I just spent 6+ hours compiling a spreadsheet from this thread. The results are as follows;
Of the 978 posts to date, only
71 (7.3%)were actual unique reports of DESS error or failure.
Of the 71 reports of DESS error or failure,
only 7 (10%) reported their bike as disabled (stranded); 90% reportedly were able to get the bike restarted after awhile.
Of the 10% reporting being stranded, ALL were in 2015 (all 2014 RTs) and it is possible they did not try changing keys, cycling on and off, getting other RF-enabled or BT-enabled devices away from the ignition switch. In other words,
it is possible that nobody's DESS actually failed but rather just caused a warning and non-start under certain conditions.
Of the 71 reports,
21 reported having the DESS module replaced. Of these 21,
3 reported having the DESS module replaced multiple times.
Of the 71 reports, no consistent causation pattern emerged, although the 7/31/2019 BRP Bulletin provides the most logical explanation, supported by theories posited by PaladinLV and others, that the problem was
being caused by some DESS modules putting out an excessive RF signal, causing the key chip to become temporarily oversaturated and unreadable. This would account for the efficacy of such D-I-Y solutions as changing keys, cycling the ignition on and off, wrapping the key in tin foil, or putting a non-chip key in the ignition with a chipped key near it.
One person reported their 2017 F3 Ltd developed an intermittent DESS warning AFTER
having their ECU flashed by Monster https://www.monsterfuelinjection.com/spyder . Another person (AY4B) reported their DESS issue was resolved after having a Monster ECU Flash. Yet another person (2dogs) believes that a Monster Stage 2 flash disables the DESS module, as the delayed start-up time is eliminated with the Stage 2 flash.
That makes sense to me; the Stage 1 ECU Flash does not bypass the startup screen but the Stage 2 does.
A number of people either had the DESS module disabled / bypassed by someone (not a dealer) with the appropriate version of BUDS, or they intended to have it done. Finding someone close by who could do it for them seemed to be an issue as there are only a handful of members with the proper BUDS software.
Of the 71 reports,
51 were 2014 models, mostly RTs but also 1 STS.
15 were 2015 models, mostly RTs, but including
2 F3S models. One was a
2016 F3L and
two were 2017 F3L. There was
one 2019 RTL who reported a "wrong key" or "check key" warning but not a DESS error per se.
Of the 71 reports,
24 were reported in 2015,
28 in 2016,
4 in 2017,
3 in 2018,
5 in 2019,
1 in 2020,
3 in 2021 and
3 so far in 2022.
My personal conclusions from this analysis is that;
* The DESS error affected
mostly 2014 and 2015 RTs, and only a
small number of those model years.
* The
DESS error was not a fatal one that would leave a rider permanently stranded; it was an intermittent one
* For those bikes affected by this issue, replacing the early DESS module with another DESS module of early vintage often was a wasted effort;
BRP didn't really understand and resolve the problem in new DESS modules until 2019
* The only guarantee of never having the DESS error occur is to disable the DESS altogether, however, the
vast majority of bikes of 2014 and 2015 vintage will not experience the DESS problem
