How to Disable the Start & Stop System on the BMW 3 Series F30

This guide illustrates the procedure to disable the Start & Stop system for the BMW 3 Series, model F30. Note that this procedure is also valid for other BMW models from the same years, provided they have an OBD2 port. You will need: a laptop, an Ethernet-OBD2 cable, and E-Sys software.

Follow these steps in order: 1. Turn on the ignition, launch the E-Sys software, connect the cable, and then press the connection button; 2. Select the F020 coding; if you have a different model, find the corresponding coding for your model. Select the connect via VIN option and confirm by pressing Connect; 3. Click Read, then Save, to create a backup copy of the original settings of the control unit; 4. Right-click on the FA folder and click Activate FA; 5. Under SVT and then FEM_BODY, select the CAFD folder and right-click to click Read Coding Data; 6. Click Edit FDL and search the appearing folder for the term tcm_msa_default_off; 7. In the corresponding folder, navigate to Ausgelesen and select the aktiv option in the file inside.

At this point, thanks to this option, the Start & Stop system will be permanently disabled; 8. Save everything to complete the procedure; 9. If you want to restore the Start & Stop system, go to step 7 and change the option from aktiv to nicht_aktiv.