New ECU required. Really?

[Moge]

I've got the EPC light on and exhaust light.

Just taken it into Skoda to have a diagnostic run done on it, and they are saying it needs a new ECU.

A snip at £1400 !!! :'(

The chap said they cleared the fault and it came straight back.

The code is

01537 P0601 001

Control unit faulty

and they've written internal checksum error next to it.

I asked him if it could be rectified by reflashing the firmware or something like that and he said no, it was a hardware error.

Can anyone confirm that before I start concocting a plan to rob a bank ? :(

There are a load of other faults, but apparently that one is the pertinent one.

[dan_the_v8man]

I'd suggest have a word with Ben of Shark Performance in there section of the forums

[blueR36]

I've got the EPC light on and exhaust light.

Just taken it into Skoda to have a diagnostic run done on it, and they are saying it needs a new ECU.

A snip at £1400 !!!

The chap said they cleared the fault and it came straight back.

The code is

01537 P0601 001

Control unit faulty

and they've written internal checksum error next to it.

I asked him if it could be rectified by reflashing the firmware or something like that and he said no, it was a hardware error.

Can anyone confirm that before I start concocting a plan to rob a bank ? :(

There are a load of other faults, but apparently that one is the pertinent one.

How much out of warranty is it? mine was 4 months out when pressure switch for ABS went, Same price i paid £625 towards. I had a replacement ECU whilst under warranty as well . Best of luck.

[Tom_vRS]

Has it ever been remapped?

[Hauptmann]

Assuming the dealer's diagnosis is correct then a remap will not cause a hardware fault in the ECU.

I would contact BBA-Reman and see if they can do a repair. £1400 sounds very expensive, even by the standards of VAG.

[jaymd]

I have a constant fault on my car which comes up as a checksum error.

If you can get your ecu flashed by the dealer that may clear the fault.

Does your car drive fine and the engine light just came on?

[Moge]

I'd suggest have a word with Ben of Shark Performance in there section of the forums

Cheers, have done so.

How much out of warranty is it? mine was 4 months out when pressure switch for ABS went, Same price i paid £625 towards. I had a replacement ECU whilst under warranty as well . Best of luck.

I got a warranty when I bought the car 2nd hand last summer. Each claim is up to £500 though so it'll cost me a grand at least :(

Has it ever been remapped?

Not to my knowledge.

Assuming the dealer's diagnosis is correct then a remap will not cause a hardware fault in the ECU.

I would contact BBA-Reman and see if they can do a repair. £1400 sounds very expensive, even by the standards of VAG.

BBA-Reman?

Problem is, the warranty company will only pay up if I get it booked in this week. They give 14days from notifying them, which I did last week to find out where I stood with them. In hindsight, not the greatest move. But, heyho, done now.

I have a constant fault on my car which comes up as a checksum error.

If you can get your ecu flashed by the dealer that may clear the fault.

Does your car drive fine and the engine light just came on?

They've written checksum error on the diagnostic report they gave me. I asked if it could be reflashed and the fella said no it's a hardware fault.

It drives fine, but one of the conditions of my warranty is that I don't drive it once a fault appears if I want them to pay up.

Like any kind of insurance, I'm sure they'll do what they can to get out of paying.

Cheers all for your replies.

I need to call the warranty company yet, but I was waiting for a few replies before doing so.

As the day goes on, I'm coming round to the notion that I'm going to be at least a grand poorer before the end of the month :'(

[blueR36]

Did you get it from a Skoda dealer

[Moge]

Did you get it from a Skoda dealer

No I didn't, but I had it diagnosed at a dealer this morning.

[countryboy]

There must be a few totaled octavia vRS cars out there, maybe that would be a cheaper option if you can get one which has a known history i.e. working fine until the car had an accident.

[Genoa1893]

I would ask to have changed the exhaust pressure sensor: code 076906051A.

It happened to me and exchanging the sensor (under warranty, btw, but the sensor costs a few bucks on the famous bidding site, too) solved completely.

Keep us informed, BTW I recently added this info in the sticky post about EPC light on Octavia and Superb forums.

HTH,

Stefano

Edited 17 March, 2010 by Genoa1893

[Hauptmann]

Give BBA-Reman a call and describe your fault to them. They may be able to repair the ECU at a much lower cost. I have used them many times in the past for repair/recon of automotive electronics.

Tel. No. 01634 687222

[prolfe]

If the ECU is anything like the A3 then it's a sealed unit in a tamper proof box.

I had an issue with mine and VW didn't want to touch it. It had to go to Audi, luckily it turned out to be water ingression in the wiring loom to the ECU. It was also under some special warranty with Audi Finance as well.

Hope you get yours sorted.

From what I've read, Ben @ Shark would be my first port of call.

[Moge]

There must be a few totaled octavia vRS cars out there, maybe that would be a cheaper option if you can get one which has a known history i.e. working fine until the car had an accident.

