romrunning

Hi all,

Finally upgrading to a RLX from my '05 RL. I do have a question - are dealers required to check for TSBs & apply them proactively? Or do you go through the TSBs yourself & see if any apply? I know they didn't seem to do so on my '05, and I was curious if dealers have gotten better about it.

I know someone else recommended having the dealer check for software updates & apply them. Does your dealer charge you for it?

Limelight

From my experience, dealers will not proactively apply all TSB's. You must bring them the vehicle exhibiting symptoms and then YOU be proactive by telling them about the applicable TSB. My dealer sees so few RLX's (especially Sport Hybrid's) that in most cases, they don't even know about them until I tell them!

miner

^ Same experience as Limelight.

hadokenuh

No, they don't check for TSBs, only for recalls.

If you are out of warranty, they will charge money to complete any TSB. You can think of TSBs as how-to guides to fix common problems.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Echoing what others have said, no, dealers are not required to proactively check TSBs, they will only be checked if/when a car is symptomatic for any one issue, and even then the TSB search will be limited to the current symptoms.

Also, as previously pointed out, if the car is out of its warranty period, most dealers will charge for TSB related work.

romrunning

What about any "software updates" as mentioned by someone else? Does a dealer charge for it?

For example, I know with computers, I can check for & apply updates for firmware, BIOS, etc. Since a lot of the car's systems (like the infotainment system) are processor/ASIC-based, does the dealer get updates from Honda/Acura & have them available to be applied during maintenance visits?

Thanks for any info; it's always nice to be informed when going to the dealer for maintenance, scheduled or otherwise.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

As a general rule, software updates will not be performed unless a problem exists. That said, I picked up a European Delivery 530i SP 5-Speed manual back in 2002; the car performed flawlessly while in Europe, however, once I got here to the States the Drive-by-Wire throttle software was making the car almost undriveable. After several trips to the dealership they were unable to identify the issue, and then a month later my wife and I got transferred to a different state with basically 24-hours of advance warning.

Once up here in New Hampshire, I again took the 530i into my new local dealership and complained about the driveability issues; the service technician who drove the car said, "They all do that."

I said, "No they don't, and this one didn't do it until it got over here to the U.S.A."

"Really?" He sounded genuinely surprised. He immediately took the car back into the shop and checked the date of the DBW software and noticed the car had been flashed with a new version when it got to the port facilities in New Jersey. He said he had no way of knowing the version of code my car was built with, but there were several newer versions since my car reached our shores; did I want one of the newer versions installed?

I hadn't even gotten out of the lot following the reflash before I could tell a dramatic improvement; even still, I don't think it was ever as good as the original software, sure which the BMW Prep Center hadn't done that unnecessary flash in the first place.