ECU flash

[Spaceman Spiff]

I am a bit lost on this one so any help would be much appreciated!

My 06 M roady recently got a REJECT from annual smog inspection in MA. I had to take it to one of their special inspection units (which they call motorist assistance center) and was told that the ECU has a European tune and must be flashed. The guy gave me a printout of the scan results that showed EOBD instead of OBDII, which is apparently the issue.

I called two dealers in the Boston area. One of them had no idea what I was talking about, and the other one said they can flash the software but don't guarantee that "it would take," and that I may need a new ECU if mine is European (which makes no sense).

Figure this forum has way more collective knowledge than the typical stealer. Has anyone has this issue before?

[Punisher3.0si]

Someone else ran into this problem this year too. If you go back a page or 2 you should find it. Makes me wonder if there was a mix up with DME's at the factory.

[fdagen]

I would think the biggest issue wouldn't be the tune. It would be that if your car is european it would be missing some cats. That being said, if it has a euro dme who cars if it meets the smog test requirements. What do they do with cars that are imported from another country?

[pokeybritches]

Active Autowerkes or ESS should be able to help you out.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Originally Posted by Punisher3.0si

Someone else ran into this problem this year too. If you go back a page or 2 you should find it. Makes me wonder if there was a mix up with DME's at the factory.

Yeah I was able to find that thread. Hope mine is simply a case of the previous owner having installed the EU tune, rather than a whole new ECU. Funny thing is, it passed the test last year, but not this year.

[Punisher3.0si]

Originally Posted by fdagen

I would think the biggest issue wouldn't be the tune. It would be that if your car is european it would be missing some cats. That being said, if it has a euro dme who cars if it meets the smog test requirements. What do they do with cars that are imported from another country?

In the US gas cars have to have a Catalyst monitor. If the test station sees no cat monitor then there is no way it will pass. I have ran into this with Canada vehicles a couple of times. I would imagine the car would have to be certified to be driven on the roads. This probably entails a different PCM and any extra emissions components necessary.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Originally Posted by fdagen

I would think the biggest issue wouldn't be the tune. It would be that if your car is european it would be missing some cats. That being said, if it has a euro dme who cars if it meets the smog test requirements. What do they do with cars that are imported from another country?

Apparently the EU tune doesn't support the EVAP test, and without that I can't pass the test in MA. May end up registering the car in a different state if this issue isn't resolved!

[Spaceman Spiff]

Originally Posted by pokeybritches

Active Autowerkes or ESS should be able to help you out.

I live in NY so I assume I'd have to remove and send the ECU to them, right? Is that an easy DIY?

[inTgr8r]

There is no different Euro DME, they're all the same.
Software is the only difference.

Check with one of the tuners as Pokey mentioned.
They may even find your car, if they track tunes by VIN.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Update #1 for those who may find themselves in a similar situation: After looking into all available options, I had it flashed at the dealer, costing 2hrs of labor (consistent between dealers in NY and Boston). Interestingly, most suburban dealers either didn't know what I was even talking about, or told me they don't do this kind of work anymore.

Will be driving up to Boston next week to get it reinspected. Will give another update then.