When the extended maintenance agreement ended for my 2008 Mini I took it to an independent shop. The next year I took it to the dealer for comparison. They looked at the fob data and said that all kinds of things hadn't been done by the independent shop. Of course, the dealer service cost a fortune. So my question is: does a shop really need access to the key fob data in order to provide the right service? If so, have you found an independent shop that has a fob reader? (FYI, I'm in San Francisco.)

 

When the dealer reads your key fob they're just pulling the maintenance information and due dates for upcoming services, same as you can find from the car's computer (brake fluid, general inspection, brake pads, oil change). The indie shop could have done those things but just not reset the maintenance reminders which is what is stored on the keyfob/in the car. Thus, to the dealer it looks like there are outstanding services to be done. So in the end, no, shops don't need access to the key fob data, they can look at it from the car computer if they need to, and they should reset the reminders as a courtesy.

 

Perfect. Thank you!

 

The key reader has this aura and mystic about it. Doesn't really do much except help generate revenue for dealership. That being said, a lazy indy shop might miss stuff if you don't know about it.

Things like brake fluid, coolant flushes etc. Car won't fall apart if you miss it but the indy shops don't always look proactively at those things. Dealership doesn't want to miss out on those revenue $$$.