As of September 2026 we run remote OE programming sessions on eight platforms — GM, Ford/Lincoln, Nissan/Infiniti, Mazda, Toyota/Lexus, Volvo, VW/Audi and Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Ram — and that is the complete list. If your car is a Honda, Acura, Subaru, BMW, Mercedes, Hyundai, Kia, Porsche or anything else, we do not have a session for it, and there are three honest routes that do not involve us pretending otherwise.
Publishing this costs us bookings, which is exactly why it is worth publishing. The most expensive thing in this trade is a provider who says “yes, we can do that” on the phone and works it out afterwards, with your customer's car in pieces. Below is what we actually cover, why the list stops where it does, and what to do about the rest.
What “covered” means, precisely
There are two separate products here and confusing them is the source of most disappointed enquiries.
| Product | Scope | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Remote OE session — 8 platforms | Manufacturer software, live, through your J2534 | $100–$250 |
| IMMO-OFF file — listed controllers only | Per ECU variant, brand-independent | $100 |
| GPEC2 / GPEC2A unlock | FCA controllers, uploaded read | $150 |
| Mail-in PCM unlock or clone | Physical module, no tooling needed | $250 |
| Specialist network | Anything else — other operators bid | Free to post |
Note the second row carefully. File coverage is by controller, not by badge — which is why a BMW appears in our coverage matrix even though there is no BMW session. The MS43 family is listed live, and the M52/M54 DME identification question has its own guide alongside the MS43 EWS service guide. A 2019 BMW is a different universe from a 2003 one, and only one of them is in that matrix.
Why the session list stops at eight
Not philosophy — licensing economics. Each platform means a current manufacturer subscription, the machine to run it on, and somebody who has run it enough times to be useful when a write misbehaves at 8 PM. Carrying a ninth costs the same as carrying the first eight divided by eight, and it only makes sense at volume that justifies it.
The eight we carry are the eight our customers actually bring: mobile locksmiths, independent shops and rebuilders working the mainstream American fleet. If demand shifts, the list will. It is not a permanent judgement about any manufacturer, and it is not a claim that other platforms are harder.
“I would rather send somebody away in two minutes than take their money and spend an hour discovering I cannot finish. The second one costs me the customer permanently. The first one usually brings them back with a car I can actually do.” — Remote programming desk
Route one: the specialist network
The primary answer for an uncovered platform is our specialist network. Posting a job is free. Operators with different tooling and different subscriptions see it and bid, and you pay only if you accept a bid. For a Honda, a Subaru, a Mercedes or a Porsche, that is very often faster than phoning round, because the people who specialise in those platforms are already looking at the board.
The workflow from a van is covered in our post-a-job guide for locksmiths and from a bay in the subcontracting guide for shops. What makes a post get good bids quickly is specificity: the controller part number, how the file was read if it was, and exactly what outcome you need. Vague posts get vague bids.
Route two: check the file coverage before assuming
A meaningful share of “you do not cover my car” enquiries are wrong, because the customer checked the badge and not the controller. The coverage matrixlists every variant with an explicit status — live, beta, soon, or manual — and what those words commit us to is spelled out in our coverage-status guide. Saab Trionic, several Bosch ME7 variants and the BMW MS43 family are live today; the Bosch MED17/EDC17 and VAG Simos18 families are listed as work in progress rather than quietly implied.
The fastest way to settle it is the free identifier: upload a dump or photograph the module label and it resolves what you are actually holding. On a car somebody else has already worked on, that is frequently not what the VIN says it should be — a problem covered from the other direction in our VIN-mismatch guide.
Route three: the module ships, whatever the badge
Bench work is brand-agnostic in a way sessions are not. A controller in a box is a controller in a box, and mail-in PCM unlock and clone work is $250 without any subscription being involved. Where the specific controller is inside what we handle, the badge on the car matters much less than people expect.
This is also the answer for the case where a session would be useless anyway: a module that no longer communicates. No remote session on any platform reaches a controller that does not answer — see our interrupted-flash recovery guide for how that state is diagnosed, and the packing guide for shipping it without adding damage.
