Just had the car coded

[C5driver]

I did some research on coding and decided that going into the cars ECU for someone as technically-challenged as myself wasn't going to happen. There's a guy on Bimmerpost who came highly recommended and I made contact. The coding was done remotely and the total time was 1 hour

The list of coding options is huge, and I only selected the following:

Front Seat belt chimes reminders removal.

Initial triple-gong removal.

Mirrors (un)fold automatically when (un)locking with Remote or Comfort Access.

Windows open/ close from the Remote.

Windows close from comfort access.

Opening doors won't interrupt windows rolling-up.

Enable rear tail lights on with DRL.

Activate blinking Adaptive Brake Assistant (under sudden and hard deceleration the trunk/ inner brake/ rear fog lights blink until car comes to a full stop)

Disclaimers removal.

DVD playback in motion (restricted to P otherwise)

Video files playback from the USB port in armrest compartment + playback in motion (avi, mp4, ogg, vcd and xvid files).

Turn indicators in HUD.

Lane departure in HUD.

Change ///M animation duration in Head Up Display.

Set heated seats to remember their last setting (option to code the driver or passenger's seat or both).

Lower Blind Spot Detection activation speed to 20 mph (from 40).

Set front ventilated seats to operate at a lower temp. (86 degrees by default on 3rd position, can be lowered to X degrees, usually opt for 75).

I also ordered a blendmount and mirrortap from Rich and installed it in about 10 minutes.



Quite the happy camper

[chask]

Sweet! I am thinking of doing these very things. Since you say you are a happy camper now I assume that these are working as you had hoped and are worth the effort. Do you have any regrets/caveats at all - something you might do differently? I can't imagine what it would be. Every single one of the things you did are the very things that are a slight annoyance or I wish I had on my car.

I'm not familiar with Rich and the mirror tap. Would you post or PM link(s) please?

[devondragon]

FWIW I did largely the same thing a few month ago (probably the same fellow, remotely). At some point I want to get the lane departure markers in the HUD turned back off. It's mildly distracting and provides no real value IMHO. If the car has detected the lane edges then it shows the large lines in the HUD. That's about it. Otherwise I'm thrilled with the results of my coding session.

[HoustonRider]

i want to do this for both of mine, PM me the info so I can get this done!

[C5driver]

Originally Posted by chask

Since you say you are a happy camper now I assume that these are working as you had hoped and are worth the effort.

It's worth the effort. There may be places that might be less, but the convenience of having someone code in my garage was worth the time and money. The communication and directions could not be better or more precise.

Originally Posted by chask

Do you have any regrets/caveats at all - something you might do differently? I can't imagine what it would be. Every single one of the things you did are the very things that are a slight annoyance or I wish I had on my car.

Exactly. Coding is individualizing the vehicle to add convenience features while remove the annoying or unnecessary ones.

Originally Posted by chask

I'm not familiar with Rich and the mirror tap. Would you post or PM link(s) please?

On the way.

[speedracerlo]

great stuff, how is the coding done remotely?

[C5driver]

Originally Posted by speedracerlo

great stuff, how is the coding done remotely?

PM inbound.

[savela]

Well worth it. I initially had the low fuel warning cutoff lowered but regret doing that - this car has a smaller tank than my M5 and it'll go through 1/4 tank in no time. I also regret having the lane departure up in the HUD. I also don't like for it to remember the last setting for the heated/ventilated seats. My 2 cents.

[speedracerlo]

bmwusa.com shows the Tank Capacity on both the M5 and M6 to be 21.1 gallons

[Msizzle]

who does this service??

[Low Country Larry]

Responses to several posts above:
1. Remote coding is done by computer. You download some files that are emailed to you. You'll need to purchase a cable to connect to your car. The guy will go through all that.
2. Menu selection of options. Totally agree "no" to lane-departure in HUD. However, I love the "remember your seat stuff," such as massager and temp. Definitely get rid of chimes and warning screens. Turn signals in HUD. Get the US headlamp fix -- not perfect, but way cool.
3. Fellow I use: go to website codemycar dot com.

[savela]

I use Rich V12. 4 times already. Always perfect. BTW, I would leave the seat belt chime on for the passenger - that way you don't need to ask.

[savela]

Originally Posted by speedracerlo

bmwusa.com shows the Tank Capacity on both the M5 and M6 to be 21.1 gallons

Hmmm. I guess I never actually checked but it seems to fill up quicker than my M5 and I go through a tank quite a bit faster. I'm certain you're correct, I just may like driving this car more aggressively.

[chask]

Originally Posted by savela

I use Rich V12. 4 times already. Always perfect. BTW, I would leave the seat belt chime on for the passenger - that way you don't need to ask.

This would be great. The chimes are more than an annoyance to me. I'd love to get rid of all of them. The passenger seat belt alert though would be one I would want to keep. Every now and then my wife forgets to fasten hers. It's extremely rare, but it happens and she has some health issues that make doing that critical.

Is there a good list somewhere of everything that can be done? I've seen a couple, but it seems like all of them have this disclaimer that there is more and to call them about it. I recognize that what can be done is different for the different models but I would think that in these days of the internet a more complete list could be found some place. What savela seems to be saying is possible (turn off driver's seatbelt chime while retaining the passenger's seatbelt chime) is a perfect example.

