[ducati]

Hello all... Having never owned a BMW (car, at least), I'm not up on the latest equipment for maintaining and testing BMWs. I own a VAG-COM license; for those of you not familiar with that wonderful tool, you can check it out here:
http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/index.html

With many, many VAG cars in my family, I thought it would be a good idea to buy a VAG-COM. Since I've owned it, I have diagnosed a wastegate problem on my wife's 1.8T, logged many dyno runs on my GLI, snooped around boost levels on different brands of fuel, added "undocumented features" like open/close of windows with the remote, and cleared numerous fault codes for friends and family. I don't know where I'd be without my trusty VAG-COM

Is there anything like this for BMWs?

[BForbes]

Originally Posted by ducati

Hello all... Having never owned a BMW (car, at least), I'm not up on the latest equipment for maintaining and testing BMWs. I own a VAG-COM license; for those of you not familiar with that wonderful tool, you can check it out here:
http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/index.html

With many, many VAG cars in my family, I thought it would be a good idea to buy a VAG-COM. Since I've owned it, I have diagnosed a wastegate problem on my wife's 1.8T, logged many dyno runs on my GLI, snooped around boost levels on different brands of fuel, added "undocumented features" like open/close of windows with the remote, and cleared numerous fault codes for friends and family. I don't know where I'd be without my trusty VAG-COM

Is there anything like this for BMWs?

Wish I could answer your question. But arent you Mr. Clever with your wifes V-dub.

[ducati]

Here's a funny one.

My sister (2006 Jetta) hits her garage with her mirror Anyway... The mirror housing is cracked, although the mirror and turnsignal still work, she decides to have it replaced.

Sometime in the next few hundred miles, a light on her dashboard lit indicating she had a bulb out. She was taking her car in to get her mirror replaced and her 20k service that weekend, so left it. She mentioned the light to the service adviser. When she picked it up, the light was out and he said it was a result of the mirror hit.

The light came back on almost immediately, and she left it that way until she visited my house a month or so later. I pulled the codes and found:
1 Fault Found:
00987 - Lamp for Brake Light; Left (M9)
012 - Electrical Fault in Circuit
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 01101100
Fault Priority: 1
Fault Frequency: 2
Reset counter: 217
Mileage: 32764 km
Time Indication: 0

Notice the mileage the fault began: 20,359 miles, just before she took it in for her 20k at about 20,500. So the tech pulled and reset the codes, and was too lazy to actually 1) read the code or 2) replace the burnt out taillight bulb.

Another story: my GLI began throwing CEL codes. I pulled the codes, searched vortex for like souls, and found VW had issued a mandatory computer update to change the thresholds of CEL for this particular part. I didn't have service for a few months, so I simply cleared the codes when they were thrown, eventually had my service, and they never came back. Saved me a trip to the dealer and the attendant time waste, this VAGCOM

It's a great tool. I've attached a VAG-COM "dyno" of my GLI. Fun stuff.

[LongIslandNY135i]

i was just thinking about this today. is there a logging program for bmw's? i would be nice considering my body used to log his b5 s4 with vag-com. i no there is ecuX as well if anyone knows the answer that would be awesome.

[lannypoffo]

I used my vagcom for 4 years thru my VW's i owned.. tons of logging boost and temps and testing. i sold it when my side business slowed down. i had more than made my money back by then.

i wish BMW had one.