The five questions we get asked most about the gaps
“Can you not just buy the subscription for my car?”Occasionally, and it is genuinely how a platform gets added — but not this afternoon. A new platform means a subscription, a machine, and enough practice that somebody here is useful rather than merely licensed when a write misbehaves. Telling you yes today and learning on your customer's vehicle is not a service.
“My tool says it supports it, so why doesn't yours?”Different products. Aftermarket coverage and manufacturer software are not the same capability, and neither is strictly a superset of the other. If your tool covers the operation, use it — that is the cheapest route available and we will say so.
“Is it because the brand is difficult?” No. It is because eight subscriptions is what current demand justifies. Some of the platforms not on the list are straightforward; they are simply not what our customers bring.
“Can you do the file even if you can't do the session?”Frequently, yes — and this is the most useful thing in this post. File coverage and session coverage are independent lists. Check the controller in the matrix before concluding anything from the badge.
“How long does the network take?” It depends on how specific the post is. A post with a controller part number, a read method and a clear outcome attracts bids quickly. “2016 Honda, needs ECU work” does not.
What to do while you are still on the phone
- Get the controller, not the car. Part number off the label. Everything downstream depends on it, and year/make/model is not a substitute.
- Establish whether it communicates. That single fact splits every job into session-or-file and bench-only.
- Ask what has already been tried. Previous attempts change the job. Our swapped-ECU no-start guide exists mostly because of jobs where that question was never asked.
- Check coverage before you drive.Two minutes on the matrix beats an hour in a customer's driveway.
- If it is outside all three routes, say so early. Referring a job you cannot do costs you nothing and buys more goodwill than most advertising.
Brand by brand, as honestly as we can put it
Honda and Acura. No session. Where the job is a controller-level file operation the matrix is the answer and the badge is irrelevant; where it is OE programming, the network is the route. This is one of the platforms we are asked about most and one where specialists on the board are plentiful.
Subaru.Same position. Worth noting that a good share of Subaru enquiries here are tuning questions rather than programming ones, and tuning is not a product we sell on any platform — our Stage 1 versus Stage 2 explainer exists precisely because we have no stake in the answer.
BMW.No session, but genuine file coverage on specific older controllers — the MS43 family is live today. Anything modern is a network job. The identification question matters more on BMW than most, because the DME variants are close enough to confuse and far enough apart to matter.
Mercedes-Benz and Porsche. No session, no file product. Network or a marque specialist.
Hyundai and Kia. No session. Some controller families appear in the coverage work; where they stand is set out in our Hyundai and Kia coverage guide, including the ones listed as in progress rather than quietly implied.
Diesel and heavy-duty. A separate conversation with its own boundaries, and one where a great deal of what gets requested is work we decline on principle. That position is set out in full in our diesel scope post.
Why this market exists at all
The gap being filled here is structural. S&P Global Mobility put the average age of light vehicles on U.S. roads at 12.6 years in its 2024 study, and the independent aftermarket services most of that fleet with none of the subscriptions a franchised dealer holds as a matter of course. SAE J2534 made third-party pass-thru hardware usable with manufacturer software, and in the United States the National Automotive Service Task Force provides the credentialed route to secure vehicle functions. Everything on this site sits inside that framework rather than around it.
Increasingly it sits behind an authentication wall too, which is its own subject — our security-gateway explainer covers what a gateway blocks and the four legitimate ways past one.
We do not provide emissions defeat, delete files, or services intended to bypass emissions laws. Our services exist for tuning preparation, diagnostics, repair, motorsport, and off-road use where legally permitted. Customer is responsible for confirming legal use in their location and application.
That is the other half of the honesty this post is about. Section 203(a)(3) of the federal Clean Air Act rules out a category of work regardless of platform, and a provider whose coverage list expands to whatever you happen to ask for is usually not being generous. Our provider red-flags guide lists the rest of the signals worth reading.
The short version
Eight platforms for live OE sessions, a published matrix for file coverage by controller, mail-in for anything physical, and a free job board for everything else. If your brand is not on the session list, check the matrix by controller before assuming — and if it genuinely is not covered, post the job rather than spending the afternoon on the phone.