough faith in the transmission that they built that they void the warranty after x number of launches.

If you get a Porsche with PDK, they don't care how many times you launch it. You will never void the Porsche warranty for using launch.

[Killerfish2012]

Originally Posted by drchuck72

This is just sad that BMW doesn't have enough faith in the transmission that they built that they void the warranty after x number of launches.

If you get a Porsche with PDK, they don't care how many times you launch it. You will never void the Porsche warranty for using launch.

Nissan voided them too for the GTR. It's not just BMW, or a question of faith.

[2k328ci]

It's not the sole criteria Killerfish2012 at all - it just gives me an overall indication of how the car was treated, helps to fill in the picture who the previous owner/owners were. I couldn't tell if the transmission fluid was changed either without doing it. I was just hoping for an easy/quick sign to judge how babied/abused a particular used M3 was.

Hey drchuck72 - were you on e46toronto back in the day? If so, hi - I met you there when I first got my e46 coupe and that forum helped me learn so much. I miss those days and it seems I'm going to be learning all over again when I finally move up to a M3 someday.