I saw the "drive by wire" thread and thought I'd just ask. My transmission seemed to be shifting slow into higher gears, I'd actually have to let off the gas to get it to upshift sometimes, I took it in and they said it needs a software update, $95. Is this just a placebo too? I hate to pay $95 for a placebo. Over the summer the alternator went and the trans went into "failsafe" mode, At the time i asked whether that would bother anything they said no.

Failsafe mode shouldn't damage anything. It's there to prevent damage. I don't know why a bad alternator would cause the transmission to go into failsafe mode though, that's odd.

If the dealership told you your car needs a software update, and you paid for diagnosis time, they should have checked the faults. If there were faults, and they duplicated the problem, they're either going by a service bulletin, or they took the time to submit a case to the engineers in NJ who authorized the software update. If they did that, they should have checked the level and quality of the transmission fluid.

Dealer techs really aren't supposed to update software without a valid reason (i.e. part replacement, service bulletin, or authorization from engineers/test plans), though things can get murky when the car comes out of warranty.

Anyway, what I'm getting at is NO. Software updates are anything but a placebo. BMW goes through and corrects software issues on a regular basis. Not necessarily for an older car like yours, but if your software hasn't been updated in a long time, chances are there's an update for your car.

Thanks. When the alternator went, it ran on battery until the battery completely discharged, eventually there wasn't enough juice in the battery to fire the plugs. The was at night so the headlights were on too. One by one, as the current level dropped, the systems went "offline" one of those was the transmission that went into failsafe mode. It wasn't long after that that the car stopped running. I took the battery out, charged it and drove it the next day to the dealer. Since it was daylight, the battery ran it for awhile longer.