Modern cars are a network of control units, and a great deal of what feels like a mechanical fault is a module running old software or configured wrongly. This is dealer-level work, and it is not the same thing as performance tuning.
Software coding and ECU remapping are different jobs. Coding works inside the manufacturer’s own software — applying updates, programming a replacement module, enabling equipment the car was built to support — while remapping replaces the engine map to change performance.
The two get used interchangeably, and they are different jobs. Coding changes what the car’s control units know about the car: which equipment it has, which module has just been fitted, which version of the manufacturer’s software each unit should be running. Remapping changes what the engine is told to do. One is configuration, the other is performance — and if it is power you are after, you want the remapping page.
Fit a new control unit and it arrives blank: it has to be told which car it is in and what that car is equipped with. Skip that step and you get warning lights, functions that do not work, and a fault that looks mechanical but is not.
Very often, yes. Replacing a module or disconnecting the battery on a modern car can leave configurations that need setting again. It is worth checking before anything else is replaced.
Possibly. Manufacturers keep releasing updates for cars already on the road, for things like gearbox shift quality, battery management and warning lights that appear for no mechanical reason, and a dealer applies them at service. A car that has not seen a dealer for years can be several versions behind. We can read which versions your car is running and tell you whether anything worth having is outstanding.
Functions the car already has the hardware for but left switched off for its market or trim level; the exact list depends on the model and year. On many BMWs, for example, folding the mirrors on lock, the way the lights behave when unlocking, or a digital speed readout are configuration choices rather than missing parts. If the hardware is not there, coding cannot conjure it.
Applying the manufacturer’s own updates does not; that is exactly what a dealer does at service. Changing a configuration is different: it is recorded in the car, a dealer can see it, and on a car still under warranty we would rather say so before you decide than after.