I know that the ECU logs a lot of 'stuff' even on older cars I've had.
I've even been told they can easily see if your car was on a dyno because the ECU logs the fact that 2 of the wheels are moving and the others are stationary so the ECU thinks there is a problem.
But all this i have been told is for diagnostic purposes, by all the guys at BMW, and that when a fault is detected all of the environmental conditions are logged (rpm/speed/temps) etc to help diagnose the issue. Not as a tool to refute warranty or motorplan claims. For example why would they refute a claim because you hit the limiter? I mean the ZF 8 gearbox for example revs to 7k rpm automatically when in sport mode, even if you are not full throttle, so that wouldnt make sense.
The question around black box is more around continuous logging of driving, speed, GPS etc to use for other purposes and esp for insurance companies to find reasons to refute claims.
For example lets say you wanted to see what your car could do so you take it to a runway and drive flat out until you hit the top speed. You would be on a track so in a safe environment and are not breaking any laws, but black box data could indicate to the insurance company during a future incident that at some point you drove at such high speed, or bmw could via GPS see that you were on a track and if something breaks a month later it could be refuted due to driver abuse, since you were on a track and even if it is just a single run to take your car to the top end, it could be automatically seen as abuse no matter how you drive it.
What if you wanted to learn how do drive your car more safely so you take an advance driving course, the course would be conducted on a track for obvious reasons, but now you have no insurance and no warranty due to GPS logs etc.
I know that while you are on track if you crash on a track then insurance wont pay, and usually stipulates such exclusions, but even if an incident is not related black box data can indicate you were there previously, as apposed to only be excluded if you crashed at the track.
I have even heard that if you go watch a racing event at killarney drive your car there as a spectator, if someone bumps your car in the parking lot you have to tow it somewhere else or insurance wont pay since they would now suspect you were racing on a track. I dont even know if for some reason your car broke down while watching racing at killarney warranty or motorplan can refute the claim, perhaps :=):
I dont know all this, and even though ive never taken any of my cars to the track due to these kinds of concerns as well as not wanting to drive my cars quite that hard, it is a shame that in order to reduce people driving too fast on public roads the system (insurance, warranty) is designed to prevent you from driving your car fast in a safe environment.
I have considered to take an advanced drivers course, but am hesitant due to insurance and warranty, which is also a shame then since this all ads to actually driving safer and get yourself out of sticky situations more easily.
Anyway I guess we will never really know unless someone had this happen to them can report, or someone working at the tech department of BMW,
If i take my paranoia hat of for a second and think logically it doesnt make sense for BMW to be out to just get you or look for reasons to refute claims as the news would spread and the car enthusiasts will start looking elsewhere, and they would be aware of this. I think they would also have to mention this to you a bit more clearly, as someone mentioned privacy and all that, its not in their best interest to secretly do all this without mentioning it at least, I would think?
