I have an after market honda interface cable for diagnostics. I've noticed every time after I brought my car in for service (airbag recall etc), some diagnostics functions would no longer work, until recently when it would not even connect to the software. Is it standard ops for dealers to update your firmware when you bring your car in for service, rendering aftermarket electronic tools obsolete? thanks

 

No, they don't. They have no need to modify the ECU when there isn't a fix for some TSB/recall, cause they don't want to create a chance that you'll claim they messed up the ECU... which would require them to fix it (possibly costing them money).

As for your interface, they don't care about whatever it is you plug in, cause if you mess up, they get to charge you money to fix it.

I think it's just more likely your aftermarket interface is probably not that good to begin with... and now failing.

 

Don't know about Honda, but during the warranty Ford is RABID about pushing firmware updates, Have a friend with a cop version of the explorer, they have refreshed his several times "because it was down rev" when its a completely different tune.. He finally told the service manager that if they flashed it,, he was going to tune him up..

They even did it during Oil changes..

Gm can push some stuff via onstar on some vehicles.. I did it on a Comp corvette a couple years ago, the owner wanted the rev and speed limiters turned off to race it (We had installed a cage and all the track stuff stripped the interior etc..) When I called GM performance they asked me to hold, asked for a credit card to pay the hundred bucks, and then had me hang on the phone.. about 10 minutes the the Odometer Flashed and printed out WARRANTY VOID. But the rev limiter was moved up and it let us go past 150.. So it worked.. But every time the car started,, you see the note..

 

Interesting. I have a GM car with a defective thermostat design. Local dealers want $100 to update firmware simply to prevent p0128 from popping up first cold day of the year.

So I just erase the code manually with my codereader every November.

 

No way. Unless there's a flag in the maintenance system for the model. If the OEM doesn't identify a fix needed, there's no changes needed.

Some cars get OTA updates but there's some security risk so most OEMs still lock it down for the most part. Have to plug in.