Can I just walk in and tell them to flash my car?
 

U haven't yet purchased my 8, but if I want my car flashed, can I just walk in and say, "Hey, flash my car" or do I have to go in and tell them some story about rough idling. Better yet, can I ask them to flash it before I take delivery?

I doubt they would flash it before you take delivery. I would drive it for a couple weeks first. Just tell them your getting poor MPG. That did it for me.

since I am a novice, what exactly does the "L flash" entail? Does the dealer charge for it? How long does it take? I have read the many threads on it, and I understand what it is suppose to fix, but what does it all mean?

If you have a cool service guy, they will usually do the unusual for you.

For example, I am taking my 8 in for a free oil change tomorrow, while i was scheduling that, I told him that I needed to find out what "flash version" i had, because I want the most recent. I have already had my car flashed once, due to a real CEL. He says, "Well, what I can do, is put down that you are getting a CEL and that will allow the tech to go in and check your entire ECU out and they will more than likely update your car to the latest flash if you do not have it." I was like.....AWESOME...

Just get in good with your service guys and techs, and hopefully they will hook you up on these kindof things.

Personally the poor MPG excuse didnt work for me. They said they didnt have any flash for that problem. So when my new shift knob comes in im gunna tell them i have been having hard starts.

I had my airbag recall done yesterday and part of the service were a couple of complaints I wanted them to check on. I told them about low gas mileage and I got a "will monitor" in return. It says on my receipt that I need to have at least 5000 miles on before they make any changes to improve my gas mileage. Then the tech explained to me that it should improve over time as my mileage gets higher. If after 5000, it stays the same then I should take it back to them so they could try to "do something" to my car.

:(

If you haven't taken delivery of your car yet it will most likely come with the most up to date software anyway. It will prolly have the "M" flash which supercedes the "L" flash from the factory.

Re: Can I just walk in and tell them to flash my car?
 

Just let them know that you're considering this car and a G35 or some car in that same category. You like this one but is concerned about what you read online (like CEL's, rough idles, whatever the bulletin said). They will try to disprove that, so slip in the deal that you want the latest PCM flash on the car.

Walk in prepared. Print out the service bulletin about the "L" PCM flash from here:
MIL Illumination with DTC P2107, P2108 OR P2109 - Issued 2/24/04

There is also another bulletin that talks about upgrading to "L" to fix no-crank/hard start problems:
Engine Cranks / No Start - Issued 3/11/04


Also print out the bulletin that indirectly verifies that PCM is actually of version "L" here:
Clearing Eccentric Shaft Plate Profile Memory - Issued 2/9/04

If they say they can't do it because they don't have the part or whatever, then question them why you would buy from them and use them for your car's regular maintenance.

When I negotiated the deal, I requested that the car have the latest PCM updates done. The sales guy said that all the cars have the latest and greatest updates on them. So I asked him if they missed those updates on my car for some freak reason, would they fix it before delivery. He said yes. Then I pulled out those bulletins and get the "L" version verified. Turns out the car didn't have it (as expected). So, to keep his word, he put that in as part of the deal. Later on delivery he showed me the invoice showing the work (which costs about $100) and said that he was wrong and was not supposed to promise the customer to do warranty work. He said they will not honor this request in the future... but you know what they say about salesmen :)

So try it out and pit the dealers in your area to compete for your business.

The "M" flash is nothing significant. Canzoomer got it and posted the findings in some obscure thread, but it was covered specifically in this thread.

I took mine in for the 5,000 mile oil change and tire rotation today. I was talking to the RX8 tech they have and I told him I wanted to flash my pcm. He said he would be glad to do it, he said he figures if you pay that much money for a nice car, you deserve all the upgrades. Cool guy.