Also, I read in a X5 forum (wife's car) around here that some of the guys driving those had just recently gotten a BMW software update that removed their coding (not unheard of) but that it also changed the ability for anyone to code it again. I want to say they removed the descriptive text that made finding the code locations impossible, or did something with the encryption of the sections one has to access that made them inaccessible. I wonder if this is the future for all BMW models? Frankly I think it is nuts that BMW would do this. IMO they ought to publish the stuff and permit the dealer or a second party to enable or disable some features. I doubt it would stop me from buying a Bimmer again if they didn't, but why upset good customers? One would think they would want to keep us as happy as possible. Some of these coding options make the car safer, some make it far more enjoyable, and others remove major annoyances. Seems logical to me.

[JIMX681]

He coded my M6 yesterday as well. He is excellent to deal with.

[Low Country Larry]

Go to codemycar dot com

[PWB]

Originally Posted by C5driver

I did some research on coding and decided that going into the cars ECU for someone as technically-challenged as myself wasn't going to happen. There's a guy on Bimmerpost who came highly recommended and I made contact. The coding was done remotely and the total time was 1 hour

The list of coding options is huge, and I only selected the following:

Front Seat belt chimes reminders removal.

Initial triple-gong removal.

Mirrors (un)fold automatically when (un)locking with Remote or Comfort Access.

Windows open/ close from the Remote.

Windows close from comfort access.

Opening doors won't interrupt windows rolling-up.

Enable rear tail lights on with DRL.

Activate blinking Adaptive Brake Assistant (under sudden and hard deceleration the trunk/ inner brake/ rear fog lights blink until car comes to a full stop)

Disclaimers removal.

DVD playback in motion (restricted to P otherwise)

Video files playback from the USB port in armrest compartment + playback in motion (avi, mp4, ogg, vcd and xvid files).

Turn indicators in HUD.

Lane departure in HUD.

Change ///M animation duration in Head Up Display.

Set heated seats to remember their last setting (option to code the driver or passenger's seat or both).

Lower Blind Spot Detection activation speed to 20 mph (from 40).

Set front ventilated seats to operate at a lower temp. (86 degrees by default on 3rd position, can be lowered to X degrees, usually opt for 75).

I also ordered a blendmount and mirrortap from Rich and installed it in about 10 minutes.



Quite the happy camper

Pls PM info on the mirror tap. Thanks!

Petter

[JimM6GC]

Originally Posted by Petter

Pls PM info on the mirror tap. Thanks!
Petter

Check blendmount.com. They show both the bracket and the wiring on their home page.

[chask]

Originally Posted by Floridamarco

Go to codemycar dot com

I have been to his website several times. He has a pretty comprehensive list. But I have heard others doing things to their car (same as mine) that are not on his list. One for the 2014 M6 (F06) is item 11 - disable seat belt chimes. If I read the above post right this can be done for the driver's seat only, the passenger seat only, or both. I have also heard that it is possible to disable the feature that prevents the car from moving if a door is open. Sometimes when we have a major snow or ice storm coming I try to put my car right next to a heated step (more of a landing really ~10-12' x 6-7'). It's a heck of a lot easier to get the door sill right next to the edge of this step if I can do this while the door is open. There are other examples but my point is this - I'd kind of like to know everything that is possible so I can make the decision.

Some things that are trivial to almost everyone on the planet are pretty critical to me. The door open and move the car thing is one of those. I've got serious health issues that can actually aggravate my condition if I have to crank the wheel around a bunch. With an open door I can usually do it on the first try or two, and never more than three, and I never have to twist and rotate like I do with the door closed (what sets it off). Without being able to open the door it can take me twice that or more. And doing it might set off my problem enough that I cannot function for a while - yeah, it sucks to be me. On the right day those silly door chimes can do it too. I like to shut off the engine, leave the radio on so I can listen to something I want to hear as I get out and then shut off the ignition just before shutting and locking the door. Instead I get this aggravating "ding" that can also set off my problem; it's especially true if I've already had some stimulus that has lowered my tolerance level. Yes, it really sucks a whole lot to be me. That's why I try so hard to find the little solutions that might keep from setting off my problem. So it's kind of important to me to find out about all these things up front, rather than doing it piecemeal.

I'd be willing to put such as list together but I have yet to find many coders doing the work. I am aware of 3-4 good ones and have contacted two. Between the options/capabilities they mention online or in person, I am seeing none of them that can do everything the others claim to offer. Of the two I have contacted, I asked one about something I found online. He said he would have to check into it. I emailed the online guy about something the local guy said he could do. The online guy was not aware it was possible, or maybe he said he could not do it.

If some of you would please forward to me links to sources for coders and coding options I'd like to put something down for all the M6's. And if it is not too difficult for the other M's and possibly all the other F models. Heck, once I get a good format it'd probably be pretty easy to do them all. A spreadsheet would probably be a good way to display them all. The tough part is going to be the research. My search skills make pathetic look good. Once in a while I get lucky but usually the engines are different enough that I rarely come up with what I am looking for right away. With a little help I'd be glad to do this and post it for everyone's reference.

