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Long, complicated issue with no simple answers (archive)
[ Follow Ups ] [ 8-series (E31) Message Board ] [ Msg. Board FAQ ]
Posted by Mark in SBA on June 03, 2001 at 14:04:09:

In Reply to: Rogo has opened a new can of worms for e31 owners posted by Jim G on June 03, 2001 at 06:25:53:

The E31, in particular, stored mileage in the instrument cluster and the EKM, probably nicely hashed. On startup, the two values are compared, and if they're different, you get the dreaded "dot".

BMWNA will ship you a new instrument cluster with mileage set to zero, and the startup process recognizes this and updates the mileage in the cluster to the stored value in the EKM. In order for this update process to work, the cluster must have zero miles, IIRC.

So, for this device to work correctly it must find and replace the hashed mileage in both locations. IIRC, the instrument cluster isn't reprogrammable. The EKM is.

One other thing: California emissions testing records the car's mileage for each test. I'm sure bells and whistles go off if you submit a title change with the state listing a mileage below your last emissions test.

Finally, demand to see historical transactions like emissions tests, BMW recalls, and service, with mileage and dates. You should see a nice progression of both up to the sale of the car. If you can't determine the validity of the car in question, simply walk. Common sense combined with caveat emptor.

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