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Thread: Diagnostics Errors - Wrong VIN read?

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    2014 BMW 335i

    Diagnostics Errors - Wrong VIN read?

    Hello, so I had found a car I wanted to buy, a F30 2014 335i that I personally love driving, but I was very cautious about it as it had fairly low mileage for its age (46700). Taking precaution, I had the car inspected by a local BMW mechanic and they found that the car itself was giving the wrong codes. The car registers itself as a Mini Cooper and provides the wrong VIN number instead of its own, so the car can not be diagnosed properly due to the coding making the car think its a Mini Cooper instead of a 2014 335i. Has anyone ever seen this happen or have any idea what someone could have done to this car to cause this sort of response? Would this be a deal breaker? The mechanic basically told me that they can't exactly be sure what is wrong with the car, if anything, since the coding is all wrong and the vehicle would have to be re-coded. On top of that it has a leaking oil pan gasket and they found what they state to be excessive metal shavings in the transmission fluid and the differential gear oil. I feel as if I should avoid this car and keep searching but figured someone could possibly have seen this before and give some more insight.

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    What tools were they using to diagnose? It's much harder to run these newer cars with wrong vins/improperly programmed modules, etc.
    So I would blame a technical error first, before jumping to other conclusions.

    What is the last 7 of the vin of the car?
    Last 7 of vin in diagnostics?
    -Abel

    - E36 328is ~210-220whp: Lots of Mods.
    - 2000 Z3: Many Mods.
    - 2003 VW Jetta TDI Manual 47-50mpg
    - 1999 S52 Estoril M Coupe
    - 2014 328d Wagon, self-tuned, 270hp/430ft-lbs
    - 2019 M2 Competition, self-tuned, 504whp
    - 2016 Mini Cooper S

  3. #3
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    Clearly there tools are faulty

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2019
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    Naples
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    2014 BMW 335i
    Quote Originally Posted by 328 Power 04 View Post
    What tools were they using to diagnose? It's much harder to run these newer cars with wrong vins/improperly programmed modules, etc.
    So I would blame a technical error first, before jumping to other conclusions.

    What is the last 7 of the vin of the car?
    Last 7 of vin in diagnostics?
    The VIN of the vehicle is WBA3A9G59ENR97314, the VIN that is being read is pretty strange to me, it's WBAVD31050TRAILER. I'll attach a photo of the test report.

    IMG_4994.jpg

  5. #5
    Join Date
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    The codes aren't necessarily wrong, even though there's a major glitch going on with their tool reading vin. There is no VIN that ends in "TRAILER"

    Does it look like the front end of the car may have been removed or worked on?

    Strange why the AC had to be evacuated and vacuumed, all the low voltage codes etc.
    -Abel

    - E36 328is ~210-220whp: Lots of Mods.
    - 2000 Z3: Many Mods.
    - 2003 VW Jetta TDI Manual 47-50mpg
    - 1999 S52 Estoril M Coupe
    - 2014 328d Wagon, self-tuned, 270hp/430ft-lbs
    - 2019 M2 Competition, self-tuned, 504whp
    - 2016 Mini Cooper S

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2019
    Location
    Naples
    Posts
    3
    My Cars
    2014 BMW 335i
    Quote Originally Posted by 328 Power 04 View Post
    The codes aren't necessarily wrong, even though there's a major glitch going on with their tool reading vin. There is no VIN that ends in "TRAILER"

    Does it look like the front end of the car may have been removed or worked on?

    Strange why the AC had to be evacuated and vacuumed, all the low voltage codes etc.
    The front end has some damage on the underside of the car, which causes the splash panel to come loose, though it looks like a repair had been attempted so could be it was removed at some point. I'm honestly not sure what it could be, looking to get a second opinion on it to see if the results can be recreated.

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    F30 335s are not hard to come by. I wouldn't even bother.
    Quote Originally Posted by B4SH View Post
    If anyone knows, it's this guy who knows literally nothing about everything.
    Quote Originally Posted by fcvapor05 View Post
    Do you even OT? The mean 401k around here is probably about $6, what with all the shiny cars and $1,000 watches and donations to get other members' Volvos running.


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