Should I get the "M" flash?
 

I am getting 19-20 mpg city and 23-24 highway btu should I ask about getting the "M" flash done next time I go in for service? It seems that it helps those who have had problems but my car is doing great. It was produced in 08/03 and does not even have the "L" flash. I have researched and searched but I can't seem to find an easy answer for this question. I just don't want to screw up a good thing and I usually go by the saying "If it ain't broke don't fix it!"

According the latest MSP they will probably flash it anyway the next time you take it into the dealer.

Thanks for the update! Hopefully she'll come out better than she is now, but I worry about her so much.J/J I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

If your car is working fine I would hold off getting the m-flash. I had four hard starts so I got the m-flash done and it's starts easier,but when I first got the car back there was no low rpm power. It was quite noticable that I had a great power lost, there was also no increase in gas mileage. Now, after some 500 miles the power is back up and I can't tell if it's as it was before and gas mileage seems a bit better, but then I'm putting more mileage on it and that might be the reason for better mileage.

if your build date is 1/04 and you picked it up and it doesn't have the current pcm flash then that is a BIG problem for that dealer. the MSP04 bulletin directs them to bring all dealer inventory to the current spec. it is possible that you didnt do the brake stomp correctly or quickly enough. built in that month the car i think had to be on L calibration when built. if it hasnt been brought to M then it should show as warrenty work needing done when you go in for your next service. if they did something shady like report it done and close the warrenty issue without actually doing it the only way to be certain is to have them find the calibration with their WDS and show it to you. then you compare it with the number in the MSP04 bulletin.


oh and on the loss of high rpm performance- not really. part of what M did was lean the mixture out in the lower rpms causing a slight increas in lower rpm power. they also fiddled with a/f at the points where the secondary and tertiary ports open so there wouldn't be as much initial drop in power at those events. this had the effect of smoothing out the already smooth T curve because the transition no longer feels like a huge surge. so its not a loss in higher rpm power just a more linear power curve.

not many have said they lost low rpm power. unless something else is/was wrong with your i can only think that perhaps they cleared the memory and it took a little longer for the car to "re-learn" your driving habits and adjust.

Made mine smoother in "normal" driving. And still has the high-end power, but doesn't dump on all at once. Worth it for the flooding issue alone, but the smoother power band is a plus, imo. Plus other "bug" fixes that may not be immediately apparent, from what I've read.

All I know is that I get a really strong surge at around 7.5K rpms, the kind that pins you to the back of your seat, and I absolutely feel no drop prior to the power surge. I would really hate to lose that feeling, even if the above is true.

So I'm still on the fence too. I probably won't willingly ask for it. But if my dealer is sharp enough to do it at my next scheduled maintenance visit without my mentioning the M-flash TSB, so be it. The flash I really hope they come out with some day is the one that gives us back the original 250 hp.

M flash is better than the L. I tested my K flash with a G-timer and then did the same with the L. The L cost me about .5 seconds 0-60--top end was not as punchy after the flash. Mileage was better, though. I no longer have the G-Timer, but recently had the M flash done. Mileage seems even better, low end a bit better, and I think the high end is between the K and L. I like it.