Then again, I wonder if such a list would be worth the effort. If BMW does to the other platforms what it appears they just did with the X5, coding may soon be a thing of the past. Boy I sure hope not. It looks like it is going to fix a whole bunch of stuff for me. You would not believe how much easier this will make my life; for me not all of it is just for convenience.

[M6-Coupe]

Originally Posted by C5driver

I did some research on coding and decided that going into the cars ECU for someone as technically-challenged as myself wasn't going to happen. There's a guy on Bimmerpost who came highly recommended and I made contact. The coding was done remotely and the total time was 1 hour

The list of coding options is huge, and I only selected the following:

Front Seat belt chimes reminders removal.

Initial triple-gong removal.

Mirrors (un)fold automatically when (un)locking with Remote or Comfort Access.

Windows open/ close from the Remote.

Windows close from comfort access.

Opening doors won't interrupt windows rolling-up.

Enable rear tail lights on with DRL.

Activate blinking Adaptive Brake Assistant (under sudden and hard deceleration the trunk/ inner brake/ rear fog lights blink until car comes to a full stop)

Disclaimers removal.

DVD playback in motion (restricted to P otherwise)

Video files playback from the USB port in armrest compartment + playback in motion (avi, mp4, ogg, vcd and xvid files).

Turn indicators in HUD.

Lane departure in HUD.

Change ///M animation duration in Head Up Display.

Set heated seats to remember their last setting (option to code the driver or passenger's seat or both).

Lower Blind Spot Detection activation speed to 20 mph (from 40).

Set front ventilated seats to operate at a lower temp. (86 degrees by default on 3rd position, can be lowered to X degrees, usually opt for 75).

Those in bold are cool features.
I also like the feature shows the tire's temp and pressure.

[M6-Coupe]

Originally Posted by chask

I have been to his website several times. He has a pretty comprehensive list. But I have heard others doing things to their car (same as mine) that are not on his list. One for the 2014 M6 (F06) is item 11 - disable seat belt chimes. If I read the above post right this can be done for the driver's seat only, the passenger seat only, or both. I have also heard that it is possible to disable the feature that prevents the car from moving if a door is open. Sometimes when we have a major snow or ice storm coming I try to put my car right next to a heated step (more of a landing really ~10-12' x 6-7'). It's a heck of a lot easier to get the door sill right next to the edge of this step if I can do this while the door is open. There are other examples but my point is this - I'd kind of like to know everything that is possible so I can make the decision.

Some things that are trivial to almost everyone on the planet are pretty critical to me. The door open and move the car thing is one of those. I've got serious health issues that can actually aggravate my condition if I have to crank the wheel around a bunch. With an open door I can usually do it on the first try or two, and never more than three, and I never have to twist and rotate like I do with the door closed (what sets it off). Without being able to open the door it can take me twice that or more. And doing it might set off my problem enough that I cannot function for a while - yeah, it sucks to be me. On the right day those silly door chimes can do it too. I like to shut off the engine, leave the radio on so I can listen to something I want to hear as I get out and then shut off the ignition just before shutting and locking the door. Instead I get this aggravating "ding" that can also set off my problem; it's especially true if I've already had some stimulus that has lowered my tolerance level. Yes, it really sucks a whole lot to be me. That's why I try so hard to find the little solutions that might keep from setting off my problem. So it's kind of important to me to find out about all these things up front, rather than doing it piecemeal.

I'd be willing to put such as list together but I have yet to find many coders doing the work. I am aware of 3-4 good ones and have contacted two. Between the options/capabilities they mention online or in person, I am seeing none of them that can do everything the others claim to offer. Of the two I have contacted, I asked one about something I found online. He said he would have to check into it. I emailed the online guy about something the local guy said he could do. The online guy was not aware it was possible, or maybe he said he could not do it.

If some of you would please forward to me links to sources for coders and coding options I'd like to put something down for all the M6's. And if it is not too difficult for the other M's and possibly all the other F models. Heck, once I get a good format it'd probably be pretty easy to do them all. A spreadsheet would probably be a good way to display them all. The tough part is going to be the research. My search skills make pathetic look good. Once in a while I get lucky but usually the engines are different enough that I rarely come up with what I am looking for right away. With a little help I'd be glad to do this and post it for everyone's reference.

Then again, I wonder if such a list would be worth the effort. If BMW does to the other platforms what it appears they just did with the X5, coding may soon be a thing of the past. Boy I sure hope not. It looks like it is going to fix a whole bunch of stuff for me. You would not believe how much easier this will make my life; for me not all of it is just for convenience.

I'm not following you...
Do you mean if the door is open, your car doesn't move?

[HoustonRider]

Originally Posted by M6-Coupe

Those in bold are cool features.
I also like the feature shows the tire's temp and pressure.

Yep, I agree. for whatever reason my 2014 535i has it, my wifes 2015 4 gran coupe has it, yet my //M6 does not.

I find lots of differences in models, even the same year, all BMW. Weird.

Like the phone/radio info in the HUD. got it on the 5, not the 6 (until I code it)