FAQ (frequently asked questions)

1. What is feature coding?

Feature coding isn't "coding" in the general sense of the word. We are not hacking into your car and writing custom code. All of the changes made through feature coding are options that your car already has, they were just not made available for the US market. What we do is we read out the settings from the different modules of your car, make the changes, and save them back. The only things that can be coded are those that BMW built into the car and has settings for.

2. Will coding void my warranty?

No, feature coding will not void your warranty. These are options that your car already has but were not enabled from the factory. The coding done by BMW Upgrade USA simply turns on features that your car was already programmed to do. It will look like your car rolled off the assembly line with these features.

3. Will I ever lose the coding?

There are a few different scenarios that could cause you to lose your coding. If your dealer does a software update on the car you will likely lose all the custom coding. Software updates are rare and are not part of regular service. Dealers generally do not update software unless the car has a problem that can't be fixed otherwise. BMW sometimes releases mandatory software updates, when something needs to be updated on all cars (similar to a recall) but again, this is not common. Finally, if you have the dealership retrofit an option, such as an alarm, that did not come with the car from the factory, then they may need to code your car and this too can wipe out your custom coding.

4. I already have a few things coded on my car, is that a problem?

It's no problem at all. We code options one at a time so no other coding you have will be affected.

5. How long does coding take?

This depends on the car and the options but generally about 1 hour. This includes an initial meeting to discuss the options, plugging into and connecting to your car, doing an initial test to ensure a connection, coding your requested features, testing the features, and a final walkthrough at the end.

6. I'm not in the Northern Virginia, VA or New York, NY area. Can you do remote coding?

Yes, we offer remote coding worldwide. We've worked on cars all over the United States, Mexico, and various European and Asian countries.

7. How does remote coding work?

How remote coding works is we'll ship you a coding cable and software. Once you receive the package all you do is plug one end of the cable to your car and the other end to your laptop. We'll remote in, setup the software, and perform the coding. Simple as that.

8. Is my car an E Series or an F Series?

BMW models are often times referred to by their chassis code. For example, the current generation 5 Series is the F10 while the previous generation was the E60. All new generation models are or will be F Series cars (only because BMW has run out of "E" codes to use). This matters because the F Series cars use a different cable and software, and the options available for coding differ from the E Series. If you're unsure of your car's chassis code, use our BMW Series Guide.

9. What version iDrive do I have?

Want to do a navigation update but you're not sure what version iDrive you have? Use our BMW iDrive Guide to find out.