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1. What should I do if I am getting a warning about the critical FRM ECU for my BMW?
Unfortunately, some FRM2 and FRM3 modules (produced in ca. 2007 – 2013) have a rare firmware fault. If you see this message in the app while trying to code the FRM, the app has found critical faults in your FRM:
“Carly has found severe faults in your FRM and has therefore NOT coded your FRM.”
As a consequence, the app does not allow coding your FRM.
To keep in mind 💡: If the app didn't block the coding of your FRM, your FRM would be completely unresponsive now. This would result in a complete failure of exterior and interior lighting, turn signals, and window and mirror controls. Repairing an unresponsive FRM (also known as a “bricked” FRMs) costs hundreds of euros and takes several days.
2. Which FRMs get broken?
Unfortunately, some FRM2 and FRM3 modules (produced in ca. 2007 – 2013) have a rare firmware fault. The app checks the firmware of the ECU for this specific fault and blocks the coding of these modules if necessary. In these cases, the following message is displayed within the app when you are trying to code the FRM:
“Carly has found severe faults in your FRM and has therefore NOT coded your FRM.”
To keep in mind 💡: Only the following models have an FRM2 or FRM3 modules installed:
1 series (E8x) 2007 or later
3 series (E9x) 2007 or later
X1 (E84) all build years
X5 (E7x) all build years
X6 (E7x) all build years
Z4 (E89) all build years
Mini (R55 or newer) all build years
In rare cases, older models have FRM2 or FRM3 modules installed as well. This can be the case if an FRM2 or FRM3 has been retrofitted.
If the following codings are available for your car within the app, your car has an FRM2 or FRM3 installed:
Welcome lights Key 1
Welcome lights Key 2
Welcome lights Key 3
Welcome lights Key 4
Effects of an unresponsive FRM:
If the app didn't stop the coding, your footwell module (FRM) would now be unresponsive. This has the following effects on the car:
Complete failure of interior lighting
Complete failure of window controls
Complete failure of mirror controls
Complete failure of turn signals
Complete failure of high beams and flasher
Complete failure of welcome lights
Complete failure of adaptive cornering lights (if installed)
3. How can I repair my car after the FRM has become unresponsive?
1. Replacing the FRM: a used FRM costs ca. 150€ – 300€ (depending on the variant of the module). Replacing the module yourself takes roughly 1 – 2 hours. A new FRM can only be installed by a professional garage since it needs to be initialized and adapted to the car. Replacing the FRM (including costs for the new FRM itself) takes 1 – 2 days and costs between 350€ – 700€ depending on the garage and the FRM variant.
2. Restoring the FRM via PC: removing, restoring, and re-installing the restored module takes ca. 2 – 3 hours. Special hard- and software is needed though.
4. What is the cause of the FRM fault?
Some FRM2 and FRM3 modules with very specific firmware versions develop a fault in the boot sector after multiple years of usage. As a result, the FRM cannot restart, once it has been shut down completely. In order to load the new codings though, the FRM needs to be restarted after coding. If it is not restarted, the newly coded options will not be loaded by the FRM.
Carly for BMW checks this boot sector (ONLY READING!) among other parameters within the FRM before coding. The app cannot write to this boot sector. This is also the reason why it is not possible to restore this boot sector with the Carly app. The app only takes a look at this boot sector and decides afterward if it is safe to continue coding this module.
The FRM does not store faults in its own fault memory for this error, since it does not realize it is faulty. For this reason, a seemingly fault-free FRM can be affected by this critical fault. Since the fault lies within the FRM module itself, the same thing will also happen while coding via PC.
5. How has Carly figured this out?
To figure this out, we’ve worked very closely with ECU developers and learned a lot about ECU development. During the whole time, we have been assisted by some companies from Switzerland and the USA as well as many German experts in order to analyze the FRMs.
Following a tip, we have invested multiple thousands of euros and bought many used FRMs from this time period. Using special equipment for ECU development, we created complete backups of each module (including the boot sector) and coded the modules via PC until they could not start anymore.
This way we could determine the exact moment when the FRM would break and implement this advanced FRM check into the app. No other program or app has such an extensive and specific check for coding.
6. Can I still somehow code my critical FRM?
If the app classifies your FRM as “critical”, the probability that your FRM will break during the next few codings is very high. We strongly advise against coding critical FRMs, no matter the program or device! Other modules can still be coded, this warning only applies to your FRM.
To keep in mind 💡: If you insist on coding your FRM despite all warnings, you can enter a 4-digit unlock code during coding. You can find it underneath the warning text (you may need to scroll down the warning). When you enter this unlock code before coding, the app will allow you to code your FRM despite all our warnings and at your own risk.
We are confident this information will help you to solve your questions. In case you need more info please get in touch with our team here.
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