Yeah I thought that.

My problem is that the warranty cover gives me 14days from reporting it. ie, this week.

So I either gamble that any other solution is definitely going to work, or suck it up and go for the big hit ...

[Moge]

I would ask to have changed the exhaust pressure sensor: code 076906051A.

It happened to me and exchanging the sensor (under warranty, btw, but the sensor costs a few bucks on the famous bidding site, too) solved completely.

Keep us informed, BTW I recently added this info in the sticky post about EPC light on Octavia and Superb forums.

HTH,

Stefano

As I've mentioned above, I've got time constraints in order to get £500 of the work done under warranty (that's the limit of a single claim on the warranty I got).

So, unless I can persuade the dealer to change their interpretation of the diagnosis before I call the warranty people, I'd have to get that done off my own back. And sharpish!

If I do pay to get it done though, and it doesn't solve the problem, I won't be a happy bunny...

[cheezemonkhai]

If you go elsewhere you won't be paying £1500 and personally I'd go to an indy VW garage or shark and get an answer in the next couple of days.

Calling BBA would be a good idea too.

If you call up an indy for a quote to replace the ECU on your car, and if it comes to less than £1000, then don't worry about the warranty.

[Aspman]

If it's a sealed for life unit and the car is less than six years old could you claim the money back through the small claims court with the part being defective?

[Hauptmann]

If it's a sealed for life unit and the car is less than six years old could you claim the money back through the small claims court with the part being defective?

That's a route that would be well worth exploring - but you'd need to be sure of the diagnosis first. Its a pity that people won't take a harder line against dealers and manufacturers (e.g. take them to court). In the US all emission-control related parts (i.e. the engine management system) has to be warranted 8 years/100k miles by Federal Law and the price of emission-control related spare parts is limited by government. We could do with the same thing here to stop stupid pricing like £1500 ECU's.

[AwesomeSarah]

We have seen a couple of these on the MK1 and more commonly in the MK2

We had one that was mapped and a couple that was not

We have sent all of them to a dealers to get the softward updated , and all has been OK

So I would have a chat with the dealers who want to remove you of all that cash , as I think they have missed something major there

Sarah

[Moge]

We have seen a couple of these on the MK1 and more commonly in the MK2

We had one that was mapped and a couple that was not

We have sent all of them to a dealers to get the softward updated , and all has been OK

So I would have a chat with the dealers who want to remove you of all that cash , as I think they have missed something major there

Sarah

I've already asked them if the chip can just be re-flashed, and the chap was quite adamant that it is a hardware fault.

Having now spoken to the warranty company, they want my car onsite, whilst the dealer rings them to tell them exactly what I just read off the diagnosis report!

So, that's first thing Monday.

The dealer have said they should be able to do a 10% discount on the bit, and if the warranty company don't manage to weedle out of it, my bill is down to around £850.

woo.... hoo..... :(

[Moge]

If you go elsewhere you won't be paying £1500 and personally I'd go to an indy VW garage or shark and get an answer in the next couple of days.

Calling BBA would be a good idea too.

If you call up an indy for a quote to replace the ECU on your car, and if it comes to less than £1000, then don't worry about the warranty.

I went to my favourite local garage who said they couldn't help as the chip needs to be coded to the car, but pointed me towards a Bosch auto centre who said they could do it, but the bit would still cost the same !

That's a route that would be well worth exploring - but you'd need to be sure of the diagnosis first. Its a pity that people won't take a harder line against dealers and manufacturers (e.g. take them to court). In the US all emission-control related parts (i.e. the engine management system) has to be warranted 8 years/100k miles by Federal Law and the price of emission-control related spare parts is limited by government. We could do with the same thing here to stop stupid pricing like £1500 ECU's.

Interesting!

How do I go about exploring that ? CAB ?

[cheezemonkhai]

It's a consumer right, but you'd have to take action against the selling dealer.

CAB are a good place to start.

[prolfe]

have you rang Shark performance?

0871 2211 281

or

07824 776709

get an experts advice.

[shark_90]

Only just got back onto Briskoda and caught up with this post - if the dealer checks on their system (something they should have done) then they should see that you need a software update. If you continue to struggle with them, give us a call and we can arrange to get this sorted for you.

Regards

[Moge]

Only just got back onto Briskoda and caught up with this post - if the dealer checks on their system (something they should have done) then they should see that you need a software update. If you continue to struggle with them, give us a call and we can arrange to get this sorted for you.

Regards

Sorted !

Although my car was recorded as having had the 24K5 upgrade, it hadn't had it. (thanks Ben!)

The dealership did it next day (this morning) and didn't charge me. They're going to chase up the dealership who fraudulently pocketed the cash for having done the job in the first place.

What a relief not having to shell out over a grand !!